“Every word was coined by a resourceful individual or borrowed as a result of language contact in a certain place at a certain time,” writes Anatoly Liberman in his new book, “Word Origins and How We ...

Knowing the origin of words is of vital importance for a good speller. Several internationally acclaimed spelling lists have their words divided into sections on the basis of the language of origin.

U.S. playwright Rita Mae Brown said: "Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going." That quote comes to mind looking at these fascinating ...