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Continue reading →: toxology (täks-älə-jē)Happy National Archery Day! I’ve been on my school’s Varsity Archery team for two years now and find the sport highly challenging, yet relaxing. Our team qualified for the State tournament this year for the first time in school history! Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus, the competition was cancelled. The…
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Continue reading →: quarantine (kwôrənˌtēn)
Quarantine is the buzzword that’s sweeping across the internet, social media, and the news. But what does it mean exactly? The word quarantine actually originated during another pandemic, hundreds of years ago. The Bubonic plague lasted from 1347 to 1353 and killed over 20 million people in Europe – wiping…
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Continue reading →: Name That Animal: Challenge #10It’s been a while since my last Name That Animal Challenge, so here it is! Pretend that you are a scientist and you have just discovered this new species and you have the privilege of naming it. Scientists usually name new species by using Greek or/and Latin roots because the prefixes,…
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Continue reading →: pandemic (panˈdemik)A novel coronavirus, more specifically SARS-CoV-2, was named a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) a few days ago. Since then, the word “pandemic” has been in the headlines a lot. Let’s break it down. According to the WHO, a pandemic is an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a…
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Continue reading →: Quiz – words from Greek and Roman mythology
I found this fun quiz to test your knowledge of words that come from Greek and Roman mythology. Try it and let me know how you did! If you want to explore more words from mythology, search my blog using the keyword “mythology” to see related posts.
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Continue reading →: hematite (hēməˌtīt)Recently, a young speller reached out to me to ask a question about the word “hematite.” Hematite literally means “blood stone.” The word contains the Greek root hemato- meaning blood and the Greek suffix -ite*, commonly used for minerals and rocks. The combining forms for blood also include hema- and…
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Continue reading →: happy sixth blogiversary!Today I am celebrating my sixth blogiversary! Thank you all for your support, likes, and comments.
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Continue reading →: ouroboric (ôr-ə-bôr’-ĭk)
Recently I read an article in CSO Magazine about how Nestlé is finally converting its packaging to recycled plastics. By continuing the ouroboric cycle of “make, use, reuse, remake, recycle,” companies can minimize waste and emissions that are harmful to the environment. While these cycles can be positive, they can…
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Continue reading →: origami (ȯr-ə-ˈgä-mē)Hello everyone! For the last two weeks, I was at the Ohio State University studying Linguistics as part of their Summer Linguistics Institute for Youth Scholars, also known as SLIYS (pronounced SLICE). It was a great opportunity to learn about the sounds of languages, the meaning and structure of words,…
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Continue reading →: Name That Animal: Challenge #9It’s been a while since my last Name That Animal Challenge, so here it is! Pretend that you are a scientist and you have just discovered this new species and you have the privilege of naming it. Scientists usually name new species by using Greek or/and Latin roots because the prefixes,…
Hello,
I’m Tara!
My name is Tara and I am a recent graduate of Duke University, with dual degrees in cultural anthropology and political science, and a minor in linguistics. Twelve years ago, I started this blog to share my love of words with others and teach people about the intricacies of etymology and words across our beloved English language!
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