21 Latin Phrases We Use in Everyday English
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What Does “Orwellian” Mean?
Look around you. How is the state of the world? Are liberties increasing? Or is it the opposite—rights being curtailed, surveillance heightened, and disinformation spread? If it’s the latter, you can describe it as Orwellian.
Are you not sure what that means? That’s what we’re here for.
Below, we’ll teach you what Orwellian means, provide examples, and even throw in a brief history lesson about the man behind this adjective: George Orwell.
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What Does “Meme” Mean?
In the modern sense, a meme (also known as an internet meme) is an image, screenshot, or graphic that contains text and goes viral (i.e., spreads rapidly online). It provides humorous or satirical social commentary on a relatable situation or topic. Memes often reference pop culture or current events and rely on the internet and social media for their rapid and widespread circulation.
An important characteristic of memes is their ability to evolve as they are shared. People can remix them to represent inside jokes and shared experiences.
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Twenty-Five Common and Current English Slang Words
So, you’ve studied English vocabulary fervently. You’ve even done the unthinkable and made sense of the endless number of grammar rules. You’ve made it. “I’m a fluent English speaker,” you say to yourself.
Until one day, someone comes up to you and says, “Are you okay? You’re high-key acting sus, no cap.” Before you can decipher that sentence, he continues, “We’re all vibing over here, but we low-key want to know what’s the tea.” You flail your arms in dismay and give up learning English.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. What you’ve just run into is slang. And trust us when we say, there’s a lot more where that came from.
Learning English slang words is just like learning any other type of word—it takes practice and familiarization. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of current terms commonly used in everyday English. We’ll tell you what they mean and give you example sentences to show you how to use them correctly.
This list will make you a more fluent English speaker, no cap.
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Why You Should Never Rush When Typing
Expedite and expediate are synonyms. Expediate came to be because of an error when copying a dictionary.Both versions of the word are acceptable, but expedite is more widely used.
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15 Words in English That Were Borrowed from Other Languages
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Do you enjoy going to a café to sip on your favorite beverage as you work or people-watch? You may be familiar with this setting, but did you know that café is a loanword from the French language and means “coffee”?
A loanword is a word that was adopted from one language (the donor language) and assimilated into another (the recipient language) with little to no modification. Loanwords can be slightly adapted to fit the phonological, morphological, and syntactic norms of the recipient language, but their origins remain easily traceable.
Be careful not to confuse loanwords with cognates, which are words that are nearly the same in multiple languages because they share similar etymological origins. Additionally, a calque is another linguistic term that refers to the creation of a new expression by translating each element from another language to another. In contrast, loanwords are not translated but rather adopted directly.
English comprises an endless number of loanwords borrowed from hundreds of languages. Below, we’ll review fifteen loaned expressions taken from five different languages.
Borrowing words from other languages is a common practice.
15 Borrowed Words in English
Remember, the etymology of words can often be intricate. The list below offers a succinct connection between the loanword in English and its respective donor language. While a loanword can undergo slight alterations, it usually retains a strong resemblance to the original word form, meaning, or pronunciation.
French Loanwords
1. Ballet
In English, ballet is a “type of theatrical art that uses dance in the form of controlled and precise movements to convey a story, theme, or atmosphere.” In French, ballet refers to the same type of dance.
2. Déjà vu
Have you ever gone through a scenario that you’re certain you’ve already encountered before? If so, then you’ve experienced déjà vu. In French, déjà vu is also the phrase used for this other-worldly “sensation of having previously lived a moment, even if you haven’t.”
3. Illusion
The definition of illusion in English is “something that the senses are likely to perceive incorrectly.” This word is not too distant from its many meanings in French, one of them being “deceptive appearance.”
German Loanwords
4. Angst
Angst is a “deep feeling of anxiety or dread” we may experience from time to time. This is a loanword from German, which defines this word as “fear” or “anxiety.”
5. Kindergarten
In English, kindergarten refers to a class for children typically aged five to six. In German, kindergarten is a compound word: “kinder” means “children,” and “garten” means “garden.” So, in German, kindergarten literally translates to “children’s garden.”
6. Pretzel
A pretzel is a baked bread product characterized by a distinct, twisted knot-like shape, often salted on the outside. This word comes from the German word “brezel,” which refers to the same type of baked product.
Greek Loanwords
7. Drama
Drama is a noun that involves conflict and emotion, and denotes a specific type of literature. The Greek word is also pronounced drama and means “action, deed” or “play, spectacle.”
8. Logic
Logic describes “a way of thinking and coming to a conclusion” and the “branch of science that uses formal methods to think about or explain the reason for something.” The Greek word is pronounced “logikí” and refers to “the reasoning art” or “ordered thought.”
