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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: Semantics
Word Purge
There is an online post at the British newspaper Guardian reporting on words to be excluded from new editions of dictionaries. The post invites readers to list their own choices for words they’d like removed from the English language. My … Continue reading
Posted in Semantics, social context of language, Word Usage
Tagged deleting words, dictionaries, word usage
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Linguistic Asymmetries
Have you ever noticed that, while some words which take a prefix seem to form nice pairings with opposite meaning polarity (tie/untie, compliance/noncompliance, tasteful/distasteful), other pairs don’t work this way? For example, there is nonplussed, but not plussed, insipid, but … Continue reading
Posted in etymology, language change, Semantics, Word Formation, Word Usage
Tagged back-formation, language change, recombobulation area, semantic pairs
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Reading the Signs
If you examine the wording on cautionary road signs, you’ll realize they aren’t wholly consistent. Yet as native speakers of English (or with working fluency of English) we usually have no trouble interpreting the intended meaning. The basic semantic task … Continue reading
Posted in Semantics, social context of language, symbols
Tagged ambiguity, linguistic context, meaning, road signs, symbols
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Go and Went
If you hear someone say ‘I goed’ and you are a fluent speaker of English, you probably assume it’s a child in the midst of learning their native tongue, albeit with a few over-generalizations of word-formation rules, or an adult … Continue reading
Posted in language change, Semantics
Tagged language change, linguistic merger, syncretism
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Recombinant Semantics
Playing with words and sentences is good exercise for the mind. Besides, it’s fun. Recently BBear (a Jumbles enthusiast) explained his version of a semantic game: take a passage (any passage you choose) and, using only the inventory of the … Continue reading
Word Travels 