65: Integral Integrate Integrity, Feb 11, 2015
Greetings all. The words 'integral', 'integrate', and 'integrity' all
look and sound fairly similar. Still, the adjectival form of 'integrity'
is not 'integral', but in fact, 'integrable'. Due to the three words
having different meanings, and because 'integrity' is not the nounal
form of 'integrate', nor is 'integral' the adjectival form of
'integrate', it would seem safe to assume that these words are
unrelated, but this is not the case. All the words share the same
origin. They all come from the from Latin verb "integrare", which came
from the word 'integer', meaning 'whole'.
64: curmudgeon Feb 10, 2015
Hello everyone, today's word is 'curmudgeon', meaning "a bad-tempered or
surly person". The word is understood to be derived from the French,
"coeur méchant", meaning "evil heart". The word first entered English
through Johnson's Dictionary, in 1755. In 1775, the word was used and
became widely known when the rip-off dictionary, Ash's Dictionary, was
published.
63: pizza Feb 9, 2015
Howdy everyone, and happy National Pizza Day. The word 'pizza' comes
from the Italian, literally translating to 'pie'. As such, it would be a
bit redundant to say "pizza pie", as many often do.
62: -Or and -Rix Feb 8, 2015
Many
positions in which the form for men ends with '-or', such as aviator,
end in '-rix'. This comes from the Latin feminine case endings. However,
there are some words such as 'actress' and 'waitress' that do not
follow that rule. The reason is because the 'rix' sound is more
difficult to pronounce than 'ress', and over time, common words changed
due to this ease. Less common words do not change, such as 'aviatrix',
and 'executrix'.
61: Cool Feb 7, 2015
Hello everyone, and make sure to stay warm on these cold days. Today
Word Facts will cover the difference between 'cold' and the informal
usage of 'cool'. 'Cool' is used often to describe something that is
excellent or impressive, in whatever context it may be. The term 'cold'
means "lacking affection or warmth of feeling". There is no reason for
this extreme difference on seemingly similar words because 'cool' is a
slang term.
60: S Feb 6, 2015
Most languages that are common today are able to be written. In the
English alphabet, Etruscan, some letters can be written more efficiently
than others, and some letters are taught to be written inefficiently to
children. Most schools and handwriting books teach children to write
the letter 's' and the letter 'f' from top to bottom. This is to be in
accordance with the rule of writing letters top to bottom in cursive.
When writing the letter 's', rather than the common method
of crossing over the empty space for a letter, writing the letter
itself, and then finishing it by now crossing over the letter 's', to
then right the next letter. It is more efficient to write letters left
to write, and in the case of 's', bottom to top, as that is how
sentences and words in English are read. Fight the system, and don't
write these letters as they are taught in school!
59: penitentiary Feb 5, 2015
For a long time, prisons were meant to punish criminals, having them do
pointless tasks, and living in terrible conditions. In Pennsylvania, the
Quakers made a new kind of prison. The walls were built one and a half
feet thick so the prisoners could sit and be 'penitent'. This is where
the word 'penitentiary' comes from.
58: flirt Feb 4, 2015
Today's
word is 'flirt'. It comes from the Italian referring to flowers, and
was originally pronounced 'flērt' as opposed to "flərt". In Spanish, a
phrase "echar flores" meaning "to throw flowers" would be used to mean
the complimenting of a female stranger.
57: In the Closet Feb 3, 2015
Every
language has its idioms, and English is no exception. Some are surely
bewildering to foreign speakers, idioms such as "the cats pajamas". What
will be covered today is the metaphoric 'closet', in the sense of "a
state of secrecy or concealment, esp. about one's homosexuality".
The term 'closet' was not always used to mean simply a cupboard or wardrobe. The original sense was a small private room, such as one for study or prayer. It is this sense of privacy and seclusion which led to the idea of hiding a fact or keeping something secret, which goes right back to the beginning of the 17th century. A person who is keeping his or her homosexuality a secret from others, therefore, is described "as in the closet", or as "a closet homosexual".
The term 'closet' was not always used to mean simply a cupboard or wardrobe. The original sense was a small private room, such as one for study or prayer. It is this sense of privacy and seclusion which led to the idea of hiding a fact or keeping something secret, which goes right back to the beginning of the 17th century. A person who is keeping his or her homosexuality a secret from others, therefore, is described "as in the closet", or as "a closet homosexual".
56: groundhog Feb 2, 2015
Happy Groundhog Day everyone. The tradition which made this American
and Canadian national holiday what it is today is a German one. It came
over as the Germans settled in the hills of Pennsylvania. This is why
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has been chosen as the site for the annual
Groundhog day event.
