Topic : Vocabulary

59 60 61 62 63 Displaying 421-427 of 777 Articles

Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

Are You Esurient for New Words?
Wed Dec 02 00:00:00 EST 2009
By Ben Zimmer

A couple of weeks ago, Merriam-Webster announced their top words of 2009 based on the intensity of lookups to its online dictionary and thesaurus. Now Dictionary.com has their own announcement of the most looked-up words of the past year. Though the main list is full of usual suspects like affect and effect (perennial stumpers even for native English speakers), the "top gainer" is a very unusual word: esurient, meaning 'extremely hungry; desirous; greedy.' What might explain the ravenous interest in this obscure term?  Continue reading...
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Language Lounge

A Monthly Column for Word Lovers

War and Words
Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2009
By Orin Hargraves

The National Museum of Language near Washington, D.C. is putting together an exhibit on the role of the War of 1812 in the development of American English, as we approach that war's bicentennial (or bicentenary, as they still say on the other side). In the Lounge we've been exploring ideas with the museum, and this month we wanted to share some of our findings.  Continue reading...
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Blog Excerpts

How We Got to "Hello"
Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2009

Have you ever wondered why we say "hello" when we answer the telephone? Nate Barksdale of the think tank Cardus takes a long look at the history of the greeting here.

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Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

Is There a Problem with "No Problem"?
Mon Nov 30 00:00:00 EST 2009
By Ben Zimmer

Visual Thesaurus subscriber "Curious Cat" has struck a nerve. Commenting on a Word Routes column last month about annoying words, "CC" wrote:

My bugbear: "No problem" in response to "Thank you" in restaurants. "You're welcome" is disappearing in this context. I assume that my business is not a problem.

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Wordshop

Vocab activities for your classroom

Paying Attention to Word Choice: One of the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing
Wed Nov 25 00:00:00 EST 2009
By Georgia Scurletis

According to educator and writer Ruth Culham "precise nouns, descriptive adjectives, and energetic verbs" are all examples of the rich language we should be encouraging students to develop as teachers emphasize "word choice" as one of the "6 + 1 traits of writing."  Continue reading...
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Dept. of Word Lists

Sipping and Supping at the Algonquin Club
Wed Nov 25 00:00:00 EST 2009
By Bob Greenman

These scenes from my life in Boston — when my wife Carol and I lived there many years ago and during our recent work there on "More Words That Make a Difference" — employ a number of words that appear in that book, with illustrative sentences from the Atlantic Monthly.  Continue reading...
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Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

Going Quant, Going Rogue
Tue Nov 24 00:00:00 EST 2009
By Ben Zimmer

When I read in the New York Times recently that everyone is going quant in "the Age of Metrics," my first thought was, "Is that anything like Sarah Palin going rogue?" What's going on with these new ways of going, anyhow?  Continue reading...
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