We take a look at the surprising origins behind the word ‘aftermath’

Aftermath Most words that begin with ‘after-’ are self-explanatory. We can all understand why we talk about an ‘aftertaste’, an ‘aftershock’, or an ‘aftereffect’, but why do we talk about the consequences of an event as its ‘aftermath’? It turns out that the ‘math’ in ‘aftermath’ has nothing to… Read More

Another day, another handful of terms to add to our ever-growing list of Brexit terminology

New contributor iancim brings us Wexit, which he defines as “the possible withdrawal of Wales and England from the European Union” but there seems – not for the first time around this topic – some dispute about this. It may be used to make some nationalistic point (Cambrian or,… Read More

A new month equals a new bunch of words. Lucy Mangan takes a look at your recent word submissions

Many of our contributors have written in to make sure that we have added traingate and ram-packed to our word warehouse, and we have – they’re in the sections marked by rolling-eye and tearstained emojis. We enjoy the irony of a pictogram-led categorisation system for our stores at… Read More

We take a look at the etymology behind the dreaded word ‘bill’

Bill The news that Apple is facing the world’s largest tax bill prompts an investigation into why we use the word ‘bill’ to refer to a statement of money owed. It turns out that the origins of ‘bill’ can be traced to the Latin word bulla, which means ‘a… Read More

Zombie knife, British invasion, and Traingate: August’s words in the news

There are some words and phrases that instantly make you go “Woah, what does that mean?” And zombie knife is one of them. So what is a zombie knife, why do you need one, and where can you get one? Well, zombie knives are (allegedly) decorative or novelty… Read More

From ‘trickini’ to ‘zoodles’, Lucy Mangan takes a look at your recent word submissions

There is just time, in the dog days of August, for the ‘trickini’ (submitted by tikitaka) to make an appearance. This is underwear that passes muster as a bikini, for those days when – um – I guess you can’t be bothered to put a bikini on instead of underwear… Read More

We take a look at the etymology behind the word ‘podium’

Podium Like the Olympic Games in which it features so prominently, the word ‘podium’ has its origins in ancient Greece. Greek architects thought that a low structure that supported a colonnade or wall looked like a small foot, and so they called it a podion (‘a little foot’). In… Read More

Pokémon, Article 50, and Regrexit: July’s words in the news

The latest Harry Potter is all the rage, Clinton is running for President of the United States, and everyone in the world is hunting Pokémon. It’s like my late teens come back to life. But with Brexit. Strange though it may seem in a month that saw the Tour… Read More

We take a look at the etymology behind the word ‘sedentary’

Sedentary Scientists have recently warned that a sedentary lifestyle may be as dangerous to our health as smoking. As Collins Cobuild Dictionary explains, someone who has a sedentary lifestyle or job sits down a lot of the time and does not take much exercise. The origin of the word… Read More