The word 'groundhog', which is just another term for 'woodchuck', or 'land-beaver', and (known colloquially as) a 'whistlepig', was derived in the late 18th century from the words 'ground' and 'hog', on account of the fact that they are rodents that live in holes in the ground. This very literal etymology differs from the creature's other name, 'woodchuck' which is derived from the Algonquin name 'wuchak'.
The word 'groundhog', which is just another term for 'woodchuck', or 'land-beaver', and (known colloquially as) a 'whistlepig', was derived in the late 18th century from the words 'ground' and 'hog', on account of the fact that they are rodents that live in holes in the ground. This very literal etymology differs from the creature's other name, 'woodchuck' which is derived from the Algonquin name 'wuchak'.
55: february Feb 1, 2015
Hello all, and happy first day of February. The word 'February' comes
from Middle English 'feverer', based on Latin 'februarius', from
'februa', the name of a purification feast held in this month.
The word 'February' can be pronounced with a silent 'r', due to the nature of the word, and the difficulty that comes with pronouncing it phonetically. This does not mean that pronouncing the 'r' would be correct or incorrect, because both are acceptable.
The word 'February' can be pronounced with a silent 'r', due to the nature of the word, and the difficulty that comes with pronouncing it phonetically. This does not mean that pronouncing the 'r' would be correct or incorrect, because both are acceptable.
54: Flammable versus Inflammable Jan 31, 2015
If ever you need to see why English is just so confusing and downright
awful, this is your post. However much these two words would appear by
grammatical rules to be opposite, the word 'flammable' meaning "easily
set on fire", has the same definition as the word 'inflammable'. In
addition to this lexical atrocity, the phrase "I can't hardly stand it"
means the same thing as "I can hardly stand it".
53: malarkey Jan 30, 2015
The word today is 'malarkey'. It originated in the 1920's and is a less
crude way of saying 'bullshit'. In addition there are many other words
such as 'bologna', 'hogwash' and many other that are somewhat more
decent ways to say the same word.
52: nostril Jan 29, 2015
Today's word is 'nostril'. It comes from the Old English 'nosthyrl'
meaning "nose hole". This is rather self explanatory, although few parts
of the body are so very literal.
51: kazoo Jan 28, 2015
Happy National Kazoo Day. It is also National Blueberry Pancake Day, and
National Fun at Work Day. The word 'kazoo' originated in the late
1800's, and its name denotes the sound it makes, which is evidently,
"kazoo".
50: Affect versus Effect Jan 27, 2015
Hello everyone, today Word Facts will cover the difference between
'affect' and 'effect'. As a verb, to 'affect' means "to act upon or have
an influence on". To 'effect' means "to bring about or create"
If one affects something, one does to it. If one effect something, one causes it to be. Where this becomes confused in people's minds is that as a noun, an "effect" is that which is produced when you affect something. 'Affect' as a noun is a term from the field of psychotherapy. In general, it is more common to use 'affect' when using a verb and 'effect' when used as a noun.
If one affects something, one does to it. If one effect something, one causes it to be. Where this becomes confused in people's minds is that as a noun, an "effect" is that which is produced when you affect something. 'Affect' as a noun is a term from the field of psychotherapy. In general, it is more common to use 'affect' when using a verb and 'effect' when used as a noun.
49: wank Jan 26, 2015
Hello, the word today is the last day of curse week. The word today is
'wank'. This term is British and is a vulgar slang meaning to
masturbate. This word, unlike most curse word, even slang words, is
relatively new. Use of the word began in the 1940's.
48: damn Jan 25, 2015
Hello, the word today is 'damn'. It comes from Latin 'damnare' meaning
"to inflict loss on,’ from 'damnum' meaning ‘loss, damage'. This word
can act as a adjective, exclamation, and verb. The word condemn is a
related word, and originates from adding "con" to 'damnum', as in Latin,
to express importance and force, a prefix "con" would be added.
47: asshole Jan 24, 2015
Hello everyone, this word is 'asshole'. The term has always meant a vulgar word for 'anus', and comes from old Celtic 'assald'.
46: bitch Jan 24, 2015
Apologies for not having any Word Facts post yesterday. For that
reason there will be two posts today, one at 10:30 (this post) and one
at 5:30 p.m.
The word is 'bitch'. It comes from the Old English 'bicce' meaning, as it still does today, "female dog". How it became understood to mean "to express displeasure" [verb] and "a thing or situation that is unpleasant or difficult to deal with" [noun] is disputed, but the general consensus is that it originated from the phrase "that bitch could bite".
The word is 'bitch'. It comes from the Old English 'bicce' meaning, as it still does today, "female dog". How it became understood to mean "to express displeasure" [verb] and "a thing or situation that is unpleasant or difficult to deal with" [noun] is disputed, but the general consensus is that it originated from the phrase "that bitch could bite".