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The expansion of an acronym like PIN or HIV may be well known to English speakers, but the acronyms themselves have come to be treated as words, so little thought is given to what their expansion is (and "PIN" is also pronounced the same as the word "pin"; disambiguation is probably the source of "PIN number"; "SIN number" for "Social Insurance ...
The term was seen in English in the early 16th century. [4] It is generally thought to be an onomatopoeia imitative of speech, similar to the words jabber (to talk rapidly) and gibber (to speak inarticulately). [5] [6] It may originate from the word jib, which is the Angloromani variant of the Romani language word meaning
A aggravate – Some have argued that this word should not be used in the sense of "to annoy" or "to oppress", but only to mean "to make worse". According to AHDI, the use of "aggravate" as "annoy" occurs in English as far back as the 17th century. In Latin, from which the word was borrowed, both meanings were used. Sixty-eight percent of AHD4's usage panel approves of its use in "It's the ...
Misused words. If you're not sure, don't use it. "It can be fun to use a great, descriptive word you recently heard, but check with dictionary.com first," Taylor advises. Made-up words. Just ...
By Christian Nillsson Every three months the Oxford English Dictionary announces words that will be added into its reference collection. On Thursday, the OED added nearly 900 new words including ...
See List of English words with disputed usage for words that are used in ways that are deprecated by some usage writers but are condoned by some dictionaries. There may be regional variations in grammar, orthography, and word-use, especially between different English-speaking countries.
English: Back slang: Formed by speaking words backwards; where necessary, anagrams may be employed to aid pronunciation. Used by traders to conceal shop talk from customers. English: Spoonerism: Formed by swapping prominent sounds, usually the first letters, of close words.
Word British English meanings Meanings common to British and American English American English meanings waffle (v.) to speak to no purpose; ramble A type of pancake with a pattern of square dents in it, made in a waffle iron. (v.) to equivocate, waver, speak evasively wagon: railway vehicle for transporting goods (US: freight car)