How Does History Change The Meaning Of Words?

By NPR/TED Staff / NPR

Published December 13, 2013 at 3:37 AM PST

This story was published more than 12 years ago.

How Does History Change The Meaning Of Words?

Part 4 of the TED Radio Hour episodeSpoken And Unspoken.

About Mark Forsyth's TEDTalk

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Etymologist Mark Forsyth shares the surprising back story on the term "president."

About Mark Forsyth

Mark Forsyth is an author, blogger, journalist, proofreader and ghostwriter. On his blog, the Inky Fool, he dispells grammar myths. His book The Etymologicon takes "a circular stroll through the hidden connections of the English language" by history of one word or phrase with each chapter.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit www.npr.org.

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