Oxford University Press's
Academic Insights for the Thinking World
Three English words sound as rake: the garden instrument, the profligate, and a sailing term meaning “inclination from the perpendicular.” Though at first sight, they do not seem to be connected, I’ll try to show that their histories perhaps intertwine.
At first sight, the origin of the verb “scratch” looks unproblematic… The Oxford Etymologist scratches beneath the surface of “scratch.”
The Oxford Etymologist ruminates on the origins and meanings of idioms including “to go to hell in a handbasket.”
The Oxford Etymologist replies to etymology questions from readers.
Today’s post is about the murky origin of the word “limb”.
The Oxford Etymologist has examined the verbs “begin” and “start.” For consistency’s sake, it is now necessary to say something about the noun and the verb “end.”
The Oxford Etymologist has examined the verbs “begin” and “start.” For consistency’s sake, it is now necessary to say something about the noun and the verb “end.”
The Oxford Etymologist explores the origin of the verb “to start”.
The Oxford Etymologist explores the unfinished story of the word “begin”.
In this blog post, the Oxford Etymologist responds to questions from readers on word borrowing across Hebrew, Greek, and Germanic, plus a few new etymology ideas.
Some words propagate like mushrooms: no roots but a sizable crowd of upstarts calling themselves relatives. Gr-words are the pet subject of all works on sound imitation and sound symbolism.
The Oxford Etymologist the common but etymologically opaque verb “mope”, and other monosyllabic verbs.
The Oxford Etymologist explores a selection of idioms, including the amazing story of the phrase “fox’s wedding.”
The history of “dude” has been documented with amazing accuracy.
The history of “dude” has been documented with amazing accuracy.
As everybody knows, the phrase in the title, l’esprit d’escalier, refers to a good thought occurring too late.