THE ancient notion of English grammar was one of certain categories of words, and certain rules for their proper use. This is still the idea implied in most of the dictionary definitions of the word.

These days, the first lesson of high school Latin is often to answer the question: why Latin? The language peaked in the era of Roman gladiators and slowly faded throughout the Middle Ages. Today, 800 ...

"I saw the geniuses' octopuses," says person one. "No, you saw the genii's octopi!" retorts person two. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week ...