The Words of the Week - May 22
Dictionary lookups from education, health, and ancient dentistry
‘Graduate’
Graduations across the country continued to drive lookups for related words, including graduate.
Families crowded the bleachers, cheering and waving flowers and balloons as the ceremony began under bright skies. For many students, the day symbolized relief and transition after years that tested them both academically and personally. “It definitely had its ups and downs,” said Sammuela Aboagyewaah, 21, who graduated with a degree in health science. “But I feel like coming to BU has changed me for the better, and I am very proud of myself.”
—Aayushi Datta, The Boston Globe, 18 May 2026
We define the relevant sense of graduate as “to receive an academic degree or diploma.” In the second half of the 19th century, many usage writers decided that graduate should only be used with an object; schools could graduate students, and students could be graduated from schools. One such commentator wrote, “students do not graduate; they are graduated.” You can safely ignore this rule. “I graduated from college” is now the most common way to phrase the idea. You can also say “I graduated college” or “I was graduated from college.” All three are standard, but some people may consider “I was graduated from college” outdated and “I graduated college” incorrect.
‘Ebola virus’
Lookups for Ebola virus, which is sometimes shortened to Ebola, have been high lately amid an outbreak.
The World Health Organization declared on Saturday that the spread of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda was a global health emergency.
—
Ebola virus refers to any of several filoviruses (genus Orthoebolavirus and especially O. zairense) of African origin that cause an often fatal hemorrhagic fever. Ebola comes from the Ebola River in the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Though the Ebola River (a headwater stream of the Mongala River, a tributary of the Congo) turned out to be a considerable distance from the village of Yambuku where the fever was first observed in 1976, the name was nonetheless retained. The name “Yambuku virus” was avoided because of the stigma it would have attached to the village.
‘Slush fund’
The creation of an almost $1.8 billion compensation fund by the Justice Department has led to a rise in lookups for slush fund.
Democratic lawmakers opposed to the move argue that it will become a taxpayer-funded “slush fund” for Trump allies and supporters who claim political persecution.
—The highly unusual “anti-weaponization” fund was denounced by critics as a slush fund and as a brazen misuse of a once-independent Justice Department to carry out the president’s personal and political agendas.
—
We define slush fund as “an unregulated fund often used for illicit purposes” and “a fund for bribing public officials or carrying on corruptive propaganda.” It also has an older sense meaning “a fund raised from the sale of refuse to obtain small luxuries or pleasures for a warship’s crew.”
The slush in slush fund refers to “refuse grease and fat from cooking especially on shipboard,” a meaning it has had since the middle of the 18th century. Such slush would be collected on voyages and stored until a ship reached shore, at which point the entire nasty mess of it was trucked off and sold. The money from the sale of slush was reserved for the crew of the ship, and would be used to purchase items, such as musical instruments or books, which were not considered necessary enough that a country’s navy, or a ship’s owner, had to provide them for a crew. In the beginning of the 19th century this accreted money began to be called a slush fund. The “sale of refuse” sense is now almost entirely a historical curiosity. You could always try to resurrect its use the next time you meet up for cocktails, but you may run the risk of having to drink alone the time after that.
‘Neanderthal’
A study revealing evidence of Neanderthal dentistry predating Homo sapiens dentistry by over 40,000 years led to a rise in lookups for Neanderthal.
I guess I always assumed Neanderthals cleaned their teeth like I do, by opening my mouth so oxpecker birds can land on my jaw and peck at my gums. But a new study identifies a single Neanderthal molar dated to about 59,000 years ago with a hole drilled into the pulp cavity.
—
Neanderthal refers to a hominid (Homo neanderthalensis synonym H. sapiens neanderthalensis) known from skeletal remains in Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia that lived from about 30,000 to 200,000 years ago. The word comes from the name of a valley in western Germany where Neanderthal remains were discovered in the 1800s.
Until the late 20th century, Neanderthals were regarded as genetically, morphologically, and behaviorally distinct from living humans. However, more recent discoveries about this Eurasian population have revealed an overlap between living and archaic humans. Neanderthals lived before and during the last ice age of the Pleistocene in some of the most unforgiving environments ever inhabited by humans. They developed a successful culture, with a complex stone tool technology, that was based on hunting, with some scavenging and local plant collection. Scientists have presented strong evidence that Neanderthals were the first group to use tools to make fire deliberately.
Word Worth Knowing: ‘Edulcorate’
Edulcorate, whose roots stretch back to the Latin word dulcis, meaning “sweet,” is defined three ways in our Unabridged dictionary. Its oldest, now-obsolete meaning is “to make (food) sweet.” It has also been used, in a now archaic sense, to mean “to free from acids, salts, or other soluble substances by washing.” Lastly, it has a figurative meaning, “to free from harshness (as of attitude),” or in other words, “to make pleasant.” Music fans may recognize the dulcis influence in both the adjective dulcet (“pleasing to the ear”) and dulcimer (used for one of two stringed musical instruments), while dessert aficionados will savor its presence in dulce le leche, referring to sweetened caramelized milk that is traditionally made by reducing a mixture of milk and sugar over heat.
The tutor breakfasts on coffee made of beans, edulcorated with milk watered to the verge of transparency.
—
