English Grammar & Style

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Peculiar Words in English

• What's the third English word that ends with -gry?
  Read this short piece on the subject from our bookshelf.
• What's the longest place name in the world?
  I supplied photographic evidence for one contender and listed some others when I was at yourDictionary.com.
• What's the longest word in the English language?
  Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis meaning a lung disease caused by breathing ultramicroscopic particles of volcanic silica. This word has never been used; it was artificially contrived to be the longest word in the English language.
• What does "antidisestablishmentarianism" mean?
  At 28 letters, "antidisestablishmentarianism" might be the best-known long word in English. It is a rare British term meaning "opposition to removing the tie between the Church of England and the state." This is generally the longest English word you will find in a dictionary.

Finding Information about Language

• How do I say [a common phrase] in language X?
  • To translate phrases, web pages, entire documents, or anything else among European languages, try our translation engines.
  • Ask the Alpha Dictionary translation Pros.
  • To find everyday, useful phrases in almost every conceivable language, have a look at Jennifer's Language Pages.
• I need to find a girl's/boy's name in language X.
  Our links to resources about names are listed on the Specialty page, under Names. We will be adding to them as they become available. The Alpha Dictionary Site has links to an extensive naming resource under "Names" in the specialty dictionary section. Our personal favorite is the Name Wizard's Name Voyager. If you cannot find what you need there, try a search engine like Google or Yahoo. Type in the language that you need, the gender of the name you want, and the word "names," for example, "Thai boy names." That ought to do it.
• What does this name mean?
  alphaDictionary.com maintains its shelf of naming glossaries and dictionaries under "Names" in our specialty dictionary section. If you can't find the name you are looking for there, you probably won't find it on the Web.
• I know the meaning but I can't think of the word for it. What do I do?
  Go to the yourDictionary's Quick Lookup, type in 2 or more words you would expect to be in the definition of the word, select "Definitions" instead of "Normal" in the menu bar to the right of the input. Click "GO!" If you do not find the word you are looking for, click "HELP!" above the "GO!" button for additional suggestions. This feature is the invention of Alpha Dictionary's Andrew Shaffer. We will offer this feature eventually.

Questions about English Grammar and Style

• Is it "judgment" or "judgement"?
• What is the difference between "its" and "it's?"
• What is the difference between "may" and "can?"
  
• What is the difference between "there", "they're", and "their?"
• What is onomatopoeia?
• What is an eponym?
• What is the difference between an epithet and an epitaph?
• What is an acronym?
  
• What is a synonym and a homonym?
  
• What is a thesaurus?
• What is PIE?
• What does the suffix -stan mean in words like "Afghanistan" and "Pakistan?"
• Are "imply" and "infer" synonyms?
• What does 'kumbaya' in the song, "Kumbaya, my Lord" mean?
• What is the difference between sit/set and lie/lay?
• Will I go to jail if I end a sentence with a preposition?
• When should I say "X and I" and when "X and me?"
• How can I help stomp out the use of "ain't?"
• How many words are in English?