Adventures in Etymology – Obtuse Pronking

14th January 202314th January 2023 By Simon

In this Adventure we are being indirect and circuitous and looking for an angle on the word obtuse.

Obtuse [əbˈtjuːs] means:

Blunt, pointed or acute in form
More than 90° and less than 180°
Intellectually dull or dim-witted
Deadened, muffled or mutted (sound)
Indirect or circuitous

Obtuse comes from Middle French obtus (obtuse, boring, dull, lifeless), from the Latin obtūsus (blunt, dull, obtuse), from obtundō (to batter, beat, strike, blunt, dull), from ob- (against) and tundō (to beat, strike, bruise, crush, pound), from PIE *(s)tewd- (to push, hit) [source].

Words from the same roots include student, study and studio in English, and tundir (to shear, mow) in Spanish [source].

Also from the same roots we get the word stot, which means a leap using all four legs at once. This is what springboks, Thomson’s gazelles, pronghorns and other species do as a way to show predators that they would be difficult to catch (see below) [source].

Stotting is also known as pronking or pronging, which come from Afrikaans pronk (to show off, strut or prance), from Dutch pronken (to display, show off) [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly [afflilate link].

I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the Celtiadur.

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Celtic Pathways – Swans

10th January 202310th January 2023 By Simon

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In this episode we are looking into words for swan.

In Proto-Celtic word for swan was *eli-, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁el- (swan, bird, waterfowl) [Source].

Related words in modern Celtic language include:

eala [ˈalˠə] = swan in Irish
eala [jal̪ˠə] = swan in Scottish Gaelic
olla(y) = (mute) swan in Manx
alarch [ˈalarχ/ˈaːlarχ] = swan, the constellation Cygnus in Welsh
alargh = (mute) swan in Cornish
alarc’h = swan in Breton

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root include alondra (lark) in Spanish, alouette (lark) in French, and allodola (skylark) in Italian. They were probably borrowed from the Gaulish alauda (skylark), from ala (swan) [Source].

Other words from the PIE root *h₁el- include auk in English, olor (swan) in Latin, alke (auk) in Danish and Norwegian, and álka (razorbill) in Faroese and Icelandic [Source].

More details of words for swan in Celtic languages can be found on the Celtiadur, a blog where I explore connections between Celtic languages in more depth. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog.

Omniglot News (08/01/23)

8th January 202319th February 2023 By Simon

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Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot.

There are new language pages about:

Burarra (Gu-jingarliya), an Arnhem language spoken in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Limbum, an Eastern Grassfields language spoken mainly in Cameroon, and also in Nigeria
Yankunytjatjara, a Pama-Nyungan language spoken in South Australia.

There are new numbers pages in:

Maldivian / Dhivehi (ދިވެހި), an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the Maldives.
Venetian (vèneto), a Romance language spoken mainly in Venice and surrounding areas of Italy.
Dagbani (Dagbanli), a Gur language spoken mainly in northern Ghana.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Cave Paintings Deciphered?, about recent news of the possible decoding of certain symbols found in cave paintings, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this is language is spoken in China, but isn’t Mandarin

The mystery language in this week’s language quiz was Wendat (Waⁿdat), an Iroquoian language formerly spoken in parts of Oklahoma in the USA and Quebec in Canada which is being revived.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we’re Harbouring Harbingers, and finding out what links the words harbinger and harbour.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a post about words for Halves and Sides and related things in Celtic languages.

I forgot to mention on the recording, but there’s also a new Celtic Pathways podcast about the words New & Year in Celtic languages.

For more Omniglot News see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://twitter.com/Omniglossia
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/Omniglot-100430558332117

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Adventure in Etymology: Harbouring Harbingers

7th January 20237th January 2023 By Simon

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In this Adventure we find out what connects the words harbinger and harbour.

A harbinger [ˈhɑːbɪndʒə/ˈhɑɹbɪnd͡ʒəɹ] is:

One that indicates or foreshadows what is to come;
A person sent in advance of a royal party or army to obtain lodgings for them (obsolete)

Harbinger is used most often in particular phrases: it can be negative, as in a harbinger of doom, or positive, as in a harbinger of Spring [source].

It comes from Middle English herberjour [ˌ(h)ɛrbi(r)ˈd͡ʒuːr] (a host, one who provides accommodation or hospitality, a person sent in advance (of an army) to arrange lodgings), from Old French herbergeor (innkeeper, host), from herbergier (to set up camp, to (take) shelter), via Frankish, from Proto-West-Germanic *harjabergu (army camp, barracks, refuge, shelter), from *hari (army) and *bergu (protection) [source].

Words from the same roots include harbour in English, Herberge (hostel, inn) in German, herberg (inn, lodging) in Dutch, härbärge (a place to stay, homeless shelter) in Swedish, herbergi (room, apartment) in Icelandic, and auberge (hostel) in French [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly [afflilate link].

