My YouTube feed is full of food content, and lately I’ve been noticing some differences in what I call certain foods and what those same foods are called by British people. In particular, hot and ready potatoes are a popular street food in the United Kingdom, where they’re called “jacket potatoes.” To me, this calls up a mental image of cute little potatoes with googly eyes and tiny felt coats, but they’re actually what I (and most Americans) know as “baked potatoes.” The language is the same, but key vocabulary differences between British and American English dialects have always intrigued me, so I did a little more research on the difference between jacket potatoes and baked potatoes. 

While there are plenty of differences in dialects for clothing words, “jacket” as a lightweight outer garment is the same on both sides of the pond. The linguistic divide comes into play with a secondary definition for “jacket,” referring to the skin of a potato. British people refer to this particular form of potato by its skin, while those in the U.S. came to refer to it by the cooking method instead.

Though largely the same, there are some slight differences between baked potatoes and jacket potatoes. For instance, jacket potatoes are usually cooked longer than their baked brethren — sometimes over an hour to ensure crispier skin. The toppings are also different depending on the location. While Americans prefer cheese, bacon, chives, and sour cream, British people go for a broader variety of toppings: cheese, baked beans, coleslaw, and even tuna fish.

You might also enjoy

Vocabulary

30 Words We Picked Up From Cooking Shows

Language

English Dialects: British vs. American

All the differences in food terminology are fascinating, but I do have some favorites. Americans say “eggplant,” while Brits say “aubergine,” and a zucchini in New York is a courgette in London. And don’t get me started on the divide between fries and chips or cookies and biscuits. The opinions on appropriate condiments, textures, and flavor combinations could fill a book. 

If you were to ask 100 different people to pick the most beautiful word in the English language, you’d probably get 100 different answers. There’s a seemingly endless list to choose from, as some words evoke pleasant memories, while others sound mellifluous to the ear. While there’s no way to reach a universal consensus, many esteemed linguists have favorites of their own. These are a few of them.

Accomplished linguist Dr. Robert Beard compiled a list of what he personally considers to be the 100 most beautiful English words. Up first — at least alphabetically — is “ailurophile,” which appropriately sounds quite alluring. The word, which essentially means “cat lover,” is derived from the Greek ailuros, meaning “cat,” and phile, meaning “lover.” Its origins date back to the 1910s, though the word continues to make the hearts of linguists purr today. Not only does it sound pleasant, but it also evokes the beautiful connection that humans have with their beloved pets.

In 1995, wordsmith David Crystal unveiled a “matrix of criteria” that maps what makes certain words more beautiful than others. The word “tremulous” — meaning “shaking or quivering slightly” — fit every category. According to Crystal, beautiful words should contain three or more syllables, put a stress on the first syllable, and include an /m/ sound (as in “make”) and an /l/ sound (as in “all”). Six additional criteria relate to different manners of articulation and sounds made with different parts of the mouth, and “tremulous” hits every mark to a T, much to Crystal’s delight.

According to lifelong lexicographer Wilfred J. Funk, “murmuring” is one of the most beautiful English words. It’s defined as a soft, low sound, often spoken by a person or group, though the meaning isn’t the only reason it’s considered so beautiful. Rather, it’s the way the word is pronounced, with a double /m/ sound, as we touched on in the prior section. Three syllables and a wider variety of tones make “murmuring” more appealing than just “murmur.” According to Funk’s list, other beautiful words include “hush,” “lullaby,” and “luminous,” all of which sound pleasant and evoke positive feelings.

Lucy Bella Simkins, a popular British YouTuber with over 12 million subscribers,  created a video of 15 of the most beautiful English words. “Nefarious” — a word with a less beautiful meaning of “wicked or criminal” — made her list. Despite the criminal connotation, Simkins maintains the word is delightful to say and hear due to its expressiveness. She also praises the /eə/ sound in the middle, which adds to its euphonic appeal.

The British Council — a U.K. organization for cultural relations — conducted a 2004 survey among 40,000 non-English speakers to find the most beautiful word in English. The result was “mother,” beating out runners-up “passion” and “smile.” Chris Wade, the organization’s director of communications, noted, “All of us have a mother and have a reasonable idea of who that person is. It’s one piece of certainty we can have and it’s a very powerful word in a variety of cultures.” The word clearly evokes comfort in many cultures around the world, adding to its beauty.

In 1911, the Public Speaking Club of America offered a prize to challenge people to come up with the most beautiful English words, based on sound and meaning. New York lawyer James Shea submitted 21 words that were accepted, one of which was “radiance,” meaning “light or heat as emitted or reflected by something.” Both the sound and meaning of the word earned it a spot on the list, alongside “happiness” and “splendor.” “Grace” and “justice,” however, were disqualified for the harsh sounds made by the first letters.