9. Nemesis
In ancient Greek mythology, Nemesis was the goddess of vengeance and divine retribution. The term has been adopted into English to mean “a long-standing enemy, opponent, or rival that someone has grave difficulty facing and overcoming.”
No, knowing loanwords doesn’t make you multilingual—but it can help you expand your vocabulary!
Italian Loanwords
10. Espresso
Do we really need to define what an espresso is? It’s that dark, delicious liquid substance that energizes our soul (a.k.a., strong coffee made by using a machine to force hot water through ground coffee beans). The term originates from the Italian word espresso, which means “pressed out.”
11. Duo
In English, duo means “a pair of people or things.” In Italian, duo means “a pair,” especially in the context of two performers or artists.
12. Lava
In English, lava refers to molten rock that erupts from a volcano and solidifies as it cools. In Italian, lava means “torrent” or “streams.” It was originally used when referring to flash floods and then to streams of molten rock from volcanoes such as Vesuvius.
Spanish Loanwords
13. Plaza
If you’re searching for a place to hang out with friends and buy a few things you may need, you may want to go to a plaza. In English, a plaza refers to “shopping centers, commercial complexes, or an open public square.” In Spanish, a plaza primarily denotes an “open public square, which can sometimes be a place where commodities are bought and sold.”
14. Siesta
If you’ve just finished lunch and feel a little sleepy, you may want to take a siesta or “short nap early in the afternoon.” This word was borrowed from Spanish, where it carries the same meaning.
15. Tornado
In English, a tornado refers to a type of weather phenomenon consisting of a violent storm and a rotating column of air that comes into contact with the earth’s surface. In Spanish, tornado can also be used when referring to this type of weather occurrence, but its origin is related to the verb “tornar,” which means “to turn or twist.”
How To Use Loanwords Correctly
This list is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the number of loanwords that help form the English language. There’s not much to using them correctly; just know what they mean and spell them correctly. Keep in mind that their correct spelling sometimes requires the use of diacritics, like in déjà vu and fiancée.
As a multilingual writing assistant, LanguageTool can help you use loanwords correctly. It will show you the correct diacritics required for proper spelling and recommend phrases that could be used instead to ensure clarity.
Did we mention that LanguageTool supports more than thirty languages? Give it a try today!
Continue reading: 15 Words in English That Were Borrowed from Other Languages
What Are “Malapropisms?”
Have you ever heard someone say something that sounded just a bit…off? The entire sentence was perfect, but then one word confused you into Bolivian? Whoops, we mean oblivion! These types of mistakes are called malapropisms and are as interesting as they are amusing!
Malapropisms occur when someone uses an incorrect word instead of another similar-sounding one, resulting in a nonsensical, often humorous sentence. An example of malapropism is when someone says, “dance a flamingo” instead of “dance a flamenco.”
Below, we’ll explain what malapropisms are and how the term originated. We will also provide helpful (and funny) examples to help you get a more in-depth understanding of these quizzical mishaps.
Let’s begin!
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What Does “Literally” Mean?
When it comes to English, there’s probably no topic more controversial than the use of the word literally. While one side fervently claims that there’s only one meaning, the other believes that words can evolve and have multiple definitions.
But who’s right? That’s what we’re here to uncover as we explore what one major linguistic authority has to say about the word literally.
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What Is Critical Thinking? | Meaning & Examples
Critical thinking is the process of analyzing information logically and overcoming assumptions, biases, and logical fallacies. Developing critical thinking skills allows us to evaluate information as objectively as possible and reach well-founded conclusions.
Thinking critically is a crucial part of academic success, professional development, civic engagement, and personal decision-making.
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Onomatopoeia | Definition, Spelling & Examples
Onomatopoeia refers to both the process of creating words that imitate the sounds they represent and the words themselves (e.g., the “buzz” of a bee). This word is often incorrectly spelled as “onomonopoia.”
Onomatopoeia is frequently found in creative writing, like children’s books, comic books, and stories, to help provide vivid imagery and enhance the reader’s visualization of the text.
Additionally, onomatopoeia is an ever-evolving and expanding part of language. There are many English words used in everyday conversations that started off strictly as onomatopoeia but eventually became less directly associated with their sound-based origins and became words with distinct meanings and uses (e.g., “cliché” and “cough”).
Crunch (the sound of someone chewing something hard)
Hiss (the sound made by snakes or the escaping of steam or air)
Sizzle (the sound of something being fried or grilled)
Tick tock (the sound made by an old-fashioned clock or watch)
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Continue reading: Onomatopoeia | Definition, Spelling & Examples