Nama – English editing.
The Nama people are one of the khoikhoi peoples of South Africa and SW Namibia. They have in the past been called Hottentot (actually a somewhat broader term), but that…
Luxurious, Luxuriant – English editing.
Luxurious and luxuriant are often confused, especially in marketing and promotional material. Luxurious means ‘very comfortable, elegant, and involving great expense’, as in a luxurious hotel, whereas luxuriant means ‘lush’,…
Lot – English editing.
A lot of and lots of are very common in speech and writing, but they still have a somewhat informal feel and are generally not considered acceptable for formal English,…
Locate – English editing.
Locate is an 18th century Americanism that still has a transatlantic flavor for some people, especially in its intransitive use (that is, without an object) as in numerous industries have…
Loath, Loathe – English editing.
Loath and loathe are often confused in writing. Loath is an adjective meaning ‘reluctant or unwilling’, as in I was loath to leave, whereas loathe is a verb meaning ‘feel…
Literally – English editing.
In one of its meanings, literally is used to show that a metaphor or idiom is to be interpreted in its real, physical meaning, as in literally too tired to…
(-Like) – English editing.
When writing words ending in -like which are well established, such as childlike, businesslike, dreamlike, and ladylike, it is correct not to use a hyphen, even though you may come…
Lightning – English editing.
The form lightning developed as a contracted form of lightening (the old spelling light’ning shows this process), but the two forms are now distinct words. In the meaning of thunder…