On Earth Day, we take a look back at the rocky history of “tree-huggers.” The term originated in the 1970s in the Himalayas and was later co-opted by American politics in the 1990s. Now, environmentalists are reclaiming the word.
words
Posted inNPR
Here’s looking at you, kid: How the term for a young goat made the leap to children
Kid, meaning a young goat, is a word that was borrowed from the Vikings around the 9th century. Centuries later, it came to mean a child and a teasing joke.
Posted inNPR
OK, is Martin Van Buren responsible for the tiny word that punches above its weight?
From Buenos Aires to Bangkok, Montreal to Moscow, nearly every taxi driver in the world understands “OK.” It’s a gift from American English that’s spread across the globe in less than 200 years.
