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Word History

Words of the Year: 1066

Why is pig meat called 'pork' and cow meat called 'beef?' Because English took on a big serving of French words following the Norman Conquest.


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play video title words of the year 1066
Words of the Year: 1066

 

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest

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Sneaked vs. Snuck

 

How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary

play calendar that says day today
Is It 'day today' or 'day-to-day'?

 

What about Day Tomorrow?

play video soup vs soop
An Abbreviated History of American English Spelling

 

Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut

play video websters video of 1864
Webster's Dictionary of 1864

 

The landmark edition that transformed the way dictionaries are made.

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Who vs. Whom

 

Good news for those who feel stuffy saying 'whom.'