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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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How a Ghost Word Appeared in the Dictionary

 

An imaginary word that snuck into the dictionary

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What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'?

 

How 'literally' can mean "figuratively"

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Further vs. Farther

 

They started as same word, but their meanings have drifted apart over time.

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Old-School Grammar

 

Many of today's grammar rules can be traced to the opinions of one 18th century writer.

play there theyre their video
There, They're, Their

 

There, there. We'll sort it out.

play video affect vs effect
Affect vs. Effect

 

Here's the lowdown on what may be the most confusing pair of words in the English language.