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 ...

"Algospeak" by Albany native Adam Aleksic. Before he was breaking down internet language for millions of TikTok users, Adam Aleksic was just a kid growing up in Albany, fascinated by words and their ...

Where does the word “mother” come from? What does it mean? If, for some reason, you find yourself asking these questions, read on (and, as an aside, you might need to seek some professional help). For ...

Linguist, influencer and author Adam Aleksic explored the effects of technology on modern-day language at a talk titled “Are We Cooked?,” hosted by the Northwestern University Linguistics Student ...

Jess Zafarris began her journey into word nerdery in college, where her English literature coursework introduced her to the Old English of “Beowulf” and Chaucer’s Middle English. While pursuing her ...

John Leland kicks off his entertaining new book, Hip: The History, with a seductive little linguistic anecdote. The word hip, he says, derives from the West African language Wolof, and was “cultivated ...