* The word "pound" is abbreviated "lb." from the Latin "libra pondo", meaning weight or balance, where the constellation got its name.

* The word "checkmate" comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," meaning "the king is dead".

* "Alma mater" means "bountiful mother".

* "Admiral" is derived from the Arabic phrase "amir al bahr," which means "lord of the sea".

* "Stewardesses", "reverberated", and "lollipop" are the longest words that can be typed using only one hand on a keyboard. "Skepticisms" is the longest word that alternates hands, while the longest word that can be typed using the top row only is "typewriter".

* The only 15-letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is "uncopyrightable".

* "Bookkeeper" and "bookkeeping" are the only words in the English language with three consecutive double letters.

* The word "set" has more definitions than any other word in the English language.

* "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" (a lung disease) is the longest English word according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

* "Beelzebub", another name for the devil, is Hebrew for "Lord of the Flies".

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