Cark is a noun meaning “worry” or “trouble.” As a verb, cark means “to cause worry or distress,” as in to have carking doubts. This word derives from a Latin word for “burden,” which also produced...
The word radish derives from Latin radix, meaning “root.” The Latin word is also at the root of the English words radical and eradicate. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Latin “Radix” Is the Root of “Radish,” “Radical,” and...
A teacher of English as a second language asks our Facebook group to name some unusual words for ordinary things. The group’s suggestions include winklehawk, which means an L-shaped tear in cloth, and diastema, which means a gap between...
Matt in San Antonio, Texas, poses this question: Which language has the most words? For that matter, how would you even begin to count them? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Which Language Has the Most Words?” Hi, you...
Scarecrow and pickpocket are compound words that name things and people by describing what they do. Such nouns were especially popular centuries ago, when quake-breech meant a coward, a saddle-goose was a fool, a scrape-gut was a violinist, and...
What makes a word beautiful? Is it merely how it sounds? Or does a word’s meaning affect its aesthetic effect? Max Beerbohm had some helpful thoughts about gondola, scrofula, and other words in his essay “The Naming of Streets.”...