What comes to your mind when you see or hear the word Dracula? Probably vampires, right? But what about ruthless Romanian royalty … or dragons? It’s time for the story of Dracula—the word. Where does the character Dracula come from? We dress up as vampires on Halloween and watch dramas like True Blood thanks in large part to Irish author Bram Stoker, whose 1897 Gothic …
It didn’t take very long for the Netflix reboot of Queer Eye to sneak into America’s chests and start tugging those heartstrings. Now, with Season 4 out on July 19, 2019, we wanted to shine the spotlight on some of the lexical magic of the Fab Five.Spoiler alert … some Queer Eye plot points may be revealed. Grab your tissues and prepare for the ride.For …
Do you delight in drakes? Do you have a way with wyrms? If you are a lover of dragons, don’t just sit on your trove of draconic knowledge. Prove you are a true dragon master by taking our quiz that will test your knowledge of some of pop culture’s greatest dragons! (And if you need some help before you face the formidable quiz, check out …
Every March, people around the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with parades, street parties, festivals, sing-alongs, arts exhibitions, and yes, green rivers (such as the Chicago River, dyed green with what’s essentially food coloring). What began as a feast day for the patron saint of Ireland has evolved into a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and heritage—and it’s hard to resist the temptation to look …
Thirty years ago, in his 1993 song “Hip Hop vs. Rap,” hip-hop legend KRS-One summarized his view of the difference between the two: “Rap is something you do. Hip hop is something you live.” Today, 50 years after the date in 1973 that is considered the birth of hip-hop, the terms rap and hip-hop are still often used interchangeably and in distinct ways. Join us …
Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day are observed on the same day each year (the second Monday in October), but they aren’t simply different names for the same holiday. They’re two separate observances with different origins. Recently, the observance of Columbus Day has increasingly been replaced with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, including on the official calendars of many state governments, schools, businesses, and other organizations. There …
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) to the culture and history of America. For those who are not AAPI, this observance month also comes with the serious responsibility to acknowledge some of the complexities of these terms and consider better ways to use them. Recently in the US, there …
Language is constantly evolving, but there’s one type of language that so often changes even faster than the rest: slang. Every generation has its own unique slang words, and these terms seem to spring up faster than many people can keep up with. The popularity of TikTok and other social media trends has only made it easier for new slang to take hold, and if …
The word meme, coined in 1976 by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, goes way beyond social-media pixels. Meme captures the concept of “cultural transmission” of ideas in general, where customs and ideas spread from brain to brain. Which means memes have been around longer than Success Kid or Kermit sipping tea. Wildfire ideas have been around as long as humans have—in fact, discovering fire is …
Self-coup, latine, rage farming, petfluencer, nearlywed, hellscape, talmbout, cakeage. Explore the explosive variety of new terms and meanings just added to Dictionary.com. by Nick Norlen, Senior Editor Historically significant moments. Stunningly advanced AI. Very expensive eggs. There is a lot happening out there, seeming as if it’s everything, everywhere, all at once. The events are relentless, but so is the pace with which language adapts …
by Mariel Jungkunz Whatever you know about the Caribbean, there’s one key fact that may surprise you: there are more than 7,000 islands in the region. The region encompasses the entire Caribbean Sea, which is bound to the west by Mexico and Central America, to the north by Cuba, and to the south by South America. But it goes beyond the borders of this sea. …
