Mental Floss

WORDS







iStock.com/omersukrugoksu

According to some estimates, 30 percent of the English language—or roughly one in three English words—is derived directly from French.

Paul Anthony Jones


These words are so wonderful even Santa wants to use them.

Every time Christmas rolls around it brings with it its own vocabulary of words you barely hear the rest of the year. Here are a few we should bring back.

Paul Anthony Jones
















StanRohrer, iStock via Getty Images

At first glance, a dictionary seems pretty straightforward: Words are listed alphabetically, and you simply locate the right page and scan until you find the word you’re looking for. But there’s a lot you might not know about these essential reference too

Suzanne Raga