“Ruff” and “rough” are two words that are often confused because they sound similar and have some overlapping meanings. However, they are actually quite distinct and have different connotations and uses. Stick with me as I go over the details and definitions of both words. I also provide examples of …
Rye is a cereal plant and the grains that come from this cereal plant. Rye is used as fodder, in whiskey-making and bread-making. Rye may be used as a noun or an adjective, in North America ryebread may be shortened to simply rye. Rye comes from the Old English word, …
Aloud means not silently, spoken out loud. Aloud may be used as an adverb or as an adjective. Aloud comes to us in the late fourteenth century by adding the prefix a- to the word loud. Allowed is the past tense of the verb allow, meaning 1.) to permit, 2.) …
Do you sail a ship or sale a ship? Using the wrong word in this situation can create so much confusion because one is a verb while the other is a noun. But there’s actually far more to it than that with these two homophones. Sure, they’re pronounced the same, …
A resister is one who resists, stands firm against something, refuses compliance or withstands temptation. A resister may also be a coating that protects a surface during some processes. Related words are resist, resists, resisted, resisting, resistible, resistibility, resistibly. Resister appears in the late fourteenth century from the Old French …
Right means 1.) morally upright, 2.) in agreement with the truth or a fact, 3.) what is correct according to someone’s opinion or judgement, 4.) socially important, 5.) a direction that when a person faces north, corresponds eastward, 6.) politically conservative, 7.) legally entitled, 8.) thoroughly, 9.) precisely, 10.) restore …
Wait means to stay in a place, to stay ready, to defer to a later time. Related words are waits, waited, waiting. Wait appears in the thirteenth century from the Old French gaitier meaning defend, watch out, be on one’s guard, lie in wait for. In the late fourteenth century, …
Pidgin is a simplified version of a language used by two non-fluent speakers in order to communicate. Pidgin languages have limited structure and vocabulary in order to facilitate communication between two speakers who do not share a common native tongue. Pigeon English was spoken in China in 1859 in order …
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Did you break your arm or brake your arm as a kid? If you can’t confidently answer that question, you’re not alone. Even I get the two homophones mixed up from time to time. It doesn’t help that they sound identical. But I’m going to explain how you can tell …
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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 …