The English language is a treasure trove of words that not only sound beautiful but also convey complex, nuanced meanings.

Ed Collins of West Newton, Pa., writes to ask how the syllable “ped” can have three very different meanings: “foot” (as in “pedal”), “child” (as in “pediatrician”) and “teacher” (as in “pedagogue”).

Enhance your vocabulary with our Word of the Day series. In this series, we introduce a new word every day and explore its ...

Like a wandering sailor, the Latin root “porto” has a girl in every . .. well, port. “Porto” means “carry,” and this roamin’ Roman root has sailed into scores of English words, serving us both the ...

J.K. Rowling used Latin as inspiration for the spells in "Harry Potter." Some translations are very literal; "avis" means "bird." Others are complex. For example "sectumsempra" can be translated to ...

We often hear fascinating stories about how things originated: the universe, the wheel, even pizza. But when it comes to the ...