Adventures in Etymology – Nostril

10th September 202210th September 2022 By Simon

Today we are delving into the origins of the word nostril, as requested by Sculley_volley on Tiktok

A nostril [ˈnɒstɹɪl / ˈnɒstɹəl] is:

either of the two orifices located on the nose (or on the beak of a bird); used as a passage for air and other gases to travel the nasal passages.

It comes from the Middle English nosethirl [ˈnɔːsˌθirl] (nostril), from the Old English nosþȳrel [ˈnosˌθyː.rel] (nostril), from nosu [ˈno.su] (nose) and þyrel (hole, opening, aperture, pierced). Another word for nostril is nosehole, and the technical/medical term is naris [source].

The word thirl is or was used in some dialects of English to mean a hole, aperture, nostril, or a low door in a dry-stone wall to allow sheep (and hares) to pass through, otherwise known as a smoot. It’s cognate with the word thrill [source].

Incidentally, the word smoot is also a unit of length equal to 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m), which was named after Oliver R. Smoot, who was used to measure the Harvard Bridge as a prank in 1958. The bridge was found to be 364.4 smoots (2,035 ft; 620.1 m) long [source].

In Old English, þyrel [ˈθy.rel] appeared in other compound words such as ēagþyrel (window, lit. “eye hole”), wāgþyrel (doorway, lit. “wall hole”), and swātþyrel (pore, lit. “sweat hole”) [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 – Wagons and Carts

9th September 20229th September 2022 By Simon

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In this episode we’re looking at words for wagons, carts and related vehicles.

One Proto-Celtic word for wagon was *karros, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós (vehicle), from *ḱers- (to run) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

*karros = wagon in Gaulish
carr [kɑːɾˠ / kæːɾˠ] = car in Irish
càr [kar] = car, cart, raft in Scottish Gaulish
carr = car, cab, van in Manx
car [kar] = vehicle, car, sled, dray; rack, stand in Welsh
karr [karː / kær] = car in Cornish
karr = car, coach, carriage, trailer, vehicle in Breton

The Gaulish word *karros was borrowed into Latin as carrus (wagon, cart, cartload), which became carro (wagon, cart, van, lorry, truck) in Italian; carro (cart, car, bus) in Spanish; car (bus, coach) in French, car, carriage and chariot in English, and related words in most other Indo-European languages [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include currus (chariot, car, wagon) in Latin, horse in English, hors (mare, female foal, frivolous woman) in Norwegian (Nynorsk), and hross (horse) in Icelandic [source].

The Proto-Celtic word *karbantos means (war) chariot or wagon and is possibly related to the Proto-Celtic word *korbos (wagon, basket). [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

carbad [ˈkaɾˠəbˠəd̪ˠ] = chariot in Irish
carbad [karabad] = chariot, coach, carriage, wagon, vehicle, bier, jaw(bone) in Scottish Gaulish
carbyd = bus, coach, vehicle, bier, hearse in Manx
cerbyd [ˈkɛrbɨ̞d / ˈkɛrbɪd] = car, carriage, chariot, wagon, coach; clumsy fellow, bungler in Welsh
cerpit = chariot, wagon in Old Cornish
karbed = vehicle in Breton

The French word charpente (framework, structure) comes from the same Proto-Celtic root, via the Gaulish carbantos and the Latin carpentum (carriage, chariot, wagon, cart) [source].

More details about these words on 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 (04/09/22)

4th September 20224th September 2022 By Simon

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

There are new language pages about:

Gulf Arabic (خليجي‎), a variety of Arabic spoken mainly around the Persian Gulf in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabic, Oman, Qatar and other countries.
Kusaal (Kʋsaal), a Gur language spoken mainly in northern Ghana, and also in Burkina Faso and Togo.
Southern Birifor (Birfoɔr), a Gur language spoken in northern Ghana and northeastern Côte d’Ivoire

There are new numbers pages in:

Proto-Polynesian, the reconstructed ancestor of all modern Polynesian languages.
Emae (Fakamakata), a Polynesian language spoken mainly on the island of Emae in Shefa province of Vanuatu.

