Tagged Questions
-2
votes
1answer
519 views
The growth of English
English is (to her credit) widely considered a language of .. mixed breeding, seeing as to how she accepts favours from just about anybody and everybody. What I'd like to know is how and by how much ...
2
votes
4answers
376 views
Why do some non-English words become English words?
Why do some non-English words become English words even though there is already are English words meaning the same thing that are more universally understandable?
For example,
He received kudos ...
6
votes
2answers
214 views
Has the incorporation of foreign phrases in English stopped?
I know English contains many words taken directly from another language - chauffeur, for example - but I am interested in foreign phrases. These are phrases you'd see in writing or spoken aloud, such ...
6
votes
1answer
499 views
Origin of “they”, “them”, and “their”
I know that they, them, and their did not exist in Old English. What language are they derived from?
7
votes
2answers
161 views
Monsters! another question about what-was-it-then
Etymonline has the original meaning of monster as
c.1300, "malformed animal, creature afflicted with a birth defect"
but I am curious to know the term used at that time -- and even earlier -- for ...
6
votes
3answers
411 views
Did “et cetera” gain its popularity from “The King and I”?
Is it possible that et cetera gained its popularity thanks to the 1956 movie The King and I?
Since I wasn't around before 1956, I'm not sure how common "et cetera" was in day to day speech. Or was it ...
6
votes
1answer
487 views
Interjection “et voila”
I know et voila is a French interjection and means there it is.
It is very much used in the US. Why is the use of et voila so popular in the US?
Which historical fact has made it so popular?
