WORDS

The long tradition of bullying means a long list of words for bullies, many of which are lost in the mists of time. Though some words show traces of the wide-ranging history of bully—which originally was a tear of endearment—most of the following terms wo

The University of Toronto-based project aims to define every English word used between 600 CE and 1150.

It pays to know your timber beasts from your savages.

We're really, truly, highly interested in helping you improve that lazy vocabulary.

The skin is the largest organ in the human body, covering a surface area of nearly 2 square meters. Skin covers a great deal of the English language, too, if we look to its many skin-related words, expressions, and idioms.

Though the terms are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between the two. And it's all in the shape of things.

In the U.S., pudding has a relatively small life, nutritionally and lexically. But when you look back at jolly old England, this seemingly one-dimensional word has lived a vibrant life in metaphors and idioms.

Some languages lack what we might consider the most fundamental words—yet somehow manage to get by without them.

Let's raise the curtain on 'barnstorming,' 'catastrophe,' and other terms that have their origins in the theater.

Since the introduction of the first working steam locomotive in Great Britain over 200 years ago, trains have been a great influence on Western culture, whether in the world of books, music, or the movies. The language of the railroad has also infused the

The concept of cowardice is an old one, and there are many now-obscure words for, as Yosemite Sam might put it, lowdown yellow-bellies.

Thirty-two years ago this month, Sixteen Candles blew its way into theaters. With it came those now iconic teen characters, the Geek, hot Jake Ryan, the ridiculously stereotypical Long Duk Dong, and misunderstood every-girl Sam, along with some major ‘80s