Every May in the United States, Americans observe Older Americans Month, a month-long observance devoted to celebrating older Americans and their contributions and raising awareness about issues related to age and aging. This makes May an important time during which to consider language used to talk about older people and ageism—which we should be doing every month of the year, too! This topic matters because …
So, about that season formerly-known-as lent … Originally, spring was known as lent, or the lenten season, which came from the Old English lengten, which means “to make longer or greater in length.” It is no surprise that the season was originally named after the fact that the days were getting longer. After all, back then natural sunlight and candlelight would have been the only light …
What do hunting and sexual desires have in common? We could point to several things, but from a linguistic point of view, we’re referring to the archaic word venery, which means both hunting (from the Latin venor) and sexual desire (from Latin veneria, referring to Venus). Strangely, terms of venery is a collective noun that means a group of animals. And, many of these animal …
Those who attended the University of Maryland or are familiar with this institution know to “fear the turtle.” Thanks to their trusty mascot, Testudo, this slogan is a favorite of students and fans. But is Testudo the terrapin actually a turtle or a tortoise? And is there even a difference between them? Let’s take a closer look. What is a turtle? Turtles and tortoises are …
When it comes to making a new friend, would you say she has proven trustworthy or she has proved trustworthy? The common phrase innocent until proven guilty may come to mind—so does this mean proven is acceptable and proved is not? The answer may surprise you. Although we sincerely hope you don’t have reason to use this particular legal phrase in your own personal life, you should …
People in the Western world debate many things, from whether cheesecake is actually a cake to which airplane seat is the best—aisle or the window? What year it is generally does not fall into the category of debated facts. However, how to refer to said year and the past years from ancient history—BC and AD or BCE and CE—does. Both sets of abbreviations have history. One …
Christmas is a Christian holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity. Most Christians celebrate the holiday on December 25. (Fun fact: it is actually celebrated on January 7 in the Orthodox Church due to the use of a different calendar.) Everyone knows this holiday as Christmas, right? But did you know there’s also another name for it? First, what does …
A cake can turn any common gathering into a celebration. Simply offering cake can turn an event into a party, and the word itself evokes happy memories of birthdays, weddings, and other festivities (though the phrase let them eat cake has quite a different connotation). Yet what you should expect to see when someone says there will be cake is somewhat up in the air … …
While enjoying a dip in the ocean, there’s one thing you definitely don’t want to see: a shark fin in the water. The same thing can be said about a dip in a lake or pond—only the creature you want to avoid happens to be a massive reptile instead. But is the animal who glides along the swampy waters with just its eyes showing a …
Raise your hand if you’ve ever made an exploding volcano. For a lot of us, that volcano project was a key milestone of our science fair years. (And if you didn’t build it, chances are, one of your classmates definitely did.) As you might recall, the project requires a few key ingredients, including dish soap, white vinegar, baking soda, and food coloring. All of these are assembled …