Celtic Pathways – Druids

19th August 202219th August 2022 By Simon

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

The Proto-Celtic *druwits means priest or druid, and comes from the Proto-Celtic *daru (oak) and *wid-/*windeti (to know, to see), from the Proto-Indo-European *dóru (tree) and *weyd (to see, know) [source].

Descendants in the modern Celtic languages include:

draoi [d̪ˠɾˠiː] = druid, wizard, magician, augur, diviner, trickster, and draoíocht (magic, druidism, witchcraft, enchantment) in Irish
draoidh [drɯj] = druid, sorcerer, magician, wizard, and draoidheachd (magic, sorcery, druidism) in Scottish Gaelic
druaight = charm, druid and druaightagh (smithcraft, smithery) in Manx
dryw [drɨu̯/drɪu̯] = druid, seer, and derwydd (prophet, wise man, druid) in Welsh
drewydh = druid in Cornish
drouiz = druid in Breton

The English word druid comes from the French druide (druid), from the Latin as druidae (the druids), from the Gaulish *druwits (druid) [source].

The Proto-Brythonic word *drüw (druid) was borrowed into Old English as drȳ (sorcerer, magician), which became drī(mann)/driʒ(mann) (sorcerer, magician) in Middle English [source]. A few modern druids use the word drymann, or something similiar, to refer to themselves.

Here’s a traditional Welsh tune called Y Derwydd (The Druid) played by me on the mandolin:

Here’s another version of it:

You can find the dots for this tune on The Session.

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 (14/08/22)

14th August 202214th August 2022 By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

This week there are new language pages about:

Ambel (galí Ambél), a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken on the island of Waigeo, which is part of the Raja Ampat Regency in West Papua Province in eastern Indonesia.
North Marquesan (Te èo ènana), an Eastern Polynesian language spoken in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia.
South Marquesan (Te èo ènata), an Eastern Polynesian language spoken in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia.

There are new numbers pages in:

North Marquesan (Te èo ènana)
South Marquesan (Te èo ènata)
Shan (လိၵ်ႈတႆး), a Southwestern Tai language spoken in northern Myanmar, southern China and northern Thailand.
Tai Lue (ᦅᧄᦺᦑᦟᦹᧉ), a Southwestern Tai language spoken in China, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.
Ahom (𑜒𑜑𑜪𑜨), a Tai-Kadai language formerly spoken in the Indian state of Assam, which is being revived.

There’s an Omniglot blog post about the French word Essuie-tout (paper towel) and related things, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language was once widely spoken across North Africa and the Middle East, but there are now only small numbers of speakers.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Akawaio (Ka’pon), a Cariban language spoken in northern Brazil and eastern Venezuela.

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

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

In the Adventure in Etymology we find out what links the word Sneeze with words like pneumatic, pneumonia and pneu (tire/tyre in French).

I wrote a new song this week called That’s When We’ll Do That Thing. It’s based on idioms for things that are very unlikely to happen or will never happen, like pigs flying or hell freezing over. It sounds a bit like this:

Simon Ager · That’s When We’ll Do That Thing

I also made improvements to the Dehong Dai / Tai Le script page, Tai Nuea and Tai Lue language pages, and there are now recordings of all the Western Armenian phrases.

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 – Sneeze

13th August 202213th August 2022 By Simon

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Today we’re investigating the origins of the word sneeze.

Sneeze

Sneeze [sniːz] means:

to emit air or breath suddenly, forcibly, and audibly through the nose and mouth by involuntary, spasmodic action.

It comes from the Middle English snesen [ˈsneːzən] (to sneeze), from fnesen [ˈfneːzən] (to sneeze) from the Old English fnēosan [ˈfne͜oː.zɑn] (to sneeze), from the Proto-Germanic *fneusaną [ɸneu̯.sɑ.nɑ̃] (to sneeze), from the Proto-Indo-European *pnew- (to pant, breathe, snort, sneeze) [source].

A related word in Middle English was fnesy [fneːziː] (having a tendency to wheeze or sneeze) [source]. Other words that began with fn in Middle Engilsh included fnoren and fnorten which became snore and snort in Modern English.

