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What is a smoking gun? Where does the phrase come from?

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A smoking gun is a weapon that has recently been fired.

Where does the word tsumami come from?

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Tsunami  first appeared in a National Geographic Magazine article in 1896.

First Japanese word in English?

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The Japanese Contributions to the English Language: An Historical Dictionary (p27) cites six words that arrived in the 1500s:

Four differences between parody and satire?

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The words parody and satire are often used interchangeably but they are not synonymous .

How did Japanese words enter the English language?

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Oxford English Dictionary editor, John Simpson, explains how Japanese words entered English in three distinct historical phases.

What is a word?

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Dictionaries  struggle to precisely define the nature of their core commodity.

Which language has the most words?

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Counting the total numer of words used in a language is complex as their are many variables.  Comparisons are particularly difficult between alphabetic and non-alphabetic languages.

Where does the word robot come from?

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Photo by  Franck V.  on  Unsplash  The word  Robot means to 'work slavishly'. It is a rare example of a Czech word ('robota') being incorporated into English.  From Start the Week 24/01/11 Robot  first came to public attention through Czech writer Karel Čapek in his play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), published in 1920. This   opens in a factory that makes machines that replicate human form. These machines are closer to what today would be termed androids .   As in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein,  the ethical issues explored by Čapek relate to individual autonomy. A shared preoccupation is the danger inherent in 'playing God'.  Dictionary dispute Čapek credited his brother Josef with coming up with the word robot. He also wrote to the Oxford English Dictionary to correct their etymology.  Karel had originally used another neologism labori based on the Latin word for work,  labor, but was dissatisfied. His brother then pointed to the C

Why do we say 'Good' Friday?

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It may seem odd that Christians call their day  of greatest sorrow   Good   Friday . Photo by  Sincerely Media  on  Unsplash

Why 'Maundy' Thursday?

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The first citation of maunde  to describe the Thursday before Easter in middle English comes in the mid-15C. It described both The Last Supper and the ceremony of the washing of the feet of the poor or downtrodden. The immediate origin was the Old French word mandé. This in turn derived from the Latin mandatum  or "commandment". From a Christian perspective, the crucial reference was to the opening words of the Latin church service for this day, Mandatum novum do vobis "A new commandment I give unto you" (John xiii:34).  This new commandment was to love one another.   Its supreme test would be the Passion of  Good Friday . Free read on Medium : The language of Easter?  (4 mins)