Tensions are high on the Korean Peninsula. The aggression by North Korea on the South has captured the world’s attention and raised a number of questions about Korea’s history, names, and geography. Prior to 1910, Korea was a kingdom. Then, from 1910 to 1945, the country was under Japanese rule. At the end of World War II, the country was divided into two occupational zones along the …
After hours of calculation, deliberation, and lexical prestidigitation, we are pleased to reveal our selection for the 2010 Word of the Year. In 2010, millions of people visited Dictionary.com to learn the right spelling, pronunciation, or definition of millions of words. Our Word of the Year directly reflects the hard work of our users—a word that experienced a surge of look-ups in the past 12 months. …
For the last 14 years, Jack was the most common boy’s name in England and Wales. Last year, though, Oliver overtook Jack to take the top spot. There’s a more interesting story, though, in the statistics: over 7,000 newborn boys in Britain were given one of 12 variations of the name Mohammed, such as Muhammad or Mohammad. Combined, these forms place it in the top …
Thirty-two years ago, Keith “Cowboy” Wiggins, who was a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, was teasing a friend. The friend had just signed up to serve in the U.S. Army. Cowboy was mimicking the rhythm of marching soldiers by scat singing “hip hop hip hop.” He later used the phrase in a performance. Then the name began to be used by disco …
No letter in the English language gets around like X. The 24th letter of the alphabet shows up everywhere, from the popular Xbox to standing in for a signature on legal documents. It represents a chromosome, signifies the multiplication process, and marks “the spot” on treasure maps. Let’s explore just a few of the uses of this versatile letter.
As you may suspect, the term “ballroom dancing” originates with the word “ball.” But what you may not know is that “ball” comes from the Latin word ballare, which means “to dance.” So what about all those dances performed in the ballroom? How did they get their names? The waltz The waltz is now considered a harmless, traditional type of ballroom dancing. But in 1825, it …
The common cholesterol drug Lipitor was recently subject to a recall due to reports from consumers about a “musty” odor associated with the bottles. We aren’t interested in the drug — this post concerns stink, stench, aroma. Smell may be the hardest sense to describe in words, which is why we are eager to take a whiff. The sense of smell is known as olfaction …
These days, giving birth to twins is increasingly common. As many as 5 out of every 1,000 babies born shared a womb with their sibling. While cute and adorable are some starter words to use when welcoming new babies, here’s a look at the lexicon to haul out when welcoming multiples! Fraternal twins vs. identical twins Fraternal twins are twins who derive from separately fertilized …
A few years back, after the release of his short film “Runaway,” rap impresario Kanye West found himself busy quashing rumors that he practices devil worship and is part of the notorious Illuminati. The gossip was sparked by references in “Runaway” to that elusive organization. West expressed confusion about the Illuminati. Is it connected to supposed devil worship? What does the word signify? The Illuminati refers to several different groups. The …
What is cacography? To answer this question, let’s look at one of our favorite authors: Jane Austen. She was known for her clean and eloquent prose and giving us such classics as Persuasion and Mansfield Park. But it seems the great novelist’s editor likely played a bigger role in Austen’s literary pursuits then previously thought. In fact, it seems that Austen may have been guilty of …
On December 21, 1817, the poet John Keats wrote a letter to his brother in which he expressed and named a quality of human existence that’s tricky to articulate. Keats’ formulation has been adopted by philosophers, poets, and others ever since. How did Keats make up a new concept? Keats wanted to name our ability to simultaneously acknowledge the unpredictable nature of events and conduct ourselves with confidence and …
Behind the simplest words one can often find the most compelling questions. Take for example, dog. Canis familiaris, also known as dog, is essentially a domesticated wolf. The dog is a member of the Canidae family, like the jackal and the fox. The word dog presents a mystery, though: linguists have not identified its roots, nor any English words related to it. The same goes for …