An old word for to sneeze in English was neeze, which is or was used in some dialects in the UK. It came from the Middle English nesen (to sneeze), from the Old English *hnēosan (to sneeze), from the Proto-Germanic *hneusaną (to sneeze), from the PIE *(s)knus- (to sneeze) and *pnew- (to pant, breathe) [source].

Words from the PIE root *pnew- include pneumatic and pneumonia in English, pneu (tyre/tire) in French, and πνέω [ˈpne.o] (to blow) in Greek [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 – Bards and Poets

12th August 202212th August 2022 By Simon

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In this episode we’re looking at words for bards, poets and related people.

In Proto-Celtic one word for bard was *bardos, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *gʷr̥dʰh₁-ó-s from *gʷerH- (to express approval, praise, elevate) [source].

Descendants in the modern Celtic languages include:

bard [bˠɑːɾˠd̪ˠ / bˠæːɾˠd̪ˠ] = poet, bard, scold in Irish
bàrd [baːr̪ˠd] = poet, versifier, bard, rhymer in Scottish Gaelic
bard = poet, bard in Manx
bardd [barð] = poet, bard, literary person, author, prophet, philosopher, priest in Welsh
bardh [barð] = bard, poet in Cornish
barzh = bard, poet in Breton

The English word bard was borrowed from Scottish Gaelic in the 15th century. The Proto-Celtic word *bardos was borrowed into Latin as bardus (bard), which became barde in French and bardo in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese [source]

The Proto-Celtic word *weless means seer or poet. It comes from the Proto-Celtic *weleti (to see) from the PIE *wel (to see) [source].

Descendants in modern Celtic languages include:

file [ˈfʲɪlʲə] = poet, song-maker, lyricist, satirist, scold in Irish
filidh [filɪ] = minstrel, poet (traditionally a member of one of the seven ranks of poets, all of which are above the bàrd) in Scottish Gaelic
feelee = poet in Manx

Words for to see in Welsh (gweld), Cornish (gweles) and Breton (gwelet) come from the Proto-Celtic *weleti, as to parts of the verb to be in Irish (bhfuil), Scottish Gaelic (bheil) and Manx (vel) – apparently they came from the imperative form of the verb and the meaning shifted from “see!” to “there is” to “is” [source].

The Swedish word leta (to search, look for) comes from the same PIE root, as does the word lait (to seek, search for, inquire), which is or was found in some UK dialects of English [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 (07/08/22)

7th August 20227th August 2022 By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

This week we have a new page about General Chinese (Tungdzih) a way to write all major varieties of Chinese with the Roman alphabet, or using Chinese characters syllabically. It was invented by 趙元任 (Zhào Yuánrèn) in the early 20th century, and he also invented Gwoyeu Romatzyh (国语罗马字), which a way to write Mandarin Chinese with the Roman alphabet using tone spelling. It’s sometimes used in Taiwan.

There’s a new constructed script called Kacheritopu, which was invented by Johan Sommansson. It’s not intended for any language in particular, and is loosely based on the Devanagari alphabet.

Sample text in the Kacheritopu Alphabet

There are new language pages about:

Najdi Arabic (اللهجة النجدية), a variety of Arabic spoken mainly in the Najd region of Saudi Arabia.
Obo (Manobo), a Central Manobo language spoken in Mindanao in the Philippines.

There are new numbers pages in:

Bagvalal (къIaваннаб мицци), a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in Dagestan in Russia and in parts of Georgian.
Archi (Аршаттен чӀат), a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in the village of Archi in southern Dagestan in the Russian Federation, which has a whole set of numbers for counting sheep.
Aguaruna (Awajún), a Jivaroan language spoken in parts of Peru.
Chamalal (чамалалдуб мичӀчӀ), a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in southwestern Dagestan in the Russian Federation.

I’ve was kind of Feverish earlier this week, so wrote an Omniglot blog post about it, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Brazil and Venezuela.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Chuvash (Чӑваш чӗлхи), a Bolgar Turkic language spoken in the Chuvash Republic in the west of the Russian Federation.

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

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

In the Adventure in Etymology we find out what links the word Fever with words for day, flame and to singe in English, Irish and Welsh.

