blitz / blitzkrieg 14 January 2026 Blitz is a clipping of Blitzkrieg, the German word meaning lightning war, which referred to the high-speed, offensive tactics made famous by the German army in the opening months of World War II. In English, blitz can refer to a sudden, violent military attack, especially one by
incel 12 January 2026 Incel is a portmanteau of involuntary celibate, referring to a person, usually a heterosexual man, who desires a sexual or romantic partner but is unable to find one. The term arose as a self-identifier and spawned a virtual subculture as those who could not find sexual partners
ergonomics 9 January 2026 Ergonomics is a combination of the Greek ἔργον (ergo, meaning work) + the English -nomics, taken from economics. It is the study of the interaction of people and their work environments, particularly in reference to efficiency and safety. The word was evidently coined in 1949 by a group
zero gravity / zero-g / microgravity 7 January 2026 Zero gravity, also called zero g or microgravity, is the state of weightlessness experienced in outer space (and, as we shall see, at the center of the earth). The term is much older than you might expect. It first appears back in February 1915 in the journal
scrapple 5 January 2026 Scrapple is a mush of pork scraps—hence the name—cornmeal, and sometimes buckwheat flour. It is typically fried and served as a breakfast meat. It can be found in the Mid-Atlantic United States, from South Jersey to North Carolina. The Pennsylvania German name for it is
voluntary / volunteer 2 January 2026 The adjective voluntary has a rather straightforward etymology. It comes from the Latin voluntarius, meaning willing, of one’s own choice, via the Old French voluntaire. The Latin noun voluntas means will or desire. The first English incarnation of the word is the noun volunte, meaning will
redskin / red man 31 December 2025 Redskin, a disparaging term for a Native American, is over two and a half centuries old. It is first recorded in a transcript and translation of a speech given by Chief Maringouin, of the Illinois people, on 26 August 1769. It was interpreted by a Frenchman from
neither confirm nor deny / Glomar response 29 December 2025 When a US government official neither confirms nor denies the existence of a classified program it is called a Glomar response or a Glomar denial. This label has its origins in one of the most fascinating incidents of the US-Soviet Cold War, but the wording neither confirm
breaking bad 26 December The popular US television show Breaking Bad (2008–13) is about a high-school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque who, after being diagnosed with lung cancer and with the assistance of an ex-student turned failed drug dealer, begins to cook and sell crystal meth. While the show has been popular
keener Having been born and raised in the United States, I was unaware of the slang noun keener until I came to the University of Toronto. Keener is used to denote enthusiastic and over-eager students and is mildly derogatory. One hears instructors uttering phrases like “I assigned extra reading, knowing that
2025 Wordorigins Words of the Year (WOTY) 23 December 2025 As in past years, I’ve come up with a list of Words of The Year (WOTY). I do things a bit differently from other sites in that I don’t try to select one term to represent the entire year. Instead, I select twelve terms, one
bald-faced / boldfaced / barefaced 22 December Is a lie bald-faced, bold-faced, or barefaced? Of the three, barefaced is the oldest by about half a century. The underlying metaphor is that of being beardless, that is open and undisguised. But from its earliest use barefaced has also been linked to being shameless. It appears as