There are new family words pages in:

Lao (ພາສາລາວ), a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in Laos, and also in Cambodia and Vietnam.
Thai (ภาษาไทย), a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in Thailand

There are now recordings of all the Finnish numbers

There’s an Omniglot blog post called Apologetic Thanks, about words for thanks and apologies in Chinese and Japanese, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in parts of West Africa.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Isan (ภาษาอีสาน), a Lao-Phutai language spoken in the Isan region in the northeast of Thailand.

There’s a new Celtiadur post are about words for This & That and related things in Celtic languages.

There’s an episode of the Celtic Pathways podcast about words for Horses.

In the Adventure in Etymology we uncover the origins of the word hat, and find out how it’s connected to such words as hood and heed.

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.

Adventures in Etymology – Hat

3rd September 20223rd September 2022 By Simon

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Today we are uncovering the origins of the word hat.

A hat [hæt / hat] is:

a covering for the head, often in the approximate form of a cone, dome or cylinder closed at its top end, and sometimes having a brim and other decoration
a particular role or capacity that a person might fill.

It comes from the Middle English hat [hat] (hat, cap, helmet), from the Old English hæt(t) (hat, head-covering), from the Proto-Germanic *hattuz [ˈxɑt.tuz] (hat), from the Proto-Indo-European *kadʰnú-, from *kadʰ- (to guard, cover, protect, care for) [source].

Words from the same root include: hood, heed in English, hat (hat) in Danish, hatta (hat) and hätta (bonnet, hood) in Swedish, hattu (hat, cap) in Finnish, hoed (hat, lid) in Dutch, Hut (hat, cap, protection, keeping) in German, and cadw (to keep, guard, defend, save) in Welsh [source].

There are quite a few idioms and sayings related to hats, including:

at the drop of a hat = (to do sth) without any hesitation, instantly. For example, I can talk about language and linguistics at the drop of a hat.
to eat one’s hat = a humorous action that one will allegedly take place if something very unlikely happens. For example, if a million people listen to this podcast, I’ll eat my hat.
old hat = something very common or out of date.
to pass the hat = to ask for money, solicit donations or contributions
to keep sth under one’s hat = to keep sth secret

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 – Horses

2nd September 202211th May 2024 By Simon

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In this episode we’re looking at words for horses and related beasts.

One Proto-Celtic word for horse was *kaballos, which possibly comes from an Asiatic source, and may ultimately come from the Proto-Indo-European *kebʰ- (worn-out horse, nag) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

*caballos = horse in Gaulish
capall [ˈkapˠəl̪ˠ] = horse, mare in Irish
capall [kahbəl̪ˠ] = mare, colt, horse, small horse in Scottish Gaulish
cabbyl = horse in Manx
ceffyl [ˈkɛfɨ̞l / ˈkɛfɪl] = horse, nag in Welsh
cevil, kevil = horse in Middle Cornish, and kevelek (woodcock) in Revived Cornish
cefel = horse in Old Breton, and kefeleg (woodcock) in modern Breton

The Gaulish word *caballos was borrowed into Latin as caballus. In Classical Latin it was only used in poetry, while equus was the usual word for horse. In Vulgar Latin and Late Latin caballus was more commonly used, and mean a horse, nag, pack-horse, jade or hack.

Words for horse in various other languages come from the same Latin root, including cavallo in Italian, caballo in Spanish, cavalo in Portuguese and cheval in French [source]. The English words cavalry, chivalry and cavalier also come from the same Latin roots [source].

Another Proto-Celtic word for horse was *ekʷos, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁éḱwos (stallion, horse) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

epos = horse in Gaulish
each [ax] = horse (archaic) Irish
each [ɛx] = horse in Scottish Gaulish
eagh = steed, riding horse in Manx
ebol [ˈɛbɔl / ˈeːbɔl] = colt, foal, sucker in Welsh
ebel = horse in Cornish
ebeul [ˈe.bøl] = foal in Breton

The English words equine, equestrian come from the same PIE root, via Latin [source], as do words beginning with hippo-, such as hippopotamus, hippodrome and hippomancy (divination by the interpretation of the appearance and behaviour of horses) the via Ancient Greek [source].

