Words aren't always what they appear to be. Some are easy to figure out by context or its constituent parts e.g. Egyptology. Even if you have never seen this word, you would guess that it has something to do with Egypt and you'd be right because it means the study of Egyptian antiquities. What about the word parisology? Would you have guessed that it means the use of equivocal or ambiguous language? How about pogonotrophy? Did you know that it refers to the growing of a beard?

What about your favorite hors d'oeuvre? (pronounced ohr DERV). We all know that this is an extra little dish outside of and smaller than the main course. It is usually served first. We also know that it is of French origin but did you know that when translated to English it means outside of (hors) job or work (oeuvre)?

The word potatory has little to do with potatoes and sextet has nothing to do with sex. That's what the English language does -- often leading us on, only to make things limpid in the end. Hopefully, you already know that limpid means clear or transparent.

Not long ago, I went into a store in Toronto and came across a shelf with fondue sets. The first set was labeled, "Cheese Fondue." I figured out that one quite quickly. It was for making fondue dipped in cheese.

The second one was, "Chocolate Fondue." That's easy too! One does not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that it was for making fondue dipped in chocolate. The third one however was a bit more challenging. It was "Stainless Steel Fondue!" Would you have fondue dipped in stainless steel?

Similarly, I recently received a questionnaire from my church asking parishioners to indicate which events should be included in the social calendar. Two of the choices were "Lobster Dinner" and "Pastor's Dinner."

The derivation of some words remains intact when one or more letters are added to the original word. A few examples include small and smaller or big and bigger. However, there are other words that completely lose their meaning and even their pronunciation with the addition of only one letter. One such example is iron and irony. The irony here is that iron has nothing to do with irony.

In grade school we learn that many words change into their plural form when we add the letter "s" to the end e.g. pen become pens and book become books. Did you know that the same action would totally change meaning of some words? Well, "more," the comparative of much or many become "mores" which means "the customs of and conventions embodying the fundamental values of a group or society."

Did you know that negative could be positive? What do I mean? What kind of results would you like to get if you did a blood test for a contagious disease? A negative one of course! Right! A negative result would be good (or positive).

Here's another example. If I say, "We all live on both sides of the street." You will probably say, "That's absurd!" Maybe so, but if you are traveling north on my street, my house is on the east side and if you are traveling south, my house is on the west side. So, I live on the east or west side of the street depending on the direction you are traveling. Still absurd?

What do you think of this statement which came up during a coversation about flying in an airplane? "Falling fifty feet during flight is the kind of experience that you must actually experience before you could gain experience with that kind of experience." Does this not make perfect sense to you?

Same word, different meaning ...

Many English words have the same spelling but different meanings. Some words can be used as verbs in the past or present tense and the same word could also be a noun. Consider these ...

I saw you saw that plastic toy saw with an electric saw.

The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

I had to put down my foot when you asked him to foot the bill again.

The bandage was wound around the wound.

The farm was used to produce produce.

The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

We must polish the Polish furniture.

I wore my red coat to apply the first coat of red paint.

He could lead if he would get the lead out.

A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

I did not object to the object.

This is not a knot.

The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

They were too close to the door to close it.

The buck does funny things when the does are present.

A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?