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 ...

Every word we use carries with it layers of history and culture that shape its meaning and usage today. Often, the words flowing effortlessly from our mouths have origins that are both fascinating and ...

Otherwords is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio ...

Have you ever wondered where all the weird words in English come from? For example, when someone refers to the presence of small children as "hearing the pitter-patter of little feet" — where on earth ...

While countries in northern Africa use different terms, in South Africa and surrounding areas, “dagga” is commonly used to describe cannabis. Dagga is the Afrikaans word for cannabis that became ...

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 ...

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them. Well, “comrade,” I bet you always thought that word comes ...

It’s scary how early I get excited about PSL season. Of course, I’m talking about punctuation, syntax and language! Add an extra pump of grammar to mine. We all know about the origin of the word ...

The study of word origins (that is, etymology) is every bit the serious academic discipline you might expect it to be — except when it's not. As it turns out, people have a propensity to make false ...