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Word for Wednesday: Delphinium

For our July Word for Wednesday theme, we’ve decided to return to flowers.  The word flower entered English around 1200 as ‘flour’ (with spelling variants including ‘flur’, ‘flor’, ‘floer’, ‘flor’, ‘floyer’, and ‘flowre’). It comes from the Old French ‘flor’, from the Latin ‘florem’. The word was used in reference to both blooms and grain until the late fourteenth century, after which the spellings ‘flower’ and ‘flour’ were used to differentiate between the two.  Our first flower-themed word this month is delphinium. Delphinium...

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Word for Wednesday: Brown

In February, we are continuing with the Word for Wednesday theme of 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...

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Word for Wednesday: Pink

In February, we are continuing with the Word for Wednesday theme of 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...

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Word for Wednesday: Purple

In February, we are continuing with the Word for Wednesday theme of 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...

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Word for Wednesday: Blue

In February, we are continuing with the Word for Wednesday theme of 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...

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Word for Wednesday: Green

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&nbs...

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Word for Wednesday: Yellow

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&nbs...

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Word for Wednesday: Orange

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&nbs...

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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...

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