Does anyone ever use the word "oblige" anymore? The way in which the English language and word use changes over time says a lot about how Americans and Britons have become more self-centered, ...

English is a language with many influences. A hefty percentage of English words are taken from French, and are particularly evident in British English. The influence of Old Norse and others can all be ...

Ever since its first use, in the sixth century, the word “modern” has been a term of opposition, writes Patricia Seed, a professor of history at Rice University. It remains “an empty signifier that we ...

BOSTON – Within the quiet pages of books, words are battling it out with a competitive fierceness that rivals Wall Street’s. New research examining the frequency of words used in books over more than ...