What is the area between the eyebrows called?
The projecting area between the two eyebrows, which is just above the nose, is called the glabella. It is triangular in shape. The name is derived from the Latin word glabellus, which means smooth.
Language
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Spoonerism or switching letters in speech
Spoonerism is a verbal mistake in which the speaker unintentionally switches the first sounds of two or more words often producing humorous results. The noun ‘spoonerism’ was formed after William Archibald Spooner, a highly respected university don in England. Spooner was known to be very absent-minded and he often transposed the letters of two words accidentally. One…
From ‘fourteen nights’ to ‘a fortnight’
A fortnight means fourteen days. The word ‘fortnight’ is derived from the old English word ‘fēowertīene niht’ which means ‘fourteen nights’. In the US, ‘two weeks’ is more commonly used instead of ‘a fortnight’. ‘Fortnightly’ is commonly used in the context of payment of salaries. In North America, however, ‘biweekly’ is more frequently used.
Why is 17 considered an unlucky number in Italy?
The number 17 can be written in Roman as XVII. When these numerals are rearranged, it reads VIXI, which means in Latin ‘I have lived’, meaning ‘my life is over’. The number 17 is therefore considered unlucky in Italy.
Eleven quirky things about language enthusiasts
1. They live and breathe the words of their beloved language. They go fanatical about words and their usage to the extent that they can even create a pool of words and swim in it all the time. 2. Thesauruses and dictionaries are like religious books for them. These will be available with them in…
The most spoken languages in the world
Mandarin Chinese is spoken by more than 1 billion people and is the most spoken language worldwide. It is the official language of China, Taiwan and one of the four official languages of Singapore. It is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. English is the second most spoken language with 512…