Another Proto-Celtic word for horse was *markos, which possibly comes from the Proto-Indo-European *márkos (horse) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

marc [mˠaɾˠk] = horse (literary, archaic) Irish
marc [marxk] = charger, warhorse (literary) in Scottish Gaulish
mark = horse in Manx
march [marχ] = horse, stallion, war-horse, steed in Welsh
margh [ˈmaɾx] = horse in Cornish
marc’h [ˈmaʁχ] = horse, easel in Breton

The English words mare and marshal possibly come from the same roots [source].

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 (28/08/22)

28th August 202228th August 2022 By Simon

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

We have some new adapted and constructed scripts this week:

Tiukigul (튜키글), a way to write Turkish with the Korean Hangul script created by Adiljan Barat.

Sample text in Tiukigul

Göktürkçe, an alternative way to write modern Turkish with the Old Turkish (Göktürk) alphabet devised by Gökbey Uluç.

Sample text in Göktürkçe

Scorapice Shorthand, a way write English with Russian shorthand devised by Anatole Fiodorov.

Sample text in Scorapice

Ka Hakalama Hou, an alternative way to write Hawaiian created by Seth Van Middlesworth.

Sample text in the Ka Hakalama Hou

There are new language pages about:

Mampruli (Ŋmampulli), a Gur language spoken in northern Ghana.
Frafra (ninkãrɛ / gʋrnɛ / fãrfãre), a Gur language spoken in northern Ghan and southern Burkina Faso.
Jian’ou (建甌事 / Gṳ̿ing-é-dī), a variety of Northern Min spoken in Jian’ou city in northern Fujian province in the southeast of China.

New phrases page: Oromo (Afaan Oromoo), a Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Egypt.

There are new numbers pages in:

Tai Nuea (ᥖᥭᥰ ᥖᥬᥲ ᥑᥨᥒᥰ), a Southwestern Tai language spoken mainly in Yunnan province in the southwest of China. /li>
Mossi (Mòoré), a Gur language spoken in Burkina-Faso, Mali and Togo.
Mampruli (Ŋmampulli)

There a new version of the Tower of Babel story in Mampruli.

There’s a new article about The Scottish Gaelic dialects of St Kilda.

There’s an Omniglot blog post about the expression Six Ways to Sunday, which means ‘in every possible way/direction’, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

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

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was North Slavey (Sahtúotʼı̨nę Yatį́), a Northern Athabaskan language spoken in the District of Mackenzie in the Northwest Territories of Canada.

There are new Celtiadur posts are about words for Servants, Bareness and related things in Celtic languages.

There’s an episode of the Celtic Pathways podcast about words for Servant and related people.

In the Adventure in Etymology we unpeel the origins of the word library, and find out how it’s connected to such words as lobby and lodge.

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.

Adventures in Etymology – Library

27th August 202227th August 2022 By Simon

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Shankland Reading Room, Bangor University. Photo by Richard Simcott

Today we are unpeeling the origins of the word library.

A library [ˈlaɪbɹi / ˈlaɪbɹəɹi] is:

a building, room, or organization that has a collection of books, documents, music, and sometimes things such as tools or artwork, for people to borrow, usually without payment.

It comes from the Middle English librarie [libˈraːriː(ə)] (library, reading room, bookshelf, bookcase, archive, collection (of texts)), from the Anglo-Norman librarie (library, collection of books), from the Old French librairie, from the Latin librārium (bookcase, library), from liber (book, inner bark of a tree) and -ārium (place for) [source].

The word liber comes from the PIE *lewbʰ- (to peel, cut off, harm), perhaps from *lew- (to cut off). The English words leaf, lobby and lodge possibly come from the same roots [source].

A Middle English word for library was boch(o)us, from the Old English bōchūs [ˈboːkˌhuːs] (library), from bōc (book) and hūs (house). The word bookhouse (a repository/store of books, library) exists in modern English, although is not in common usage [source].

Cognates of library in Romance languages, such as librarie in French and librería in Spanish, mean ‘bookshop / bookstore’. They used to mean library until about the 16th century, and were replaced by words derived from the the Latin bibliothēca (library) [source].

The word bibliotheca used to be used in English to mean a collection or catalogue of books, or a library. It was borrowed from the Latin bibliothēca (library), from the Ancient Greek βιβλιοθήκη (bibliothḗkē – bookcase, library, records office, ), from βιβλίον (biblíon – book) and‎ θήκη (thḗkē – box, chest) [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 – Servants

26th August 202226th August 2022 By Simon

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In this episode we’re looking at words for servants and related people.

