We all do our best to be accurate, responsible users of the English language, but despite our best intentions, we’ve all had the occasional slip up ("literally" or "ironic", anyone?) It's particularly ...

We invite you to dive in and explore a database of words that appeared prominently in the print history of Scientific American. Below, each year of that historyis represented by a single word, which ...

There’s no original isiZulu word for dinosaur. Germs are called amagciwane, but there are no separate words for viruses or bacteria. A quark is ikhwakhi (pronounced kwa-ki); there is no term for red ...

Proper language is crucial to the scientific community. It helps answer questions and convey big ideas to the general public. Often, though, specialized scientific words have very specific meanings ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Vampire bats could soon swarm the United States. Reading this ...

This is a part of Science Diction, a series digging into the scientific origin stories behind our words and language. Find all our stories and previous issues here. Words like these weren’t just ...

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Samuel Ouma Oyoo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...

One thing nerds like to argue about is what nerds are allowed to argue about. If you agree to stipulate that science fiction is often one of those things—and, hey, we could argue about that—then a ...

Why do some words give people the heebie-jeebies? A new study looks at words commonly perceived as disgusting, using the widely reviled "moist" as a test case. CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a ...

This line from “Unweaving Science,” the opening track of the spoken word album Experimental Words, illuminates the connections between science and art. The album, an eclectic collection of 10 poems ...