etymology

If Pluto Is a Planet, So Am I

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine declared Pluto a planet again in a video this week. I’m assuming Bridenstine was half-joking, since there is someone laughing in the background, and I think I see a smirk on his face. But now is as good a time as any to discuss the complicated issue of Pluto’s planethood. Pluto…

Space & Spaceflight Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Blood Feasts, Cashless Stores, and Quantum Computing: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

Excellent news here at Gizmodo, where I presume what’s left of our blogger-chewed Forbidden Sandwich is still festering in the back of a fridge. We have discovered yet more ingredients to add to the mix, including head cheese from an ancient species of Pleistocene wolf found preserved in Siberia, cannabis residue scraped from a brazier…

Tech News Tom McKay

Decapitated Male Mantis Still Fucks

During sex, female praying mantises have a tendency to kill their partners with a decapitating cutting blow that would make a samurai proud. But as this shocking new video shows, just because a male doesn’t have a head doesn’t mean he still can’t get it on. The entirety of this gorgeous new Deep Look video…

Biology George Dvorsky

Fun word origin stories that are hiding in plain sight

Why is a daisy called a daisy? Because it comes from the Old English of Day’s Eye, when the flower opens up during the day and closest in the evening. Bonfire? Started from bone fire. Month? A moon cycle, moonth. Being alone? It’s because it’s just all one. Here are some really fun word origins…

Sploid Casey Chan

Of Course The Origins Of The Term “Serial Killer” Are Gruesome

Unsurprisingly, the two men credited with coming up with the term “serial killer” worked, together and separately, on some of the FBI’s most gruesome cases: John Douglas and Robert K. Ressler. Their careers were so extraordinary they influenced pop culture, and at least one Oscar-winning film. Ressler, who died in 2013 at age 76, authored…

Tech News Cheryl Eddy

Jackie Chan Invented The Chinese Character That’s Now A Viral Smash

A new Chinese character, “duang,” has gone viral. Nobody’s sure what it actually means, but Jackie Chan has everything to do with it. According to a BBC report, duang has appeared over eight million times and claimed the most-popular hashtag title on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. But where did it come from, and what…

io9 Cheryl Eddy

Learn Which Famous Authors Coined “Nerd” And “Quark” In This Fun Video

This week’s episode of Mental Floss’ List Show on YouTube, hosted by John Green, breaks down 43 words invented by authors (spoiler alert: they’re not all by Shakespeare … and a lot of them are from scifi books!)

io9 Cheryl Eddy

What Does “OK” Stand For, Anyway?

As a linguistic phrase, OK is something of a phenomenon, traveling from American English into hundreds of other languages. And there are tons of myths about how OK emerged to mean that things are hunky-dory. But which story is correct? The truth is a little bit goofy. In his book Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban…

io9 Lauren Davis

How Two 18th Century Women Fell in Love and Invented Modern Romance

Romance hasn’t always been the stuff of bodice rippers and bad vampire movies. Back in the 18th century, the word “romantic” meant something akin to “foolish” or “fanciful.” But then a bunch of hipster sentimentalists changed everything — and invented the idea of love as we know it today. Saucy illustration “Archers,” by Adam Buck…

io9 Annalee Newitz

How The Simpsons Changed the English Language

Over at the Oxford Dictionaries blog, there’s an essay by author and Indiana University at Bloomington professor Michael Adams that investigates how The Simpsons has helped shape the English language over the past 25 years. Specifically, he’s interested in the words and catchphrases — not all those memorable one-liners, though who among us doesn’t reference…

io9 Cheryl Eddy

Does Knowing that “OK” Was a Joke Ruin It?

OK has been traced to a 19th century Boston Morning Post article where a writer was satirizing the “new” craze of abbreviations. The more things change, the more they stay the same, I guess. Rachel Newer at Smithsonian Magazine has pulled together a numberof sources tracing the origin of OK to an article by Charles…

io9 Katharine Trendacosta

The Many Ways We’re Using Mutant Mosquitos to Eradicate Disease

Mosquitos suck. It’s not just because of those itchy red bites we all get in the summer, either. Mosquitos suck because they’re the deadliest animals on the planet, and none of our classic strategies from combatting the threat seem to be working. That’s why we’re turning the mosquitos against themselves. In recent years, scientists have…

Health Adam Clark Estes

Here’s The Thing About English

As Blaze Miskulin puts it below, “English is a mutt. And a slut. It was born of the random fucking of multiple cultures, languages, and dialects, and it will hop in bed with any language that tickles its fancy. It’a also a thief. English will blatantly steal any word or phrase that it finds interesting.…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

31 Essential Science Fiction Terms And Where They Came From

There are so many words and phrases that we use in science fiction—and even science—without giving it much thought. But where did we get terms like “death ray,” “terraforming,” “hive mind,” “telepathy,” and “parallel universe”? Top image from Philip Barshofsky’s One Prehistoric Night as published in Wonder Stories, an early science fiction example of using…

Books & Comics Lauren Davis

In Defense of Talking Funny

Not everyone in the United States speaks the same English, as a recent American Dialect quiz made very clear. In an essay originally published on her blog, Harmless Drudgery, lexicographer and Merriam-Webster editor Kory Stamper explains why that’s a good thing. I was talking with a friend – well, a “friend” – about some of…

io9 Kory Stamper – Harmless Drudgery

40 Weird Words (and their Weirder Origins)

Why do we call dunces dunces? John Green gives us the etymological low down on this and 39 other unusual words in the latest episode of Mental Floss. Conspicuously absent from this fascinating roundup: the secret origins of “nerd” and “dork,” how the genitals got their names, and why there’s a “b” in the word…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

The true origin of “squee!”

