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- Where does the use of why as an interjection come from?
"why" can be compared to an old Latin form qui, an ablative form, meaning how Today "why" is used as a question word to ask the reason or purpose of something
- How did the letter Z come to be associated with sleeping snoring?
"How and when did the letter Z become to be associated with sleeping?" First of all, zzzz (or z-z-z-z) is sound of snoring, from at least 1918 (Sometimes "a tiny saw cutting through a log" [1948] would be used, and both the snore and saw would make the same z-z-z-z sound ) Over time, this became associated with sleep in general, but most comic reference books (e g 2006's KA-BOOM! A
- What do we call the “rd” in “3ʳᵈ” and the “th” in “9ᵗʰ”?
Our numbers have a specific two-letter combination that tells us how the number sounds For example 9th 3rd 301st What do we call these special sounds?
- Why . . . ? vs. Why is it that . . . ? - English Language Usage Stack . . .
I don't know why, but it seems to me that Bob would sound a bit strange if he said, "Why is it that you have to get going?" in that situation
- Why was Spook a slur used to refer to African Americans?
I understand that the word spook is a racial slur that rose in usage during WWII; I also know Germans called black gunners Spookwaffe What I don't understand is why Spook seems to also mean 'ghos
- How did the word beaver come to be associated with vagina?
From " Why King George of England May Have to Lose His Beard: How the Game of 'Beaver' Which All England Is Playing Is So Threatening the Proper Reverence for the Throne That Banishment of the Royal Whiskers Seems Imperative," in the Washington [D C ] Times (October 22, 1922):
- etymology - Philippines vs. Filipino - English Language Usage . . .
Why is Filipino spelled with an F? Philippines is spelled with a Ph Some have said that it's because in Filipino, Philippines starts with F; but if this is so, why did we only change the beginning
- grammaticality - Is it incorrect to say, Why cannot. . . . ? - English . . .
Since we can say "Why can we grow taller?", "Why cannot we grow taller?" is a logical and properly written negative We don't say "Why we can grow taller?" so the construct should not be "Why we cannot grow taller?" The reason is that auxiliaries should come before the subject to make an interrogative
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