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In a “galaxy”… so, so close to home
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… From its opening lines to its ticket lines, Star Wars, whose latest episode, The Force Awakens, opened this week, is as epic as its interstellar setting. But the etymology of this galaxy, it turns out, is so, so close to home. Galaxy English first gazes at the word galaxy, so to speak, late in Read more.
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Making an “agreement”: a gratifying etymology
This past weekend, nearly 200 nations reached the Paris Agreement, a landmark effort to combat climate change. Now there’s a pleasing word these days: agreement. It’s yet more pleasing if we consider its etymology, and one we should be quite grateful for, too. Agreement It’s apt, I suppose, that the historic climate agreement was negotiated in Paris: agreement is borrowed from the French agrement. English’s agreement is Read more.
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Gerbils (and etymology) will bring us all together
For this post, I thought about writing on the etymology of demagogue or bigotry, which have been much in the ether lately, thanks especially to Donald Trump. But I thought twice, important as these words are right now. I thought twice because I wanted to write on something a bit more positive and, well, fun than many of Read more.
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Common word, uncommon power: behind “ban”
Donald Trump is once again making headlines – and turning heads. As his campaign issued in a news release this week: Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on. In their coverage of it, many in the press Read more.
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Remembering “victim”
As The New York Times reported in the aftermath of yet another mass shooting in the US: Including the worst mass shooting of the year, which unfolded horrifically on Wednesday in San Bernardino, Calif., a total of 462 people have died and 1,314 have been wounded in such attacks this year, many of which occurred on streets Read more.
Mashed Radish 