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Excerpts from Electronic Enlightenment’s Spring 2025 update

By Sophie Dickson, Olivia Flynn, Tessa van Wijk, and Kate Davies

We have recently published five new blog posts on Electronic Enlightenment. These blogs cover a range of insightful topics and will be linked through our Electronic Enlightenment announcement newsletter, offering fresh insights and valuable information to you. Each blog is crafted to enlighten and engage, providing you with information and discussions on the history of the Barham Family, Charles Bertram, William Stukeley, Phillis Wheatley Peters, and the history of slavery through the letters of well-known historical figures. Check out the excerpts below and read the full blog posts and more on Electronic Enlightenment.

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Title cover of "Origin Uncertain: Unraveling the Mysteries of Etymology" by Anatoly Liberman

Sauntering is hard work

By Anatoly Liberman

To saunter “to walk in a leisurely way, stroll” is a verb, famous for its etymological opacity. It is instructive and a bit frustrating to read the literature on this word, published between roughly 1874 and 1910, though a few amusing notes in my collection antedate the eighteen-seventies.

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Title cover of "Dangerous Crooked Scoundrels: Insulting the President from Washington to Trump" by Edwin L. Battistella, published by Oxford University Press

What to do with too many books?

By Edwin L. Battistella

A while ago, my wife and I had some work done on our house, which entailed packing up a half-dozen bookcases until the work was done. We took the opportunity to sift through our books and to decide what we no longer needed. Deciding what to keep and what to let go of was a delicate negotiation. But equally tricky was deciding what to do with books we no longer needed.

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Title cover of "Origin Uncertain: Unraveling the Mysteries of Etymology" by Anatoly Liberman

The salt of the earth and salt in a saltcellar

By Anatoly Liberman

First of all, my thanks to those who commented on the previous posts. Don’t miss the note about the ancient Romans’ view of babies on the father’s knee and the suggestion that the idiom to pull one’s leg may be of nautical origin.

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Title cover of "Origin Uncertain: Unraveling the Mysteries of Etymology" by Anatoly Liberman

On a limb

By Anatoly Liberman

One can teach an advanced course on etymology, while climbing up the leg, ant-wise. On foot we reach the territory of Indo-European, but it is not every day that an English word finds itself in such respectable company.

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Cover of "Age and Ageing" journal, Online ISSN 1468-2834

Ultra-processed foods are making us old beyond our years

By Barbara Rita Cardoso

In recent years, ultra-processed food (UPFs) consumption has surged globally, raising concerns about its impact on health. Ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations typically containing ingredients not commonly used in home cooking, such as hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, flavour enhancers, and emulsifiers.

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Title cover of "Origin Uncertain: Unraveling the Mysteries of Etymology" by Anatoly Liberman

From meaning to moaning

By Anatoly Liberman

Few people realize how troublesome the word mean is. We have mean as in meaning (“what do you mean?”); mean “ignoble, base” (as in such a mean fellow), and mean, as in the meantime and meanwhile.

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Title cover of "Dangerous Crooked Scoundrels: Insulting the President from Washington to Trump" by Edwin L. Battistella, published by Oxford University Press

Slow down your writing

By Edwin L. Battistella

Sentences that are clear in our heads may be less clear when they come out of our mouths. When we talk, we get feedback from our audience or conversational partners. We observe facial expressions and body language. People may ask for clarification when something is not clear or they may correct us when we misspeak. Understanding is never perfect, but it’s doable in many face-to-face instances. On the page or the screen, it’s a different story.

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Title cover of "Origin Uncertain: Unraveling the Mysteries of Etymology" by Anatoly Liberman

A dictionary dance around Hag

By Anatoly Liberman

As usual, I’ll begin with a comment on the letters I have received. I never wrote that too few queries about words of unknown origin were coming my way: I complained that a stream of letters addressed to Oxford Etymologist had in principle become a trickle.

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Logo of Oxford Intersections

Oxford Intersections: research from all angles [quiz]

By Matthew Colley

We’re excited to announce the launch of Oxford Intersections, a new interdisciplinary research tool from Oxford University Press. Containing original research from diverse disciplines, this tool provides a comprehensive approach to problem-solving, fostering innovation and collaboration.

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Title cover of "Origin Uncertain: Unraveling the Mysteries of Etymology" by Anatoly Liberman

The end of the witch hunt

By Anatoly Liberman

My sincere thanks to all those who commented on the recent posts. I have never heard about the rule about one day referring only to the future.

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Title cover of "Origin Uncertain: Unraveling the Mysteries of Etymology" by Anatoly Liberman

Witches and witchcraft

By Anatoly Liberman

Right after the appearance of the post on hag (March 5, 2025), I received a letter with a question about the origin of the word witch.

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Title cover of "Origin Uncertain: Unraveling the Mysteries of Etymology" by Anatoly Liberman

A wary approach to hemlock

By Anatoly Liberman

Today’s story is about a deadly plant or rather, about its moribund etymology. And yet, when you reach the end, the word’s origin may appear somewhat more transparent, even though the plant will remain as deadly as ever.

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