Word of the Week
Word history and etymology
Have you ever wondered when certain words started to be used in certain ways? Or how they even came about? If they’re related to other, similar-sounding words?
I wonder these things all the time. And so, for years I’ve been gathering interesting words together, looking at the etymology, and posting them in fun, bite-sized posts called Word of the Week. Here you’ll find everything from which definition of a word pre-dates another, to how certain holiday words came about, to what the original meaning was of something we use a lot today but in a very different way. And of course, the surprising words that we think are new but in fact are pretty ancient, like “wow”!
Word of the Week – Alchemy
It’s no surprise that the word “dandelion” is old…but do you know what it literally means?
Word of the Week – Dandelion
It’s no surprise that the word “dandelion” is old…but do you know what it literally means?
Word of the Week – Diploma
When we think of a “diploma,” we have a very specific document in mind…but did you know the word was originally much broader?
Word of the Week – Season (Archive)
Originally published July 2018 Before bed one night, while we were waiting for his sister to finish washing her face and brushing her teeth, my son and I were coming up with silly reasons for each season’s name. It began with the easy-to-determine fall. “Hey!” Rowyn...
Word of the Week – Coffee (Archive)
Last published June 2017. I've featured this word a few times now before, and I know much of my readership has changed over the years. And let’s be honest–coffee deserves to be featured again. Because it’s one of the most beautiful creations in the universe. 😉 The...
Word of the Week – Surf (Archive)
Originally Published September 2019 Surf began its life as a noun meaning “waves coming ashore” in about 1680, though it was quite likely a variation on suffe, from the 1590s. Where did it come from? No one’s quite sure. But it was originally used to describe the...
Word of the Week (Archive) – From Scratch
Ever wonder why when something comes easily, we say they win “hands down”? Turns out it’s from horse racing!
Word of the Week – Hands Down
Ever wonder why when something comes easily, we say they win “hands down”? Turns out it’s from horse racing!
Word of the Week – Lullaby
When we think about a “lullaby,” we immediately remember soft, soothing music meant to encourage rest and sleep. But…why that word?
Word of the Week – Tawdry
Tawdry isn’t a word we use a whole lot these days, but its fascinating history makes me want to use it more!
Word of the Week – Bad
Sometimes looking up the etymology of words as common as “bad” yield some unexpected results…and so it is here!
Word of the Week – Thing
Thing. It’s one of those words we use so much that it’s nearly meaningless…but in fact, it began its life as a very particular THING.
Word of the Week – Mortgage
I daresay we all know that mortgages are a mixed blessing and burden…but did you know that the very word speaks of death?
Word of the Week – Dashboard
Like many of our automotive words, “dashboard” actually has its origins in the days of wagons and carriages!
Word of the Week – Cliché
Did you know that the literal meaning of “helicopter” is “spriral winged thing”? And the root words don’t break where you might think.
Word of the Week – Helicopter
Did you know that the literal meaning of “helicopter” is “spriral winged thing”? And the root words don’t break where you might think.
Word of the Week – Holy
I daresay we have all made jokes about “holy,” “holey,” and “wholly” … but in fact, they’re more related than we might think!
Word of the Week – Cue
Cue, the billiard stick with the homophone of “queue,” and cue, which marks our entrance. How related are they?
Word of the Week – Nightmare
Nightmare. We all know what it is. A bad dream that leaves you breathless. Or any situation that conjured up those horrible feelings. Right? Well, today...sure. But in fact, nightmare didn't mean "any bad dream" until 1829! What did it mean before then, you ask? Well,...
Word of the Week – Ye
We've probably all come across those cutesy, old-timey signs, right? "Ye Olde Sweets Shoppe" or the like. Cutsey and old-timey because they're using spellings no longer in use, which our modern eyes immediately recognize as coming from the 18th century or earlier....
Word of the Week – Quintessential
When we use the word quintessential today, we use it to mean "something is typical or representative of a particular kind." So to an American, apple pie is the quintessential pie, perhaps. (Let's not start a heated debate here, now, you cherry lovers! It's just an...
Word of the Week – Toilet
When we moderns here the word toilet, me may be inclined to wrinkle our noses. But our ancestors of centuries past would have had a far different response. Toilet has been in the English language since the 1530s, when it came to us from French as "a garment bag." Yep,...
Word of the Week – Apron
Did you know that "an apron" used to be "a napron" ... until eventually people got confused about the ellision and changed the spelling to match? Even funnier is that this has happened quite a lot in English (and other romance languages that have articles with n, like...
Word of the Week – Orange
Did you know that orange, meaning the color, wasn't used until the 1500, while orange, for the fruit, dates to the 1300s? And that's just in English! The fruit is truly ancient, and our word traces its roots ultimately back to the Sanskrit naranga, by way Persian,...
Word of the Week – Oxymoron
Did you know that the word oxymoron is itself an oxymoron? The word means "a figure conjoining words or terms apparently contradictory so as to give point to the statement or expression," such as "a little big", "pretty ugly," "deafening silence," and so on. As a...
Word of the Week – Colonel
I will never forget writing the Culper Ring Series, in which I had a prominent character named Fairchild, and growling incessantly over trying to remember how to spell his rank: lieutenant colonel. My critique partner and I joked about it and started typing it (in...
Word of the Week – Jargon
Jargon. We all know what it is--"phraseology specific to a sect or profession." And it's something that, as a novelist, is both intimidating and useful. I know that if I want my thieves, spies, military personnel, seamstresses, innkeepers, Southerners, Englishmen,...
