Sometimes there’s more to a word than meets the eye. You might think that words are just a heap of letters, but some have a bit more personality and pizzazz. Here are some word-related facts and tidbits to share while you're waiting for your next Zoom to start.
QWERTY’s Longest Words
If you learned how to type using the traditional QWERTY keyboard, you know that each hand is only supposed to type certain letters, and not cross into the other hand's territory. Using only your left hand, "stewardesses" is the longest word you can type. The longest word with your right hand? "Lollipop."
Every Vowel in Its Place
Only two words in the entire English language use each of the five vowels in alphabetical order — "facetious" and "abstemious".
Be Back in a Jiffy!
The next time you promise you’ll “be back in a jiffy,” you’d better know what you’re getting yourself into. A "jiffy" is a real measurement of time, and it’s pretty fast — 1/100 of a second. Next time you tell someone you’ll be back that quickly, you’d better hope they don’t hold you to it.
Don’t Make Me Repeat Myself
"Bookkeeper" is the only word in the English language that uses three sets of repeated letters in a row. That might sound like an accomplishment, but what about words made up of only repeated letters? The letters may not all be in a row, but "happenchance," "signings," and "intestines" all use each of their letters twice.
Which Definition Do You Mean?
Most words have two or three definitions, even if we don’t commonly use them all. And then there’s "run." With 645 definitions and usages in the Oxford English Dictionary, "run" has more meanings than any other English word. "Set" follows close behind with 464. Good luck remembering them all.
Line Up in Alphabetical Order
"Billowy" and "beefily" are the longest words spelled with each letter in alphabetical order (also known as abecedarian). "Forty" is the only numerical word with this trait.
Speaking of Numbers
While "forty" is the only abecedarian word, four is the only one that has the same number of letters as the number itself. It’s self-enumerating.
Never Wear the Same Letter Twice
There are only so many letters in the alphabet that you can use in one word without duplicating at least one of them. At 15 letters, "uncopyrightable" is the longest word that has no repeated letters.
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