The word "unfurl" originated in the mid-1600s (circa 1640s) by combining the prefix un- (signifying reversal or removal) with the word furl (meaning to roll or fold up). It refers to the action of ...

Thanks to the evolution of language, technology, and lots of hyperbole, these words used to convey a lot more merit, emotion, or simply seriousness than they do nowadays. Ah, “genius.” Once reserved ...

Have you ever come across a word that you were sure meant one thing, only to find out it means something completely different? Welcome to the world of confusing English, where there are many words ...

How do words get their meanings? Why does the string of letters (and sounds) "d-o-g" mean "dog" and "c-a-t" mean "cat"? For the most part, meanings are conventions: A group of people (like speakers of ...

In the brain, language pops up everywhere. All across the wrinkly expanse of the brain’s outer layer, a constellation of different regions handle the meaning of language, scientists report online ...

Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution states that “Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath...” Here, and in more than a dozen other places in Article ...

Wordplay that involves changing one letter in a given word to produce a different legitimate word can be traced to Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece puzzle called the doublet. For example, given the initial ...