Nouns are words that refer to an entity, quality, state, action, or concept.
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10answers
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Differences between slang words for breasts
What is the difference between “tits” and “boobs”?
P.S. I'm not sure if this question is appropriate but as English is not my native language I really would love to know the difference.
50
votes
10answers
7k views
What is the difference between an Emperor and a King?
I was at a loss when I was asked recently by my grand-daughter who is a school girl about the difference between Emperor and King. She asked me why Great Britain has King and Queen, while Germany and ...
50
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5answers
5k views
49
votes
22answers
5k views
Is there a word for a non-geek?
I am looking for a term which clearly defines somebody as a non-geek, without being derogatory. The best example I have seen is muggle, but it needs context to be understood, as in "You don't meet ...
48
votes
8answers
4k views
Which term correctly identifies those who enjoy programming/technology: “geek” or “nerd”?
Which term correctly identifies those who enjoy and are involved with programming and technology, geek or nerd?
45
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10answers
8k views
45
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11answers
4k views
What is the difference between “gender” and “sex”?
What is the difference between gender and sex? Wiktionary says that gender is The mental analog of sex but that's too high English for me.
Basically, I'm developing a web-application that stores ...
42
votes
6answers
3k views
“Indexes” or “indices”?
A table can have one index, or it has two or more ind...?
Is it indexes or indices? I'm just asking since I've noticed that they're both used quite often. Even Wikipedia seems to support both ...
34
votes
7answers
2k views
“Left” and “right” are to “side” as “front” and “rear” are to what?
Is there an equivalent word to "side" when speaking of the front or rear of something (e.g. a car)?
So, a mechanic might say:
You damaged your wing-mirror? Ok, which side?
... or...
You ...
34
votes
4answers
1k views
What are the words for the different parts of a ticket?
Admission tickets such as those for the cinema are often composed of a part which will remain to the customer, and a part which will remain to the attendant.
What are the two parts called?
What is ...
33
votes
8answers
6k views
“Race” is to “racism” as “religion” is to what?
I've heard "racist" being used in a few cases to describe bigotry towards people of a certain religion. It's a bit annoying because it implies that all people of a religion are the same race, which is ...
32
votes
2answers
4k views
If the plural of ‘man’ is ‘men,’ shouldn’t the plural of ‘German’ be ‘Germen’?
What makes these two words so different that 'man' is changed to 'men', but 'German' is changed to 'Germans'?
30
votes
9answers
6k views
“Trainer” is to “trainee” as “mentor” is to what?
What do you call someone who is being mentored? Is it mentoree or mentee? Does the term student or pupil imply a context outside the business environment?
29
votes
8answers
10k views
“Toilet”, “lavatory” or “loo” for polite society
My friend is trying so hard to fit into polite society, and is raising her child to say loo rather than toilet. I know it should be lavatory (and I would not say lav) but we are in the 21st century ...
28
votes
8answers
3k views
“Warm” is to “warmth” as “cool” is to what?
Is there a word for "coolness" that corresponds to warmth?
27
votes
6answers
1k views
Are there any words in English that have a plural with a separate derivation?
There are some irregular plurals in English (child/children, goose/geese), but all of the ones I know of share the same root word.
In some languages, there are some irregular pairs where the singular ...
26
votes
15answers
9k views
Collective word for food and drink
Is there a word that best describes food and drink taken at the same time? I've thought of refreshments and consumables but neither seem right to me.
26
votes
7answers
1k views
Single word for people who are like “a frog in the well”
Is there a single word describing someone who is like a frog in a well? The frog believes the well is the entire world. How can I describe people who think that their own small environment is the ...
26
votes
3answers
3k views
What is the plural form of “zero”?
I tried looking on Google, but there are some fairly contradictory results.
I thought I'd ask you guys so we could get an authoritative answer on the subject!
25
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5answers
1k views
Are 'accuracy' and 'precision' interchangeable nouns?
The dictionary for accuracy says:
The quality or state of being correct or precise.
The ability to perform a task with precision.
And for precision:
The quality, condition, or ...
25
votes
12answers
2k views
What is a verb for “illusion”?
What is a verb for illusion? I want to use it in a sentence like the following:
The optical effect [illudes] my perception of its real shape.
But illude does not exist. But I cannot find illude ...
25
votes
5answers
1k views
Is there a term for grammatical mistakes as a result of trying too hard?
Today, I learned the term hyperforeignism after writing that I was drinking a latté and then stopping to wonder why I was putting a diacritical mark on the "e".
This reminded me of other language ...
25
votes
3answers
2k views
What kind of noun is a picture?
I'm not sure of the right place to ask this, but I got confused trying to understand how the computer will interpret the sentence:
This is my picture.
In actual sense, the real owner of the ...
24
votes
9answers
26k views
“Lunch” vs. “dinner” vs. “supper” — times and meanings?
I've seen cases where a noon-time meal is referred to as dinner, and the evening meal is called supper. There's also lunch around noon followed by dinner in the evening. Is there a particular ...
21
votes
5answers
776 views
Words that are pluralized in the middle?
This is purely a curiosity, but I'm fascinated by mid-word pluralization, even if the word in question is a compound word.
For example, passersby or standersby.
No others have occurred to me. Can ...
