User nicholas ainsworth

127 votes

5 answers

186k views

Can “whose” refer to an inanimate object?

asked May 2, 2011 at 20:29

30 votes

1 answer

10k views

From which language has English borrowed the most words?

loanwords

asked Mar 29, 2011 at 7:58

26 votes

4 answers

4k views

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

etymology vocabulary

asked May 1, 2011 at 7:21

26 votes

10 answers

71k views

A single word for someone who is quick to hate others

single-word-requests pejorative-language

asked Oct 14, 2011 at 11:07

22 votes

5 answers

37k views

Why are the words hundred, thousand, million, and trillion singular after plural numbers?

grammatical-number

asked Apr 18, 2012 at 5:59

21 votes

6 answers

38k views

How did the Australian accent come about?

pronunciation accent rhotic australian-english

asked May 3, 2011 at 5:48

20 votes

4 answers

51k views

What is the origin of the phrase ‘By the by...’?

etymology phrases idioms phrase-origin

asked Apr 4, 2011 at 6:00

17 votes

4 answers

108k views

"Arab" or "Arabic" or "Arabian"?

differences

asked Mar 29, 2011 at 6:52

16 votes

5 answers

47k views

How does one correctly pronounce the letter 'H': "Aych" or "haych"?

pronunciation world-english insular-english letter-names

asked May 4, 2011 at 10:01

16 votes

6 answers

30k views

Why do we put the verb to be at the end of these questions? [duplicate]

subject-verb-inversion indirect-question wh-questions

asked Mar 20, 2012 at 8:55

15 votes

7 answers

42k views

"It is they who lied" or "it is them who lied?"

pronouns

asked Mar 23, 2011 at 20:39

14 votes

6 answers

125k views

What does the phrase "Fee-fi-fo-fum" actually mean?

meaning

asked Apr 5, 2011 at 6:40

14 votes

4 answers

17k views

Is there a collective name for pieces of metal that hold wood together?

single-word-requests

asked Aug 9, 2016 at 10:31

13 votes

6 answers

59k views

What is a single word for a person who, as a habit, exaggerates a lot when relating information?

single-word-requests pejorative-language

asked Dec 9, 2012 at 10:28

12 votes

3 answers

22k views

a cold vs flu / the flu

indefinite-articles definite-articles

asked Mar 10, 2012 at 6:43

11 votes

7 answers

4k views

Why are there so few words in English that are derived from Welsh?

loanwords

asked Apr 4, 2011 at 5:31

11 votes

3 answers

1k views

Sources say English was rhotic in the 17th century -- how do they know that?

pronunciation rhotic

asked Apr 2, 2011 at 9:54

10 votes

6 answers

12k views

What is a good word between 'slave' and 'servant'?

single-word-requests

asked Apr 2, 2011 at 7:26

10 votes

4 answers

42k views

Which is more correct: "burgled" or "burglarized"?

word-choice grammaticality verbs american-english past-participles

asked Mar 23, 2011 at 21:38

9 votes

6 answers

11k views

Why is most North American speech rhotic?

history speech pronunciation-vs-spelling north-american-english rhotic

asked Apr 2, 2011 at 9:56

9 votes

2 answers

33k views

Can the word ‘genius’ be used as an adjective?

nouns parts-of-speech attributive-nouns

asked Apr 4, 2011 at 5:23

9 votes

4 answers

52k views

What is the opposite of "personification"?

single-word-requests nouns antonyms

asked Oct 22, 2011 at 9:22

9 votes

5 answers

5k views

What is the grammatical function of 'brand' in the phrase 'brand new'

grammar

asked Jan 9, 2013 at 17:19

9 votes

5 answers

4k views

What is the military term for fighting the enemy without permission?

terminology

asked Mar 14, 2014 at 19:48

8 votes

6 answers

5k views

Does the word 'God' with a capital G have a plural form?

grammatical-number

asked Apr 1, 2011 at 20:32

8 votes

4 answers

30k views

Shouldn’t "Heaven" and "Hell" be capitalized, as they are the names of places?

capitalization

asked Mar 23, 2011 at 21:18

6 votes

1 answer

1k views

What does 'should' mean in this sentence?

meaning

asked Mar 22, 2011 at 9:11

6 votes

6 answers

28k views

A single word for a person who suffers great loss

single-word-requests vocabulary

asked Jun 5, 2011 at 20:49

6 votes

1 answer

90k views

'Seen as' or 'seeing as'

grammar past-participles present-participles

asked Aug 14, 2011 at 9:35

6 votes

4 answers

1k views

Is there an opposite of tightfisted that also contains reference to a hand?

single-word-requests phrase-requests idiom-requests

asked Mar 31, 2014 at 16:34

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113 Questions

Can “whose” refer to an inanimate object?

From which language has English borrowed the most words?

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

A single word for someone who is quick to hate others

Why are the words hundred, thousand, million, and trillion singular after plural numbers?

How did the Australian accent come about?

What is the origin of the phrase ‘By the by...’?

"Arab" or "Arabic" or "Arabian"?

How does one correctly pronounce the letter 'H': "Aych" or "haych"?

Why do we put the verb to be at the end of these questions? [duplicate]

"It is they who lied" or "it is them who lied?"

What does the phrase "Fee-fi-fo-fum" actually mean?

Is there a collective name for pieces of metal that hold wood together?

What is a single word for a person who, as a habit, exaggerates a lot when relating information?

a cold vs flu / the flu

Why are there so few words in English that are derived from Welsh?

Sources say English was rhotic in the 17th century -- how do they know that?

What is a good word between 'slave' and 'servant'?

Which is more correct: "burgled" or "burglarized"?

Why is most North American speech rhotic?

Can the word ‘genius’ be used as an adjective?

What is the opposite of "personification"?

What is the grammatical function of 'brand' in the phrase 'brand new'

What is the military term for fighting the enemy without permission?

Does the word 'God' with a capital G have a plural form?

Shouldn’t "Heaven" and "Hell" be capitalized, as they are the names of places?

What does 'should' mean in this sentence?

A single word for a person who suffers great loss

'Seen as' or 'seeing as'

Is there an opposite of tightfisted that also contains reference to a hand?