Our Word for Wednesday theme for July is fruit. The word fruit dates back to the late-twelfth century when it was used to mean ‘any vegetable product useful to humans or animals’. It entered English via Old French and comes from the Latin ‘fructus’ meaning ‘an enjoyment, delight, or satisfaction’ as well as ‘proceeds, produce, fruit, and crops’. The word took on its modern meaning in the early thirteenth century. So far we’ve looked at the word banana, and today’s word is pineapple. A pineapple is a large sweet fleshy tropical fruit with a tuft of stiff pointed leaves. What&rsqu...
The Christmas carol We Three Kings tells the story of three kings who followed a star to visit Jesus in a stable just after he was born. Many British school children learn this story at a very young age and can recite the names of the gifts each king gave to Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. While gold is still well-known today, what are frankincense and myrrh? Do the three gifts have a special significance? The verses to the carol give us a hint – let’s look at them a little more closely. Gold ‘Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain Gold I bring to crown Him again, King forever, ceasing never, Over us all to reign.’ Gold is a precious metal which has ...
Whether you love Valentine’s Day or think the day is a complete waste of time, there’s no denying that notions of love and heartbreak have inspired writers and artists for thousands of years. There are countless idioms associated with love: “…from the bottom of my heart”, “I have a crush on you”, “I’m head over heels in love”, and even “broken heart” – but today we’re going to look at the expression “apple of my eye”. In case you’ve forgotten, an idiom is a figure of speech which is used to describe something other than its literal meaning – so in this case, the expression isn’t...
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