No, this word doesn’t size up your Quidditch skills. It literally means “whatness,” formed from the Latin quid, or “what.” Quiddity was introduced as a philosophical term in the Middle Ages for “what ...

In their timeless Elements of Style, Strunk and write that “Anglo-Saxon is a livelier tongue than Latin, so use Anglo-Saxon words.” It’s good advice. (Sorry: advice has Latin roots. Let’s try again.) ...