Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Every word we use carries with it layers of history and culture that shape its meaning and usage today. Often, the words flowing ...

Linguist Gareth Roberts joins WIRED to answer the internet's burning questions about the etymologies of English words. How did the first languages first form? Was there once a single common language ...

Some people use sarcasm jokingly. But funnily enough, we tend not to find it witty when we're on the receiving end.

The study of word origins (that is, etymology) is every bit the serious academic discipline you might expect it to be — except when it's not. As it turns out, people have a propensity to make false ...

According to data from the U.S. Department of Education, 54 percent of adults, nearly 130 million people, aged 16 to 74 lack literacy proficiency, reading below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level.

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 ...

The Irish language, or Gaeilge, is one of Europe’s oldest living languages, tracing back more than 1,500 years. Part of the Celtic family, it developed alongside early Irish societies and was ...

Recently, a number of people have questioned or critiqued the use of the word “queer” to describe LGBTIQA+ folk. One writer to the Guardian claimed that the “q-word” was as derogatory and offensive as ...

Etymology is the study of the origins of words and how their usage has changed over time. It's every bit the serious academic discipline you might expect it to be — except when it's not. As it turns ...