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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

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A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia

 

Some imitative words are more surprising than others

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Some Odd Words with ISMO: "People Tipping"

 

Comedian ISMO on the complexities of the word 'tip'

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How to Use a Dictionary

 

The best way to find information in the dictionary

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How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

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

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'All Intensive Purposes' or 'All Intents and Purposes'?

 

We're intent on clearing it up

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Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs

 

You don't have to end all your adverbs in -ly to talk right.

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
child-with-a-telescope
Spot the Misspelled Word Quiz March 2026 Guage your ability to identify out-of-place letters.
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