"As fear is the principle of despotic government, its end is tranquility ; but this tranquility cannot be called a peace : no, it is only the silence of those towns which the enemy is ready to invade." [Montesquieu, "The Spirit of the Laws," 1748, Hafner Library translation]

"As virtue is necessary in a republic, and in a monarchy honor, so fear is necessary in a despotic government : with regard to virtue, there is no occasion for it, and honor would be extremely dangerous." [Montesquieu, "The Spirit of the Laws," 1748, Hafner Library translation]

Etymonline's Doug Harper sat down recently with Grammar Girl's Mignon Fogarty and we nerdified about words. See what you think! "Grammar" is top of the etymonline trending list today. Take it as a sign. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

It's not what you think.

Today's Trendings parsed on Patreon

This recommendation is out of etymonline's lane. Except that love like English also is a language and both involve tongues. If you crave a cove of humanity, there's one in this podcast, which is knife-sharp and human-soft all at once. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

just mucking about in history.

Yes, friends, soon it might be time for another Etymonline Fireside Chat, brought to you by Old Rabbit Hole beer: 'Fall down one and get lost!' Or it might not. But you won't know unless you follow us on Patreon. You'll also know a few other things. www.patreon.com/c/etymonline

This morning's etymonline Trending Words list. Thanks to the London tabloids and somehow a Kardashian we dumped merkins in everyone's breakfast feed. Also, apologies to this morning's classroom spelling teachers.

In Halloween season 2025, is it acceptable to speak of "spooks" and "spooky?" Don't ask us; we live in the past. But those words have twisty history: www.etymonline.com/columns/post...

Today's Etymonline weather report and daily Jumble clues.

"And the fire and the rose are one." Cut 5 and 8 and it flows top to end like a sermon heard from a distant room.

Today's etymonline weather forecast and Emily Dickinson rough draft. Feels more cheerful than usual. "Hello, enigma!" "Good morning, Science!" Do you like this hat? No.

Hot off the press and educational as all: but she is! www.etymonline.com/columns/post... The Shadow www.etymonline.com/columns/post... underpants www.etymonline.com/columns/post...

Today's etymonline weather forecast and aria libretto. It opens mundane but comes to life midway. "Gauze philosophy." "Holy resilience!" Then the villain-name du jour, "Histamine Rigmarole."

Today's Etymonline Weather Forecast and Poetry Slam Stage Name Generator (dibs on Resilient Doughnut)

Today's Etymonline Weather Report and Wierdle Answers [must have been a quiz out there somewhere yesterday, involving place names in "-mouth." As for the rest of it, there's a "trending" trend for the last five or six words on the list to form a subplot of their own, occasionally whimsical].

www.patreon.com/posts/cousin... English and French get along like step-sisters raised together. English and German are twins separated at birth.

Today's Etymological Weather Report and Bridge Hand The top two cards offer devilish clever twists in the forked senses of "assumption." From about no. 5 to the end they begin to draw pairs. "Nice morning. Spooky culture. Gossip. Memoir." A casual chat or a life story in six words?

Keep it under your hat that Roman emperors also got whole months renamed after themselves. Once word is out that branding the calendar is the badge of a mighty ruler, brace yourself for Dontober. www.etymonline.com/word/august

Today's etymonline "trending words" weather report-slash-band-name-generator. Better jump on "Nifty Kamchatka" before it's taken. Sage advice at 4.-5. Current Events from 6. to the end, Punctuate at will, Gridley:

Today's weather report-cum-beat poetry. More reliable than an n-gram! Punctuate as desired.

www.npr.org/2025/07/23/n... well OK then

The case for "Gal."

Today's Weather Alert opens with thrums in the night

A bundle of broken mirrors

Straight Arrow to a crooked road.

Real Patsy Bolivars of America. www.etymonline.com/columns/post...

A busy week. Zilches and Bongos. www.etymonline.com/.../post/the... www.etymonline.com/.../post/sta...

Jburg

The internet was today years old when it learned Doug Harper did another podcast!

A pivot not an end but an end.