What does each word mean? A sleigh is a vehicle on runners which is pulled by horses or dogs over snow. As a verb, the word describes the act of riding in a sleigh. Here is sleigh used in some example sentences: Santa Claus delivers presents in a flying sleigh pulled by reindeer. Do you hear the sleigh bells jingling? We sleighed through the snow. Slay means destroy or kill. Here is slay used in some an example sentence: The show about a teenager who slays vampire. Where does each word come from? The word sleigh dates to 1703 and comes from Dutch the ‘slee’, which is a shortened versio...
Christmas is a time for stories. Have you heard of these three Christmas characters? What about these three? How did Charles Dickens, author of A Christmas Carol, influence the English language? Ready to deck the halls? Don’t mix up your bows and your boughs. Is it a rain dear or a reindeer? Speaking of reindeer, where did Santa’s reindeer get their names from? Tried our relaxing Spelling Snowball game yet? Maybe you’ll enjoy these five wintry word lists to practise with. Avoid these 10 spelling mistakes this Christmas. Seasons Greetings! Joyeux Noel! Bah humbug! Find a ...
Seasons Greetings! Joyeux Noel! Bah humbug! Find a holiday greeting for every mood. Writing some last-minute cards? Here are 10 writing mistakes to avoid this Christmas. Have you tried our relaxing Spelling Snowball game yet? Here are five wintry word lists to practise with. Play against a friend using the multiplayer option. Spending time away from the computer? Here are five more games to try. Christmas is a time for stories. Have you heard of these three Christmas characters? How about these three? How did Charles Dickens, author of A Christmas Carol, influence the English language? Of cour...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for December is Christmas decorations. A decoration is something that is used to beautify a space. The word comes from the Latin ‘decorare’. So far this month, we’ve looked at the words nutcracker, bauble, and mistletoe. With Christmas Eve just days away, what else could we choose for this week’s word but stocking? Stockings are long socks which are hung up by children on Christmas Eve in the hope that they will be filled with gifts. There is no record of the origin of this tradition and even today different households have different gift-giving rituals. In some families, stockings are filled e...
Words ending in ssor and rror In this month’s spelling pattern word list, we’re looking at words ending in 'ssor' and 'rror'. After the letters 'ss' and 'rr', many words use 'or' to spell the weak vowel ending. Learn about 'ssor' and 'rror' word endings in Unit 25 and practise spelling them in this word list. Winter Words Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Whether or not the snow sticks to the ground this year, here in the UK we are sure to get plenty of wind and rain. From blizzard, to flurries, to icicle; this list will teach you how to spell a variety cold-...
Every Christmas Eve, Santa Claus and his reindeer deliver presents to children all over the world. The first time a reindeer appeared in a Christmas story was in the children’s poem Old SanteClaus with Much Delight which was published in New York in 1821 and featured an illustration of a sleigh being pulled by a reindeer. Today, Christmas stories usually feature nine reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder/Donner, Blixem/Blitzen, and Rudolph. Although most of us recognise Rudolph from the popular song, he first appeared in a booklet by Robert L. May in 1939. The booklet was distributed by a Chicago-based retailer who bought and gave away colourin...
What does each word mean? Dear is a term of endearment used to refer to a beloved person or to show affection to someone. Click here for the full Spellzone dictionary definition of the word. Here is dear used in some example sentences: ‘Pass the salt, dear,’ said Timothy to his daughter. Her late aunt was very dear to her. A dear friend recommended this restaurant to me. Click here to find the Spellzone vocabulary lists related to the word dear. Deer are a type of four-legged hoofed animal, the males of which are known for their branchy antlers. Click here for the full Spellzone dictionary definition of the word. Here is deer used in an example se...
What does each word mean? The word rain is used as both a noun (to describe water that falls in drops from the vapour condensed in the atmosphere) and as a verb (to describe the act of water droplets falling from the sky). Click here for the full Spellzone dictionary definition of the word. Here is rain used in some example sentences: The rain was heavy in the morning but slowed to a light drizzle by lunchtime. It rained heavily in the morning but at lunchtime the sun came out. The soldier dodged the bullets raining down on him and searched for cover. Click here to find the Spellzone vocabulary lists related to the word rain. As a noun, reign refers to the period d...
Here are our favourite Christmas posts from over the years: Three Popular Christmas Characters In this article we look at how and when the characters Rudolph, Scrooge, and the Grinch entered popular culture. Both ‘Scrooge’ and ‘Grinch’ are now used as words to describe people who share the same qualities as the famous characters, and you can read about other words that derive from the names of people or characters here. What the Dickens? Christmas isn’t Christmas without a little Charles Dickens. If our Christmas Characters post wasn’t detailed enough for your taste, in this article we take a look at words and expressions from Dickens’s ...
With just over a week to go until Christmas, we couldn’t resist choosing a Christmassy word for this week’s blog post. The word ‘reindeer’ has been used in English since around 1400, and probably comes from a Scandinavian source like the Old Norse ‘hreindyri’. ‘Dyr’ was Old Norse for ‘animal’ or ‘beast’, and the Old English cognate was ‘deor’. ‘Hreinn’ (and the Old English ‘hran’) both likely came from the PIE ‘krei’ meaning ‘horn, head’. ‘Hreindyri’, then, translates to something like ‘horn-headed animal’. Although reindeer have be...
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