They're known as man's best friends, fur babies, pooches. But the most widely used word for these beloved animals — "dog" — is also a great linguistic mystery. "The most everyday, commonplace words ...

Graham told Sky News he was inspired by real-life events. “I read an article about a young girl who was stabbed to death by a young boy, and then a few months later, on the news, there was a young ...

Every word we use carries with it layers of history and culture that shape its meaning and usage today. Often, the words flowing effortlessly from our mouths have origins that are both fascinating and ...

The word "deadline" has been used a lot in reference to tariffs. It got us thinking: what is the origin of the word? NPR's Scott Simon talks with Benjamin Dreyer, author of "Dreyer's English." The ...

We often hear fascinating stories about how things originated: the universe, the wheel, even pizza. But when it comes to the words we toss around every single day without a second thought, it’s wild ...

Stay on top of what’s happening in the Bay Area with essential Bay Area news stories, sent to your inbox every weekday. The Bay Bay Area-raised host Ericka Cruz Guevarra brings you context and ...

Before we used the internet, these words meant something else entirely. Read on to learn the original meaning of 10 everyday ...

For more than 150 years ago, the assumption that language is a singular event has hampered progress in explaining its evolution. Another obstacle was the failure to recognize that certain social ...

You have heard the word "woke" before. Perhaps out of the mouth of a particularly vocal politician, or from your younger cousin. But for a word that gets tossed around constantly, it's surprisingly ...

It doesn’t just mean “to transform” — it means to change in a way that’s bizarre, unexpected, or delightfully absurd. The very sound of it seems to warp mid-air, as though the word itself were ...