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video title words of the year 1066
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

play alright allright video
Alright vs. All Right

 

Is 'alright' all right?

play serenity carr next to an illustration of a refrigerator with the letter d in it
Why is there a 'd' in 'fridge' but not in 'refrigerator'?

 

Thawing one of the mysteries of English

play mrs malaprop
What is a malaprop?

 

We'll tell you all the perpendiculars

play video how a word gets into the dicionary
How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

What our editors are looking for when they enter words in Merriam-Webster.

play person studying illustration
'All Intensive Purposes' or 'All Intents and Purposes'?

 

We're intent on clearing it up

play video between you and i or me
I vs. Me

 

'Between you and __'? Simple guidance for a tricky pronoun.

Games & Quizzes

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Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
girl-pencil-test
Challenging Standardized Test Words Quiz Vol. 3 You’re on your own for the math section.
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