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Tag Archives: etymology

Strange Combinations Posted by on Nov 11, 2021

When two or more words are combined to form a new word with a different meaning, we get a compound word. There are three types of compound words. They can be closed compounds, joined into one word, like soundproof. Closed compounds are almost always the combination of only two words. They can be open compounds…

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Somewhere in the English Language Posted by on Jul 27, 2017

Where do you find something in a group? Between, among, amid, betwixt, amongst, and amidst are all similar prepositions. What’s the difference, and when should you use one over another? I have a lot of books. No. Really. I have hundreds and hundreds of books in my library and bedroom, packed neatly onto shelves, stacked…

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Berry, Berry Good! Posted by on Jun 15, 2017

If you need a reason to celebrate summer, look no further than the four objects in this picture. Last week I made a delicious and refreshing strawberry dessert and, as I hulled and sliced up the fruit, I began to wonder…Why do we call a strawberry a strawberry? This, in turn, led me to wonder…

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