facts about English

How do You Pronounce Often?

Niall O'Donnell 27 Comments

Is the T silent or not?

Continue reading →

Gravity

Niall O'Donnell Leave a comment

I was thinking about this word, and the related word grave, this morning. Like contract, it’s a curiously multi-purpose word.

Continue reading →

Contract

Niall O'Donnell 4 Comments

If you start a new job, or agree to buy something, you might have to sign a contract.

The word contract was originally usually used to refer to marriage, and comes from the Latin com (with, together) and trahere (to draw). Which makes sense really: if you give marry someone, you’re agreeing to draw closer together, and if you sign a contract with a company, you’re agreeing to draw together with them.

Isn’t if funny though, when we use contract as a verb?

Continue reading →

Calque or Loanword?

Niall O'Donnell 12 Comments

Reading about Anglish yesterday, I realised that one of the most useful methods for proponents of this form of English is creating calques.

What’s a calque, I hear you ask?

Continue reading →

What’s the Difference between Envy and Jealousy?

Niall O'Donnell 11 Comments

I’m glad you asked! I was thinking about this earlier, when writing about the Seven Deadly Sins made me think of envy, which is of course one of them.

These two are quite confusing, aren’t they? For both native and non-native speakers alike. Even if you know there’s a difference, and kind of know what that difference is, it’s hard to pin it down and put it into words, isn’t it? Let’s see if we can figure it out, shall we?

Continue reading →

Sloth

Niall O'Donnell 11 Comments

Sloths are slow.

Sloth, meaning laziness, is also one of the Seven Deadly Sins in Christianity.

Unsurprisingly enough, the sin came first, and the animal was named after it, because it seems so lazy. They’re not actually lazy of course, just slow. Though some individual sloths probably are lazy, but it’d obviously be unfair to tar them all with the same brush.

It’s a funny word, sloth, and not one we really use beyond these two contexts. Where does it come from?

Continue reading →

How to Name Your Pet

Niall O'Donnell 28 Comments

Pete So High

Msassa

Veneer of Charm

Landofhopeandglory

Max Dynamite

Youcantcallherthat

These are the names of just some of the racehorses in action at the Fairyhouse racetrack in Ireland today. Have you ever wondered why racehorses have such strange names?

Continue reading →