language

It's or Its? Celebrate National Punctuation Day With Our Apostrophe Challenge

By Chris Wilson

Quiz: Do You Know What These Made-Up Roald Dahl Words Mean?

By Katy Steinmetz

'Merica, Gender-Fluid, and YOLO Added to OED

By Katy Steinmetz

One Way to Reduce Crime: Raise Wages

By The Aspen Institute
More in language

Trump's Comments Make Dictionary Lookups for 'Treason' Spike

Trump, and the reactions people have had to Trump, have sent people running to the dictionary all election

By Katy Steinmetz

The Serious History Behind Esperanto

The first Esperanto textbook was published on July 26, 1887, by its inventor L.L. Zamenhof

By Olivia B. Waxman

The Wartime Deaths That Led to the Invention of Braille

Louis Braille’s tactile reading system made literacy for the blind a reality, but he was indebted to an officer in Napoleon’s army

By Stephen Bertman / History Today

The Surprising History Behind the Word Pokémon

Dictionary.com added a definition for the word on July 19

By Katy Steinmetz

Dictionary.com Adds 'Woke,' 'Pokemon' and 'Butthurt'

Many of the latest additions reflect our current obsessions with identity, technology and food-eating

By Katy Steinmetz

Why Donald Trump Is Smart to Swear

Cursing can make candidates more believable

By Melissa Mohr

This Is Where the Word 'Dad' Comes From

A history lesson that should make good brunch fodder this Father's Day

By Katy Steinmetz

This Is What 'Adulting' Means

And why you're seeing it everywhere

By Katy Steinmetz

Quiz: Could You Be a National Spelling Bee Champion?

Find out if you have what it takes

By Chris Wilson

How Fluent Are You in Silicon Valley Slang?

A tool to help determine if you're the audience for Valley Speak, a new book intent on breaking down Silicon Valley jargon

By Katy Steinmetz and David Johnson

Stop Policing the N-Word

There’s a difference between the slur and the sign of affection

By John McWhorter

Merriam-Webster Adds 'FOMO,' 'Mx.' and About 2,000 Other Words

'Trigger warning,' 'hella' and 'athleisure' also made the list

By Katy Steinmetz

Why We Need to Reclaim the Word 'Female'

It's not a dirty word

By Jay Newton-Small

5 Words You Use All the Time That Were Once Totally Unacceptable

Like bring-tears-to-an-English-teacher's-eye unacceptable

By Katy Steinmetz

Why Computers Won't End the Language Barrier

These are today's best ideas

By The Aspen Institute

The Word 'O.K.' Has Just Celebrated Its 177th Birthday

Here's how a newspaper rivalry inspired one of the most common words in English

By Julia Zorthian
1...34567...12
More from TIME
More From TIME