Taught is the past tense of teach, to give instruction or impart knowledge. Related words are teaches and teaching. Taught is a transitive verb, which is a verb that takes an object. Taught comes from the Old English tahte, past tense of the Old English word taecan. Taut is an adjective which means pulled tight, tense and strained, controlled. Related words are tautly, tautness. The verb form is tauten. Taut comes to us from the mid-thirteenth century tohte or Middle …
A copse is a small grove or thicket of trees or shrubs. Copse comes into use in the 1570s, it is a contraction of coppice, which also dates from the fourteenth century. While copse refers to any group of trees, a coppice is a thicket grown specifically for cutting. It comes from the Old French copeiz, meaning a cut-over forest. Cops may be 1.) the plural of cop, American slang for policeman 2.) to arrest someone 3.) to steal 4.) …
Soar is a verb which means to fly high, to rise into the air, to glide on air currents. Soar is an intransitive verb, which is a verb that does not take an object. Soar may also be used as a noun to refer to the act of soaring, related words are soars, soared, soaring, soarer, soaringly. The word soar appears in the fourteenth century, from the Old French essorer meaning fly up, soar. Sore is an adjective which painful, …
A lentil is a small legume that is usually dried, then soaked before cooking. Lentil may also refer to the plant that bears the small legumes. Lentils may be green, red, brown or black. The term lentil first appears in the mid-1200s, from the Old French lentille which refers to the lentil, and also means freckle. A lintel is a horizontal crosspiece above a door or window which supports the weight of the structure. Sometimes, a lintel contains a window …
Out of the millions of words in English, two terms you might find confusing are which and witch. They have similar sounds but different meanings. I’ve written books about witches, and even I still find myself slipping between the two words. So, what’s the difference between which and witch? In this article, I’ll discuss the definitions of which and witch and some examples of how to use them in sentences. Which or Witch? The definition of which is a relative …
Wholistic is the philosophy that all parts of a thing are interconnected. In medicine, wholistic treatment is the treatment of a person as a whole, mind, body and social factors. Related words are wholism, wholistically. Wholistic appears in 1941 as a cross between holistic and whole. Holistic is the philosophy that all parts of a thing are interconnected. In medicine, holistic treatment is the treatment of a person as a whole, mind, body and social factors. Related words are holism …
A stake is a short post made of wood or metal that is driven into the ground. A stake may act as a support, anchor or marker. Stakes are used to support plants, anchor tents or mark land boundaries, among other things. Stake is also the term for a small anvil used by a metalworker, a vertical rod used by basket makers, or the pole a condemned person is tied to in anticipation of being burned alive. Lastly, a stake …
Raise, when used as a verb, means 1.) to lift to a higher point 2.) to set in a vertical position 3.) to build a structure 4.) to increase 5.) to promote 6.) to bring to the surface 7.) to provoke, to suggest for consideration 8.) to rear children or grow crops or animals 9.) to make bread dough lighter with the addition of yeast 10.) in poker, to increase the amount bet 11.) in curling, to push a stone …
Sole may be used as a noun to mean 1.) the underside of a human foot, the underside of a shoe or sandal, the floor of a ship’s cabin 2.) an edible, flat seafish 3.) in British English, a shipping forecast are in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. Sole may be used as an adjective to mean the one and only, without others, not shared, solitary. Sole is often used as a verb to mean applying a new underside to a …
Earn means to obtain wages or payment in return for work. Earn also means to gain money through a return on investment, such as interest, dividends or other profits. Earn may also mean to receive a return for one’s achievements or other actions or merits. Related words are earns, earned and earning, noun forms are earner and earnings. Earn comes from the Old English word earnian, meaning deserve, earn, merit, labor for, win, get a reward for labor. An urn …