It derives from the Latin nescius, or “ignorant,” which comes from nescire, or “not to know.”
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the phrase a nice person connoted foolishness rather than agreeableness.
Over the years, however, nice has gained its more favorable, if bland, connotation.
Homographs are two or more words that are spelled alike but have different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations, such as lead (the metal) and lead (to conduct). Homophones are pronounced alike but have different spellings and meanings, such as rite, right, and write. Homonyms are spelled or pronounced alike but have different meanings, such as…
In its earliest use, the phrase pin money did mean the money to buy pins, the primary fasteners for clothing before buttons and zippers were invented. But by the sixteenth century, the phrase came to mean the money used for incidentals.
The phrase “to 86” generally means “put an end to”. It is said to have been part of a number code used in diners and soda fountains. In those early days, 86 meant “we’re out of that dish,” “don’t serve that customer,” or “don’t serve another drink to that customer because he’s already had too…
The Latin phrase et al., short for et alia (“and other things”) and et alii (“and other people”), is more specific than et cetera (“and the rest”). Only et al. can refer to people.
The male side of a family is called the Spear side. A distaff was a stick with a cleft end, used to hold the flax or wool from which a woman spun thread. The distaff was considered a woman’s tool, while the spear was a man’s. Both ways of describing genealogy are now rarely used.
The word is used by astronomers to describe the position of three bodies that are approximately in line. For example, when the moon is full, it is in syzygy with the earth and sun, because it is on the far side of the earth from the sun.