In old cartoons there is often _____ hanging on the wall, reading “home, sweet home” and the like, often framed. As far as this question is concerned, this stuff is sewen, stiched, knitted, you tell me. What is this thing called? I’d call this Stickerei in German and the dictionary offers “(archaic) stitchery”, but this … Read more
According to Ngram, anyway. The vast majority of English speakers seem to have no idea what the word means. Now why is that? UPDATE: After reading some of the responses: As a noun. Answer In Search of Lost Etymons: Stalking Cranberry Morphemes The learnèd word coeval, sometimes written coëval and formerly spelled coaeval or coæval, … Read more
Recently, I learned about another meaning for the word “Salute”: A firecracker. However, I could find this definition in only one online dictionary (M-W): firecracker (q.v.) … together with a Wikipedia article, which says: In pyrotechnics, a salute is a device primarily designed to make a loud report (bang), rather than have a visual effect, … Read more
Are there any examples of any English words that are both synonyms and homonyms of each other? I would guess that over time one would become considered an alternate spelling and die out, so perhaps were there ever such words? Answer You may find this page of homonyms interesting. Some homonyms: Air – oxygen / … Read more
I came across this passage in chapter 12 of David Eddings’ Pawn of Prophecy: “Hail, greatest of Lords,” she crooned, bowing deeply. “When thou comest into throe inheritance, remember that it was old Martje who first greeted thee.” Source; passage above appears in the 5th paragraph from the bottom of the page. What exactly is … Read more
“Ye” is an archaic pronoun that is a plural form of “you”. The possessive form of “you” is “your”. The possessive form of “thou” is “thy” (or “thine” before an adjective). What is the possessive form of “ye”? Is it just “your”? Answer In Early Modern English, the nominative (subject) form of the second person … Read more
I came across these lines in a hymn: Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,Which wert and art, and ever more shalt be. I noticed that “wert”, “art”, and “shalt” were used with the subject “which” in the last line instead of which “thou.” At first I thought this was just a grammatical mistake on … Read more
In the version of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” available on gutenberg.org here, this appears: “she told him at last that if he didn’t quit using around there” Is the use of the word “using” here a mistake, or was that the actual original word used there? If the latter, what does it mean? Is it … Read more
The noun sooth, pronounced /suːθ/, is now archaic and means ‘fact’,‘reality’ and ‘truth’. Its legacy persists in the words soothe /suːð/, and soothsayer meaning someone who sees the truth, a synonym of fortune teller and the French loanword clairvoyant. In Shakespeare’s plays, sooth is often used with the verb say and in the expression in … Read more
The first time I heard “mine host” in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, I went to Wiktionary to see if it once was used instead of “my,” however, I ended up with that it should not be followed by a noun but rather use “my” instead and I can’t find further references referring to Shakespeare’s usage. My question … Read more
