etymology — Bunk History

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A Vacuum at the Center

How a demagogue resembles a typhoon, and why it matters to the future of the republic.

by W. Robert Connor via The American Scholar on March 5, 2018

The Uses and Abuses of 'Neoliberalism'

Does the term clarify or confuse our understanding of capitalism today?

by Daniel T. Rodgers via Dissent on December 13, 2017

The Rise and Fall of the “Sellout”

The history of the epithet, from its rise among leftists and jazz critics and folkies to its recent fall from favor.

by Franz Nicolay via Slate on July 28, 2017

Where Did the Term 'Gerrymander' Come From?

Elbridge Gerry was a powerful voice in the founding of the nation, but today he's best known for the political practice with an amphibious origin.

by Erick Trickey via Smithsonian on July 20, 2017

This Is Where the Word 'History' Comes From

The word 'history' evolved from an ancient Greek verb, but its definition has changed over the years

by Katy Steinmetz via TIME on June 23, 2017

Ahead of a Major Supreme Court Case on Gerrymandering, Here Are the Term's Origins

The word is two centuries old.

by Olivia B. Waxman via TIME on June 19, 2017

What the Guys Who Coined '420' Think About Their Place in Marijuana History

And how the term came to be code for pot-smoking in the first place.

by Olivia B. Waxman via TIME on April 19, 2017

The Trashy Beginnings of "Don’t Mess With Texas"

A true story of the defining phrase of the Lone Star state.

by Katie Nodjimbadem via Smithsonian on March 10, 2017

The Caucasus Mountains, a mountain system that runs through several countries.

Why Do We Keep Using the Word “Caucasian”?

When a term signifies something that does not exist, we need to examine our use of it.

by Yolanda Moses via Sapiens on February 1, 2017

Detail from the Russian poster for the 1957 Polish film Kanal, directed by Andrzej Wajda and set during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. Photo by Getty

The Strange Political History of The ‘Underground’

Subterranean metaphors have been a powerful tool of political resistance. Today, is there anywhere left to hide?

by Terence Renaud via Aeon on December 14, 2016

Political Correctness: How The Right Invented a Phantom Enemy

Invoking this vague and ever-shifting nemesis has been the right's favorite tactic, and Trump’s victory is its greatest triumph.

by Moira Weigel via The Guardian on November 30, 2016

Freedom vs. Liberty: Why Religious Conservatives Have Begun to Chose One Over the Other

Religious "freedom" and "liberty" have always had different connotations.

by Stephanie Russell-Kraft via Religion Dispatches on October 12, 2016

Donald Trump

If Trump and Sanders Are Both Populists, What Does Populism Mean?

Headlines tell us that the campaigns of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have both opened a new chapter of populist politics. How is that possible?

by Charles Postel via The American Historian on August 1, 2016

Sports bettors watching a horse race.

Oil in the Can

A history of horse racing, it's slang, and handicapping.

by Eric Banks via Lapham’s Quarterly on June 1, 2016

Wooden cross across blue sky in background

What Is an 'Evangelical'?

The terms meaning has shifted throughout Christianity’s long history, making it difficult to define.

by Jonathan Merritt via The Atlantic on December 7, 2015

Plate of fried chicken, hushpuppies, and a biscuit

The Real History of Hushpuppies

Hushpuppies are delicious, iconically Southern, and no one seems to have a clue where they came from.

by Robert F. Moss via Serious Eats on June 23, 2015

What Was Gay?

In a more accepting world, homosexual men can leave their campy, cruising past, but the price of equality shouldn't be conformity.

by J. Bryan Lowder via Slate on May 12, 2015

The History of 420, in Three Acts

There are many theories about the origin of 420, but five guys named Waldo started it all.

by Steve Hager via Freedom Leaf Press on April 20, 2015

How Did YA Become YA?

Why is it called YA anyway? And who decided what was YA and what wasn’t?

by Anne Rouyer via New York Public Library on April 20, 2015

This editorial cartoon from a January 1879 edition of Harper's Weekly depicting a white man misspelling words on a sign announcing Black voters must pass a literacy test, while a Black man looks on laughing.

The Racial History Of The 'Grandfather Clause'

Companies and individuals are considered grandfathered and exempt from new sets of regulations all the time. But the term and the concept dates to a darker era.

by Alan Greenblatt via NPR on October 22, 2013

Creole in a Red Headdress. Amans, Jacques Guillaume Lucien (Artist).

Creoles

The word "Creole" invites debate because it possesses several meanings, some of which concern the innately sensitive subjects of race and ethnicity.

by Shane K. Bernard via 64 Parishes on December 8, 2010

Great Migration Debates: Keywords in Historical Perspective

The use of the word "immigrant" in contemporary debates often reflects a lack of understanding of U.S. immigration history.

by Donna Gabaccia via Social Science Research Council on July 28, 2006

Computer mouse connected to the word "blog."

Play With Your Words

How the term "blog" came into being.

by Peter Merholz via peterme.com on May 17, 2002

Visitors pose atop Arch Rock, a geological formation on Mackinac Island.

How America’s Second National Park Lost Its Federal Status—and Gained a New Life as a State Park

Much of Mackinac Island was designated as a national park, but was too expensive for the government to maintain, so it was transferred to the State of Michigan.

by Sarah Kuta via Smithsonian on June 9, 2025

During its first year of service, Freedom House Amublance Service transported more than 4,600 patients across 5,800 calls, saving 200 lives. Heinz History Center

These Black Paramedics Are the Reason You Don’t Have to Ride a Hearse or Police Van to the Hospital

In the 1960s and 1970s, Freedom House Ambulance Service set the standard for emergency medical care, laying the groundwork for the services available today.

by Lillian Ali via Smithsonian on May 21, 2025

John Trumbull’s painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, 1819.

Who Invented the “Founding Fathers?”

The making of a myth.

by George Dillard via Looking Through The Past on May 21, 2025

Military patients in an emergency hospital at Camp Funston, Kansas, 1918.

How the Industrialization and Militarism of the Early 1900s Helped Spread the Spanish Influenza

The public and private battles waged across Europe and the United States during the 1918 flu pandemic.

by Edna Bonhomme via Literary Hub on March 24, 2025

A bulldozer juxtapositioned with destroyed buildings and barren land.

The Shrouded, Sinister History Of The Bulldozer

From India to the Amazon to Israel, bulldozers have left a path of destruction that offers a cautionary tale for how technology can be misused.

by Joe Zadeh via Noema on February 20, 2025

Magnifying glass on top of the book "The Mask of Sanity" by Hervey Cleckley.

The Man Who Invented the “Psychopath”

Hervey Cleckley wanted to treat the most overlooked psychiatric patients. Instead his work was used to demonize them.

by Camille Bromley via The New Republic on November 7, 2024

Essay entitled "America," full of editorial markings.

America Is Not America Yet

On American history and the history of the word “America.”

by Alexander Aviña via The Dial on October 3, 2024

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