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Word of the Day
LEGERDEMAIN (Noun, English) Skilled, dexterous use of the hands when performing magical tricks. Has also taken on a pejorative meaning of deceit or trickery. Note: Cited originally in English during the 16th century. From the French phrase 'léger de main' (light of hand).
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Category Archives: history of language
The Hidden Past of Words: English final -y
Consider the following list of everyday English words: memory, happy, baby, crazy, victory, city, silly, puppy, army For starters, they all end in -y and they can be grouped further as nouns (memory, baby, victory, city, puppy, army) or adjectives … Continue reading
Nutty Nomenclature
Have you ever wondered why walnuts have surfaces with ridges and grooves whereas almost all other nuts are smooth? Pecans have rows of ridges, but hazel nuts, cashews, brazil nuts, almonds, macademia nuts and pistachios are all smooth, even though … Continue reading
Posted in etymology, history of language, names, Word Usage
Tagged etymology, filbert, hazelnut, name origins, nuts, walnut
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Word Relics
Today’s word of the day is fortnight. When I first heard this word as a kid, I immediately concluded it had something to do with forts and battlements, some length of time during which soldiers of kings did something or … Continue reading
Posted in etymology, history of language, word meaning
Tagged etymology, language change
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Among and Amongst
English usage seems to be getting hipper and leaner. We’ve nearly lost our subjunctive mood (how many American English speakers even recognize this construction on the printed page?) and whom should certainly be on the List of Endangered Words. (Is … Continue reading
Posted in history of language, language change, social context of language
Tagged amongst, case endings, word usage
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