Word of the Week – Panic
Since last week I examined the Greek-mythology-origins of the word clue, I thought I'd stick to the theme and do another word from Greek mythology today. This one I've known for many years, so I always just assumed everyone else knew it too...but of course, not...
Word of the Week – Clue
Clue we know as "anything that guides or directs." We generally think of it as something that helps us solve a mystery or answer a question. But did you know that clue actually relates directly back to an Ancient Greek myth? That's right! In the myths of Theseus, one...
Holiday History Recollection #5
Welcome back to my series on Holiday History Recollections, where I'm looking at some of the posts I've done over the years on the history of holiday words and traditions! Holiday History Recollection #1Holiday History Recollection #2Holiday History Recollection...
Holiday History Recollection #4
Welcome back to my series on Holiday History Recollections, where I'm looking at some of the posts I've done over the years on the history of holiday words and traditions! Holiday History Recollection #1Holiday History Recollection #2Holiday History Recollection #3...
Holiday History Recollection #3
Welcome back to my series on Holiday History Recollections, where I'm looking at some of the posts I've done over the years on the history of holiday words and traditions! Holiday History Recollection #1Holiday History Recollection #2 This week, let's look at some...
Holiday History Recollection #2
Welcome back to my series on Holiday History Recollections, where I'm looking at some of the posts I've done over the years on the history of holiday words and traditions! If you've missed the previous ones in this series, you can find them here: Holiday History...
Holiday History Recollection #1
Over the years I've had so much fun looking up not only the etymology of holiday words, but also the history behind some of our common traditions. So now that we're in Advent, I thought I'd do a series of recollections and look at those posts from years past...because...
Word of the Week – King
The start of Advent seems like a great time to look at the history of a word that reminds Christians of Christ--our Lord and...you guessed it...KING! King is obviously a word that's been around forever and hasn't varied much in meaning. But have you ever wondered...
Word of the Week – Upset
We've all been there. We've had a bad day, something went wrong, someone hurt our feelings, or maybe we're just not feeling well physically--times when the best word we can find to describe our state is upset. We all know what we mean--that nothing's quite right, that...
Word of the Week – Groundwork
The day, my husband and I were walking and talking about a potential building project, and he said something about all the work that needs to go into a foundation, water lines, electric, etc--that "groundwork accounts for half the work." He then mused as to whether...
Word of the Week – November
Have you ever paused to wonder at the names of our months? Nearly all of them are taken from the Roman calendar, which means there are some hold overs from a culture and language that may seem odd to us. Some of the months are named for gods (January, March, April,...
Word of the Week – Halloween
It's Halloween! Whether you observe the day or decry it (or something in between), one can't ignore the fascinating history of both the word itself and the traditions surrounding it. I've blogged about it before in a post that combines all my recollection as I looked...
Word of the Week – Seersucker
Last week we were chatting about the style of certain classmates from college, and a friend said, "I bet he wears seersucker suits, doesn't he?" In fact, he does. 😉 But it made me curious about the word. We've likely all seen that iconic striped fabric...but did you...
Word of the Week – Denouement
If you've studied plot structure at all, you may have come across the word denouement. It's that wrapping-up part of a story that happens after the climax, sometimes called the resolution. We've been using this word in English since the 1750s, borrowed directly (of...
Word of the Week – Betrothed
As a historical writer, I've used the word betrothal plenty of times, since it was more common than engagement throughout much of history. But I've never actually paused to look up the root of the word! It makes total sense though, as I'm sure you'll agree. Betrothal...
Word of the Week – Journal
I admit it--I'm a little bit obsessed with anything that belongs on a desk. Notebooks, pens, journals, even paperclips and staplers make me grin. When I walk into an office supply store, it takes great restraint to look only for what I need and not every pretty shade...
Word of the Week Revisit – Fall, Autumn, and Harvest
Original post published October 23, 2017 Saturday as the kids and I were driving Rowyn to a birthday party, they were observing that it was way too warm for fall, and all the trees were still green . . . and Xoë then said, “I don’t like that we call it fall. It should...
Word of the Week – Legend
Legend. We all know what the word means...and my character Bram spends a lot of time in Worthy of Legend pondering what really makes someone worthy to be called a hero, worthy to have stories written and sung and remembered about him or her. But have you ever paused...
Word of the Week – School
Today is Labor Day in the US, which is the unofficial start of autumn. Specifically, it marks the beginning of a new school year for American kids (many of whom have already been back to school for a couple weeks). What better time to examine the history of the word?...
Word of the Week – Cat
Sometimes it's fun to look up words so very common that one never really pauses to think about them. You never know what you're going to find! So as one of my cats stared at me as I was contemplating this week's Word of the Week, I chuckled and said, "Okay, sure, why...
Word of the Week – Desk
As of the moment when I'm writing this, we're awaiting a few fun deliveries at our house--a new bed frame and desk for Rowyn, who has been asking for about a year to update his room. We decided that starting high school was a pretty good time to get rid of the...
Word of the Week – Siren
Anyone who has read The Odyssey has "met" the original Sirens ... the mythological creatures in Greek history who lure sailors to their destruction on rocks with their sweet singing. But I daresay most of us haven't looked too closely at the word. The Greek seirenes...
Word of the Week – August
I learned way back in my school days that two of our summer months are named for Roman emperors--July (for Julius Caesar) and August (for Augustus Caesar). I imagine you knew that too. Similarly, you probably know that august as an adjective means "solemnly grand,...