» by chrysti February 2nd, 2009 at 9:45 am » Comments (0)

Swain In an earlier Wordsmith edition, we investigated a pair monikers reserved for types of male suitors: the Romeo, or an ardent, persistant lover, and the Lothario who’s a rake, libertine ...more »

» by chrysti February 2nd, 2009 at 9:41 am » Comments (0)

Romeo and Lothario Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of desire and beauty inspired the word aphrodisiac. This love goddess’ son, Eros, gave us erotic, and the word venereal derives from Venus, ...more »

» by chrysti February 2nd, 2009 at 9:37 am » Comments (0)

Aphrodisiac In ancient Greek tradition, Aphrodite is the goddess of love. Daughter of the sky father Uranus and the earth-mother Gaia, Aphrodite had many paramours. She married the fire god ...more »

» by chrysti February 2nd, 2009 at 9:30 am » Comments (0)

Invention Eponyms The English language contains hundreds of terms called eponyms, or people’s names that have become common nouns. For example, Josef Pulitzer is the eponym and founder of ...more »

» by chrysti February 2nd, 2009 at 9:20 am » Comments (0)

With Bells On A friend calls to invite you to a party. She promises good food, fine wine, live music and jolly company. You tell her that you’ll ...more »