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Linguist Michael Erard, the author of Um. .. Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean who we recently interviewed, graciously sent us this article, which he first wrote and published in the magazine Lingua Franca:

In a recent issue of the moderated e-mail list Linguist, Brown University anthropologist William O. Beeman addressed an odd phenomenon: Apparently, there is a different word for butterfly in every language, even though historical relationships and geographic contacts often suggest the words should be similar. Beeman called it "the butterfly problem."

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Victuals is one of those words that many people know by sound and sight but have not put sound and sight together. It's sort of like knowing someone by name and knowing someone by face, but not realizing the two are the same person. Until you accidentally find out, and it's usually embarrassing. Continue reading...

We welcome back linguist Neal Whitman, who has noticed that many educators are fond of "choice" language, as in "He made good choices." Neal plumbs the history of this usage and talks to teachers and administrators about how the words "choose" and "choice" have shifted in recent years. Continue reading...

Besides writing the monthly Language Lounge column, distinguished lexicographer Orin Hargraves creates our unique "themed" Words of the Day. Subscriber Marije Martijn recently sent us this comment on the word "Stipple," which ran on July 24th:

I just had to be my pedantic self and comment on the word of the day: if you want to thank someone for the root "stip" of your verb 'to stipple', you should thank the Dutch. I admit, there is also a German word "Stipp," but "stip" is a Dutch word. There is even a Dutch verb, "stippelen," i.e. "to dot." I don't know of a German verb like that. But then, I am not German, so there may very well be such a verb. Best wishes, Marije

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We're setting off on the Vocabulary.com Road Trip to celebrate innovative educators (like you). Come join us at a city near you! Continue reading...

Whether you heard "yanny" or "laurel," you probably haven't heard much about the voices behind the word pronunciations on Vocabulary.com. Many people online have been wondering if the voice saying laurel (sorry, it is laurel) is a real person, or if it is computer generated. Well, we're here to tell you that they are 100% real people. In fact, they are all trained opera and theater singers. Continue reading...

The Internet may be the new newspaper, but it's also become the new dictionary, and the two are inextricably linked: when news breaks, people rush online to find out what it means, and whether it's a noun or a verb. Continue reading...

What's "cherpumple"? Let naming expert and word-watcher Nancy Friedman define it for you...

Cherpumple: A dessert comprising cherry, pumpkin, and apple pies, each baked inside a layer of cake. The word is a portmanteau of cherry, pumpkin, and apple. Continue reading...

On this Super Tuesday morning, check out the Vocabulary.com Dictionary definition page for super. Aside from the glut of usage examples surrounding super pac and Super Tuesday, the page is filled with clues as to how this fairly neutral Latin adverb and preposition for "above," "over," or "beyond" acquired its perky yet powerful aftertaste.

(For the whole story on super, see Vocabulary.com lexicographer Ben Zimmer's meditation on the word here.)

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