Where does the word "news" come from?

It's a clever story: "news" stands for North, East, West, and South, because information comes in from every direction. Unfortunately, like a lot of great stories about word origins, it isn't true. Bit of a letdown, right?

The real origin of "news"

"News" is the plural of "new." In the 1300s, English speakers started talking about "newes," meaning new things, probably following the French nouvelles, which works the same way. German speakers will recognize the pattern, because Neuigkeiten also comes from neu.

So the real meaning is much plainer than the compass story. News is just what's new. The same idea carried over into "newspaper," which started out as two separate words, "news paper." That's exactly what it was: a paper full of new things.

And because "news" started out as a plural, you might expect it to take a plural verb today. It doesn't. In modern English, it's "the news is," never "the news are."

Common phrases with "news"

We use "news" in lots of everyday expressions. Here are some of the most common ones.

Breaking news is an urgent update about something that's happening right now.

• They cut to breaking news in the middle of the show.

Good news and bad news are an easy way to introduce something positive or negative.

• I've got good news. You got the job!
• The bad news is our flight's been delayed.

No news is good news means that if you haven't heard anything, everything is probably fine.

• I haven't heard back from the doctor yet, but no news is good news.

That's news to me means you didn't know something until now. People often say it with a bit of surprise.

• The meeting's been moved to Thursday? That's news to me.

The compass story is fun, but it's a myth. The real origin might be less exciting, but at least now you know where the word comes from.

Want to learn more about English words and their origins? Check out our Daily Dose of Denglisch Docs.