If I am not mistaken (and I usually am when hazarding an etymology), I believe “catheter” shares a common source with “cathedra.” The good nuns of Queen of All Saints parochial school never told me about that connection when they taught us the doctrine that the pope is infallible when he speaks ex c...

On a rocky outcrop, in Lerwick Harbor in the remote Shetland Islands, (60 degrees north, population 23,000 Scottish souls) someone raised the Ukrainian flag Here, in one photo, is an example of both definitions Dr. GoodWord lists: a salient geological feature and, metaphorically, "anything bre...

While visiting Ireland, I discovered “craic” is in fact a frequently used word. This billboard is a typical example. I think a working translation is “a bit of fun” but the locals tell me the word is more fluid and the meaning changes with context.

As Dr GoodWord notes, treacle is not often encountered in the US. In my experience it is almost always used pejoratively in the US, as in a review of a “feel-good” movie’s script as “full of treacle.” I think there is opportunity to expand this word’s reach and meaning. Here’s my first attempt: “The...

This word does have metaphoric possibilities that could give it wider currency.

Here’s an attempt: “The Whigs nominated Zachary Taylor, a man uninterested in politics but a hero of the Mexican-American War, strategizing that the party could ride that destrier all the way to The White House.

Paul McCartney, in his sly (and slightly dirty) lyrics to “Back in the USSR,” forever raised our awareness of that Caucasian republic: “ And Moscow girls make me sing and shout That Georgia's always on my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my mind Oh, show me 'round your snow-peaked mountains way down sou...

…why, if the Ks and Gs on words like know, knight, knife and gnarl, gnaw, gnat are silent, why are they there at all? Metathesis is the culprit. Well, here’s another reason, a useful one, for the presence of the silent “g” in gnat: Would you prefer that folks describe your appearance as “natty” or ...

We often hear “decimate” when we mean “obliterate.” In common usage the two words have become synonyms, so my observation is a tad pedantic. Technically (or at least historically) it was better to be decimated than obliterated, if given the choice.

David, You may be right that the spelling of whiskey in America was influenced by the large Irish presence in the US population. An estimated 33 million Americans (including me) claim Irish ancestry. BTW, the current population of Ireland and Northern Ireland combined is about 7 million. Despite you...

Same goes for redundant prepositions after verbs Yes, David, I generally agree. But some usages are intractable, and I now accept them as idioms—like an unexplainable usage from a foreign language: just say the phrase and don’t analyze it. Easier done than said. I grew up … , no I was raised … , no...

Hmmm… I have already said my piece about this word when “fulgent”, “perfervid” and “rescind“ were the Good Words of the day. Since then I have mellowed a bit about the value of redundantly prefixed words. I no longer have intense objections to intensifiers as part of the admixture of our vocabulary.

I encountered a particular use of the word “parole” in Caroline Janney’s excellent Civil War history, slyly titled “The Ends of War.” When word spread that General Lee planned to surrender at Appomattox, most remaining Confederate troops stacked their arms and accepted paroles from Union military au...

Anyone who has been to Paris is familiar with the massive and spectacular buildings known as Les Invalides, an extensive complex of 17th-century structures and courtyards designed for the care and housing of disabled veterans and as a place of worship. Parts of Les Invalides were later converted int...

Latin urbs appears in English urban and urbane "citified, elegant". Its origin is a mystery. Pokorny thinks it is a mangled form of PIE gherdh-/ghordh- "to enclose, surround", but others think it came from PIE uerbh-/uorbh- "to turn" in the sense of "to encircle&q...

“Counter” is one of those delicious (squiggly?) English words that takes off in so many different directions that many dictionaries divide it in to multiple entries. How the word accreted such diverse meanings could fill pages of etymological discourse. Hey, you think the first offer you got when yo...