Arika Okrent

Sep 5, 2024 | mentalfloss.com | Arika Okrent

Only a handful of English words start with ‘gh’—what gives? Gh is a strange way for an English word to start. There are only a handful of commonly used words that begin with this spelling. Beyond the spirit cluster of ghost, ghastly, and ghoul, we have borrowed words like ghetto, gherkin, and ghee, some place names like Ghana and Ghent—and that’s about it. Which may have made you wonder: What’s up with the gh? Turns out, it has a little something to do with a 15th-century publisher.

Aug 14, 2024 | mentalfloss.com | Arika Okrent

Inside the wonderful world of ‘pluralia tantum.’Of all the grammar concepts we have, “plural” seems to be one of the most straightforward. You got one thing? It’s singular. Got more than one thing? It’s plural. But alas, language is always less straightforward than we expect. The way we conceptualize something—as one thing or many things—doesn’t always match up with the way our word for it behaves. There are some nouns that only have a plural form, regardless of how we think of them.

Mar 11, 2024 | mentalfloss.com | Arika Okrent

Today is a big day for lovers of the number 12, and no one loves 12s more than the members of the Dozenal Society. The Dozenal Society advocates for ditching the base-10 system we use for counting in favor of a base-12 system. Because 12 is cleanly divisible by more factors than 10 is (1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12 vs. 1, 2, 5 and 10), such a system would neaten up our mathematical lives in various ways.

Feb 21, 2024 | mentalfloss.com | Arika Okrent

Animals have always been important to the lives and livelihoods of humans, so it’s no wonder they've left a mark on language. Here are 15 words that were etymologically inspired by animals. 1. BawlThe word bawl comes from the sound that a dog makes. In Latin, the dog says “bau bau,” and bawl originated in the verb baulare, “to bark like a dog.” Bawl was first used in English for the cries of dogs, and was later applied to human sobbing and yelling (as in “bawl out”). 2.

Feb 21, 2024 | newsbreak.com | Arika Okrent

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