21
votes
2answers
483 views
What is the name for the process which turned “iced cream” into “ice cream”?
There are several words (mostly related to food) which are shortenings of their historical forms. For example, the cold treat ice cream was originally known as iced cream in the 1680s. The -ed ending ...
20
votes
17answers
2k views
Noun for “person with intermediate skill”
I'm looking for the noun form of "person with intermediate skill". For example, in the context of a particular activity, "person with no skill" might be designated a novice, and "person with much ...
20
votes
4answers
5k views
“Hooker”, “whore”, “prostitute”, when to use which?
"Hooker", "whore", and "prostitute" all mean whore; what are the differences between them?
20
votes
6answers
3k views
Should the words “internet” and “web” be capitalized?
There seems to be some inconsistency on whether people capitalize the words internet and web (as in World Wide Web) as proper nouns. What is the official ruling on when or if these words should be ...
18
votes
6answers
5k views
Antonym of “highlight”
What's the opposite of highlight?
I don't mean the verb to highlight or to emphasize something, so downplay isn't an option.
Instead I'm looking for the opposite of "the highlight of the movie, ...
18
votes
3answers
676 views
18
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2answers
863 views
Is there a word for having more than ten fingers?
I recently read an article about a man who had twelve fingers and twelve toes. Is there a word for this genetic anomaly?
18
votes
5answers
9k views
What is the origin of the phrase “I'll take a raincheck”?
What is the origin of the phrase I'll take a raincheck?
18
votes
6answers
3k views
What's the female equivalent of “suitor”?
I'm looking for a word which could satisfy the usage of "suitor", except it would be used to indicate female "suitors":
E.g.:
She had a host of suitors eagerly awaiting her favour...
Now, I ...
18
votes
4answers
1k views
Transform or transformation?
Is there a difference between the words transform (noun) and transformation?
Let me describe my problem. I have a mathematical model which I can transform into a better model with help of a data ...
18
votes
1answer
2k views
Why don't English nouns have grammatical gender?
English nouns — other than those with natural gender, e.g. people or animals — do not generally have grammatical gender, and so are referred to as "it" rather than "he" or "she".
However, modern ...
17
votes
6answers
18k views
How should I ask for a bill in a restaurant politely?
I used to say check please, but my English teacher said that it's wrong, and the proper way is to say something like bill please.
What's the truth?
17
votes
4answers
859 views
Word for “distance in time”
I need the correct English word for the German expression (zeitlicher) Abstand. Abstand means "distance", and zeitlich means "in time".
The "distance" between building maintenance dates is about ...
17
votes
8answers
2k views
What is a good, short, word to describe a software engineer?
What should I call a person who write software, computer programs ? I know he/she is a software engineer, can I call him/her as "Coder"?
17
votes
3answers
6k views
What's the difference between “puberty” and “adolescence”?
The two words puberty and adolescence seem to be referring to one thing; what is the difference between them?
17
votes
5answers
958 views
Word for the opposite of “hypochondria”
Is there a word for the opposite condition of hypochondria, i.e. someone who denies being sick when they clearly are? I would just say that they are "in denial". Is there any other adequate word?
I ...
16
votes
9answers
1k views
Is there a word or expression for a small crush on someone?
I am not very sure if the word crush ("an intense and usually passing infatuation") can be used between two strangers.
For example, a man sees a beautiful woman for the first time in his life. Could ...
16
votes
3answers
1k views
Why does “corn” mean “maize” in American English?
I keep hearing "corn" as a synonym of "maize". This is widely popularized worldwide by popcorn. However, this is American English! In British English, "corn" can mean any type of "grain", especially ...
16
votes
7answers
10k views
Why is a woman's purse called a “pocketbook”?
It's not a book, and it doesn't fit in anyone's pocket. Why does my brother-in-law insist on calling his wife's purse a pocketbook?
I'm interested in the etymology, and in the chronological and ...
16
votes
6answers
5k views
Difference between “invoice” and “bill”?
I am talking about something you should pay. "Invoice" here doesn't mean the proof of payment.
Sometimes I am told to pay my "bill", and sometimes they may refer to the similar paper (physical or ...
16
votes
4answers
4k views
Difference between “ability” and “capability”
What is the difference in usage between ability and capability?
15
votes
6answers
3k views
Difference between “condo” and “apartment”
I have never really understood the connotation of someone calling their domicile a condo over the word apartment. I have a vague feeling the former is fancier and more up-scale, but are there any ...
15
votes
7answers
30k views
Is “receival” a valid word for the act of receiving something?
In the course of reviewing a standard operating procedure, I came across the subheading:
"Receival, Costing and Charging of Work".
I immediately began to doubt whether the word "receival" was a ...
15
votes
7answers
1k views
Is my worst enemy my best friend (interpreting negative adjectives applied to negative nouns)?
"The worst student" is the student who is bad at things. In this case, "worst" simply describes the noun.
Following this logic, your "worst enemy" would be the person who is very bad at being your ...
15
votes
4answers
1k views
New Zealand pronunciation of “women” vs “woman”
I have read in a number of places that the NZ pronunciation of "women" must be rather peculiar. Quoting from just one such place:
For some years I've noted the tendency of Kiwis to pronounce ...
