Strictly speaking, the verb insure means to “pay a third party to protect against financial loss,” and ensure means “to make sure” or “make certain” that something occurs. For centuries, however, these words were...
Rebecca in Charlotte, North Carolina, says that when the grandkids would take their leave, her grandmother would send them off with the sweet admonition, Be particular! Heard most often in the American South and South Midlands, this advice derives...
An Army veteran in Madison, Alabama, wonders about the use of the charrette (sometimes spelled with one R, charette) in the military to mean a gathering to workshop ideas and work through all potential solutions to a problem. The term seems to have...
Martha recently spoke at a fundraiser for radio station KUAC in Alaska. While there in Fairbanks, she explored the University of Alaska’s magnificent Museum of the North, and paid a visit to Running Reindeer Ranch, where she learned a lot...
If you know someone with a 20th birthday coming up, you’ll want to tuck this word away in your pocket: vigesimal. It means “having to do with the number 20,” and comes from Latin vigesimus, or “twentieth,” a relative of...
Caroline in Charlotte, North Carolina, recalls her grandparents often used vittles to mean “food.” The word vittles derives from Latin victualis, meaning “nourishment” or “sustenance,” an etymological relative of...