Royalty is built on ceremony and tradition, and these ceremonies and traditions are excruciatingly planned down to the slightest detail, often years in advance. Here are some key terms that explain the intricacies of British royal rituals and the places they are performed, including the elaborate funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, coronations, royal weddings, and the final resting places of British monarchs. lie in state …
It should come as no surprise that we are word lovers. In fact, we are big word lovers in that we love really big words. To express our love, we looked around for some of the biggest, most ludicrously long words in the English language. In addition to pure length, we also tried to find: the longest word without vowels the longest one-syllable word and …
If you want to gallivant across the globe, there’s no shortage of beautiful places full of interesting history to explore. And it’s worth noting (because we’re Dictionary.com, after all) many cities around the world have fascinating stories about where their names came from. Before you finalize your next travel plans, we’re passing along some of the cool stories about the origins of the names of …
This spring may be a bit steamier than usual, thanks to the return of the hit Netflix show Bridgerton. This Regency romance with a modern twist took audiences by storm last year with its unpredictable plot, historical setting, and very attractive cast of characters. If you watched the first season last year or you’re catching up now, you may find yourself wondering what some of …
The world of pasta is filled with endless pastabilities thanks to a vast variety of shapes and sizes. Each noodle shape has a name that might seem random if you’re not caught up on your Italian, but with a little help on the translation, it will all start to make more sense. Think you know it all? We’ll go beyond spaghetti and penne and even serve …
If you’re one of the many fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you’ll know that Dr. Strange has the power to explore the multiverse. He can travel to other worlds and meet alternate versions of himself, maybe even one that isn’t inexplicably charming. In comic books and science fiction, the multiverse refers to a collection of different universes that include our own. But what about …
Just like any other close-knit community, the gaming community has its own commonly used slang words and phrases—and navigating them can be tough for a noob. Whether you’re acting pretty sus in Among Us or carrying the team in a game of League of Legends, you’re bound to pick up a few new words and phrases. So hit the pause button and take a peek at …
How can a word be insulting sometimes … but not always? One of the many complexities of English is the ability of words to have multiple definitions, which opens the door for some words to be both derogatory and not derogatory, depending on who is using them or when. These words can be confusing, especially to people who are just learning English and all of …
Prepare your middle school kids for high school with these vocab activities Do you have a middle-schooler preparing for high school? Challenge them with over 10 vocab activities designed for high school age students. Learning about roots of words Roots can form words in our current language by reconstructing original words from a parent language. Learn more about roots of words by looking for some …
Over the past couple years, there has been a lot of buzz around cryptocurrency. The nations of El Salvador and the Central African Republic have even gone so far as to adopt a cryptocurrency as one of their official currencies. However, for those of us who are old school and still use classic dollars and cents, cryptocurrency and its related lingo can be kind of …
Fascist and Nazi: these two words loom large in the history books and in heated conversations about politics—conversations that have far outlasted the regimes that originally embraced them. For many of us, the words fascist and Nazi bring to mind the worst dictators and crimes against humanity. But as these ideologies make the news in 2020, used especially in the context of a growing concern about …
by Nicole Holliday When I was a kid, I always just assumed that everyone in the world called people like me “mixed,” because in the 1990s in central Ohio, where I grew up, mixed almost always referred to folks like me, who had one black parent and one white parent. The community I grew up in had very few people who identified as anything other …
