Okay. It’s true. History was once pronounced ’istory. And hotel was once pronounced ’otel. When you don’t pronounce the h, it flows better to say an ’istorian or an ’istorical. But that was in the 18th and 19th centuries. English speakers today are likely to sound the h in both these words. We say history, … Read more
A storyphile is someone who loves stories. It’s not a word you’ll find in the dictionary. Yet. But it’s a good word nonetheless—especially for a former classics* major like me. It combines the word story with the suffix –phile, which means someone who loves. It’s from the Greek philos, which means beloved or loving. The … Read more
I’ve always been a word nerd. I was born that way, I think. I love the sound of words. I love to play with them. I love learning about their origins. And I’m compulsive about looking up the meanings of words that are new to me. So it always shocks me, a bit, when I … Read more