etymology | Boing Boing

Halloween candy An etymologist explains how Halloween candy favorites got their names Rusty Blazenhoff
spook The racist history of the word "spook." Thom Dunn
christopher columbus Never forget Christopher Columbus's linguistic crimes and horniness for manatees Thom Dunn
lexicography Famed lexicographer's new book "Word Perfect" released with a ton of typos David Pescovitz
barrels A "buttload" is apparently a formal unit of imperial measurement Thom Dunn
Bannatyne Manuscript The oldest written record of "fuck" has been discovered — and it comes from a plague quarantine Thom Dunn
plays The word "robot" originated in this 1921 Czech play David Pescovitz
ok OK, here's a great explainer on the origins of the word "OK" Andrea James
breasts Breasts aren't "boobs" or "titties" but rather "tiddies" or "titays" David Pescovitz
not square The story of 'cool' Rusty Blazenhoff
dialect Some folks call green peppers "mangoes" for a centuries-old reason Andrea James
ewwww What's the story with "gross?" David Pescovitz
dictionaries "Post-truth" is the Oxford Dictionaries word of the year David Pescovitz
golden ticket Scrumdiddlyumptious and other Roald Dahlesque words now in the Oxford English Dictionary David Pescovitz
etymology Weird has a weird history David Pescovitz
baby names Find out when your name was popular with Baby Name Explorer app Xeni Jardin