The English language is a treasure trove of words that not only sound beautiful but also convey complex, nuanced meanings. You may never have heard of them, let alone be able to pronounce them but ...

In “Through the Looking Glass,” Humpty Dumpty says scornfully, “When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.” Alice replies, “The question is whether you can make ...

Vocabulary development is often the province of English/language arts instruction. But it’s also a core part of Deaquanita Lancelin’s 9th grade science class in the Pine Bluff schools in Arkansas.

Some time ago, I fell into conversation with a colleague about what we had been reading lately, and the person suggested that I absolutely must give Henry James’s “The Ambassadors” a try. The pandemic ...

How do words get their meanings? Why does the string of letters (and sounds) "d-o-g" mean "dog" and "c-a-t" mean "cat"? For the most part, meanings are conventions: A group of people (like speakers of ...