The Proto-Celtic word *ambaxtos means servant and comes from *ambi- (around),‎ *ageti (to drive) and‎ *-os, from the Proto-Indo-European word *h₂m̥bʰi-h₂eǵ- (drive around) [source].

It became ambaxtos (vassal, high-ranking servant) in Gaulish, amaeth [ˈameɨ̯θ / ˈamei̯θ] (ploughman, husbandman, farmer, agriculture) in Welsh, ammeth (agriculture, farming) in Cornish, amhas (hireling, servant, mercenary, hooligan) in Irish, amhas [au.əs] (savage, wild person, madman) in Scottish Gaelic [source].

The English word amassador comes from the same root, via the Middle English ambassadore from the Anglo-Norman ambassadeur (ambassador), from the Old Italian ambassadore, from the Old Occitan ambaisador (ambassador), from ambaissa (service, mission, errand), from the Medieval Latin ambasiator (ambassador), from the Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌱𐌰𐌷𐍄𐌹 (andbahti – service, function), from the Proto-Germanic *ambahtaz [ˈɑm.bɑx.tɑz] (servant), from the Gaulish *ambaxtos [source].

The word embassy comes from the same Gaulish word, via a similarly convoluted etymology [source], as does ambacht [ˈɑmbɑxt] (craft, craftmanship, trade) in Dutch, ambátt [ˈam.pauht] (female slave, bondwoman, handmaid) in Icelandic, and ammatti [ˈɑmːɑt̪ːi] (profession, vocation, occupation) in Finnish [source].

Another Proto-Celtic word for servant is *wastos which possibly comes from the Proto-Indo-European word *upo-sth₂-o-s (standing beneath) [source].

Related words in Celtic languages include: *wassos (young man, squire) in Gaulish, gwas [ɡwaːs] (servant, lad, boy) in Welsh, gwas (chap, fellow, guy, servant) in Cornish, gwas (man, husband, servant, employee) in Breton, and foss (attendant, man-servant, servant) in Old Irish [source].

The English word vassal comes from the same Celtic roots, via the Old French vassal, the Medieval Latin vassallus (manservant, domestic, retainer), from the Latin vassus (servant) from the Gaulish *wassos [source].

More details about these words on 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 (21/08/22)

21st August 202221st August 2022 By Simon

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

We have several new adapted and constructed scripts this week:

Compact Morse Code, a way to write Morse Code in a condensed way devised by Zmitro Lapcionak.

Sample text in Compact Morse Code

Swedish Runes (ᛋᚡᛂᚿᛋᚴᛆ᛫ᚱᚢᚿᚮᚱ), a way to write Swedish with medieval runes devised by Sven Salvenson.

ᛂᚿ᛫ᛑᛆᚵ᛫ᛒᚯᚱᚤᛆᛑᛂ᛫ᛋᚮᛚᛂᚿ᛫ᚮᚴ᛫ᚡᛁᚿᛑᛂᚿ᛫ᛒᚱᚰᚴᛆ᛫ᚮᛉ᛫ᚡᛂᛉ᛫ᛆᚠ᛫ᛑᛂᛉ᛫ᛋᚮᛉ᛫ᚠᛆᚱ᛫ᛋᛐᛆᚱᚴᛆᛋᛐ᛬ᛑᛂ᛫ᚴᚢᚿᛑᛂ᛫ᛁᚿᛐᛂ᛫ᛂᚿᛆᛋ᛫ᛋᚰ᛫ᛑᛂ᛫ᛒᛂᛋᛐᛅᛉᛑᛂ᛫ᛋᛁᛦ᛫ᚠᚯᚱ᛫ᛆᛐ᛫ᚢᛚᛉᛆᚿᛆ᛫ᚡᛆᚱᛆᚿᛑᚱᛆ᛫ᛔᚰ᛫ᛂᚿ᛫ᛚᛁᛐᛂᚿ᛫ᛐᛅᚡᛚᛁᚿᚵ᛬”ᛋᛂᚱ᛫ᛑᚢ᛫ᛉᛆᚿᛂᚿ᛫ᛑᛅᚱ᛫ᚿᛂᚱᛂX”ᛋᛆᛑᛂ᛫ᚡᛁᚿᛑᛂᚿ ᛐᛁᛚ᛫ᛋᚮᛚᛂᚿ᛬”ᛚᚰᛐ᛫ᚮᛋ᛫ᛋᛂ᛫ᚡᛂᛉ᛫ᛋᚮᛉ᛫ᚴᛆᚿ᛫ᛋᛚᛁᛐᛆ᛫ᛆᚡ᛫ᛡᚮᚿᚮᛉ᛫ᚱᚮᚴᛂᚿ᛫ᛋᚿᛆᛒᚿᛋᛐ᛬”