I also made improvements to the Archi language page.

In other news, on a trip to Aberystwyth last weekend I picked up a dose of corona virus and haven’t been feeling great this week. The friend I went to see in Aberystwyth wasn’t well then, and later found out she had corona. On Thursday I tested myself and found out I had it too. I’m feeling better now, but still haven’t completely recovered.

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 – Fever

6th August 20226th August 2022 By Simon

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Last weekend I went to Aberystwyth to see a friend, which was nice, and also why I didn’t manage to record a new Adventure in Etymology. Unfortunately one souvenir I brought back was a dose of Corona virus. I felt quite feverish earlier this week, so today we’re uncovering the origins of the word fever.

Promenâd Aberystwyth Promenade

A fever [ˈfiːvə / ˈfivɚ] is:

A higher than normal body temperature of a person (or, generally, a mammal), usually caused by disease.
Any of various diseases, such as scarlet fever
A state of excitement or anxiety.
A group of stingrays.

It comes from the Middle English fever(e) (fever), from the Old English fefer / fefor (fever), from the Latin febris (fever), from the Proto-Italic *feɣʷris (fever), from the Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰris from *dʰegʷʰ- (to burn, warm, hot) [source].

Words from the same PIE root include day in English, and words for day in other Germanic languages, daigh (flame, fire, pain, pang) in Irish, and possibly defio [ˈdəɨ̯vjɔ] (to scorch, singe, blast, blight) in Welsh [source].

In Old English the word for fever was hriþ [r̥iθ], which comes from the Proto-Germanic *hriþiz (trembling, the shakes, the shivers, fever) from the PIE *kret- (to shake, quiver, tremble) [source].

Words from the same PIE root possibly include cryd [krɨːd / kriːd] (shivering, trembling, fever) in Welsh, and crith (a/to shake, quiver, tremble) in Irish [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 – Family

5th August 20225th August 2022 By Simon

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In this episode we’re looking at words for family, tribe and related things.

In Proto-Celtic a word for family or kindred was *wenyā, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (to wish, seek, desire, love, win) [source].

Descendents in the modern Celtic languages include:

fine [ˈfʲɪnʲə] = family, kin, clan, tribe, race in Irish
fine [finə] = family group, race, territory of a family group in Scottish Gaelic
gouenn = race in Breton

The name of Vannes [van], a town in Brittany, comes from the same Proto-Celtic root, via the Latin Veneti [source]

Words from the same PIE root include venom, Venus, wonder, wean and winsome in English, vän (friend) in Swedish, and gwenwyn (poison, venom) in Welsh [source]

The Proto-Celtic word *genos (family, clan, birth) is the root of iníon [ˈɪnʲiːnʲ] (daughter, girl maiden, (young) woman, Miss) in Irish, nighean [ɲiː.an̪ˠ] (daughter, girl, lass) in Scottish Gaelic, and inneen [ɪnˈjiːn] (daughter, girl) in Manx [source].

It also makes up part of the Irish name Eoghan [oːn̪ˠ], the Scottish Gaelic name Eòghan [joː.ən̪ˠ], both of which are thought to come from the Proto-Celtic name *Iwogenos, from *iwos (yew) and *genos (born, family) [source].

The name Morgan possibly comes from the Old Welsh name Morgen from *mor (sea) and *gen (born), from the Proto-Celtic *genos [source].

The Proto-Celtic word *tegeso-slougo- means family or household. It comes from the Proto-Indo-European *tegos (cover, roof) [source] and *slowgʰos / *slowgos (entourage) [source].

Descendents in modern Celtic languages include:

teaghlach [ˈtʲalˠəx] = household, family, domestic establishment, retinue in Irish
teaghlach [ˈtʲɤːɫ̪ˠəx] = family, household in Scottish Gaelic
thielagh = family, household in Manx
teulu = family, tribe, nation, household in Welsh
teylu = family in Cornish
tiegezh = household, farm, family in Breton

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 (31/07/22)

31st July 202231st July 2022 By Simon

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

This week there are new language pages about:

Hadza (Hadzane), a language isolate spoken around Lake Eyasi in northern Tanzania
Hejazi Arabic (حجازي), a variety of Arabic spoken mainly in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia.

