Wordplay: For the Love of Language | Merriam-Webster

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How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

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

10 Hella Good U.S. Regionalisms

We’re on a word tour, going each and every place with a mic in our hand

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

10 words expert players use

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Words With Remarkable Origins, Vol. 2

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

Raise a glass to some full-bodied vocabulary.

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Our maraca shake brings all the hautbois to the yard

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

Look what you made us do

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

The Words of the Week - July 4

Lookups from economics, the Senate, and the Fourth of July

12 Words and Phrases for Romantic Relationships

This list warms the cockles of our hearts

Where Does the Expression 'Throw Someone Under the Bus' Come From?

Let's blame the British

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

We know you're going to look these up

Top Banana, Kingpin, and Other Nicknames for Important People

Big wigs, big enchiladas, and big shots

Foreign

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.

'In Vino Veritas' and Other Latin Phrases to Live By

Top 10 Latin Phrases

10 Words from Nahuatl, the Language of the Aztecs

Avocado, chocolate, and more

A Guide to the Names of French Sauces

17 saucy terms (and how to say them)

Games & Hobbies

12 Words From Basketball

Plus a few terms that never quite made it

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

Know Your Baseball Idioms

Our national pastime. No, the other one.

Are You Ready for Some Football (Words)?

So you can do more than smile and nod when talking about the big game

Science & Nature

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words (or Phrases) Birds Seem to Be Saying

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

Possum vs. Opossum: Is There a Difference?

On a marsupial with various names

'Blue Moon,' 'Wolf Moon,' and Other Moons to Look for Throughout the Year

More moons than you can shake a stick at

Word History

Quick: Read This!

'Quick' once had a very different meaning

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

Etymologies for Every Day of the Week

The sun, the moon, four gods, and a goddess.

14 Words Inspired by Dogs

A lexicographer's best friend