When and why did the N-word and "negro" go apart?
Jan 17, 2014 · For example, black businessman James Forten asked in 1831: "Why do our friends as well as our enemies call us negroes? We feel it a term of reproach, and could wish …
Why does "No" mean "Number?" - English Language & Usage …
Aug 13, 2018 · Why does English use "No." as an abbreviation for "Number"? It's a preserved scribal abbreviation like the ampersand & (formed by eliding the letters of et to mean and). The …
etymology - Why were slum kids called “urchins”? - English …
Aug 1, 2018 · None of the early sources I consulted spells out why a child variously described as "sorry," "unlucky," "short," and (above all) "little" should be particularly associated with a …
meaning - XOXO means "hugs and kisses" but why? - English …
Apr 11, 2011 · The reason why hugs and kisses is rendered XOXO and not OXOX is unknown. Maybe it because of the influence of Tic-tac-toe . However, according to ScoopWhoop , it's …
nouns - Why is the word "pants" plural? - English Language
May 16, 2012 · Why doesn't Iran join the CSTO as soon as possible to stop Israeli (+ possible US) attacks? Does using a CC-BY-SA image mean you have to license the whole work under CC …
etymology - Why "shrink" (of a psychiatrist)? - English Language ...
I'm afraid I have to disagree here. From my understanding, and a recent article in the Atlantic, derived from the new text Marketplace of the Marvelous: The Strange Origins of Modern …
Why does the ending -ough have six pronunciations?
Jun 29, 2011 · It's unclear to me why the pronunciation developed this way in these words, but it seems quite regular. The one exception I've been able to find, drought, can be explained if we …
Why was "Spook" a slur used to refer to African Americans?
Jul 29, 2023 · What I don't understand is why. Spook seems to also mean 'ghost' in German. Did the Americans call them spooks because the Germans did? If so, why did the Germans call …
pronunciation - Why is Nike pronounced "naikee" and not "naik ...
Nov 22, 2017 · To answer the question about why: "bike" and "strike" are spelled with the "silent e" that in present-day English is used to indicate a "long vowel" pronunciation. ("Bike" is an …
pronunciation - Why is "colonel" pronounced "kernel"? - English ...
Nov 26, 2020 · Why does the word colonel (as in military rank) have such a strange spelling compared to how it's ...