I sometimes think of vocabulary as being a Darwinian test case for the survival of words.
And it is a ladybug because of a very particular lady coming up on Word Matters.
The Lady in Ladybug, and a pair of distinct but hard to distinguish adjectives.
I'm Emily Brewster,
and Word Matters is produced by Merriam-Webster in collaboration with New England Public Media.
On each episode, Merriam-Webster editors Neil Servin, Amon Shea, Peter Sakalowski,
and I explore some aspect of the English language from the dictionary's vantage point.
Consider the humble ladybug.
Today,
we are finally exploring the intersection of etymology and entomology with an examination of this beloved beetle's common appellation.
Join me for a dig into the story of how the ladybug got its name.
I have a favorite insect.
My favorite insect is the ladybug.
It's a pretty insect.
Good choice.
Yeah, they're good.
They eat aphids, which is helpful.
They do good jobs in gardens.
They are cute.
They are so cute that people put them on dish towels and all kinds of other housewares and clothing and whatnot.