There are new numbers pages in:

Budukh (Будад мез), a North East Caucasian language spoken in the northeast of Azerbaijan.
Tindi (Идараб мицци), a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in the southwest of Dagestan in the Russian Republic.
Hejazi Arabic (حجازي), a variety of Arabic spoken mainly in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia.

On the Omniglot blog this week we have a post called Kenning, about the words ken and kenning, and related words in English and other languages, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in the west of the Russian Federation.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Hlai, a group of Kam-Tai languages spoken in central Hainan Province in southern China.

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

Here’s a song I released this week, though actually wrote back in April 2022:

Simon Ager · Lost in a Good Book

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

The Polyglottals (Richard Simcott, Simon Ager and Chris Taylor)
Some friends who came to visit Bangor this week (Photo by Richard Simcott)

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 (24/07/22)

24th July 202224th July 2022 By Simon

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

This week there are new language pages about:

Porohanon, a Central Bisayan language spoken in the Camotes Islands in Cebu province in the Philippines.
Athpare (आठपहरिया‎), an Eastern Kiranti language spoken in the Dhankuta District in eastern Nepal.
Bukusu (Lubukusu), a Bantu language spoken in southwestern Kenya.

There are new numbers pages in:

Pingelapese, a Micronesian language spoken mainly in Pingelap and Pohnpei in Micronesia.
Bonggi, a North Bornean language spoken mainly on Banggi Island in Sabah, Malaysia.
Tobian (ramarih Hatohobei), a Micronesian language spoken in the Hatohobei and Koro states in Palau.

There’s a new article about Scottish Gaelic dialects of Arran.

On the Omniglot blog this week we have a post about Japanese words and idioms related to tatami called Tatami Swimming, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is distantly related to Thai and Lao.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Ronga (XiRonga), a Central Bantu language spoken mainly in southern Mozambique, and also eastern South Africa

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

There’s an episode of the Celtic Pathways podcast about words for person, human and related things.

In the Adventure in Etymology we find out what links the word Dean with words such as doyen, decimal and December.

During the heatwave earlier this week I wrote a new song called Melting, which goes something like this:

Simon Ager · Melting 😅

Normal service has been resumed and the weather, at least here in Bangor, is now it bit cooler.

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 – Dean

23rd July 202223rd July 2022 By Simon

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Today we’re investigating the origins of the word dean.

Dean

A dean [diːn] is:

A senior official in a college or university, who may be in charge of a division or faculty.
A dignitary or presiding officer in certain church bodies.
The senior member of some group of people

It comes from the Middle English de(e)n (dean), from the Anglo-Norman deen (dean), from the Old French deien (dean), from the Latin decānus (chief of ten people, dean), from decem (ten), and -ānus (of, pertaining to) [source].

Incidentally, dean is not related to words for person or man in Celtic languages, such as dyn [dɨːn / diːn] in Welsh. and duine [ˈd̪ˠɪnʲə] in Irish. They come from the Proto-Celtic word *gdonyos (person) [more details].

The English word doyen (a leading light, exemplar of a practice or movement, senior member of a group) comes from the same Latin root, via the modern French doyen (dean, senior member) [source].

A related word is decurion (an officer in charge of ten men in the Roman army, a member of the local government in ancient Rome), which comes from the Latin decuriō (decurion, foreman), from decuria (a group of ten men/soldiers, a jury), from decem (ten) and vir (man) [source].

Other words in English that come from the Latin decem (ten) include decimal, decimate, and december (the 10th month in the Roman calendar) [source]. Dime (a coin worth one-tenth of a dollar in the USA and Canada) comes from the Latin decimus (tenth) [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.

Radio Omniglot

Podcasts about languages and words

Author: Simon

Celtic Pathways – Druids

Omniglot News (14/08/22)

Adventures in Etymology – Sneeze

Celtic Pathways – Bards and Poets

Omniglot News (07/08/22)

Adventures in Etymology – Fever

Celtic Pathways – Family

Omniglot News (31/07/22)

Omniglot News (24/07/22)

Adventures in Etymology – Dean