TIL that the word salary actually derives from ‘sal’, the Latin word for salt because salt used to be so important and valuable that Roman soldiers used to be paid an allowance to cover their salt… #wordorigins
October 16, 2025 at 9:34 AM
TIL that the word salary actually derives from ‘sal’, the Latin word for salt because salt used to be so important and valuable that Roman soldiers used to be paid an allowance to cover their salt… #wordorigins
Medbed: from science fiction to conspiracy theory to the presidential announcements
#etymology #wordorigins #language #uspolitics
#etymology #wordorigins #language #uspolitics
medbed
[I’ve decided to attempt posting a “Words in the News” premium feature weekly. We’ll see how long I can keep that pace up—and much will depend on how many pay to subscribe to the premium features. I’m...
wordorigins-org.ghost.io
October 9, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Medbed: from science fiction to conspiracy theory to the presidential announcements
#etymology #wordorigins #language #uspolitics
#etymology #wordorigins #language #uspolitics
It wasn’t planned; it’s just how the revision schedule fell out; but this one is appropriate for the start of SCOTUS’s term
#etymology #wordorigins #language #uspolitics #SCOTUS
#etymology #wordorigins #language #uspolitics #SCOTUS
Calvinball — Wordorigins.org
6 October 2025 Calvinball is the name of a fictional sport coined by cartoonist Bill Watterston in his syndicated comic strip Calvin and Hobbes . In the strip, Calvinball is a sport wher...
www.wordorigins.org
October 6, 2025 at 11:31 AM
It wasn’t planned; it’s just how the revision schedule fell out; but this one is appropriate for the start of SCOTUS’s term
#etymology #wordorigins #language #uspolitics #SCOTUS
#etymology #wordorigins #language #uspolitics #SCOTUS
“And pretty soon my name in Dnepropetrovsk is cursed, when he finds out I publish first.”
—Tom Lehrer, “Lobachevsky”
#etymology
#wordorigins
—Tom Lehrer, “Lobachevsky”
#etymology
#wordorigins
titanium / menaccanite — Wordorigins.org
1 November 2024 Titanium is a chemical element with atomic number 22 and the symbol Ti . It is a lustrous, silver, transition metal with low density and high strength. It is also corrosion resista...
www.wordorigins.org
November 1, 2024 at 12:10 PM
“And pretty soon my name in Dnepropetrovsk is cursed, when he finds out I publish first.”
—Tom Lehrer, “Lobachevsky”
#etymology
#wordorigins
—Tom Lehrer, “Lobachevsky”
#etymology
#wordorigins
Uncover the hidden meanings behind famous quotes with our Word Origins series! 🧐 Learn the history of the words used in iconic statements that have shaped our culture. #FamousQuotes #WordOrigins
April 20, 2024 at 8:00 PM
Uncover the hidden meanings behind famous quotes with our Word Origins series! 🧐 Learn the history of the words used in iconic statements that have shaped our culture. #FamousQuotes #WordOrigins
Francis Scott Key didn’t coin “star-spangled banner”; he wasn’t even the first Baltimore poet to write an ode to the American flag that was set to the tune of “Anacreon in Heaven”
#etymology #wordorigins #language
#etymology #wordorigins #language
star-spangled / spangle — Wordorigins.org
2 July 2025
www.wordorigins.org
July 2, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Francis Scott Key didn’t coin “star-spangled banner”; he wasn’t even the first Baltimore poet to write an ode to the American flag that was set to the tune of “Anacreon in Heaven”
#etymology #wordorigins #language
#etymology #wordorigins #language
“Church” isn’t in the original Bible.
The Greek word is ekklesia — meaning called-out ones, not a building.
You were never meant to go to church.
You ARE the church.
.
#wordorigins #spiritualtruth
The Greek word is ekklesia — meaning called-out ones, not a building.
You were never meant to go to church.
You ARE the church.
.
#wordorigins #spiritualtruth
July 14, 2025 at 11:11 PM
“Church” isn’t in the original Bible.
The Greek word is ekklesia — meaning called-out ones, not a building.
You were never meant to go to church.
You ARE the church.
.
#wordorigins #spiritualtruth
The Greek word is ekklesia — meaning called-out ones, not a building.
You were never meant to go to church.
You ARE the church.
.
#wordorigins #spiritualtruth
