Does penultimate mean the very last? No! It means second to last, taking from the Latin word paene, meaning almost. It’s the same Latin root that gives us the word for that “almost island,” a peninsula. People misusing penultimate...
Leah from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, asks why the peninsula shared by Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia is called Delmarva. The name is a geographic portmanteau, built from Del-, mar-, and -va, much like nearby blended place names such as Delmar and...