Dating back centuries, the names of our everyday colors have origins in the earliest known languages. According to linguists: There was a time when there were no color-names as such . . . and that not ...

Earth's moon does have a name: In English, it's "the moon." The word moon is Proto-Germanic in origin, deriving from a similar-sounding word that came into use a few thousand years ago in Northern ...

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Earth's name, unlike other planets named after Greco-Roman deities, originates from Old English "eorþe," meaning soil or ground. This reflects humanity's early connection to land, evolving from ...

When Germanic was first caught in the candle flame of writing, in the second century CE, there was only one runic script and one Germanic language. That language was spoken in a relatively compact ...

Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of this story contained inaccurate or incomplete facts about the history of language. Language is an essential part of human communication, allowing ...

Jack Knudson is an assistant editor for Discover Magazine who writes articles on space, ancient humans, animals, and sustainability, and manages the Planet Earth column of the print issue. View Full ...