Linguistics is one of the degrees most often dragged through the mud for being “useless,” but The Lord of the Rings, one of ...

Siren enters English through Latin sīrēn, from the Greek Seirēn. In its earliest form, it names the mythic beings themselves. The etymology does not point to beauty or danger so much as compulsion. A ...

English doesn’t help. Words like “paleontological” look innocent until you say them out loud and suddenly feel like you need ...