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The etymological folds of “diplomacy”
With North Korea accelerating its nuclear weaponry and the threat of US military action looming, diplomacy feels more urgent than ever. Etymology may be wishful thinking, but let’s examine the origins of the diplomacy—so we won’t be as extinct as the diplodocus. Read more.
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Millennials are killing…the word “millennial”?
Alex Cwalinski brings the production qualities of This American Life and the curiosity of The Smithsonian Magazine to his podcast about travel, Go. For his latest episode, Cwalinksi looked at how millennials are changing the travel industry—including, flatteringly, interviewing me. I spoke to Cwalinski about how the word millennial itself has changed. Head over to… Read more.
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Search: etymology of the day
Via Old French cerchier, search goes back to the Latin circare, literally “to go round.” The verb is formed from circus, source of and meaning circle. m ∫ r ∫ Read more.
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“Torrential”: a cruelly ironic etymology
There’s only one way to describe the rain deluging Houston, Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey this week: torrential. Nearly thirty inches have already fallen over parts of the city as of Monday night, and 20 more inches are still expected. The frequent co-occurrence of these two words, torrential and rain, is called collocation… Read more.
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Safari: Etymology of the day
Safari was borrowed in the 1850s from the Swahili safari, meaning “journey” or “expedition,” in turn from the Arabic safar, “journey” or “tour.” m ∫ r ∫ Read more.
Mashed Radish 