I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the Celtiadur.

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Celtic Pathways – New & Year

2nd January 20232nd January 2023 By Simon

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In this episode we are looking into words for new and year in Celtic languages.

A multilingual Happy New Year!

One Proto-Celtic word for new is *nouyos, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *néw(y)os (new), from which most words for new in Indo-European languages are descended [Source].

Related words in modern Celtic language include:

nua [n̪ˠuə / n̪ˠuː] = new, fresh, recent, novel; newness, new thing in Irish
nuadh [nuəɣ] = new, fresh, recent, novel, modern, unfamiliar in Scottish Gaelic
noa = fresh, modern, new, novel, original, recent, unused in Manx
newydd [ˈnɛu̯.ɨ̞ð] = new, recent, newly-grown, modern, late, novel, changed, fresh in Welsh
nowydh = fresh, new, novel, newly, just in Cornish
nevez [ˈne.ve] = new in Breton

The town of Noia in A Coruña in Galicia in the northwest of Spain probably gets its name from the same Proto-Celtic root, possibly via the Celtiberian nouiza [Source].

Another Proto-Celtic word for new is *ɸūros, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *puHrós (wheat), possibly from *pewH- (to be clean, pure) [Source].

Related words in modern Celtic language include:

úr [uːɾˠ] = fresh; free, liberal, moist in Irish
ùr [uːr] = new, fresh in Scottish Gaelic
oor = new, sweet, novel, sappy, crisp, span, fresh, hour, raw in Manx
ir [iːr] = verdant, green, juicy, sappy, moist, succulent in Welsh
yr [ɪ:r/iːr] = fresh in Cornish

Words from the same PIE roots include pure in English, პური (ṗuri – bread, wheat) in Georgian, and պուրի (puri – a type of Georgian bread) in Armenian [Source].

In Proto-Celtic words for year were *blēdanī/*bleido. which possibly come from the Proto-Indo-European *bʰloyd- (pale) [source].

Related words in modern Celtic language include:

bliain [bʲlʲiənʲ] = year in Irish
bliadhna [bliən̪ˠə] = year, vintage in Scottish Gaelic
blein = [blʲeːnʲ / blʲiᵈn] = year, twelvemonth in Manx
blwyddyn [ˈblʊɨ̯ðɨ̞n] = year, a long time, ages; lifetime, life in Welsh
bledhen = year in Cornish
bloavezh = year in Breton

Words from the same PIE root include бледный (pale) in Russian, бледен (pale, pallied, insignificant) in Bulgarian, and bledý (pale) in Czech [source].

More details of new and year-related words in Celtic languages can be found on the Celtiadur, a blog where I explore connections between Celtic languages in more depth. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog.

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Omniglot News (01/01/23)

1st January 20231st January 2023 By Simon

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Here’s the latest news for the last two weeks from the world of Omniglot.

There are new language pages about:

Cheke Holo, an Oceanic language spoken on Santa Isabel Island in Isabel Province of the Solomon Islands
Isoko, a Southwestern Edoid language spoken in Delta State in southern Nigeria.
Tigak, a Western Oceanic language spoken in New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea.
Urhobo, a Southwestern Edoid language spoken in the states of Delta, Bayelsa and Edo in southern Nigeria.

New adapted script: Hokkien Imji / 漳泉音字 (쟝좐ˆ임찌), which is a why to write Hokkien with the Korean Hangeul script created by Lee Chun Hoe.

New adapated script: Ko Āwherika Māori (ꗛ ꕉ:ꗱꔸꕪ ꕮ:ꖺꔸ), a way to write Māori with the Vai script devised by Xavier Merica.

ꗛ ꗳ ꕪꗋꕉ ꖺ ꕋ ꕚꕋꕚ ꔤ ꗳ ꕘꕯꖕꕋꕚꕋ ꕮꔤ ꗡ ꕎꗳꕉ ꕉꕯ ꔤ ꕋ ꗤꗸ ꕪꗋꕉ; ꗡ ꕚꖕꔸꗳꔸꗳ ꕉꕯ ꖽꕃ ꕋ ꕮꕯ ꘈ ꕋ ꔳꕪ. ꗡ ꕘꕪꔱꔱꕉ ꕉꕯ ꖽꕃ ꕃ ꕉ ꕟꗋꖕ ꗳ ꕋꕪꖕ ꕘꔤ ꕘꕪꕉꗐ ꘈ ꗳ ꔦꘉꕋꗐ ꗞꔦꖺ ꕃ ꗳ ꔳꕪ ꘈ ꗳ ꗤ, ꕉ ꗡ ꔳꕪ ꕉꕯ ꕃꕉ ꘈꔤꕋ ꗳ ꕮꔦ ꕉ ꗳꕚꔦ ꘈ ꕮ ꗐꗋ ꕉꖤ ꔤ ꗳ ꕎꔤꖩꕉ ꖺ ꗳ ꗟꖽ ꕚꔦ, ꕉꗟ ꗤ ꗳꔤꕯ ꗤ ꖤꕉꕪꕯ ꔤ ꔸꕋ ꔤ ꗳ ꕘꕪꕉꗐ ꗛꕚꔦ.

