Martha Stewart Living Radio: The Radio Blog

Seeds are the small, but only in size. In stature, they’re indispensable. Seed comes from sow, meaning to scatter the seeds so that they’ll grow. Sow also gave …

Crop is the harvest of a type plant, grouping its many varieties as a unit. But originally crop referred to a bird’s craw — its stomach, where it …

Hypertufa may be new to you.  English dictionaries don’t even list it. The operable word is tufa, the rock deposits that form at the bottom of bodies of …

Prunes are plums that have been completely dried out, so these summer fruits can be enjoyed year-round. The dried fruit, however, is quite different from the original: Three …

The office is where you work. In Latin, the earliest predecessors of office referred to a kind of duty or service. Hence the term Divine Office for the …

When the clock strikes 12 p.m., we say noon. But why? Noon is from the Latin nona, meaning “ninth.” But the Romans began counting at sunrise, roughly 6 …

Prime describes what’s first in excellence, rank, or degree. The prime minister is the highest-ranking official. The prime interest rate is a bank’s best rate. In math, a …

Laud means “to praise.” But the word comes from a much deeper form of praise. Capitalize the L and add an S, and you have Lauds, one of …