Wordplay: For the Love of Language | Merriam-Webster

Popular

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Spoiler alert: they all come from French

Strange Words for Body Functions

Did you know that you 'micturate' and 'sternutate'?

Where does 'curiosity killed the cat' come from?

No cats were harmed in the making of this idiom

What to Call the Inept, Incompetent, and Inferior

What to call the inept, incompetent, and inferior

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

We’ve seen fire, we’ve seen rain, and we have many words for them

'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups

We know you're going to look these up

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

And why isn't it 'bury the lead'?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

A bouquet of floral origin stories

Word Choices

Gabrielle Zevin

Emily Flake

New Yorker Cartoonist

Celeste Ng

Eli Cymet

Video Game Writer/Producer, Cuphead

Emma Straub

Novelist and Children’s Book Author

Arts & Culture

Where does the phrase 'barn burner' come from?

This one's pretty exciting

Top Banana, Kingpin, and Other Nicknames for Important People

Big wigs, big enchiladas, and big shots

The Left Hand of (Supposed) Darkness

It depends on what side you're coming from.

Merriam-Webster's Short List of Gender and Identity Terms

In case you (or someone you know) has questions about what they mean

Why do we park in the driveway and drive on the parkway?

The answer to one of life's big questions

Foreign

17 English Words That Come From Japanese

Some borrowed words don't get returned

Alcohol & Algebra: Common Words from Arabic

Number 4 might scare you

Schadenfreude and Other German Words Without Translation

Accept no substitutes

10 English Words from Dutch

Learn how to tell your caboodle from your caboose

10 of Our Favourite British Words

Please don't whinge about being knackered, you prat.

Games & Hobbies

Why Is the Sport Called ‘Pickleball’?

The origin story is clearer than most sports

A Player's Guide to 'Q' without 'U' Words

Remember this and win.

These Are Fighting Words

Common terms that come from boxing and wrestling

Winning Scrabble Words for Everyday People

You don't have to be a pro to play these words.

Know Your Baseball Idioms

'Southpaw,' 'can of corn,' and other phrases

Science & Nature

12 Pairs of Commonly Confused Animal Words

The animal words went in two by two, hurrah, hurrah!

A Journey to the Moon in 12 Words

Read this before attempting a moon shot

7 Common Idioms That Come from Chickens

Don't ask us which came first

12 Bird Names that Sound Like Compliments

From the godwits at your favorite dictionary

Amber, Auburn, Crimson and Other Colorful Words for Autumn Foliage

Peep these leaves.

Word History

What does it mean to 'endorse' a presidential candidate?

It's kind of like "endorsing" a check

Funner, Stupider, and Other Words That Are in Fact Real

Don't argue with the dictionary

The Curious History of 'Filibuster'

The Curious History of "Filibuster"

'Dord': How a Non-Word Made it into the Dictionary

It once haunted our books.

Is Being Called Tenacious a Good Thing?

The Definition of "Tenacious"