Word of the Day #6 – Pantagruelian & Gargantuan

by Éléonore Toubin

Today is your lucky day: I’m feeling generous so you get two Words of the Day instead of one. And not just any words at that; these words play a huge role in French literary history as the books they appeared in had a lasting impact on French literature, enriching the language in a significant way. As may be the case with Shakespeare’s works for native English speakers, the books of this author are a must-read for French students. Many…

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Words Trivia Quiz #3

by Éléonore Toubin

How well do you know the English language? Whether or not you are a native speaker, take this quiz to find out – and enjoy a good opportunity to learn a few funny vocabulary facts at the same time.

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Word of the Day #5 – Behemotian

by Éléonore Toubin

When I was researching brobdingnagian, the previous Word of the Day, I also looked up its synonyms and found plethora of adjectives that would make perfect candidates for the next Word of the Day. Amongst the few words that caught my eyes – and made it on my Word of the Day candidates list – this one has an especially rich history. It dates back to a time when monsters and mythical creatures were still thought to roam the earth…

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Words Trivia Quiz #2

by Éléonore Toubin

How well do you know the English language? Whether or not you are a native speaker, take this quiz to find out – and enjoy a good opportunity to learn a few funny vocabulary facts at the same time.

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Word of the Day #4 – Mellifluous

by Éléonore Toubin

Let’s enrich our vocabulary with yet another amazing word. The word I picked for today’s Word of the Day is an especially beautiful word. I chose it because I loved its spelling, its pronunciation and its sweet etymology (and I thought it was funny because it sounded a bit like cauliflower). I most especially appreciate words that sound like a mix between the gurgle of a mountain stream and the sweet richness of a chocolate river, that’s why I love…

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Words Trivia Quiz #1

by Éléonore Toubin

How well do you know the English language? Whether or not you are a native speaker, take this quiz to find out – and enjoy a good opportunity to learn a few funny vocabulary facts at the same time.

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Of the importance of words

by Éléonore Toubin

In 44BC Roman philosopher and political theorist Cicero wrote this verse: “Cedant arma togae, concedat laurea linguae” in an essay titled De Officiis (which can be translated as On Duties or On Obligations). The first words of this verse, Cedant arma togae, basically mean “Let arms yield to the toga”. They can be understood literally as “let military power give way to civil power” but also hold a deeper meaning “words are more powerful than weapons”. As a brilliant orator,…

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Word of the Day #3 – Brobdingnagian

by Éléonore Toubin

I discovered today’s Word of the Day pretty recently, two days ago to be exact. I was perusing my old dictionary in search of synonyms for “gigantic” – let’s face it, “gigantic” is so unoriginal – when it caught my attention. My first thought was “Whaaatt?!?”, quickly followed by “Wait, how do you pronounce that?” and “What the heck does that even mean?”. My obvious bewilderment was a good sign as it meant I had found the perfect candidate to…

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Word of the Day #2 – Serendipity

by Éléonore Toubin

As the article about “Pulchritude” was well received, the Word of the Day series is continued. Today’s Word of the Day isn’t as obsolete as “pulchritude”, quite the contrary; it appeared rather recently in the English language. This word was chosen because of its exotic etymology, as it takes its roots in faraway Sri Lanka. Let’s talk about “serendipity”. The word serendipity is quite recent: it was first created in 1754, however it was not commonly used until the early…

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English languages: Webster and the Americanization

by Éléonore Toubin

As a non-native English speaker (French is my first language), I had to go through the arduous process of actually learning Shakespeare’s language from scratch. In school, most of my teachers were trained in the UK (it’s the closest English speaking country, obviously) and spoke British English with a polished British accent. In the face of our complaints (why do we need to learn another language, can’t people just speak French? Well, we will just mime then) they used to…

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