Among fans, “squee” has become a word that sums up all our feelings of reckless abandon when we wholeheartedly fall in love with a story or character. New Firefly movie? Squee! Shirtless Benedict Cumberbatch photos revealed? Squee! The next Game of Thrones book is out? SQUEE!!! But squee was first used as comic book sound-effect…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

The secret origins of nerd, dork, and other things you’ve been called

No longer are the terms “nerd” and “geek” used as insults. We have taken them back from those who would mock us, and now wear them with pride. But those who don’t remember the past are doomed to repeat it, and thus it is helpful to know what these terms originally meant, and where they…

io9 Rob Bricken

That word “cyber” — I do not think it means what you think it means

“Cyber Monday” is only the latest (and most awful) mutation of the word “cyber.” Here’s the profoundly strange history of a word that went from science fiction and porn, to war and shopping.

io9 Annalee Newitz

A map showing the original meanings of place names in North America

Now this is impressive: It’s called the Atlas of True Names, and it reveals the etymological origins and translations of familiar place names whose original meanings we’ve mostly forgotten. Looking at it, you’d think North America was some sort of fantasy novel. The Atlas of True Names was compiled by cartographers Stephan Hormes and Silke…

io9 George Dvorsky

etymology

If Pluto Is a Planet, So Am I

Blood Feasts, Cashless Stores, and Quantum Computing: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

Decapitated Male Mantis Still Fucks

Fun word origin stories that are hiding in plain sight

Of Course The Origins Of The Term “Serial Killer” Are Gruesome

Jackie Chan Invented The Chinese Character That’s Now A Viral Smash

Learn Which Famous Authors Coined “Nerd” And “Quark” In This Fun Video

What Does “OK” Stand For, Anyway?

How Two 18th Century Women Fell in Love and Invented Modern Romance

How The Simpsons Changed the English Language

Does Knowing that “OK” Was a Joke Ruin It?

The Many Ways We’re Using Mutant Mosquitos to Eradicate Disease

Here’s The Thing About English

31 Essential Science Fiction Terms And Where They Came From

In Defense of Talking Funny

40 Weird Words (and their Weirder Origins)

The true origin of “squee!”

The secret origins of nerd, dork, and other things you’ve been called

That word “cyber” — I do not think it means what you think it means

A map showing the original meanings of place names in North America

‘The Mummy 4’ Is Getting the Family Back Together

JD Vance Says UFOs Are Actually Demons

Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine Hits Its Lowest Price of the Year for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, Cut Your Daily Coffee Costs at Home

Amazon Clears Out Govee LED Smart Light Bulbs (2-Pack) at a Record Low, Each Bulb Costs Just a Few Dollars

The First Proper ‘Ghost in the Shell’ Trailer Is a ’90s Anime Fever Dream

JBL PartyBox Club 120 Speaker Drops Back to Black Friday Pricing for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale Only

YouTuber Resolves Fraternal Disagreement With Excavator and Hilariously Large Sword

Should We Be Hyped—or Freaked Out—About Nuclear Microreactors?

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Let us help find what you are looking for...

etymology

If Pluto Is a Planet, So Am I

Blood Feasts, Cashless Stores, and Quantum Computing: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

Decapitated Male Mantis Still Fucks

Fun word origin stories that are hiding in plain sight

Of Course The Origins Of The Term “Serial Killer” Are Gruesome

Jackie Chan Invented The Chinese Character That’s Now A Viral Smash

Learn Which Famous Authors Coined “Nerd” And “Quark” In This Fun Video

What Does “OK” Stand For, Anyway?

How Two 18th Century Women Fell in Love and Invented Modern Romance

How The Simpsons Changed the English Language

Does Knowing that “OK” Was a Joke Ruin It?

The Many Ways We’re Using Mutant Mosquitos to Eradicate Disease

Here’s The Thing About English

31 Essential Science Fiction Terms And Where They Came From

In Defense of Talking Funny

40 Weird Words (and their Weirder Origins)

The true origin of “squee!”

​The secret origins of nerd, dork, and other things you’ve been called

That word “cyber” — I do not think it means what you think it means

A map showing the original meanings of place names in North America

‘The Mummy 4’ Is Getting the Family Back Together

JD Vance Says UFOs Are Actually Demons

Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine Hits Its Lowest Price of the Year for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, Cut Your Daily Coffee Costs at Home

Amazon Clears Out Govee LED Smart Light Bulbs (2-Pack) at a Record Low, Each Bulb Costs Just a Few Dollars

The First Proper ‘Ghost in the Shell’ Trailer Is a ’90s Anime Fever Dream

JBL PartyBox Club 120 Speaker Drops Back to Black Friday Pricing for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale Only

YouTuber Resolves Fraternal Disagreement With Excavator and Hilariously Large Sword

Should We Be Hyped—or Freaked Out—About Nuclear Microreactors?

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Let us help find what you are looking for...

The secret origins of nerd, dork, and other things you’ve been called