You might also enjoy

Language

Exploring the Linguistic Roots of the Southern Drawl

Vocabulary

9 of the Silliest Words in the English Language

We’d be remiss if we left off what some consider to be the most beautiful pairing of words in the English language: “cellar door.” Many have praised this combo for its euphonious sound. Journalist H. L. Mencken called it “intrinsically musical, in clang-tint and rhythm,” while Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien was a noted fan of its beauty. In 1963, author C. S. Lewis admitted his astonishment when he saw the phrase written as “Selladore,” which he found an “enchanting proper name.”

Scandinavia, Germanic Europe, and the British Isles have centuries-old festivals of dancing and folk songs with charming lyrics to celebrate spring or early summertime. Dancing around the maypole — a tall, thin, wooden pole, often adorned with floral garlands, other greenery, and colorful ribbons — is a tradition that began in pagan festivals, but it came to America with early settlers. The maypole features prominently in folk song lyrics across many cultures, celebrating the joys of the warmer seasons. 

Maypoles have long been an essential part of the May Day (traditionally May 1) celebrations for which they’re named. This European folk festival, with roots in the ancient Roman festival Floralia, celebrates the transition from spring to summer. (“May Day” can also refer to International Workers’ Day, which celebrates workers’ rights around the world on May 1.) But despite their May-centric name, maypoles are also part of the Midsommar celebrations in Scandinavia, which honor the summer solstice in June. The poles were incorporated into Midsommar festivities by the 1500s — they’re called midsommarstång in Sweden, with stång being Swedish for “pole.”

May Day dancing is often accompanied by folk songs with simple lyrics that are easy to memorize and don’t distract from the dancing. Unlike the comparatively serious church music of the 16th and 17th centuries, these lighthearted ditties were written to evoke feelings of positivity, celebration, innocence, and fun.

Take, for instance, the 17th-century song “Come Lasses and Lads,” still sung around maypoles today: 

“Here We Go ’Round the Maypole High” — sung to the tune of “Here We Go ’Round the Mulberry Bush” — follows an even simpler repetitive pattern: “Here we go ’round the Maypole high, the Maypole high, the Maypole high, here we go ’round the Maypole high, let colored ribbons fly, let colored ribbons fly.” These words seem to be written to capture the joy of spring, not to impress audiences with lyrical complexity.

You might also enjoy

Idioms

Bask in These Sun-Kissed Summer Idioms

Vocabulary

What Exactly Is ‘Yule’?

Maypoles — and in turn, the related folk songs — came to the U.S. with English settlers in the early 17th century. In 1627, Merrimount settler Thomas Morton staged an inadvertently scandalous maypole celebration that left Puritan settlers aghast. They were taken aback by lyrics such as “Uncover thy head, and fear no harm, For here’s good liquor to keep it warm.” This tale was retold in 1836 by author Nathaniel Hawthorne in a short story titled “The May-Pole of Merry Mount.”

This May 1, will you be dancing around the maypole and singing folk songs? There are plenty to choose from. 

Italy and France have long been at the forefront of fashion, lending materials and ideas to designers around the world. It makes sense, then, that these countries also have influenced fashion lingo in many languages. One particular example is the word “jeans,” which, despite its thoroughly American reputation, comes from a French term having to do with fabrics produced in an Italian city.

Your favorite pair of blue jeans can be traced back to the French jean fustian — a term that can be broken down into two parts. Jean refers to the Italian city of Genoa, which was known in the 15th century for producing a popular type of twilled cloth that the French referred to as fustian. So in essence, jean fustian is what the French called a sturdy cotton cloth made in Genoa, Italy. 

The singular “jean” first entered English around the mid-15th century, though it referred to the cloth, not a specific type of garment, such as pants. However, given its sturdy nature, jean was widely used to make workwear, which included durable pairs of pants. The plural “jeans” came about thanks to English-speaking sailors. When sailors arrived at the port city of Genoa, they were introduced to this sturdy, attractive workwear that was often dyed blue with indigo, as was popular at the time. Eventually, the term for this Genoese workwear became anglicized as “jeans.”

The modern version of jeans became popular around the mid-19th century, in large part due to Levi Strauss. Originally, these pants were officially known as “waist overalls” — Levi Strauss & Co. notes it wasn’t until the 1960s that the colloquialism “jeans” had a resurgence and became the norm. However, while the term was borrowed from jean fustian, the earliest Levis were primarily made of denim — a sturdy fabric akin to the Genoan fabric, but not exactly the same. In fact, the word “denim” has different European roots. It’s derived from the French serge de Nîmes, which referred to a sturdy woven fabric originally manufactured in Nîmes, France. By the 1860s, de Nîmes (“from Nîmes”) was also anglicized as “denim.”

You might also enjoy

Vocabulary

Why Is Your Jacket Called a Blazer?

Vocabulary

7 Retail Terms To Keep You a Savvy Shopper

Eventually, the word “jeans” superseded all other terms as a colloquialism for sturdy workwear — often blue — that has some vague connection to the Genoese sailor outfits from all those centuries ago. While it may not be entirely historically accurate to call pants made of denim “jeans” — given they usually have no direct connection to Genoa — it’s the sartorial norm.