Siren enters English through Latin sīrēn, from the Greek Seirēn. In its earliest form, it names the mythic beings themselves. The etymology does not point to beauty or danger so much as compulsion. A ...

The etymology of mistletoe — a plant with small, oval evergreen leaves and waxy white berries — may strike some as repugnant.

Explore the understated yet vital role of the spool in our lives. Learn about its etymology, original purpose, and relevance in modern technology and language. Discover why this simple object matters ...

In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others ...

Explore the intriguing etymology and implications of the word 'batch,' a term that encapsulates how we organize everything ...

Etymology is the study of the origins of words and how their usage has changed over time. It's every bit the serious academic discipline you might expect it to be — except when it's not. As it turns ...

It wouldn't be spooky season without ghosts. The otherworldly white apparitions are a standby of Halloween celebrations. But they weren't always the stereotypical evil spirits we see in books and ...

A new book exploring the origins of common food terms — from bialy to lima bean to bibimbap — is a fascinating history of how we eat and cook. By Kim Severson Used judiciously, the snappy tidbits of ...

Aristotle called the artichoke a "cactus," but it wasn't a case of ancient Greek botany gone wrong. Back then, the word for an artichoke--or at least its closest relative, a kind of wild artichoke ...

Food words have some seriously gnarly roots, but follow them far back enough, and you can see culinary history all tangled up in a few short syllables. Welcome to Eat Your Words Oregano and marjoram ...

Today, as it made its return as a print publication, Newsweek published a blockbuster story: It unveiled the identity of the founder of Bitcoin. One might say (and, today, many have been saying) that ...