The Roman poet Martial who lived in first century AD had a problem: without the protection of copyright laws, he couldn’t stop the other poets of his day from circulating his poems as their own. His only recourse was to write witty verses admonishing and mocking the thieves. Of one rival he wrote, “The book you’re reciting, Fidentinus, is mine; but when you recite it …
Artificial intelligence, or AI, has been a hot topic of late, but what is it? And how does it work? In this article (which was written by a real person and not AI, just to be clear), we will go over some of the key terms connected to AI and related computer processes. We are going to break down the technical jargon to describe how …
While many languages, such as Arabic and Hebrew, add specific accents to the letters or characters throughout their alphabet, the English alphabet has only two letters that include a diacritic dot. This mark is added to a letter to signal a change in either the sound or meaning of a character. What is the additional name of this curious dot that hovers over the ninth …
Before he was Snoop Dogg, the West Coast rap icon went by his given name: Cordozar Calvin Broadus. He was named after his stepfather. His stage name was inspired by Snoopy though, a childhood nickname. His parents gave him the pet name because of the way he looked. She might be known as Iggy Azalea on stage, but this Australian-born rapper’s official name is Amethyst Amelia …
Calling all benedicts, farouche folk, and flexitarians: The new Word of the Day Quiz is here! If the quiz doesn’t display, please try opening in the Chrome browser. Improve your vocabulary with our Visual Word of the Day videos. Not sure what some of the definitions of these words mean? We found some items (linked below) to help give a little more context … scupper …
If you’ve ever owned a Microsoft Windows computer, there’s a good chance you’ve played a game of solitaire or two. Even if that isn’t the case, you’ve likely at least heard of one of America’s most popular single-player card games. But do you know how old this card game actually is and why we call it solitaire—and also Klondike solitaire? Solitaire is one of 83 …
Brain tired from all that ratiocinating? Kick back with this week’s Word of the Day Quiz. If the quiz doesn’t display, please try opening in the Chrome browser. Tell us your favorite word from this week below (and share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter)!
This Word of the Day Quiz will give you some great fodder for your next causerie. If the quiz doesn’t display, please try opening in the Chrome browser. Interested in Words of the Day from the past? Check out this one that we brought to life … Not sure what some of the definitions of these words mean? We found some items (linked below) to …
Over 15,000 entries updated on topics ranging from race and sexual orientation to climate and internet culture The unprecedented events of 2020, from the pandemic to the protests, have profoundly changed our lives—and language. As we explained in our April additions to the dictionary, COVID-19 rapidly introduced an array of new and newly prominent technical terms to our everyday vocabularies, including asymptomatic, viral load, and …
Feeling otiose? Lounge around with this week’s Word of the Day Quiz. | May 27 – June 2, 2019 If the quiz doesn’t display, please try opening in the Chrome browser. Interested in Words of the Day from the past? Check out this one that we brought to life … Tell us your favorite word from this week below (and share it with …
