Tag Archives: English

The -ize have it

Posted 213 days ago by Stephen Whiteley

Most translators and editors work on the basis that the -ise suffix is British and -ize is American. So we have realise/realize, advertise/advertize, analyse/analyze, as well as the derived forms realisation/realization and so on. As usual, the reality is more …

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More unexpected etymologies…

Posted 233 days ago by Stephen Whiteley

Today, some unexpected etymologies. All of the following words have become so deeply embedded in English that I, for one, would never have imagined they were borrowings from sundry other languages. Slogan – from the Celtic slaugh and gheun, battle …

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The origin of ‘to break the ice’

Posted 252 days ago by Stephen Whiteley

The English expression ‘to break the ice’ has found its way into various other languages (romper el hielo, in Spanish for example). It is a useful, if over-used, concept, which refers to any strategy to overcome that initial awkwardness at …

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Timely – adverb or adjective?

Posted 276 days ago by Stephen Whiteley

“Their work is timely, accurate and cost efficient.” Does there seem to be something wrong with this sentence? There did to me, too, namely the use of the word timely. Now, to me timely suggests that something is done at …

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Root, route and rout

Posted 403 days ago by Stephen Whiteley

The words ‘root’ and ‘route’ are homophones in British English (in other words, they are pronounced in the same way), whilst most Americans would pronounce ‘route’ to rhyme with ‘out’ or ‘shout’. The root is that part of a plant …

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