Stationary and stationery are just one letter off, but that seemingly small difference changes the meaning of these words entirely. These two terms share the Latin root statiōnārius, which derives from the word station meaning “a standing place.” What does stationary mean? Stationary with an a is the older of these two terms, and it means “fixed in one place and not moving,” like a …
From college admissions to carbon emissions, it seems society these days is facing a myriad of challenges … or is it myriad challenges? Thanks, myriad. As if we don’t have enough to deal with. Most of us have heard of the word myriad … but can you use it in a sentence? Well, we’re going help make at least one thing simpler and get to the bottom of this …
You would not be wrong if you interchange loan and lend—they do in fact mean the same thing in most instance. The words loan and loaned are the present and past tenses of to loan. Lend and lent are the present and past tenses of to lend. As verbs, loan and lend are often used interchangeably. For example, “A bank loans people money to buy a home. …
Where do the words gift and present come from? Why does English use both? We’re pretty sure it’s not just so that children can ask for toys in multiple ways … Language is not a linear, predestined development. Even though it may feel as if the language we speak is in some way the logical conclusion of thousands of years of development, every word that …
What’s the difference between i.e. and e.g.? They may be small, but their power to befuddle writers and speakers of the English language is mighty. The term i.e. is a shortening of the Latin expression id est, which translates to “that is.” It is used to introduce a rephrasing or elaboration on something that has already been stated. The term e.g. is an abbreviation of …
At the beginning of Daylight-Saving Time, we all spring our clocks forward one hour … and gripe about losing an hour of sleep. Then, we all turn around a few months later, fall back, and thank our lucky stars that we get some extra shuteye. The official term for it is daylight-saving time or daylight-savings time (because we all ended up saying this version more … …
Spelling is how we put words together, but what is phonetic spelling? An alternate way to create words? Well, yes! What is phonetic spelling? Phonetic spelling is a system of spelling in which each letter represents one spoken sound. In English, some words are pronounced exactly as they look. When T is used to spell tiger, the letter T is assigned one sound. Simple, right? Well, we …
How do I love thee? Let me count the schwas.Not exactly what Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote in Sonnet 43, but we like it all the same. Why? Because it finally pays tribute to the most frequent vowel sound in English: the schwa. What is the schwa and how does it sound? Simply put, the schwa is a reduced, neutral vowel sound written as an upside-down …
