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Word for Wednesday: Refrain

January’s Word for Wednesday theme is Janus words. A Janus word is a word with contradictory meanings. These words are also known as contronyms and auto antonyms. So far, we’ve looked at the words weather, dust and left. Today’s word is refrain. As a verb, refrain describes the act of stopping oneself from doing something. For example: Please refrain from smoking indoors. The boy refrained from picking his nose. I will refrain from saying what I think. As a noun, the word refrain describes repeated lines at the end of a verse. For example: There’s a refr...

Word for Wednesday: Left

January’s Word for Wednesday theme is Janus words. A Janus word is a word with contradictory meanings. These words are also known as contronyms and auto antonyms. So far, we’ve looked at the words weather and dust. Today’s word is left. The word left is used to describe the act of departing. For example: They have already left the party. The UK left the European Union in 2020. She left on her adventure around the world last week. It is also used to describe what is remaining. For example: There are plenty of people left at the party. How much food is left? She le...

Word for Wednesday: Dust

January’s Word for Wednesday theme is Janus words. A Janus word is a word with contradictory meanings. These words are also known as contronyms and auto antonyms. Last week we looked at the word weather, this week’s word is dust. As a noun, dust refers to a fine powder made from microscopic particles of other materials that coats surfaces and floats in the air. However, like with weather, it is the verb forms of dust that have contradictory meanings. The verb dust is used to describe the act of removing dust. For example: He made sure to dust the house before his parents came to visit. I should dust those cobwebs away. We haven...

Word for Wednesday: Weather

January marks the shift into the new year and is named for Janus, the Roman god of beginning and transitions. Janus is usually depicted with two heads – one looking back into the past, and the other looking forward to the future. With this in mind, this month’s Word for Wednesday theme is Janus words. A Janus word is a word with contradictory meanings. These words are also known as contronyms and auto antonyms. Our first Janus word of the year is weather. As a noun, this word refers to atmospheric effects like wind, rain, and snow. It is the verb forms of weather that have contradictory meanings. One meaning of the verb weather is ‘to withstand’. F...

Word for Wednesday: Red

Happy New Year! Our Word for Wednesday theme for January is colours. The word colour entered English via Old French and comes from the Latin ‘color’, from the Old Latin ‘colos’ meaning ‘a covering’, from the PIE root ‘kel-’ meaning ‘to conceal’. The word has been used in reference to skin colour since the early-thirteenth century and in reference to pigments and dye since the fourteenth century. The spelling colour became the common English spelling from the fourteenth century, but a classical correction made color an alternative from the fifteenth century. Color is now the common American English spelling...

Spellzone January Round-Up

How has your first month of 2020 been? Here's what we got up to this month: We began the year by sharing 20 steps you can take to help you improve your spelling this year. If you haven’t thought about your New Year’s resolutions since January 1st (or if you haven’t thought about them at all), it’s not too late. You’ve got eleven months left to achieve. Take your first step today – find part one of our list here and part two here. This month we returned to our Commonly Confused Words series and looked at the words peace and piece. Click here for some brilliant mnemonics to help you remember how to spell each of these words. ...

More Janus Words

The month January takes its name from Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions (and so it is appropriate that January is the month that marks the transition into the New Year). Janus is usually depicted with two heads – one looking back into the past, and the other looking forward to the future. Last January we looked at 20 Janus words. A Janus word is a word with contradictory meanings. These words are also known as contronyms and auto antonyms. Here are some more examples of Janus words: Apology: an expression of regret for causing someone trouble, a formal written defence of something I owe you an apology for using your computer without asking first. She w...

Janus Words

If you’ve read our blog post on where we get our names for the months of the year from, you will know that the month ‘January’ takes its name from Janus the god of beginnings and transitions. Janus’s image – usually depicted with two heads, one looking back into the past and the other looking forward into the future – is often found carved over doorways and gates. A Janus word is a word with contradictory meanings. These words are also known as contronyms and auto antonyms. Here are 20 examples of Janus words used in sentences: Bolt: to fasten/secure, to flee We bolt the door at night. The cat bolted away. Bound: to tie someo...

Twenty Idioms for New Beginnings

January always feels like the perfect time of year to make some lifestyle changes – last week we even looked at five New Year’s resolutions to help you improve your spelling. Here are twenty idioms for new beginnings: a change is as good as a rest – a change of occupation can be as relaxing as a break. at the crossroads – at the point where you must make the choice between two courses of action with diverging consequences. early bird catches the worm – the person who takes the earliest opportunity to do something will have an advantage over other people. a breath of fresh air – a refreshing or invigorating change. &...