A quiet toolset

Word detective kit

Don’t guess from how it looks.

1. 1

   Look at the sounds

   Do the words share a sound family, or only a spelling?

   Try it on tea / cha

2. 2

   Look at the meaning

   Did the job of the word move while the form stayed?

   Try it on clue

3. 3

   Look at the map

   Did people, trade, or books actually carry it, or are we decorating?

   Try it on orange

4. 4

   Look at the date

   Which sense is older in writing? Colour orange is later than the fruit.

   Try it on orange

5. 5

   Look at the script

   Show the original letters. Arabic should look Arabic. Devanagari should stay Devanagari.

   Try it on algebra

6. 6

   Look at the source

   A play, a book, a dictionary, a spoken language. Name the object.

   Try it on robot

7. 7

   Look at a cousin

   Spanish naranja is a cousin of English orange, not its parent.

   Try it on orange

8. 8

   Check another explanation

   If two words look alike, test them. Looking is not proof.

   Try it on island

9. 9

   Look at the story

   A famous story can dress a word. Ask whether the story is the parent, or a later picture of something already named.

   Try it on echo

10. 10

    Look at later jobs

    A word can take new work centuries later. Those jobs are reception. They do not prove the first meaning caused them.

    Try it on panic