Is that farming tool with a curved blade a sickle or a scythe? We ask ourselves that question all the time, and apparently so do you. The difference is important: one is associated with the Grim Reaper, the cloaked personification of death who’s always shown holding it, and the other is associated with Communism, particularly the flag of the former Soviet Union. Plus, there are …
![List of words in outlined font, with central word in bold white font, on lilac background: “Janus word, buzzword, cussword, counterword [in bold], weasel word, nonce word, codeword"](https://www.dictionary.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/20220428_counterWords_800x800-380x380.png)
We love all kinds of words: big words, small words, words with silent vowels, and even the word moist. With that in mind, we wanted to find words that feature the word word in them. Without getting too wordy, we managed to find words like foreword, afterword, and doubleword that fit our criterion of being a word with the word word in the word. Being …
by Min Straussman The language of queer identity is constantly evolving and expanding, and there will always be new terminology to learn. Pride Month is the perfect opportunity to increase understanding and awareness of the kind of emerging and newly prominent terms that we’re constantly adding to our Gender and Sexuality Dictionary. Language is an important part of how queer people, and particularly nonbinary and …
If you haven’t visited a classroom in years, you might be surprised to discover surprising new approaches to education. Do you know what microlearning is? Does you child’s school favor personalized or experiential learning? Is asynchronous learning the same as distance education? Learning has come a long way since the days of reciting times tables in the brick school house or getting chalky hands while …
While there’s an undeniable draw to outdoor activities in the summer sunshine, winter brings its own set of beloved sports. And some of the most popular around the world, of course, are featured in the Winter Olympics every four years. In 2022, some of the world’s best winter athletes showcased their skills in skating, skiing, sledding, and snowboarding competitions in Beijing. Whether you’re a regular …
Both crevasse and crevice refer to cracks in things, but their meanings are not exactly the same. And neither are their pronunciations. In this article, we’ll break down the distinctions, explain how the difference in pronunciation can help you remember the difference in meaning, and reveal which one is big enough for you to fall into. A crevasse, [ kruh–vas ] with a second syllable …
Catty It seems horribly unfair to adorable cats that catty is a human descriptor meaning “devious or spiteful” (and usually in reference to female behavior). What gives? The word cat has been around since the year 700. But then, in the Middle Ages, cat became one of the many offensive terms against women and was slang for “prostitute.” The association might have been made because …
One recipe says to roast the chicken breasts in the oven at 400° F. Another recipe calls for the chicken breasts to be baked … in the oven… at 400°. What’s going on here? Are roast and bake really interchangeable, or are there subtle differences? The answer is both. In this article, we’ll break down the multiple meanings of both roast and bake, what the …
Sanskrit is an ancient language that dates back to the Bronze Age. It is the language at the root of many languages of the Indian subcontinent, including Hindi, and it is used in ancient literary texts and sacred texts of the Hindu and Buddhist religions, particularly the Vedas. The holy and poetic nature of the language is hinted at in the meaning and origin of …
Every four years, the presidential inauguration captures the attention of people in the United States. Some tune in to the televised event for the eye-catching ceremony, crowds, and parties. Others are most looking forward to the swearing-in. Yet regardless of what people tune in for, the whole swearing in part is sometimes confused with the inauguration itself. Which makes you wonder: what is the inauguration and …
“See Spot. See Spot run. Run, Spot, run!” It’s easy to think children’s book authors always minimize the difficulty of vocabulary words to suit their young audiences. That’s certainly the case for easy-reader board books, like the classic See Spot Run, a go-to for youngest readers. But, some authors of classic children’s literature refuse to dumb down their language for their readers, no matter the …
Words are powerful, and a masterful use of words can change the world. At the same time, words have a fun side to them too. While the English language often seems to exist purely to confuse us, English also has a silly side that can make us laugh and smile. Are you skeptical? Well, we have dug deep into the English toy box to find …