by Taneesh Khera Black English has a rich history that touches on everything from linguistics to literature to music—and, of course, the words we speak each and every day. Black English is also known as African American Vernacular English (AAVE), among other names, as discussed in the extensive historical usage note at its entry. This form of English is as complex, of course, as standard …
So you have an important test coming up. Standardized tests like the SAT, ACT, GRE, and GED are a major part of the high school, college, and even graduate school experience, but prepping for these tests isn’t exactly everyone’s favorite activity. Each of these tests serves a different function in the high school and college admissions process, but no matter which one you’re signed up …
by Min Straussman In 1585, a mining expert named Joachim Gans landed on Roanoke Island in the New World. He is considered the first Jewish person to visit the Americas. Almost 70 years later, in 1654, the first Jewish community was founded in what was then known as New Amsterdam, and what we today call New York City. They came, like so many other early …
Yeah … these two words seem the same but which one should you use? Yea vs. yeah Yea can be used as an informal adverb meaning “yes” or “to affirm,” or as a noun to indicate an affirmative vote. When used in a vote, yea can be pronounced like “yay.” Yea can also be used as an adverb to amplify an adjective or to say …
Not many side dishes can claim to be staples the world over. Of those, few are as beloved as French fries. Frites, chips, salchipapas—the list of names for fries is long, but regardless of the moniker, variations on fried pieces of potato can be found on restaurant menus on just about every continent. Now’s the time to learn a little more about the words related …
by Rory Gory Many people are raised to believe that gender and sex are the same thing, and that there are two options available to us: male or female. But neither sex nor gender is inherently binary—the belief that people must be classified into one of these two categories. When something can’t be placed in two boxes, we call it nonbinary, meaning “not consisting of, …
Do you know all of your colors? No, we aren’t just talking about red and green. We mean color words like quercitron, puce, and dragon’s blood. There are so many unique and fascinating words that describe shades of color in our language. If you stop at the basics, you might just miss out on some of the most vivid and historically interesting shades that exist. …
by Alyssa Pereira From boxes on census forms to drop-down menus on job applications, we often see Hispanic and Latino positioned side by side, seemingly as interchangeable terms to describe the race and heritage of a population that makes up nearly 20% of the United States. It’s easy to see why these two words are so often conflated and frequently confused. But Hispanic and Latino …
Which word rules your part of the town? March is bracket season, and Dictionary.com has assembled a field of 32 of the most iconic local slang from around the country, separated out between the West, Northeast, South, and Midwest. Now it’s up to you to vote on which regional lingo (and region) reigns supreme! Winner Y’all The people have spoken and y’all won Best Regional …
When you look up words on Dictionary.com, you’ll encounter all kinds of labels on terms and their definitions. Taken in combination with the definitions, these labels are intended to help you understand how words are used. Some labels, like noun and verb, are straightforward, but the meanings of others, such as Disparaging, Archaic, and Literary, may be much less obvious. To help clarify and demystify …
Chances are, when you started reading you encountered plenty of new words. That’s great for you—you were learning, after all—but here’s the catch. Your skill at pronouncing these words didn’t necessarily keep up with your reading skills, leading to some funny mishaps. Did colonel’s pronunciation confuse you? What about choir? Or hors’d’oeuvres? (Did you try “horse divorce” or “hers dervs”?) This might seem silly now, but …
