About 50 results
Open links in new tab
  1. Who changed the way vacumn was spelled 40 years ago?

    Apr 28, 2018 · According to the Online Etymological Dictionary, vacuum entered English in the 1540s directly from Latin as the substantivized, neuter form of the adjective vacuus. The earliest use was as …

  2. pronunciation - Why is "vacuum" pronounced [ˈvæ.kjuːm] and not [ˈvæ ...

    Aug 21, 2017 · +1 It seems that vacuum is the odd word out when placed in a lineup with (for example) continuum, individuum, menstruum, and residuum. I don't know why the -uum in vacuum came to be …

  3. Can I call a vacuum cleaner cleaner a vacuum cleaner?

    Oct 8, 2017 · If a 'vacuum cleaner cleaner' is a machine for cleaning vacuum cleaners, then the person who cleans the vacuum cleaner cleaner would be a 'vacuum cleaner cleaner cleaner'.

  4. Where is the root morpheme in Modern English evacuate and vacuum?

    Jun 15, 2011 · Clearly they are related through Latin, from e- and vacare (out of and to empty) and from vacuus (empty), and in Latin the shared morpheme is vac-. More interesting may be the relationships …

  5. Is 'bug' a term or a slang word? - English Language & Usage Stack …

    Apr 15, 2015 · After more research, I've found the term definitely predates vacuum tubes, so this suspicious etymology is historically INCORRECT. The Oxford English dictionary's earliest citation is …

  6. Idioms or phrases to answer to obvious (yes) questions?

    Jun 23, 2020 · Is the pope catholic? Do vacuum cleaners suck? Is water wet? Is the hypotenuse the longest side of a triangle? Does a bear live in the woods? I’ll answer you with my favorite ‘Y’ …

  7. punctuation - Why is it that we use a comma before tag questions ...

    Mar 2, 2025 · (In a vacuum, “Am I not?” could only be construed as some sort of philosophical counter-Descartian pondering.) In light of this dependence, the comma is more apt then the semicolon.

  8. expressions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

    A talent/knowledge vacuum is created as talent redundancy has been overlooked and nobody else knows how to do Sara's job, then that leg of the company experiences failure until a solution for …

  9. Why are there 3 different ways to pronounce "oo"?

    My German colleagues were laughing at the way I pronounce google, and it led to a discussion. With words like google, yahoo, poodle and loose, the oo has a sound similar to the German ü sound. With...

  10. Why is "zero" followed by a plural noun? - English Language & Usage ...

    Aug 17, 2011 · I could have: Two books One book Zero books Why is zero followed by a plural form? I don't expect English to always make sense, but everything has a reason, even if the reason is stupid. …