Tag Archives: interest-history
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“Dissent” vs. “Protest”: Why Choosing The Right Word Matters
Demonstrations against racism and police brutality have put the words dissent and protest at the center of our vocabulary this year. Dictionary.com has seen a surge of interest in these words, which speak to their relevance to our current times. The death of George Floyd—a Black man who was killed after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes—has inspired worldwide protests that continue …
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The Origin Of The Phrase “Thirty Days Hath September”
Just about every elementary schooler learns the months of the year with an easy rhyme: “Thirty days has [or hath] September, April, June, and November. All the rest have 31, except February …” How exactly does it end? That depends on how you learned the poem, but one common version goes: “All the rest have 31 / But February’s 28 / The leap year, which comes once …
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What Character Was Removed From The Alphabet?
Johnson & Johnson, Barnes & Noble, Dolce & Gabbana: the ampersand today is used primarily in business names, but that small character was actually once the 27th member of the alphabet. Where did it come from though? The origin of its name is almost as bizarre as the name itself. Where did ampersand come from? The shape of the character (&) predates the word ampersand by more …
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Why Do We Have “Red States” And “Blue States”?
If you’ve watched (or even tried to avoid) the news as a presidential election heats up, you’re probably well aware that political pundits like to use the color red to represent the Republican Party and blue for the Democratic Party. A “red state” votes Republican in presidential elections and Senate races, while a “blue state” leans Democratic. No matter which news program you favor, they …
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What Does Freedom Of Speech Mean?
Which amendment gives us freedom of speech? Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. —First Amendment to the Constitution We Americans love to refer to the First …
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What Is “GOP” Short For?
The origins of the Democratic and Republican parties tell an interesting story. They both developed from the same political group, the Democratic–Republicans Party led by Thomas Jefferson in the 1790s and early 1800s. Who knew that these two opposing parties were once on the same side of the political spectrum? One unique part of the Republican Party’s history, however, is its nickname: the GOP. Where …
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“Democrat” vs. “Republican”: Where Did The Parties Get Their Names?
In the United States, the words Democrat and Republican are used to refer to members of the two major American political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The general, lowercase senses of the English words democratic and republican actually have long, complex histories that go far beyond red and blue states or donkeys and elephants. Let’s take a closer look at where these …
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Nazi vs. Fascist: Is There Really A Difference?
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 …
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Lethologica vs. Lethonomia: What’s The Difference?
The word was there a second ago. You were just about to say it. And then poof, it was gone, like a gnat buzzing just out of your reach when you’re about to smack it mid-air. So what the heck is going on. Is there a word to describe what you meant to say when you just can’t remember that word? Well, yes! It was …
