Word Origins Articles - Dictionary.com

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Find out where some of your favorite words came from.</p> </div> <div class="section__body"> <div class="section__aside"> <div class="loading"> <div class="section__count"> 145 results </div> <div class="section__filters"> <div class="section__filter filter"> <h4 class="filter__title"> Learn About </h4> <ul class="filter__list"> <li> <a class="" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/c/education/" > Education </a> </li> <li> <a class="current" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/c/language-stories/" > Language Stories </a> </li> <li> <a class="" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/c/arts-entertainment/" > Pop Culture </a> </li> <li> <a class="" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/c/word-trends/" > Trending Words </a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="section__filter filter filter-topic"> <h4 class="filter__title"> Featured Topics </h4> <ul class="filter__list"> <li> <a class="" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/c/language-stories/commonly-confused/"> Commonly Confused </a> </li> <li> <a class="" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/c/language-stories/idioms/"> Idioms </a> </li> <li> <a class="current" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/c/language-stories/origins/"> Word Origins </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="section__content"> <div class="section__nav"> <div class="category-nav"> <div class="category-nav__inner"> <div class="loading"> <div class="category-nav__head"> <div class="category-nav__filter"> <div class="category__nav-controls"> <a href="#" class="category-nav__filter-toggle"> Filter </a> <p class="category__nav-filter-results"> 145 results </p> </div> <div class="category-nav__filter-dropdown"> <div class="section__filter filter"> <h4 class="filter__title"> Learn About </h4> <ul class="filter__list"> <li> <a class="" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/c/education/" > Education </a> </li> <li> <a class="current" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/c/language-stories/" > Language Stories </a> </li> <li> <a class="" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/c/arts-entertainment/" > Pop Culture </a> </li> <li> <a class="" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/c/word-trends/" > Trending Words </a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="section__filter filter filter-topic"> <h4 class="filter__title"> Featured Topics </h4> <ul class="filter__list"> <li> <a class="" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/c/language-stories/commonly-confused/"> Commonly Confused </a> </li> <li> <a class="" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/c/language-stories/idioms/"> Idioms </a> </li> <li> <a class="current" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/c/language-stories/origins/"> Word Origins </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="section__popular"> <div class="section__popular-main"> <div class="section__popular-post"> <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/triskaidekaphobia/"> <img width="580" height="326" src="https://www.dictionary.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/20210810_blackCat_1000x700-580x326.jpg" loading="lazy"> <h4>Why Is Friday the 13th Unlucky?</h4> </a> </div> </div> <div class="section__popular-ad"> <div class="ad ad-middle" id="ad-wrapper-middle"> </div> <script> var adWrappers = document.getElementsByClassName('ad-middle'); var getAdWrapper = () => { if (adWrappers.length === 1) { return adWrappers[0]; } else { for (adWrapper of adWrappers) { var childNodes = adWrapper.children; if (childNodes.length === 0) { var grandParentNode = adWrapper.parentNode.parentNode; var isVisibleNode = !(grandParentNode.style.display === 'none') if (isVisibleNode) { return adWrapper; } } } } } var adWrapper = getAdWrapper() if (adWrapper) { var adUnit = document.createElement('div'); if (isSovrn) { adUnit.classList.add('thesaurus_content_300x250_noflex_1'); adUnit.setAttribute('data-text', 'Sovrn Advertisement'); adWrapper.appendChild(adUnit); var hasWindow = typeof window !== 'undefined'; var hasProperBuildSlots = hasWindow && typeof window.properBuildSlots !== 'undefined'; if (hasProperBuildSlots) { window.properBuildSlots(); }; } else { adUnit.id = 'crb-ad-slot-middle' adUnit.setAttribute('data-text', 'GPT Advertisement'); var adContainer = document.createElement('div'); adContainer.classList.add("ad__container"); if ("") { adContainer.classList.add(""); } adContainer.id = "crb-ad-container-middle"; adContainer.setAttribute('data-text', 'GPT Advertisement'); var adContainerInner = document.createElement('div'); adContainerInner.classList.add('ad__container-inner'); adContainerInner.id = "crb-ad-container-inner-middle"; adContainerInner.setAttribute('data-text', 'GPT Advertisement'); adWrapper.appendChild(adUnit); adContainerInner.appendChild(adUnit); adContainer.appendChild(adContainerInner); adWrapper.appendChild(adContainer); } } </script> </div> </div> <div class="section__posts"> <div class="section__post"> <div class="section__post-inner"> <a 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