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How World War II's ‘Dear John’ Letters Changed American Society

By Susan L. Carruthers

Why Hit Movies Are Called Blockbusters

By Olivia B. Waxman

The Past and Future of Punctuation Marks

By Florence Hazrat / History Today

The Surprising Origins of the Phrase 'You Guys'

By Allan Metcalf
More in language

How America's Ugly History of Segregation Changed the Meaning of the Word 'Ghetto'

The name “Ghetto” likely derived from the Venetian verb gettare, meaning to pour or to cast, and probably can be traced to the earlier presence of a copper foundry in what was to become the all-Jewish district

By Daniel B. Schwartz

The Long Debate Over What Counts as a Concentration Camp

Even for Nazi camp survivors who sought to eradicate them, they were hard to define

By Emma Kuby / History Today

Merriam-Webster Adds Gender-Neutral Pronouns to Dictionary

"They" and "themself" have been added, along with more than 530 other words

By Suyin Haynes

What to Know About the Origins of 'Left' and 'Right' in Politics, From the French Revolution to the 2020 Presidential Race

How did such seemingly benign descriptions come to define the political spectrum?

By Madeleine Carlisle

Was Stonewall a Riot, an Uprising or a Rebellion? Here's How the Description Has Changed—And Why It Matters

The word "riot" had very specific connotations in the 1960s

By Katy Steinmetz

Americans and Brits Have Been Fighting Over the English Language for Centuries. Here’s How It Started

It's always been about more than just spelling

By Peter Martin

It's Time to Rethink the Demeaning Ways We Describe Pregnancy

And to let women provide their own alternatives to "knocked up"

By Katy Steinmetz

Wives of Political Leaders Have Long Been Called 'First Ladies.' California's Jennifer Siebel Newsom Has Other Plans

How an unprecedented moment fits into centuries of history for political spouses

By Katy Steinmetz

Dictionary Reveals Biggest Search Trends of 2018

Dictionary.com has revealed the 10 most viral lookups of 2018, and they reflect a tense era. Here's what you need to know

By Katy Steinmetz

Dictionaries Have Been Inspiring Political Debates for Longer Than You Probably Think

Noah Webster was dismissed by one contemporary linguist as “a thirsty reformer"

By Rosemarie Ostler / History News Network

Why Slang Is More Revealing Than You May Realize

And exceptionally tricky to study

By Katy Steinmetz

Thousands of Languages Are Endangered. Can Apps Save Them?

Language-learning startup Duolingo is launching two new courses in Hawaiian and Navajo, as linguists warn that many tongues are under threat

By Katy Steinmetz

Why Calling Donald Trump an 'Animal' Doesn't Fix Anything

The President and his opponents share a bad instinct

By Katy Steinmetz

How Learning New Words Could Make You Happier

Even if you don't totally understand what they mean

By Katy Steinmetz

Avoiding Phrases With Unseemly Origins Is More Complicated Than You Might Think

Many terms — like 'sleepy eyes' — have dark pasts that few people remember

By Katy Steinmetz

The Oxford English Dictionary Added 'Trans*.' Here's What the Label Means

"Some people think of it as trendy and cutting edge and insider, and some think it’s obnoxious."

By Katy Steinmetz
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