User Alain Pannetier Φ

56 votes

Accepted

Origin and evolution of "hapless"

answered Aug 5, 2011 at 10:21

46 votes

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"Plausible" vs. "possible"

answered May 29, 2011 at 23:59

44 votes

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How does the "be-" prefix change the words to which it is applied? How did it come about?

answered May 19, 2011 at 1:08

43 votes

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From which language has English borrowed the most words?

answered Mar 29, 2011 at 8:36

37 votes

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Why is there no plural indefinite article?

answered Jul 23, 2011 at 18:31

29 votes

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How did English get the "What is your name?" construction?

answered Jun 6, 2011 at 20:44

28 votes

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"Checking" vs. "chequing" vs. "chequeing" with regards to types of bank accounts

answered Mar 17, 2011 at 21:48

27 votes

Apart from place names, are there any Native American words used in English?

answered May 1, 2011 at 9:36

27 votes

How did "sinister", the Latin word for "left-handed", get its current meaning?

answered Aug 23, 2011 at 23:16

26 votes

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"Can hardly wait" versus "can't hardly wait"

answered Jun 12, 2011 at 7:56

24 votes

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How and in what way did the Danes come to influence English?

answered Apr 14, 2011 at 6:14

24 votes

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Where did the "ue" in "tongue" come from?

answered Jul 6, 2011 at 2:03

21 votes

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Old English instead of Latin in early Britain

answered Sep 20, 2011 at 0:15

21 votes

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Are 'consecutively' and 'successively' the same?

answered Apr 8, 2011 at 12:12

21 votes

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Is the "wit" in "to wit" the root of any other English words?

answered Mar 13, 2011 at 6:57

21 votes

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Etymology of the color name "orange"

answered Jun 3, 2011 at 19:03

20 votes

What is the word for when members of the same group attack each other?

answered May 17, 2011 at 23:49

19 votes

"Liberty" versus "freedom"

answered Mar 7, 2011 at 10:34

19 votes

Did English ever have a "you" plural?

answered Apr 22, 2011 at 15:11

19 votes

Accepted

What do you call someone looking for a job?

answered Aug 15, 2011 at 10:39

18 votes

Origin of "jack sh*t"

answered Apr 11, 2011 at 6:07

18 votes

Why was the "th" combination chosen for the "th" sound?

answered Apr 21, 2011 at 10:54

17 votes

Accepted

Why did 'y' disappear as an internal vowel in English spelling?

answered May 16, 2011 at 1:40

17 votes

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Is "wot wot" or "what-what" an authentic British expression? If it's supposed to be mocking, what is it mocking?

answered Mar 15, 2011 at 5:28

16 votes

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Are the verbs that are conjugated to end in "-n" in the past participle related?

answered Apr 15, 2011 at 17:11

16 votes

Accepted

Was what happened to the pronunciation of the word "church", as compared to the Scots-English "kirk", a general phenomenon in Middle English?

answered May 12, 2011 at 1:12

16 votes

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What do you call the eating of frogs?

answered May 10, 2011 at 23:35

16 votes

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What's the meaning of the symbol ‡?

answered Apr 29, 2011 at 12:35

16 votes

What is a word for a man who has a lot of sexual relationships?

answered May 24, 2011 at 22:14

15 votes

Accepted

Which term is correct — "Afghan" or "Afghani"?

answered May 29, 2011 at 2:15

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183 Answers

Origin and evolution of "hapless"

"Plausible" vs. "possible"

How does the "be-" prefix change the words to which it is applied? How did it come about?

From which language has English borrowed the most words?

Why is there no plural indefinite article?

How did English get the "What is your name?" construction?

"Checking" vs. "chequing" vs. "chequeing" with regards to types of bank accounts

Apart from place names, are there any Native American words used in English?

How did "sinister", the Latin word for "left-handed", get its current meaning?

"Can hardly wait" versus "can't hardly wait"

How and in what way did the Danes come to influence English?

Where did the "ue" in "tongue" come from?

Old English instead of Latin in early Britain

Are 'consecutively' and 'successively' the same?

Is the "wit" in "to wit" the root of any other English words?

Etymology of the color name "orange"

What is the word for when members of the same group attack each other?

"Liberty" versus "freedom"

Did English ever have a "you" plural?

What do you call someone looking for a job?

Origin of "jack sh*t"

Why was the "th" combination chosen for the "th" sound?

Why did 'y' disappear as an internal vowel in English spelling?

Is "wot wot" or "what-what" an authentic British expression? If it's supposed to be mocking, what is it mocking?

Are the verbs that are conjugated to end in "-n" in the past participle related?

Was what happened to the pronunciation of the word "church", as compared to the Scots-English "kirk", a general phenomenon in Middle English?

What do you call the eating of frogs?

What's the meaning of the symbol ‡?

What is a word for a man who has a lot of sexual relationships?

Which term is correct — "Afghan" or "Afghani"?