This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for July 19–July 25, 2026

Astronomers identified a planet with all three traits needed to make it amenable to life. Known as LHS 1140b, the rocky planet is 48 light years from Earth and orbits its star at a distance making it neither too hot nor too cold to be habitable. For life to exist, planets need a temperature that allows liquid water; a rocky composition; and an atmosphere. Scientists were thrilled to discover a helium atmosphere around LHS 1140b, making its conditions potentially favorable to life forms.

A new study suggests that royal Egyptian women who lived 4,000 years ago were skilled at archery. In the past, experts believed that the bows and arrows buried with princesses were symbolic. Examining scans of the mummified remains of four daughters of the pharaoh Amenemhat II, archaeologists saw healed bone fractures and strong muscle attachments — evidence they would have been more than capable of hunting with bows and arrows. The Latin root of archery means "bow."

Canadian wildfires continued to burn, most in such remote locations that they couldn't be controlled by firefighters. Many of the current fires were ignited by lightning in the combustible pine and spruce forests of far northern Ontario. Fueled by dry, highly flammable trees, these blazes are completely inaccessible by road. Water-dropping planes can't extinguish them without help from ground crews. The Latin root of combustible is comburere, "to burn up or consume."

Spain beat Argentina to win the World Cup in the team's 38th consecutive match without a loss. The victory broke the record for the most wins in a row, which was previously held by Italy. Spain also became the first team to concede just a single goal during the World Cup, which it did in its match against Belgium. Consecutive derives from Latin roots com, "together," and sequi, "to follow."

A water main break caused Hollywood's Sunset Strip to briefly become a gushing river. The deluge flooded underground garages, cafes, and shops, with water pouring from the damaged pipe for about six hours. In the aftermath of the flood, an enormous sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard closed several streets for days; though no one was injured, about 200 cars were destroyed by the torrent of water. The Latin diluere, "wash away," is the root of deluge.

A new summer dress code allowing Japanese government office workers to wear shorts has prompted debate over office etiquette. The new policy is meant to save energy and make offices more comfortable, but it marks a big change in traditional workplace conventions and manners. So many women have objected to seeing the bare legs of their male colleagues that the media coined the term sune-hara, "leg-hair harassment."

For the first time, a team of astronomers detected sugar molecules in interstellar space. Scientists suspect that sugar, which is necessary for new life to form, originally arrived on Earth via asteroids or comets. Evidence of sugar in the dust and gas in the center of the Milky Way, between solar systems, offers new clues about how life emerged on our planet. The Latin roots of interstellar are inter, "between," and stella, "star."

Participants in the Lumberjack World Championships in Hayward, Wisconsin, tested their sawing and chopping skills and also tried their hand at logrolling and woodcarving. Armed with professional chainsaws and enormous, two-person handsaws, competitors vied to be named champion loggers. Lumberjack was first used in Canada, from lumber, "wood planks," and jack, "man or fellow."

Paleontologists were perturbed when an important Tyrannosaurus rex fossil was purchased by a private, anonymous buyer instead of a museum. The T. rex, nicknamed Gus, sold for a record $50 million. Because it is unlikely to be available for research or public viewing, many scientists were upset and angry at Sotheby's, the auction house that made the sale. The Latin source of perturb is perturbare, "to confuse, disorder, or disturb."

Researchers unveiled a new robot that's modeled on a puffin. Like the stocky little seabirds, the robot is able to fly, dive into the water, swim, and emerge gracefully back into the air. Researchers hope to improve their study of ocean habitats using the invention, which can move in water without disturbing plants or animals. Like puffins, the device is waterproof and winged, but many would argue that it's not nearly as adorable as the distinctive black and white birds.