Sun, 06 Sep 2026 22:36:23 EDT
Furniture
The noun furniture originally meant furnishing in the sense of provisioning: “The furniture of the ship is complete.” In the late 16th century, furniture acquired the meaning of household goods. Furniture derives from the French fourniture, which means provisions.
Wed, 26 Aug 2026 17:18:35 EDT
Genetics Versus Genomics
- Genetics
- The noun genetics names the study of how specific genes influence the characteristics of living things.
- Genomics
- The noun genomics names the study of how whole genomes interact internally and are influenced by the environment to determine the characteristics of living things.
Wed, 26 Aug 2026 07:45:07 EDT
Vis-À-Vis
The preposition vis-à-vis is French for face-to-face. The use of the phrase with that meaning is uncommon in English. We usually use vis-à-vis to mean in relation to: “His recovery proceeded more slowly vis-à-vis his cohort.”
Thu, 20 Aug 2026 15:27:43 EDT
“Why can’t you do it?”
Why does the preceding sentence feel natural? Why does the following sentence feel unnatural? “Why cannot you do it?” Why does the following sentence feel more natural? “Why can you not do it?”