Sun, 26 Jul 2026 08:50:13 EDT
Sleight Versus Slight
- Sleight
- The adjective sleight originally meant wise or prudent. Over time, the meaning of sleight skewed to shrewd or clever. The adjective sly shares its Old Norse origin with that of sleight.
- Slight
- The adjective slight orignally meant flat or smooth. Over time, the meaning of slight changed to diminutive. The adjectives slick and sleek share their origins with that of slight, probably a Scandinavian source.
Sun, 19 Jul 2026 14:53:03 EDT
Deluxe
The adjective deluxe is a French borrowing. De Luxe means of luxury. Luxe derives from the Latin noun luxus, which means abundance, excess, luxury, sumptuousness. The English deluxe means premium quality or full-featured.
Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:31:31 EDT
More Than Happy…
…is hyperbole. I am tired of hearing it. The Great and Terrible Captain Cucamunga hereby outlaws the phrase. Don’t say that, “You are more than happy to help.” Say that, “You are happy to help.”
Sun, 12 Jul 2026 19:12:32 EDT
Camera
The noun camera is a Latin borrowing. The Latin camera means a chamber. Chamber also derives from the Latin camera. The Latin camera is a ancient Greek borrowing. The ancient Greek kamàra names something with an arched covering such as a boat, carriage, or a domed room.
The modern sense of camera as a device to take pictures is an elision of the Latin camera obscura, which means dark room. The first cameras admitted light via a pinhole in one wall onto the opposite wall of a dark room. This caused an inverted image of the scene outside the room to be projected onto the wall.