Myth: the word “news” derives from the four cardinal directions. While this potential origin of the word news seems plausible enough, it isn’t true. The truth is, the word news can be traced back to late Middle English around the 14th century as a plural for the adjective “new” or “new thing”. This is a somewhat rare instance of an […]
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Today I found out the origin of the term “Goodbye”. “Goodbye” comes from the term “Godbwye” a contraction of the phrase “God be with ye”. Depending on the source, the contraction seems to have first popped up somewhere between 1565 and 1575. The first documented use of the “Godbwye” appeared in a letter English writer and scholar Gabriel Harvey wrote […]
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Today I found out the difference between The United Kingdom, England, and Great Britain. The actual name of the sovereign state we are talking about is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK). The United Kingdom is made up of the countries England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The confusion of the terms seems to revolve around […]
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Today I found out the difference between a coffin and a casket. The words coffin and casket are often used interchangeably to describe a box used to bury a dead body in. Although the general purpose of each is the same, there are small differences between the two. The term coffin has been used to describe a container that holds […]
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The term “baker” dates back to around the year 1000. Another term that meant the same thing from that time was “bakester”. This latter word referred to female bakers; this is similar to how a “webster” was a female weaver, with the “-ster” ending implying a woman. “Bakester” is also where the surname “Baxter” comes from. Source
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##EMBED## The word “nougat” is French and comes from the Old Provencal word “nogat”, meaning “nut cake”. This, in turn, derives from the Latin “nux”, meaning “nut”. Nougat is known to have been around since around the 9th century in Greece. However, it was a generally unpopular sweet until the 17th century in France. Source
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##EMBED## The name “dolphin” comes from the ancient Greek “delphis”, which means more or less “fish with a womb”. Sources and More Interesting Dolphin Facts
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##EMBED## Click Here for Sources and to Learn Why Turkeys are Called Turkeys A group of turkeys is technically called a “rafter”, though they are often incorrectly referred to as a “gobble” or simply a “flock”.
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Embed This Infographic Source: Today I found out
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Today I found out the difference between an asteroid and a comet. A comet is simply a relatively small astronomical object that has a “tail”, known as a coma, which makes up a temporary atmosphere for the comet. Asteroids, on the other hand, do not exhibit this tail and are classically defined as simply an astronomical object that orbits around […]
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This, of course, is because “PS” stands for “postscript”. This comes from the Latin “post scriptum” (sometimes written “postscriptum”), which translates to “written after”, or more to the point, “what comes after the writing”. Thus, PSS would mean “postscript script”, which doesn’t really make sense in this context. Rather, the correct way to write this abbreviation is “PPS” for “post-postscript” […]
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It’s “I could not care less”, not “I could care less”. These two phrases are often used interchangeably when someone is referring to something that they don’t care about at all, even though the latter implies that you do care somewhat, possibly a lot or just a little; it’s unclear from the statement itself. The former leaves nothing in doubt. […]
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