Category: Feature
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An etymological trip to northern Italy: Milan, Cortina, Lombardy, and more
Of beards, fields, curtains, and sparkly rocks
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“Milliner”: it’s literally from Milan
A fancy word for fancy hats owing to Milanese merchants selling fancy wares. Fancy that!
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A blizzard of wintry word origins
English’s core vocabulary for winter weather has largely been frozen—or as we used to say, “froren”—in place.
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Charting the etymological boundaries of “Greenland” and “Denmark”
While relatively straightforward as etymologies, the origins of “Greenland” and “Denmark” do provide important historical insights into these two proud lands.
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“Minneapolis” means “Waterfall City”
A schoolmaster combined Dakota and Greek words to propose an official name for the city in the 1850s.
Mashed Radish 