Fun Facts About English

Click here for the German version
 
Even as a native speaker, my mother language never fails to impress me. Language is always changing and growing, and there is always something new to learn. So take a look below at these cool facts that we found out about the English language! Do you know any of them already?

• The word "girl" was not initially used to refer to a specific gender. It used to mean "child" or "young person" regardless of the gender.
• The closest languages to English are Dutch and West Flemish.
• "Almost" is one of the longest English words to have all its letters in alphabetical order.
• With a slightly alarming 464 listings, the word "set" has the highest number of definitions in the English dictionary.
• According to OED research, an "x" was first used to represent a kiss in a 1763 letter from Naturalist Gilbert White.
• "Daisy, daisy, give me your answer do..." You all know this song right? Did you know that the word "daisy" is a contraction of "day's eye" because the flower opens in the morning and closes at night?
• "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" is a type of lung disease caused by inhaling ash and dust and is, unsurprisingly, the longest word in the English language.
• A pangram sentence is one that contains every letter in the language. For example, the sentence, "the quick, brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is a pangram.

Do you know any fun facts about your own language? Comment below and let us know!