Interesting Literature
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A page celebrating all that is most interesting about literature, the world of books, authors, and related matters. A mini-library of literary interestingness.
Interesting Literature
1d ago
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) What connects vaccinations with cows? And how did a young boy and a milkmaid help to change the course of medical history? These questions are both related to the origin, or etymology, of the words ‘vaccine’ and ‘vaccination’. So let’s take a closer look at these words. The history ... Read more ..read more
Interesting Literature
1w ago
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Some words have curious, and revealing, etymologies. The origins of the word ‘plagiarism’ are certainly revealing. The meaning of the word is fairly well-known: ‘plagiarism’ means stealing another person’s work, especially their writing, and passing it off as your own. To plagiarise is to seek to get the credit ... Read more ..read more
Interesting Literature
2w ago
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) What connects one of the biggest-selling authors in the world with the word ‘nerd’? This now-ubiquitous word – and a global American export almost as recognisable as Coca-Cola – was unknown to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hart Crane, or Jack London, but it’s now established throughout the English-speaking world. So ... Read more ..read more
Interesting Literature
3w ago
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Where did the word thoughtcrime originate? Most people, if asked, would probably shrug and say they don’t know. Of those people who feel confident enough to venture an answer, most of those would probably answer, ‘In George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.’ Orwell certainly uses the term thoughtcrime, but did the ... Read more ..read more
Interesting Literature
1M ago
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Why is an atlas called an atlas? Where does the word come from? And what connects atlases, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Atlas Mountains? To determine the origin of the word atlas, we need to go back to the world of the ancient Greeks, more than two thousand years ... Read more ..read more
Interesting Literature
1M ago
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Where does the word cyberspace come from? The origins of this word are a little more complex than is usually acknowledged, so it’s worth looking into the story of how cyberspace came to be a ‘thing’. And where did that cyber- prefix even originate in the first place? The ... Read more ..read more
Interesting Literature
1M ago
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Sometimes, writers get undue credit for coining particular words. Did Shakespeare really ‘invent’ the word ‘alligator’? Or ‘puking’? Or is his use of these words simply the earliest use we have (or at least, have found) on record? (Indeed, in the case of ‘alligator’ Shakespeare’s isn’t even the earliest ... Read more ..read more
Interesting Literature
1M ago
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘Narcissism’ is a handy word: it conveys the idea of being self-absorbed and self-regarding, there is a handy word which combines these two aspects of selfishness in one. But where does this word come from? Well, to answer this question we might ask two separate, though related, questions. First, ... Read more ..read more
Interesting Literature
2M ago
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Where did the word ‘quark’ come from? And what exactly is a ‘quark’ anyway? The origins of the word ‘quark’ are curious, surprising, and worthy of explanation, so let’s delve into the curious etymology of this well-known, though not always well-understood, scientific term. For it wasn’t a scientist who ... Read more ..read more
Interesting Literature
2M ago
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Where does the word ‘dinosaur’ come from, and what does it literally mean? And why is the word ‘dinosaur’ entirely inappropriate for the thing it describes? Let’s delve into the etymology – or origin – of ‘dinosaur’ to learn why the word was, quite literally, a ‘terrible’ choice of ... Read more ..read more