Word Stories: orange
It’s been said that there are two words in English for which there are no perfect rhymes. One of them…... Read more.
Word Stories: Easter
In most European languages, the spring festival commemorating the resurrection of Christ is referred to by a name related to…... Read more.
Word Stories: cuckoldry
Thanks to the many people who expressed an interest in last month's column on the verb be. A colleague asked…... Read more.
Word Stories: be
Often, the longer and more unusual a word, the easier it is to trace its development. It can be broken…... Read more.
Word Stories: nice
How does a word once full of negative connotations come to mean something positive? Take nice, for example. Nice is…... Read more.
Word Stories: whom
Steve Taylore-Knowles looks at the stories behind the English language. 'he who/whom distinction is going the way of the phonograph…... Read more.
Word Stories: silhouette
Eponyms, names for things derived from people's names, are peppered throughout the English language, like a kind of social history…... Read more.
Word Stories: tenere
Etymology works in two directions. You can take a word in modern English and work backwards to its roots, as…... Read more.
Word Stories: gossipmonger
Steve Taylore-Knowles looks at the stories behind the English language. Behind every word there is history. And in the case…... Read more.