Etymology is the study of the origins of words and how their usage has changed over time. It's every bit the serious academic discipline you might expect it to be — except when it's not. As it turns ...

Etymology is the study of the origins of words and how their usage has changed over time. It's every bit the serious academic discipline you might expect it to be — except when it's not. As it turns ...

We often hear fascinating stories about how things originated: the universe, the wheel, even pizza. But when it comes to the words we toss around every single day without a second thought, it’s wild ...

Philosophically speaking, a word is not simply a word in the sense that it just exists like a fixed cannon fodder, to be hurled back and forth in the premises of a conversation. Words hold context, ...

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring. Those who happen to be mused sufficiently in the art and science of etymology, the study of the origins and histories of words; those, in other words, ...

A new book exploring the origins of common food terms — from bialy to lima bean to bibimbap — is a fascinating history of how we eat and cook. By Kim Severson Used judiciously, the snappy tidbits of ...