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 – Cloud
You think you know what “cloud” means…but you might be surprised by its origins!
Word of the Week – Love
“Love” is a word so common we probably never to stop to wonder about it…but as we’re approaching the Sunday of Love during Advent, let’s look deeper!
Word of the Week – Joy
“Joy” is a word so common we probably never to stop to wonder about it…but as we’re in the week of Joy during Advent, let’s look deeper!
Word of the Week – Peace
“Peace” is a word so common we probably never to stop to wonder about it…but as we’re in the week of Peace during Advent, let’s look deeper!
Word of the Week – Hope
“Hope” is a word so common we probably never to stop to wonder about it…but as we’re in the week of Hope during Advent, let’s look deeper!
Word of the Week – Meteor
The word “meteor” used to describe a whole lot more than it does now!
Word of the Week – Vaccine
Did you know that “vaccine” is directly related to cows?
Word of the Week – Groggy
We may all claim to be “groggy” when we’re overtired or have a mental fog…but do we really know what we’re claiming?
Word of the Week – Halloween
Here we are again, back in the last days of October...which of course means HALLOWEEN (imagine me saying it in that exaggerated spooky voice, will you? LOL). So of course, I looked up what I've posted about it before. And yes, this is just last year's post, recycled....
Word of the Week – Sophomore
We know “sophomore” as the second–second year of school, or even one’s second book and so on. But you’ll get a laugh out of where it comes from!
Word of the Week – Cyber
“Cyber” sounds to our ears like anything high-tech and internet-based…but its roots are far, far different.
Word of the Week – Autumn (Revisit)
Curious about where this seasonal word comes from?
Word of the Week – Barbarian
As it turns out, things we can’t (literally) understand have always been suspicious….
Word of the Week – Banana
“Banana” is a fun word to say, am I right? Let’s take a minute to explore where it came from.
Word of the Week – Ambivalence
Did you know that “ambivalence” was coined as a psychology term?
Word of the Week – Sloth
Ever wonder which came first, “sloth” the deadly sin or “sloth” the animal?
Word of the Week – Clone
The word “clone” may be well known today, but the very first use was from 1903…and it was strictly a botany term.
Word of the Week – Tabby
Did you know that your tabby cat is named after a prince? Read more about the etymology of the word “tabby”!
Word of the Week – Disguise
In honor of the release of A BEAUTIFUL DISGUISE, let’s look at the history of the word “disguise!”
Word of the Week – Bingo
Ever wonder about the word “bingo”? Let’s dig into its rather mysterious history.
Word of the Week – Rope
The word “rope” has been around forever, but some of the idioms that use it are fascinating!
Word of the Week – Brat
When we think of a “brat” we think of a spoiled child…but it began as something very different!
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...