A shaky beginning of the end and the state of the art
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.”
Saving Earth’s Refrigerator: what does global warming mean for our planet’s future?
Colin Summeryhayes explains how global warming is affecting the polar regions and what the loss of “Earth’s Refrigerator” means for our future.
The social code: deciphering the genetic basis of hymenopteran social behavior
The authors of a recent study published in Genome Biology and Evolution set out to uncover early genetic changes in bees and wasps on the path to sociality.
A new beginning: the verb “start”
The Oxford Etymologist explores the origin of the verb “to start”.
Explore environmental history in eight books [reading list]
Environmental history is one of the most innovative and important new approaches to history. Explore eight of our latest titles in environmental history.
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan: the past’s resemblance to the present
From the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Elisabeth Leake walks us through how the past resembles the present 40 years on.
After Burns: recovering Scottish poetry
Scottish poetry produced in the long eighteenth century might strike you as at once familiar and unknown. Hundreds of poets, balladists, and songwriters born or raised in Scotland throughout the long eighteenth century need to find new readerships.
New perspectives on the American Civil War [reading list]
The Civil War is one of the seminal moments in US history. New research continues to illuminate how we understand both the events of the war and how its legacy continues to impact our modern world.
How to define 2022 in words? Our experts take a look… (part one)
Now the dust has settled on another eventful year, it’s time to look back on some of the words that characterised 2022.
The murky beginning of the verb begin
The Oxford Etymologist explores the unfinished story of the word “begin”.
Is Le Fanu’s Uncle Silas an Irish novel?
When Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Uncle Silas” appeared in 1864, its author was best known as the proprietor of the Dublin University Magazine and a writer of Irish historical novels. Yet, as advised by his publisher, Le Fanu had produced a work of fiction situated not in the Irish past but the English present.
Do nouns have tense?
English noun phrases have something called a “temporal interpretation.” That’s linguist-speak for how we understand their place in time relative to the tense of the verb.
The everyday work of chaplains: hidden around the edges
Chaplains tend to fly below the radar with little attention outside of emergency situations. Their work has long been an important part of the care religious leaders provide across the country.
Etymology gleanings for two winter months (2022-2023)
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.
Grove Music’s 2023 spoof article contest is now open!
The Grove Music Online spoof article contest is now open for 2023!
Mind the gap: the growth in economic inequality [podcast]
Amid the current economic crises, how do we recover? How can we address such financial distress and inequity, and how might we go about enacting more permanent resolution? Listen to Christopher Howard and Tom Malleson on The Oxford Comment podcast.