The term callow goes back to Old English calu, meaning “bald.” The original sense of callow referred to young birds lacking feathers on their heads, then referred to a young man’s down cheek, and eventually came to mean...
Why do some town names end in ham? Effingham, Illinois; Birmingham, Alabama; Gotham City, U.S.A. They all derive from the Old English ham meaning “home” or “homestead.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
If you cut something to the quick, it means you’re getting at its very essence. It comes from the Old English word cwicu, meaning alive. It’s the source of the quick in the phrase the quick and the dead, as well as the words quicksilver (“living...
Why don’t nouns have gender in English they way they do in Spanish, French, or German? Before the Middle English period, nouns in English were either masculine, feminine, or neuter. Over time, however, we’ve moved away from the...
Yes, the k in knot, know, knife, and knight was once pronounced. Alvaro in Dallas wonders about that silent first letter. The change is an example of apheresis, the loss of an initial sound. Old English had a pronounced initial consonant in words...
What’s the origin of the term listless? Does it mean you can’t find the piece of paper with the groceries you need? No. Listless shares a root with the English word lust. In its most literal sense, listless means “without lust,” or “lacking want or...