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Comprehension of idioms. Comprehension of idioms is the act of processing and understanding idioms. Idioms are a common type of figure of speech. Based on common linguistic definitions, an idiom is a combination of words that contains a meaning that cannot be understood based on the literal definition of the individual words. [1]
Meaning Origin language and etymology Example(s) dacry(o)-of or pertaining to tears: Greek δάκρυ, tear dacryoadenitis, dacryocystitis-dactyl(o)-of or pertaining to a finger, toe Greek δάκτυλος (dáktulos), finger, toe dactylology, polydactyly: de-from, down, or away from Latin de-dehydrate, demonetize, demotion dent-
An American-style crossword grid layout. A crossword (or crossword puzzle) is a word game consisting of a grid of black and white squares, into which solvers enter words or phrases ("entries") crossing each other horizontally ("across") and vertically ("down") according to a set of clues. Each white square is typically filled with one letter ...
Online Etymology Dictionary. The Online Etymology Dictionary or Etymonline, sometimes abbreviated as OED (not to be confused with the Oxford English Dictionary, which the site often cites), is a free online dictionary that describes the origins of English words, written and compiled by Douglas R. Harper. [ 1]
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below).
Linguistics. Etymology ( / ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi /, ET-im-OL-ə-jee[ 1]) is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of a word's semantic meaning across time, including its constituent morphemes and phonemes. [ 2][ 3] It is a subfield of historical linguistics, philology, and semiotics, and draws upon comparative semantics, morphology ...
Some Greek words were borrowed into Latin and its descendants, the Romance languages. English often received these words from French. Some have remained very close to the Greek original, e.g., lamp (Latin lampas; Greek λαμπάς ). In others, the phonetic and orthographic form has changed considerably.
"Gerrymander," "blue states," and "red tape." These words populate headlines and newspaper articles regularly, with many writers taking their meaning for granted, but a look through history can ...