{"id":2868,"date":"2015-06-15t17:24:29","date_gmt":"2015-06-15t17:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/?p=2868"},"modified":"2015-06-15t17:24:29","modified_gmt":"2015-06-15t17:24:29","slug":"20-weird-facts-about-english-vocabulary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/blog\/20-weird-facts-about-english-vocabulary\/","title":{"rendered":"20 weird facts about english vocabulary"},"content":{"rendered":"

the english language is kinda nuts, isn\u2019t it? after being built up, mish-mashed, and altered over so many years, we now have this giant and wonderful hodgepodge of words to choose from when forming sentences. it makes writing nerds like me super happy (or is it elated \u2026 maybe ecstatic? no, definitely delighted!), and the best part is that we\u2019re not even close to being done with all the additions and changes. though, we could probably do without \u201clol\u201d in the dictionary<\/a>. who\u2019s with me on this one?<\/p>\n

anyways, here at magoosh we think it\u2019s exciting to discover new english vocabulary to describe how we\u2019re feeling, what we\u2019re doing, and how we\u2019re doing it. we enjoy new words so much that we even made an app for it \u2014 vocabulary builder<\/a> \u2014 and here i am writing an entire blog post about words! (i have a life, i swear.)<\/p>\n

so, in honor of the fantastic world of vocabulary, here are 20 weird facts from around the web that you probably never knew about english words!<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
    the word \u201cchicken\u201d has been used to describe cowards<\/a> since the 14th century, but it didn\u2019t become popular slang in american culture until the 1940\u2019s. just 10 years after that, in 1953, kids started playing the game \u201cchicken\u201d<\/a> to test the courage of their peers. (source: paul anthony jones<\/a> \/ huffington post)<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. \n
      \u201cporpoise\u201d (you know, those adorable dolphin-esque<\/a> sea mammals) literally means \u201cpork-fish.\u201d<\/a><\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \"640px-neophocaena_phocaenoides_-miyajima_aquarium_-japan-8a\"<\/a><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. \n
        in hollywood\u2019s early days, people regularly threw custard pies at comedy sketches. those pies were called \u201cmagoos.\u201d<\/a> (and yes, i included this because it kind of sounds like magoosh.)<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. \n
          the shortest \u201c-ology\u201d is oology, which is the study of birds\u2019 eggs<\/a>.\u00a0egg collecting became popular in the 1800s before the invention of binoculars made it easier to study birds. serious collectors were notoriously obsessive about obtaining rare bird eggs. for example, in 1872, charles bendire, a u.s. army soldier and noted oologist, was willing to have his teeth broken<\/a> to retrieve a rare hawk\u2019s egg that got stuck in his mouth. (apparently he put it there for safe keeping while he climbed back down the tree.)<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
            \n
          1. \n
            \u201cabracadabra\u201d has an adjective form! it\u2019s \u201cabracadabrant\u201d<\/a> and, according to the learn english network<\/a>, it describes anything that seems to have happened by magic.<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            \"utwhirv\"<\/a><\/p>\n

              \n
            1. \n
              a \u201crounce-robble-hobble\u201d was the nickname given to thunderclaps<\/a> in elizabethan english<\/a>. (source: paul anthony jones<\/a> \/ huffington post)<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                \n
              1. \n
                the name rebecca<\/a> can also be used as a verb<\/a> to mean \u201cdemolish a gate.\u201d if you have any friends named rebecca, this is your cue to go tell her not to rebecca. (source: paul anthony jones<\/a> \/ huffington post)<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                  \n
                1. \n
                  the words \u201cbookkeeper\u201d and \u201cbookkeeping\u201d are the only words in the english language that has three consecutive double letters without needing a hyphen<\/a>.<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                    \n
                  1. \n
                    any number with a series of repeating digits, like 7777, is called a \u201crepdigit.\u201d<\/a> makes total sense, actually.<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                      \n
                    1. \n
                      \u201cpangram\u201d<\/a> = a sentence that contains all 26 letters of the english alphabet. here\u2019s one: “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      \"foxjumpingdog\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                        \n
                      1. \n
                        there are 10 words hidden inside the word \u201ctherein\u201d<\/a> \u2014 you don\u2019t even need to rearrange it to find them! they are: the, there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, therein, herein.<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                          \n
                        1. \n
                          a 672-sided shape is called a “hexahectaheptacontakaidigon.”<\/a> no thanks, not even going to try to pronounce that.<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                            \n
                          1. \n
                            never tell your significant other that they look \u201cerinaceous\u201d<\/a> because it means they look like a hedgehog. unless they think hedgehogs are cute, in which case, go for it.<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                            \"hedgehog-468228_1280\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                              \n
                            1. \n
                              speaking of significant others, the old english name for honeymoon is \u201cflitterwochen,\u201d<\/a> which means \u201cfleeting weeks.\u201d can we start using this one again?<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                                \n
                              1. \n
                                the letter e<\/a> makes up 11% of the entire english language<\/a>.<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                                  \n
                                1. \n
                                  \u201cuhtceare\u201d<\/a> (pronounced oot-kay-are-a<\/i>) is a noun describing the act of waking up before dawn, but being so worried about something that you can\u2019t go back to sleep. some of our students may recognize this feeling as the one they experienced the night before the big test.<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                                    \n
                                  1. \n
                                    a \u201csquib\u201d<\/a>\u00a0means,\u00a0technically, \u00a0“a type of small explosive” or “the head of an asparagus”<\/a> (big jump, i know).\u00a0but if you\u2019re like me, you\u2019re thinking, \u201cno, a squib is someone born into a wizarding family but doesn\u2019t have any magic powers \u2026 like filch.\u201d thanks, harry potter. if you\u2019re not like me, the last two sentences never happened. (source: paul anthony jones<\/a> \/ huffington post)<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                                      \n
                                    1. \n
                                      the word \u201ceyeball\u201d was invented by shakespeare<\/a>, along with hobnob, skim milk, and luggage.<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                      \"3695227853_7a6eb6c518\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                                        \n
                                      1. \n
                                        the word \u201cselfie\u201d was the oxford dictionary\u2019s word of the year<\/a> in 2013 because the use of the term increased 17,000%<\/a> from 2012 to 2013. (source: paul anthony jones<\/a> \/ huffington post)<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                                          \n
                                        1. \n
                                          and finally, my favorite: to \u201csnirtle\u201d<\/a> is to try and suppress a laugh<\/a>. it\u2019s classified as any suppressed laugh that\u2019s a just bit shorter than a snicker or a snigger. i\u2019m going to use this all the time. (source: paul anthony jones<\/a> \/ huffington post)<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                          got a favorite factoid about english vocab you’d like to share? tell us in the comments!<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                           
                                          \n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                          the english language is kinda nuts, isn\u2019t it? after being built up, mish-mashed, and altered over so many years, we now have this giant and wonderful hodgepodge of words to choose from when forming sentences. it makes writing nerds like me super happy (or is it elated \u2026 maybe ecstatic? no, definitely delighted!), and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[495],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n20 weird facts about english vocabulary<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"in honor of the fantastic world of english vocabulary, here are 20 weird facts you probably never knew about it!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/blog\/20-weird-facts-about-english-vocabulary\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"20 weird facts about english vocabulary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"in honor of the fantastic world of english vocabulary, here are 20 weird facts you probably never knew about it!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/blog\/20-weird-facts-about-english-vocabulary\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"magoosh 2022年足球世界杯举办地\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-15t17:24:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/640px-neophocaena_phocaenoides_-miyajima_aquarium_-japan-8a.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"maizie simpson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" 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