Merriam-Webster
Word Matters
5 people rated this podcast
Merriam-Webster
Word MattersEpisodes
Merriam-Webster
Word Matters
5 people rated this podcast
Rate Podcast
Best Episodes of Word Matters
Mark All
Search Episodes...
Usually, a word begins with a literal, concrete meaning. (Like concrete, for example.) Then, eventually, it starts being used metaphorically. (Hey again, concrete!)But with these words, that's not the case. These words began as metaphors and th
In English, there's a certain way adjectives tend to fall in line. It's natural to hear something like "brown leather wallet," but "leather brown wallet" would sound slightly off. So... why? We'll look into it.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Sh
We all know that nouns have a specific job. So do verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and the like. But what happens when they start moonlighting in other roles? Meet the attributive noun. Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Prod
You know that old cliche, "When they look up X in the dictionary, they'll see your picture"? Well, for these folks, that saying is true. Today we're talking eponyms.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collabor
English is often called a "Germanic" language, and yet huge parts of it come from Latin and Greek. So: what gives? Here's the story of English, in 17 minutes.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration w
Should we only enter words everyone knows, or does the dictionary need to cover the obscure as well? The answer is, well, pretty philosophical.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England
We recently added a whole bunch of new words. Here are some of our favorites!Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here. Our podcast is sponsored
Last week we told you about our Word of the Year. This week, we'll get into the rest of the words that made up 2021.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript av
The word 'vaccine' was about much more than just medicine this year. Here's what we looked at to make it our 2021 Word of the Year.Read up on 'vaccine' and the rest of the runners up here.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolows
This week we're joined by Wall Street Journal language columnist and Spectacular Vernacular podcast host Ben Zimmer! Learn all about Ben's research on the history of words like 'hella' and 'Ms.', plus how slang is studied and tracked through ti
First: someone who owns or runs a restaurant is called a restaurateur. What? How did that happen? Is 'restauranteur' a valid word? We'll get into it.Then: why do people say 'meteoric rise' when meteors are famously things that fall?Hosted by Em
Few words in the English language get people as riled up as the supposed "incorrect" use of 'decimate.' Does it have to keep its Roman meaning of "reduce by one tenth" or can it generally mean "destroy," as it's been used by millions of speaker
How did 'audible' move from the football huddle to general conversation?And why do we have both 'inexplicable' and 'unexplainable'?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Medi
How did 'snake-oil salesman' become a term for a swindler? It's a complex story.How was 'asshat' formed? It's about what you'd expect.Today we're getting into the intricacies of vulgarities.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolo
We talk all the time about how words are entered. But what about the ones that fall away? How are those decisions made? Let's get into it.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Publ
Today we're looking at two of the English language's most persistent questions. First, is there an actual difference between 'ax' and 'axe'? What's up with that? Then, the great debate continues to rage over what can be called a 'podium' and wh
This week we finally address it: the two spellings of everyone's favorite North American marsupial.Plus, we do a deep dive on 'staycation' and various other leisure-related portmanteaus!Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski
Shadowy spies, brilliant detectives, danger and action. The language of spy and mystery thrillers has always been a source of captivation for readers, sometimes even affecting the world of spycraft itself. This week we'll look at the contributi
Writing advice often includes hackneyed phrases we’re supposed to avoid. The phrases we're warned against today are different from the ones of yesteryear. We'll explore both.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in
A discussion of various kinds of slips of the tongue and errors of the ear.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https:
George Orwell published his famous essay "Politics and the English Language" in 1946, and we mostly wish he hadn't.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript ava
The English language 1) is not logical, and 2) loves to hold onto its mistakes. Enter folk etymology, or, attempts to apply logic to the language, and the mistakes that took root.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produc
We're joined this week by Johanna Mayer and Chris Egusa from the Science Diction podcast to discuss the psychological origins of the word 'introvert'!Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaborat
We're back to the mailbag this week with some excellent questions, including:Is 'yeet' ready for the dictionary?What's the difference between a typeface and a font?Why do people say 'lo and behold'?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Pete
Our Springfield office holds a file of 16 million alphabetized scraps of paper, each containing a citation for a word. Some of them are from as far back as the 19th century. Many are written by hand. So... how did we create this bit of living h
Join Podchaser to...
- Rate podcasts and episodes
- Follow podcasts and creators
- Create podcast and episode lists
- & much more
Unlock more with Podchaser Pro
- Audience Insights
- Contact Information
- Demographics
- Charts
- Sponsor History
- and More!
- Account
- Register
- Log In
- Find Friends
- Resources
- Help Center
- Blog
- API
Podchaser is the ultimate destination for podcast data, search, and discovery. Learn More
- © 2024 Podchaser, Inc.
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
- Contact Us