Even having read this way back when it first came out, and several times since then, I can't seem to break myself of the habit of pronouncing it with a 'knack'. Sigh.

Would putting the decoration on the first letter alter the pronunciation to 'ay'? I took 4 years of French in high school, but that was a couple of years back, and I never used it either.

GBS of course was thinking idolatry of the Bard when he coined his word, but idolatry has two parts itself. The -latry part is covered in the Dr.'s discussion of epeolatry . Another word to add to the list started there is angelolatry. Perhaps of interest is that -latry is related to larceny .

Fascinating that larceny and idolatry are related. The -latry ending to idol is larcenous.

The verger verged on verging the vicuña to the verge with his verge?

I was wondering about verger, the guy who holds the verge, which according to dictionary.com is "a rod, wand, or staff, especially one carried as an emblem of authority or of the office of a bishop, dean, or the like."

While I admit to not being much of a sports person, I'm still very happy to know how 'seed' came to be used in sports.

Here's a companion piece on the History of X, at the Smithsonian magazine.

Though the bourgeois do tend to be possessed of generous bellies and budgets, it appears their word is not related. See here and here . I was surprised, as I was led to thinking they might be by the dismissive term for a bourgeois; bougie. Come to find out bougie is not only that, but also a candle ...

Post cards have always cheaper than envelopes, but one-centers may still be old enough to be worth something. You should look them up. Or, just add the difference to make today's cost and you can use them.

Of course, using a different calendar as they do, the Orthodox Easter won't be until May 5 this year. 35 days apart! I gather it's the most they can be.

It may be Easter here in the US of A tomorrow, but it's not Pesach. That's a different lunar calendar, and won't be coming around until April 22-30 this year.

• malaise • Iacere came from the PIE word ye - "to throw", found outside Latin only in Hittite ijami "I make". (Potters "throw" pots on a spinning wheel in making them.) I'm wondering if this is still true. There is a new word out there making the rounds, especially in...

Every other source I found on the internot gives the second meaning, and in the same words in the same order. Everyone copying everyone else? However, a contemporary non-medical use might be thus: I'm glad I already live in the path of totality for the eclipse. The exodic routes from my city will li...

Here's an idea for a niche dictionary: words that don't have clear origins. Words that seem to pop up out of nothing and nowhere, but hang in there and become part of the language.