Hermes, God of the Word
In Greek myth Hermes [hûr'mēz], son of Zeus [zūs] and Maia [mā'ə, mī'ə], was not just the patron god of thieves, merchants, and boundaries. He was also a god of science, art, speech, eloquence, and writing.
Numskulls, Noodles, and Nincompoops
When I began to research words meaning “stupid person,” I expected to find ten or so common ones and be done with it.
Instead I’ve found dozens upon dozens of English words used to describe a person of perceived limited intelligence.
Word of the Day: Aura
Aura [ôr'ə] is a noun, and it refers to an invisible, subtle breath or emanation, like the aroma of the flowers. It can also be used to indicate the atmosphere or intangible quality surrounding a thing or person. The plural can be written as auras or aurae.
What is Dative Case?
A reader asks about the grammatical term “dative case.”
English makes use of four “cases” - Nominative, Genitive, Accusative, and Dative.
To “B” or Not to “B”
English words ending in the spelling -mb occasionally give English learners difficulty. The error arises in trying to pronounce the final b.
Some of these words derive from originals that included the b sound and spelling.
Should THAT Be Allowed to Stand In for WHO?
A reader writes to deplore the use of the relative pronoun that when the antecedent is person:
English is my second language, and it hurts to see the rampant disrespect everywhere for a person who
Be Your Own Ideal Reader
Our article Your Ideal Reader prompted a response from veteran writer Kilburn Hall, who wrote:
There is no “ideal” reader and if you start trying to write for one specific audience, you’re going to tune out others that might actually be interested in reading your book.
Words to Describe Degrees of Religiosity
With the topic of religion so much in the air, writers may have use for adjectives to describe various degrees of religious feeling and behavior.
The following words have other meanings, but here the focus is on their use to describe people.
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