My use of the word factoid in the sense of “a little fact” in a recent post earned me considerable disapproval from my readers. Here are just two examples: Really, Maeve, “FACTOID?!?” So you mean to say you are lying to us? You mean to say those are not facts, but, like asteroids or humanoids, … Read more
The old word imbue seems to be taking on new meanings. First let’s look at the only definitions currently given in the OED: imbue (transitive verb) 1. To saturate, wet thoroughly (with moisture); to dye, tinge, impregnate (with color or some physical quality). 2. To impregnate, permeate, pervade, or inspire (with opinions, feelings, habits, etc.). … Read more
Among the many Latin words that inform the English vocabulary are several that derive from Roman words for colors. 1. White Latin albus gives us: alb (noun): a white vestment reaching the feet and enveloping the entire body, worn by clergy, servers, and others taking part in church services. album (noun): a bound or loose-leaf … Read more
A reader expressed her disappointment when I left guru off my list of English words that end in u. I’ll endeavor to make up for the omission with this post about guru and other terms for teachers. 1. teacher I’ll begin with the generic word teacher, an Old English word related to token. A token … Read more
The word round is the ideal word to illustrate the fact that a word is not a part of speech until it is used in a sentence. Of the eight classic parts of speech–noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, pronoun, and interjection–round can function as five of them. 1. Round as Noun We speak of … Read more
Although not hearing impaired, I watch television with captions enabled. I like to see how words are spelled and how the running text differs from what is actually said by the actors and presenters. When I began to notice a frequency of the spelling gonna for “going to,” I decided to do a little research. … Read more
The comment of a new U.S. resident telling about how he obtained residency got me thinking about the difficulties that ESL learners must have with phrasal verbs built on stand: A Vincentian priest at the parish stood in for me as a witness when I became a resident. With the help of several people in … Read more