"Ghost" is a pretty old word. "Ghoul," as an English word, not so much.

Ghost and Ghoul (Word-Origin Wednesday)

The names of "October" and a few other months make a lot more sense if we look at Latin and the Roman calendar.

October (Word-Origin Wednesday)

The everyday meaning of "sympathy" has shifted over the years, but it's always had some connection to its Latin and Greek roots.

Sympathy (Word-Origin Wednesday)

Before it entered everyday English, "hysterical" was medical Latin.

Hysterical (Word-Origin Wednesday)

Do you say "autumn" or "fall" to describe the season between summer and winter? Get the lowdown on the history of both words.

Autumn and Fall (Word-Origin Wednesday)

"Dead" and "duck" go way back, but the term "dead duck" is only a couple of centuries old.

Dead Duck (Word-Origin Wednesday)

The often miswritten and mispronounced "landlubber" goes back a few centuries.

Landlubber (Word-Origin Wednesday)

"Nice" has had at least a dozen definitions over the last few centuries.

Nice (Word-Origin Wednesday)

The Modern English "peruse" came from the Middle English "peruse" . . .  or maybe it came from French.

Peruse (Word-Origin Wednesday)

With Labor Day approaching, let's look at "factory" and "manufacturing." They were both borrowed from Latin.

Factory And Manufacturing (Word-Origin Wednesday)

Word-Origin Wednesday is the weekly podcast that walks you through a word origin in five minutes or less.

Word-Origin Wednesday

The origin of "octopus" helps us determine the preferred plural.

Octopus (Word-Origin Wednesday)

"Decimal" comes from the Latin word for "tenth." Its etymological cousins include "decade," "dime," "December" and..."decimate"?

Decimal (Word-Origin Wednesday)

This episode features a centuries-old Greek word and a new American word. Which is which?!?!

Hippopotamus and Bluetiful (Word-Origin Wednesday)

"Whiskey" has been through some changes in its journey to English from (no surprise) Gaelic.

Whiskey (Word-Origin Wednesday)

There's a story floating around social media that attempts to explain the origin of "shot," as in a shot of whiskey. Is the story true, or is it a myth? Find out on this week's #WordOriginWednesday!

Shot of Whiskey (Word-Origin Wednesday)

May 1 is May Day (two words) in the United States. Don't confuse it with "mayday" (one word), the distress call for pilots.

May Day and Mayday (Word-Origin Wednesday)

By tracing "hiatus," meaning a break, back to its ancient Proto-Indo European roots, we find it has some modern cousins with similar meanings but very different sounds.

Hiatus (Word-Origin Wednesday)

"Penultimate" and its cousin, "ultimate," both come from Latin. As the meaning of "ultimate" shifts, poor "penultimate" is being left behind.

Penultimate (Word-Origin Wednesday)

"Put up your dukes," which has been around since at least the 1800s, is one example of Cockney rhyming slang.

Put Up Your Dukes (Word-Origin Wednesday)

"Fun" has been part of the English language for centuries, but its use as an adjective is fairly recent. The comparative "funner" is widely criticized, but is that really fair?

Fun and Funner (Word-Origin Wednesday)

"Honey" and "moon" are very old. "Honeymoon" is relatively new, meaning it's a mere 500 years old.

Honeymoon (Word-Origin Wednesday)

"Escalate" is fairly new word, and the current definition has been around since just the 1950s.

Escalate (Word-Origin Wednesday)

The transition from "ekename" to "nickname" is a fine demonstration of the transition from Middle English to Modern English.

Nickname (Word-Origin Wednesday)

The slang term "booze" goes back many years as a noun and many more years as a verb. And what's a boozeroo?

Booze (Word-Origin Wednesday)

"Honky" has been part of African American Vernacular since the late 1950s, but its origins might go back to the 19th century.

Honky (Word-Origin Wednesday)

"Humble" came from French, which took it from Latin. It's always meant "lowly," although that's not how people use it today.

Humble (Word-Origin Wednesday)

The current popular meaning of "carnival" goes back to the 1920s, but the original meaning, which involves meat, goes back centuries.

Carnival (Word-Origin Wednesday)

The Best Multi-Part Documentaries, with documentaries on Obama, Federer vs Nadal, the making of Star Wars, Netflix vs Blockbuster and more. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Multi-Part Documentaries

The best philosophy podcast episodes. Asking questions about how to live a better life, what it means to be and do good, to the idea of God. This topic includes episodes that bring about important questions that everyone should be asking themselves. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!