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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! Read more.
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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. Read more.
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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. Read more.
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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. Read more.
