I've long held that English is a difficult language. For one thing, we send mixed signals on the pronunciation of many of our words. How easy can it be for a non-English speaker to figure out enough and through? Believe and conceive? Head and bead? Or words that have different pronunciations with different meanings, as in "I'm going to lead Col. Mustard to the lead pipe."
Given those complexities, it might be a little surprising to learn that the fine editors at the Oxford English Dictionary recently revealed that the most complicated word in English is actually only three letters long. It's true. Run is the most complex of all of our words, with multiple different usages. For example, "I've run out of patience with this language, so I'm going on a run to clear my head while I run through all the reasons that brews, booze, and cruise rhyme." For more background on why the OED offers 645 usages for one three-letter word, run through this article and then, to read all the entries, wait for the OED's next print run in 2037.
Given those complexities, it might be a little surprising to learn that the fine editors at the Oxford English Dictionary recently revealed that the most complicated word in English is actually only three letters long. It's true. Run is the most complex of all of our words, with multiple different usages. For example, "I've run out of patience with this language, so I'm going on a run to clear my head while I run through all the reasons that brews, booze, and cruise rhyme." For more background on why the OED offers 645 usages for one three-letter word, run through this article and then, to read all the entries, wait for the OED's next print run in 2037.
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