There are new numbers pages in:

Kara, an Oceanic language spoken in the Kavieng District of New Ireland Province in Papua New Guinea.
Cheke Holo, an Oceanic language spoken on Santa Isabel Island in Isabel Province of the Solomon Islands
Isoko, a Southwestern Edoid language spoken in Delta State in southern Nigeria.
Tigak, a Western Oceanic language spoken in New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea.
Papapana, a Western Oceanic language spoken in Bougainville Province in Papua New Guinea.
Urhobo, a Southwestern Edoid language spoken in the states of Delta, Bayelsa and Edo in southern Nigeria.

New Tower of Babel translations: Aruamu, Gapapaiwa and Urhobo.

On the Omniglot blog there are posts entitled Seeding Discord, Eve and Werifesteria, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this is language was spoken in parts of the USA and Canada, and is currently being revived.

Here are the answers to last week’s Christmas quiz:

Japan – this tradtion started as a result of a festive marketing campaign by KFC in 1974
Venezuela, specifically in Caracas, the capital
Sweden – the Yule Goat (Julbock) tradition goes back to at least the 11th century.

Source: https://www.holidayextras.com/travel-blog/wanderlust/unusual-christmas-traditions.html

The mystery language in the previous week’s language quiz was Isoko, an Edoid language spoken in Delta State in the south of Nigeria.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we investigate the origins of the words Amok and Havoc.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a post about words for Magic and Spells and related things in Celtic languages. I also made improvements to posts on the Celtiadur about words for Fresh & New and Years.

In other news, I spent Christmas with my family in Lancashire in the northwest of England. It was the first we had all been together in the same place for over 3 years, and was fun. I noticed that my Russian sister-in-law often speaks Russian to her children, but they usually reply in English. My nine-year-old niece understands everything and sometimes speaks Russian, but my six-year-old nephew doesn’t seem to understand as much and rarely if ever speaks Russian.

A Multilingual Happy New Year to you all!

For more Omniglot News see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://twitter.com/Omniglossia
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/Omniglot-100430558332117

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Amok and Havoc

31st December 202231st December 2022 By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this Adventure we’re looking into the origins of the words amok and havoc. It’s a double bill this week as I had a break for Christmas last week.

Amok [əˈmɒk/əˈmʌk] means:

Out of control, especially when armed and dangerous.
In a frenzy of violence, or on a killing spree; berserk.

It usually appears in the phrase to run amok, which means to go on a rampage, to be in an uncontrollable rage, to go beserk, to go postal or to wreak havoc [source].

Amok comes from the Portuguese amouco (amok), from the Malay amuk (to go on a killing spree, to run amok), from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *hamuk. The Tagalog word hamok (fierce fighting, brawl) and the Māori word amo (to charge, attack) come from the same roots [source].

Other English words derived from Malay include bamboo, camphor, cassowary, cockatoo, compound (as in an enclousure), gecko, gingham, gong and orangutan [source].

The word havoc [ˈhævək] means:

Widespread devastation and destruction, mayhem
to pillage, cause havoc

It comes from the Middle English havok (plunder, pillage), from the Old French havok, from havot (pillaging, looting) [source].

It appears in the phrase to wreak havoc, which means to cause damage, disruption or destruction [source]. Incidentally, I wrote about the word wreak on the Omniglot blog this week.

In Middle English it was used in the phrases crien havok (to give the signal for general plundering, and maken havok (to plunder thoroughly and indscriminately) [source]. The phrase, to cry havoc (to give an army the order to plunder) was and possibly still is used in modern English [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly [afflilate link].

I chose these words because I spent Christmas with my family (see below), including my niece and nephews, who are all under 10. While they didn’t exactly run amok or wreak havoc, a house full of young children can be a bit chaotic.

I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the Celtiadur.

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Christmas

24th December 202224th December 2022 By Simon

I’m taking a break from making podcasts and videos over Christmas. Radio Omniglot will return soon.

Silverdale School, where my brother, sister and I all went

In the meantime, I’m spending Christmas with my mum, brother, sister and their families in the wilds of Lancashire in the north west of England. This is the first time I’ve seen them all for 3 years, and the first time I’ve been outside Wales.

A Multilingual Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate it.

