LINGUISTICS

If you’ve ever looked up the definition of “gaslighting,” you’re not alone.

Without a Rosetta Stone for these centuries-old writing systems, the meaning of the texts may never be known.

The prefix ‘pre-’ often seems redundant—but it’s actually working hard to serve its purpose.

Thinking about learning a new language? Here‘s a look at the most popular choices in the U.S. right now.

Here are some highlights from Merriam-Webster’s latest slate of additions.

We give you an obscure word with four definitions—one correct, three made up. Can you identify the correct one?

The first jack-o'-lanterns were made with turnips, not pumpkins.

From ‘skeletons in the closet’ to ‘graveyard shift,’ here’s how five eerie idioms came to be.

The meaning behind the money.

There's a fancy term for forgetting a word—'lethologica.'

The connections between words aren’t always as straightforward as the link between ‘run’ and ‘runner’; often, figuring them out requires the subtle unraveling of linguistic evolution, the kind of detective work that makes etymology so fascinating.

There’s a historical reason, but there may be a social one as well.