"The moist pus turned putrid and started oozing mucus". If you're currently squirming in discomfort after reading the above sentence, rest assured you're not alone as it features several of the ...

English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and while some of it is aurally beautiful, it has its fair share of cringe-worthy words, too. I dare you to read through this list of ...

The moment of creation for a word often remains elusive. Typically (at least before the Internet age), a word gains popu­larity in local speech and then gets written down somewhere. When ...

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Not many people realize just how many words English has borrowed from other languages, or just how many terms enter your ...

One of late president Ronald Reagan’s favorite jokes was as follows: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” Educators and ...

The English language is full of fascinating patterns, exceptions, and creative spellings that make it one of the most studied languages in the world. Among these linguistic wonders are words that ...

In the past, linguists and researchers didn’t have the tools to gauge how many words the average person knows. But, thanks to Twitter, Facebook, and a nation of online quiz-takers, we might finally ...