In his letter to the editor, Jack Elder talked about the definition of the word “Dixie” (“‘Dixie’ isn’t racist,” July 26). We must remember the English language is a living, constantly changing thing.

Yes it does have a negative connotation especially when used with slave. Many people will roll their eyes and make it appear that the case of someone using the negative connotation of master/slave in ...

Even if you’re not a full-blown grammar nerd, you’ll find the origins of these words that changed meaning over time completely fascinating The English language is alive—and like any living thing, it ...

What image do you get when you hear the word ‘drug’? Write a word or phrase that is associated with the term ‘drug’? When I asked the participants to answer these two questions at a workshop on ...

Fun was first a verb meaning "to cheat or hoax." It came from fon, an old word for "fool." It still retains some of that sense in “make fun of,” but now also means "a merry good time." Fond also goes ...

The word ‘master’ can describe having talent in pretty much any area — are all of these uses going to become offensive, too? Rice University has decided to stop using the term “master” to describe the ...

Everyday objects and people have an emotional meaning. A wool sock might have an emotional value if it was the last thing grandmother knitted before her death. The same applies to words. A stranger's ...

I'm working on a project for which we need to keep a running list of items. Someone suggested that we call it the "Master Tracking List", and I instantly found that a little off-putting. For me, it ...