’Tis the time of colorful foliage, crisp air, the first frost, and pumpkin spice. It’s many people’s favorite season—and it’s the only one with more than one commonly used name. But what to call it—autumn or fall? And what came first? Prepare for the dawn of sweater weather with some insights into the origins of fall and autumn—and another, even older name for the season. The …
There are a lot of reasons to love trees. They provide us with shade, fruit, beautiful flowers, and clean air. In addition to all of these perks, many of them also have fascinating names. Trees take their names from famous people in history, stories in mythology, and even the special extracts and resins they produce. Some of them are hundreds of feet tall. Others have …
Though we commonly use the word average in everyday life when discussing the number that’s the most “typical” or that’s “in the middle” of a group of values, more precise terms are used in math and statistics. Namely, the words mean, median, and mode each represent a different calculation or interpretation of which value in a data set is the most common or most representative …
Fare and fair are pronounced exactly the same and have many different meanings spanning different parts of speech, including nouns, adjectives, and verbs. This can make things very confusing. Is it fare well or farewell? And when you ask someone how things turned out, should you say How did you fare? or How did you fair? In this article, we’ll break down the differences, provide …
Every year near the start of summer, people around the country celebrate Juneteenth. The holiday is far from new — it commemorates an event that happened more than 155 years ago — but awareness and interest in Juneteenth has steadily increased over the years. With that awareness and interest comes an opportunity to learn more about the history behind June 19 and how it’s commonly …
It’s always a good time for soul food. And June is an especially good time because June is National Soul Food Month. But before you dig in, do you know what soul food really means, and where it comes from? The rich history and vocabulary of soul food are rooted in the cultures of the African diaspora, and its dishes and traditions were shaped by …
In politics, having a catchy nickname will go a long way to help you stand out from the crowd and be remembered throughout history. After all, we still recall how much people liked Ike and how they loved listening to the Great Communicator. But a nickname doesn’t have to be that fancy to stick in people’s minds. Sometimes, all you need are a couple of …
The difference between undergraduate and graduate is a difference of degrees (*throws graduation cap in the air to celebrate the pun*). The level of education that each word involves varies depending on how the word is being used, and there are situations in which both words can be used in the same situation. For example, you can become a graduate student after graduating with an …
by Heather Bonikowski, Lexicographer, and John Kelly, Managing Editor Our first major update to Dictionary.com in 2021 looks a lot like … 2020. But that makes a lot of sense. From the pandemic to protests to politics, our language is still catching up to the tremendous change we experienced last year—and Dictionary.com is here to document it all. Our tireless team of lexicographers have touched …
Every year since 1986, the United States has observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the third Monday in January. The national holiday honors a man who not only was an inspirational civil rights activist during the 1960s, but also one of the greatest orators of our time. King wrote five books during his lifetime, and at one point was estimated to deliver up to …
Whether or not you believe that the position and relationship of the sun, moon, stars, and planets have any bearing on your personality, you probably still know what your astrological sign is. The zodiac contains 12 constellations and is divided into 12 equal segments. Each astrological sign—Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces—represents one of the segments. These are …
