ian brookes

We take a look at the etymology behind the word ‘election’ in the run-up to the UK General Election in June

The words elect and election have their origins in two Latin words: ‘e’ meaning ‘out of’, and ‘lectus’ meaning ‘chosen’. So the successful candidates in Britain’s general election in June will be literally ‘chosen out of’ the people who stand for parliament. This derivation… Read More

We take a look at the word ‘parity’ for International Women’s Day

To mark International Women’s Day this month, people are being urged to make a ‘pledge for parity’ to remove inequality form the workplace. The choice of the word parity in this slogan gives it a pleasant alliteration, but it is also a more formal word and is more suggestive… Read More

Happy Valentine’s Day! We take a look at the etymology behind the word ‘valentine’

Valentine The fourteenth of February is Saint Valentine’s Day, when lovers send each other cards and gifts known as valentines. Although the name of Valentine is now synonymous with lovers, there is no certain connection between the celebration of romantic love and historical figure of Saint Valentine, a… Read More

Etymology Corner – ‘Rugby’

The Six Nations begin tomorrow so we’ve decided to look at the etymology behind the word ‘rugby’. ‘Rugby’ is what is known in etymological parlance as a toponym: a word that is derived from a place-name. In this case the word comes from the town of Rugby… Read More

We take a look at the etymology behind the word ‘rocket’ and it’s Italian origins

Over 300 common English words can be traced back to Italian, and it will come as little surprise to hear that a large number of these relate either to music or to food. Most of the technical vocabulary of music is borrowed from Italian and so English speakers are accustomed… Read More

We take a look at the etymology behind the word ‘canapé’ and its French origins

William the Conqueror’s victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 brought not only a new ruling dynasty to England but also a radical change in the nature of the English language. Over the following centuries the language of the Norman French invaders became intertwined with that of the defeated… Read More

We take a look at the etymology behind the word ‘bonanza’ and it’s Spanish origins

A Spanish bonanza To celebrate the launch of our brand-new Unlocking Spanish with Paul Noble we’re looking at commonly used English words that originally came from Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries. Some of these are words that are still strongly associated with Spanish culture, so it is no surprise… Read More

Etymology Corner – Easter Words

Happy Easter! Etymology Corner has been a regular feature of the collinsdictionary.com email for many months, but we’ve decided to promote it to the blog so more people can appreciate its wit and wisdom! It is written by Ian Brookes, Editorial Consultant for Collins Dictionary. Come back on the… Read More

Some of the best words that never were

A user of this website recently left a comment asking why we had chosen to mark as ‘rejected’ a word that another user had submitted. After all, the word had been invented and used by that person, so surely it should be included in the dictionary. This… Read More