Webster, Noah Webster
Webster graduated from this Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut.
English gets its first outside influence thanks to Britain being invaded by this empire around 43 AD. It's why you need to know your Latin roots.
Roman
"of, relating to, or characteristic of the Middle Ages"
medieval
The word 'helicopter' doesn't quite split up like you'd expect. Its last four letters, -pter, is a root meaning 'wing' which also starts the name of these extinct flying reptiles.
Pterodactyls
British scientist Richard Dawkins coined this term in his 1973 book The Selfish Gene. He meant it as "a unit of cultural transmission" which probably still describes that Handsome Squidward picture you sent your friend.
meme
After his college graduation, Webster passed this test that is used to grant lawyers the right to practice law in different states.
Bar Exam
English words like 'skull' and 'freckle' can be traced back to the Scandinavian languages spoken by this group that invaded and settled England around 450 AD.
Vikings
"exposed and barren; cold and raw; lacking in warmth, life, or kindness"
bleak
The prefix helico- in 'helicopter' means spiral, and it shows up in a slightly different form in this name for the shape of a strand of DNA.
Double helix
Bob Dylan's song "Tombstone Blues" includes an observation that "the sun's not yellow - it's __________," a word often used to add an avian twist to calling someone a coward.
chicken
In 1793, Webster was recruited by this Founding Father to come and write for the Federalist Party newspaper. Webster went - I guess he didn't want to throw away his shot.
Alexander Hamilton
The Battle of Hastings in 1066 brought William of Normandy to the English throne and this language to its courts. The next English speaking king of England wouldn't exist until almost 1400.
French
"of or relating to an order of existence beyond the visible observable universe"
supernatural
The name of a dandelion comes from an Old French term rooted in the fact that the green leaves were thought to resemble the teeth of this animal.
Lion
This phrase is recorded as early as the late 1500s, using color symbolism to denote the purity or harmlessness of an otherwise negative thing.
white lie
Webster advocated for simpler spelling in American English, including spelling color without this letter from its British English spelling.
U
The United States has the world's largest population of English speakers, but a reasonably close second is this country. It's not a native language there, but it makes sense considering its population is the world's largest.
India
"capable of being understood in two or more possible senses or ways"
ambiguous
This modern word is rooted in the Latin for 'cow,' since its name was coined after Edward Jenner's experiments using cowpox to inoculate people for smallpox.
Vaccine
Adam Sandler's surname means "cobbler" in Yiddish. No, not the dessert, but someone who makes these items.
shoes
Webster died in 1843 while working on a new edition of his dictionary. His dictionaries and other works were bought by brothers George and Charles who added what last name of theirs to Webster's on future published editions.
Merriam
Three separate Germanic tribes invaded England around 450 AD and left a permanent impact on the language, so much so that two of their names combined are often used to describe people who are ethnically British to this day. Name any one of them.
Angles, Saxons, and the Jutes
"extreme pain or anguish to body or mind"
torment
The Persian phrase "shah mat," or "The King is Helpless" morphed into this modern boardgame term that denotes the end of a game.
Check mate
2016 saw the addition of this term to the Oxford English Dictionary which means "a form of camping that involves accommodations and facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping."
glamping