Omniglot News (18/12/22)

18th December 20221st January 2023 By Simon

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Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot.

There’s a new writing system called the Naasioi Otomaung Alphabet, which was created by Chief Peter Karatapi to write Naasioi, a language spoken on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.

Sample text in the Naasioi Otomaung Alphabet

There are new language pages about:

Ghari, an Oceanic language spoken in Vaturanga in the northwest of Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands.
Naasioi, a South Bougainville language spoken Kieta District of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.
Selaru (tel Masylarkwe), a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken in the Tanimbar Islands in the Maluku Tenggara Barat Regency of Maluku Province in the south of Malaysia.

New adapted script: Malay Shavian (𐑳𐑚𐑡𐑳𐑛 𐑥𐑩𐑤𐑳𐑘𐑫 𐑖𐑳𐑢𐑦), which was devised by Damian Izrullah bin Abdullah as an alternative way to write Malay, Indonesian and other Austronesian languages with the Shavian alphabet.

Sample text in Malay Shavian

New adapated script: Magyargari (मजगरि), a way to write Hungarian with the Devanagari script devised by Xavier Merica.

मिन्देन् एम्बेरि लैण् सबदोन् सिुलेतिक् ऐश् एजेन्लिै मैल्तशाग ऐश् योग वन्। अस़् एम्बेरेक्, ऐश्सेल् ऐश् लेल्किइश्मेरेत्तेल् बिर्वान्, एज्माश्शल् सेम्बेन् तेश्त्वैरि सेल्लेम्बेन् केल्ल् होज् विशेल्तेश्शेनेक्।

There are new numbers pages in:

Ghari, an Oceanic language spoken in Vaturanga in the northwest of Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands.
Selaru (tel Masylarkwe), a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken in the Tanimbar Islands in the Maluku Tenggara Barat Regency of Maluku Province in the south of Malaysia.
Ida’an, a North Bornean language spoken in Sabah, Malaysia.

There are new translations of the Tower of Babel story in Roviana, Ghari, Cheke Holo, Central Sinama, Nigerian Pidgin, Western Bolivian Guaraní and Selaru.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post about the Japanese expression 歩行者天国 (hokōsha tengoku), which means a pedestrianised area, or literally “Pedestrian Paradise”, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this is language is spoken in Nigeria.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Bakhtiari Luri (بختیاری), a Western Iranian language spoken mainly in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province in southwestern Iran.

On the Celtiadur blog we’re looking at words for Speckled and Spotted and related things in Celtic languages.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we snuffle around the origins of the word Snort.

On the Celtic Pathways podcast we find out what links the word Javelin with words for fork and related things.

For more Omniglot News see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://twitter.com/Omniglossia
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/Omniglot-100430558332117

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Celtic Pathways – Javelin

17th December 20227th July 2023 By Simon

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In this episode we’re getting to grips with the word javelin.

A javelin is a light spear thrown with the hand and used as a weapon, or a metal-tipped spear thrown for distance in an athletic field event. It comes from the Old French javelline (javelin), a diminutive of javelot (javelin), from the Vulgar Latin *gabalottus (spear), from the Gaulish *gabalos (fork), from the Proto-Celtic gablā- (fork, forked branch), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰabʰlos (fork, branch of tree) [source].

Related words in modern Celtic language include:

gabhal [ɡoːəl̪ˠ] = bifurcation, fork, crotch, junction in Irish
gobhal [ɡoːəl̪ˠ] = bifurcation, fork, crotch, junction in Scottish Gaelic
goal = fork, branch, crotch, crutch, junction, perineum in Manx
gafl [gafl] = fork, stride, lap, inner part of the thigh, groin, angle, nook in Welsh
gowl = crotch, fork in Cornish
goal = fork in Breton

The English word gable comes from the same Gaulish root, via the Old French gable [source]. The English word gaffle (a lever used to bend a crossbow) possibly comes from the same Gaulish root, via Middle English gaffolle, the Middle Dutch gaf(f)el (fork) and the Proto-West Germanic *gabulu (fork) [source].

Words in other languages from the same Gaulish root include Gaffel (gaff) in German, gaffel (fork) in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and kahveli (gaff, fork) in Finnish [source].

More details of fork-related words in Celtic languages can be found on the Celtiadur, a blog where I explore connections between Celtic languages in more depth. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog.

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Radio Omniglot

Podcasts about languages and words

Author: Simon

Adventures in Etymology – Obtuse Pronking

Celtic Pathways – Swans

Omniglot News (08/01/23)

Adventure in Etymology: Harbouring Harbingers

Celtic Pathways – New & Year

Omniglot News (01/01/23)

Amok and Havoc

Christmas

Omniglot News (18/12/22)

Celtic Pathways – Javelin