Pylimitics

Punctuation, at least in English, is a lot newer than the language itself — even newer than the written form of the language. After all, the model for languages in Europe was Latin, which used hardly any punctuation. One mark that was used in classical Latin was the “capitulum” — the chapter marker. That one… Continue reading

Everybody knows what “silly” means: foolishness. To imagine that it means anything else would be just silly. But “silly” is a word with a very long history, and it hasn’t always meant “foolish.” The whole silly thing begins back in the days of Middle English, when it was “seely.” “Seely” had a couple of meanings.… Continue reading

The word “complete”, which means something having all of its parts or components, has been around in English since the 1300s. It comes from the Latin word “complere,” which means “full.” Back in the 1500s, “complete” had another meaning as well. When you used it in reference to a person, it meant highly accomplished, or… Continue reading

When you start reading this, you’re on the brink of a not-particularly-important discovery. To wit: what the heck is a “brink”, anyway? You can be “on the brink” of something good, like a singer “on the brink of stardom,” or a scientist “on the brink of a major discovery,” but it’s more common to find… Continue reading

Chemical elements are named for all sorts of reasons. Americium was named because it was discovered in the United States — there’s also Europium, named because it was discovered in Europe. Gallium is named after France (Gaul). Hassium is named after the German state Hesse, where it was discovered. There are loads of other examples,… Continue reading