The painful condition called shingles takes its name from Latin cingulum, meaning belt, because the inflammation often appears as a belt-like band around the torso. The Latin root of cingulum, cingere, meaning “to gird,” is also the source of cinch...
mortal lock n.— Note: A cinch, an odds-on favorite, a guaranteed thing or event. «It is a sure bet—a mortal lock as they say in the business— that if Robespierre was around today, we would be standing knee-deep in decapitations...
Buckaroo is an English word adapted from the Spanish word vaquero, meaning “cowboy.” Is there a specific term for the linguistic process whereby such words are adapted into English? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
