Topic : Vocabulary

2 3 4 5 6 Displaying 22-28 of 777 Articles

Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

In a First, the Word of the Year is a Hashtag: "#blacklivesmatter"
Sat Jan 10 00:00:00 EST 2015
By Ben Zimmer

The American Dialect Society made its 25th annual selection for Word of the Year, and for the first time the winner was actually a Twitter hashtag: #blacklivesmatter. Even though the socially conscious slogan is formed by combining three words, as a hashtag it was converted into something linguistically innovative, attracting the attention of the assorted language scholars who gathered for the vote at the society's annual meeting in Portland, Oregon.  Continue reading...
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Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

Presenting the Nominees for 2014 Word of the Year
Fri Jan 09 00:00:00 EST 2015
By Ben Zimmer

Greetings from Portland, Oregon, where the American Dialect Society is holding its annual conference. On Thursday, in my capacity as chair of the society's New Words Committee, I presided over the nominating session for various categories in our Word of the Year selection.  Continue reading...
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Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

Looking Back on the Vortex of Words in 2014
Mon Dec 22 00:00:00 EST 2014
By Ben Zimmer

It's time once again for the annual look back at the noteworthy words of the past year. Did you indulge in any manspreading or Columbusing this year? Were you concerned about dark money or plastigomerate? Here's a veritable vortex of words that rose to prominence in 2014.  Continue reading...
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Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

How Did "Quantum" Come to Mean "Really Big"?
Mon Nov 10 00:00:00 EST 2014
By Merrill Perlman

Verizon offers "Even faster FiOS Quantum Internet" speeds. Duracell has a new Quantum alkaline battery. James Bond had his Quantum of Solace. Any number of companies have "quantum" in their names as well. The implication is that "quantum" is something big and powerful, with a hint of science behind it.  Continue reading...
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Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

Don't Confuse Astrologers and Astronomers!
Thu Oct 30 00:00:00 EDT 2014
By Mignon Fogarty

Here's the latest in our series of quick tips on usage and style shared by Mignon Fogarty, better known as Grammar Girl. Mignon points out a common confusion that might leave you star-crossed.  Continue reading...
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Language Lounge

A Monthly Column for Word Lovers

Outreach for Shut-Ins: The Joy of English "Mashups"
Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014
By Orin Hargraves

One of the delightful features of English is what we might call a mashup. That's a good term for this type of word because it exemplifies the phenomenon: a word formed by the fusing of a verb and a particle, nearly always a particle that can operate independently as a preposition or an adverb, sometimes as both.  Continue reading...
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Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

Your Head Will Spin: "Naught," "Aught," and "Ought"
Mon Sep 29 00:00:00 EDT 2014
By Merrill Perlman

"I ought to know better, but I know naught about the difference between aught and nought" is a sentence sure to make more than one head spin.  Continue reading...
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