Every first-generation American understands the struggle: trying to explain to your immigrant parent the difference between words like walking, strolling, pacing, marching, and shuffling. English simply has more words for things than other languages do. But why?
I’ve always been interested in etymologies; even more so when it connects to my own experience growing up in a dual-language household. This video essay scratches that itch in a satisfying way: it explains the historical context behind why you eat food but consume resources, devour a delicious meal, and ingest poison—in other words… why English has a word for everything.
Video: Why does English have a word for everything?, by 107kicks, ~11m