plead / pleaded / pled The verb to plead, meaning to make an appeal or argument, especially in a legal setting, comes to us from the Anglo-Norman French plaider. Since the Normans ruled England starting in 1066 and imported their own laws and legal system into England, many English legal terms come from Norman French.
coach Coach is a word with two very different primary meanings. Etymologically coach is probably a single word, connected through use in university slang, although it is possible that the two meanings have different origins. The older of the two meanings is that of a means of conveyance, originally a horse-drawn
world The word world has a very straightforward etymology. It comes from the Old English woruld, and its basic meanings haven’t changed for over a thousand years. World can refer to the realm of human existence or to various subdivisions of it, such as the world of sports or the
khaki Khaki is a light brown or tan cloth, usually of cotton or wool, or simply a designation of that color. In past decades it was associated with military uniforms but has become less so of late. This word, like many others, is a legacy of British colonialism. The word is
food desert / food swamp A food desert is an area with poor access to food, especially nutritious food and fresh fruits and vegetables. Popularly associated with urban areas, food deserts are also a problem in rural regions. The term is a notable one because there is a shift in its meaning, or rather in
cyclone Cyclone, a noun meaning a windstorm that revolves around a center of low pressure, has a somewhat interesting etymology in that it is a modern coinage using ancient roots. It is also one of those rare words that we can pinpoint its precise origin, a situation somewhat more common with
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satellite We normally think of a satellite as an object in outer space that is in orbit around another, larger object, such as a moon around a planet. But that is not its only meaning in present-day English, nor is it the original sense of the word. Satellite is borrowed from
gnome Just because two words are spelled the same does not mean they share an etymology. Often they do, but it is an unreliable guide, for sometimes the different meanings have wildly different origins. Such is the case with gnome. Most of us are familiar with gnome meaning a diminutive creature
cloture Cloture is the act of ending debate on a subject in a legislative assembly, and most often today it’s used in reference to the United States Senate. The word is a modern borrowing from the French clôture, which was used by the French Assembly in the nineteenth century. We
armadillo The armadillo is a largely nocturnal American mammal of the order Cingulata. There are a number of species of armadillo, of which the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) is perhaps the most familiar to English speakers. That species is found in South and Central America and in the southeastern United States,
throuple Throuple is a good example of a word that has been coined multiple times, by multiple people, over the years. A blend of three + couple, it can refer to any grouping of three, but more commonly it is used to describe a polyamorous relationship involving three people, a ménage à
