Browsing Month April, 2006
Today’s Word: Myrmecology
Myrmecology is the study of ants. It’s from Greek myrmex, meaning “ant,” and the reason I’m thinking about it is the wonderful essay about how to improve scientific writing in the New York Times Science section today: “Ants, Better with a Dose of Humanity (and Humor).” I mean, who knew all the trials and tribulations more…
Speaking of Sphenisciformes . . .
I didn’t know until just now that penguins are properly described as sphenisciform seabirds. I’m not sure why, or whether it’s a relative of such words as sphenoid, which describes anything wedge-shaped, or a sphenogram, a word that means “a cuneiform character.” In any case, if you’re as partial to penguins as some people are more…
If You Believe in Tinkerbelle, Clap Your Wings
Seems a marine park in Australia has changed the name of the animals formerly known as fairy penguins. According to this story, they’re now being called little penguins. “We didn’t have any complaints about the name of the penguins, but someone thought they could be seen as offensive so we decided to change it to more…
Today’s Word: Cavernicolous
Here’s a word to which all of us work-at-home types can relate: Pronounced like “Cavern Nicholas,” cavernicolous means “living in a cave.” (Then there’s troglodyte, or “cave-dweller,” and its adjectival form, troglodytic, from Greek words that literally mean “to go down into a hole.”) I was also pleased to learn, while fossicking through the Oxford more…
Etymology for Everybody
Our recent show about etymology featured an interview with Anatoly Liberman, author of the marvelous book Word Origins and How We Know Them: Etymology for Everybody. It is, as far as I know, the only book about word origins that tells how etymologists do their work. The book is scholarly and often challenging, but also more…
What’s in a Nickname?
More than you might think, according to this article in The New York Times. I don’t know — I’ve never been much for having a nickname, or nicknaming my computer, or for that matter, nicknaming my favorite reference works. This article makes me think maybe I should. What do y’all think? Am I missing out more…
Tattoo Boo-Boos
Yet another reason to think twice about getting a tattoo: A funny piece in Sunday’s New York Times about folks who get tattoos with Chinese characters, only to find that they don’t mean what they think they mean. These tattoo boo-boos are chronicled at the site of Chinese-born engineering student Tian Tang. One elaborate tattoo more…
But Who’s Counting?
Nice piece by Peter Rowe in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune about whether the English language is about add its one millionth word. (The answer, in a word, is “No.”)
