Vocabulary.com Blog
Articles from October, 2013
In a story about the opening of an online archive of Emily Dickinson manuscripts taken from the Amherst College and Harvard University archives, the New York Times quotes an Amherst archivist as saying of the Harvard-Amherst relationship, "They have the furniture, we have the daguerreotype; they have the herbarium, we have the hair." Harvard vs. Amherst aside, we had to wonder what a herbarium actually is.
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Dept. of Word Lists
A Hero "Intervenes": Ten Words in the News You Need to Know
Following the story of insurance exchanges roll out, the economic response to the shutdown, and the tragic school shooting in Sparks, NV
Intervene might seem like a mild word to describe an act of heroism by Sparks Middle School teacher Michael Landsberry, who was shot Monday while attempting to talk down a student with a gun, but in fact, it gets to the heart of what heroic bravery means. Learn intervene and ten more words from this week's news.
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One of the most persistent myths about word acquisition is that students don't need to be taught words; they just need to read more and their vocabularies will magically expand. This theory — which I like to call "learning words by osmosis" — doesn't hold much promise for your average or struggling reader. While it may hold true for a select group of students who are strong, avid readers possessing a curiosity about words, most students don't learn words by simply encountering them in reading.
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Dept. of Word Lists
Coleridge Vocab: Ever Wonder What "Albatross" Means?
Coleridge's great poem is easier to read when you pre-learn some vocab.
Ever wonder where the expression "an albatross around one's neck" comes from? Or even what the word albatross means? Look no further than Samuel Taylor Coleridge's oft-quoted ballad "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" to find out.
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With the government shutdown over and the default crisis averted, what many commentators called a "game of chicken" has finally ended on Capitol Hill. In my latest column for the Wall Street Journal, I take a look at how political stare-downs earned this appellation, and how chickens became animalistic symbols of cowardice in the first place.
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Under the HoodThe science of vocabulary building
How Your Words Predict Your Age, Gender, and Personality
A new study shows how this works
If you've ever wondered whether your word choices matter, look no further than the World Well Being Project to determine that they do. In this new study, psychology researchers were able to show that the words you use most often can predict your age, gender, and even your personality.
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Vocabulary Shout-Out
Eleanor Catton Wins Man Booker Prize With "Spume"
The youngest ever Man Booker recipient's novel "The Luminaries" is replete with A+ words
Eleanor Catton, who was awarded the Man Booker Prize earlier this week for her novel The Luminaries, uses the rare and interesting spume.
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