Goulsse, a way to write the Gur languages of West Africa developed by Wenitte Apiou and Babaguioue Micareme Akouabou.

Sample text in Goulsse

There are new language pages about:

Tai Dón (ꪼꪕꪒꪮꪙꫀ), a Southwestern Tai language spoken in Vietnam, Laos and China.
Láá Láá Bwamu (làa làa bũamu), a Gur language spoken in Balé Province in the Boucle du Mouhoun Region, and in the Hauts-Bassins Region of Burkina Faso.

New phrases page: Yongbei Zhuang (Cuengh), a variety of Zhuang spoken in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China.

There are new numbers pages in:

Yongbei Zhuang (Cuengh)
Tai Dam (ꪼꪕꪒꪾ), a Southwestern Tai language spoken in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and China.

There’s an Omniglot blog post entitled Before the Deluge, which is about the word antediluvian and related words, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in the far north of Canada.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Judeo-Arabic (ערבית יהודית), a variety of Arabic spoken by Jews in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Yemen, Israel and the USA.

There’s a new Celtiadur post are about words for Waves and related things in Celtic languages.

There’s an episode of the Celtic Pathways podcast about words for Druids and related people.

In the Adventure in Etymology we look at the word photoptarmosis (a condition that involving sneezing when exposed to bright lights such as the sun).

I made improvements to the Tai Dam language page, and made a separate page about the Tai Viet script.

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.

Adventures in Etymology – Photoptarmosis

20th August 202220th August 2022 By Simon

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Photoptarmosis

Do you sometimes sneeze when you see the sun or when you are exposed to another bright light? If so, you, like me, might have:

photoptarmosis [ˈfəʊ.tə.tɑɹ.məʊsɪs / ˈfoʊ.tə.tɑː.moʊsɪs]:

an inherited and congenital autosomal dominant reflex condition that causes sneezing in response to numerous stimuli, such as looking at bright lights.

It comes from the Ancient Greek words φωτω- (phōtō), from φῶς (phôs – light) and πταρμός (ptarmós – sneeze). The condition is also known as photic sneeze reflex, Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst (ACHOO) syndrome, sun sneezing or photosneezia [source].

The word φῶς (phôs), is the Attic form of φᾰ́ος (pháos -light, daylight, a day), which comes from the PIE *bʰéh₂os, from *bʰeh₂- (shine). [source].

The first part of the word phosphorus comes from the same Ancient Greek root (φῶς), while the second part comes from φέρω (phérō – to bear, carry), so phosphorus is “the bearer of light” [source].

Incidentally, the word Pharaoh, as in a supreme ruler of Ancient Egypt, comes from the Ancient Egyptian words pr ꜥꜣ [pɛr ɑːʔɑ] (palace, pharaoh), or literally “great/big house”, and has nothing to do with light, but Φάρος (Pháros) does – it was the Lighthouse of Alexandria and one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World [source].

The word πταρμός (ptarmós – sneeze), comes from πτάρνυμαι (ptárnumai – to sneeze), and is the root of the English words ptarmic (a substance, such as pepper or snuff, that causes sneezing) and ptarmoscopy (the divinatory interpretation of sneezes) [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.

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Radio Omniglot

Podcasts about languages and words

Author: Simon

Adventures in Etymology – Nostril

Celtic Pathways – Wagons and Carts

Omniglot News (04/09/22)

Adventures in Etymology – Hat

Celtic Pathways – Horses

Omniglot News (28/08/22)

Adventures in Etymology – Library

Celtic Pathways – Servants

Omniglot News (21/08/22)

Adventures in Etymology – Photoptarmosis