According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, "e.g." is taken from the Latin phrase exempli gratia, which translates to ...

One possible explanation comes with the slang term for food. Spud was used to describe a potato as far back as the 1800s. The ...

Like any self-respecting four-letter word, "nice" has many connotations. Centuries ago, "nice" meant someone was ignorant; ...

"It's from the Latin nescius, meaning ignorant or unaware, essentially," says Jess Zafarris, an author of etymology books ... according to the Oxford English Dictionary. For much of that early ...

I f you’ve ever said something like “I haven’t gotten a parking ticket in years” and then immediately followed it by saying “knock on wood!” while tapping a wooden des ...

An illustration of a magnifying glass. An illustration of a magnifying glass.

What did William Shakespeare actually sound like? If you've only heard his plays in modern British or American accents, you're missing a vital piece of the puzzle. In this fascinating deep dive, we ...

What did the ancient Greeks and Egyptians call the pyramids, and what did these ancient words originally mean?

The premature death of Italo Calvino made front-page news in Italy. In the Corriere della Sera John Updike, the writer responsible for introducing him to the Americans, wrote that Calvino’s death had ...

The Oxford dictionary of American art and artists Bookreader Item Preview ... English Item Size 1.1G Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2011-09-19 17:28:15 Boxid IA171101 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark ...