Category Archives: Language

Why Do Many Countries’ Names End in “-stan,” and Home Country Designations Often End with “–an” as in “American”?

Chris G. asks: Why are there so many countries that have a name that ends in stan? I was also wondering why we call people from many countries the name of their country ended with an, like Canada and Canadian? Denoting that it is a piece of the earth associated with a particular group of people, the suffix -stan simply […]

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Has a Major English Dictionary Ever Spelled An Entry Name Incorrectly?

Jon A. asks: Has there ever been an example of a word being spelled incorrectly in the dictionary and did that then become the new accepted spelling? Despite my sincerest efforts, I could find no documented instance of a misspelled entry name (the word being defined) ever found in a widely circulated, non-user generated English dictionary. (I’m still skeptical it’s […]

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The Rare Language of Boontling

At the turn of the 20th century in the isolated little town of Boonville, California, local residents became so enamored with creating and using their unique slang that they essentially developed an entire language. Called Boontling after the town, due to the way the language was formed, it is relatively incomprehensible to all except the initiated. About 50 miles southeast […]

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The Vandals and Vandalism

The English word vandalism derives from the French word, vandalisme, and was first seen in print in 1794 when the Bishop of Blois, Henri Grégoire, included the term in a report of the mayhem, and in particular the destruction of art, that occurred during the French Revolution. Vandalism itself was a modification of vandal, a word that in English dates […]

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Dollars to Doughnuts

Kerrey23 asks: Where did the expression “dollars to donuts” come from? The word “doughnut” is American in origin and traces its roots to the early 19th century. It is presumed to have been a combination of the words dough and nut. It first appeared in print in Washington Irving’s 1809 Knickerbocker’s History of New York Sometimes the table was graced […]

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Why Your Lap is Called That

Oakley420 asks: Why is a lap called a lap? Used as a noun, verb and adjective, most with several distinct meanings, lap is a prominent word in the English language. One of its most common meanings denotes the upper part of the legs when seated. Derived from a Proto-Germanic word *lapp, meaning the “skirt or flap of a garment,” or […]

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Kits and Caboodles

Meaning a complete collection of a set of related things, the curious expression the “whole kit and caboodle” has part of its origin in military life. In the 1785 version of his A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, Francis Grose gives us the first mention of the word “kit” with this meaning, as well as the phrase “the whole […]

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Flotsam and Jetsam

Marcus asks: Where did the words flotsum and jetsum come from? Bumping into a rock or a reef, war, swamped by rough weather or high waves, pilot error or pirates, there are a variety of ways a ship can sink. After it does, depending on whether it floated out on its own, was thrown overboard or sank to Davy Jones […]

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