Category: Podcast

Adventures in Etymology – Kith and Kin

By Simon

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In this Adventure we’re looking into the words kith and kin.

We had all the kinfolk over fer Thanksgivins.

Kith [kɪθ] means:

  • Friends and acquaintances (archaic/obsolete)

It appears in the expression kith and kin (both friends and family) and comes from the Middle English kith (kinsmen, relations), from Old English cȳþþu [ˈkyːθ.θu] (knoweldge, native land, home) from Proto-Germanic *kunþiþō (knowledge, acquaintance), from PIE *ǵneh₃- (to know) [source].

Engish words from the same roots include can, cunning, gnome, know, noble, quaint and uncouth [source].

Kin [kɪn] means:

  • Race, family, breed, kind
  • Persons of the same race or family, kindred
  • One or more relatives

It comes from Middle English kyn (family, native, tribe, clan), from Old English cynn (kind, tribe, race, species, family), from Proto-West-Germanic *kuni (family, kin), from Proto-Germanic *kunją (kin, family, clan) from PIE *ǵenh₁- (to beget, give birth) [source]

Engish words from the same roots include cognate, engine, gene, genius, gentle, kind and nature [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.

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Omniglot News (12/03/23)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Picuris, a Tanoan language spoken in Picuris Pueblo in northern New Mexico in the USA.
  • Kiowa (Cáuijògà), a Tanoan language spoken in the southwest of Oklahoma in the USA.
  • Turka (cuuramã), a Southern Gur language spoken in the Cascades Region in the southwest of Burkina Faso.

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Llanito, a mixed language spoken in Gibraltar made up mainly of Andalusian Spanish and British English.
  • Ch’ol, (Lakty’añ), a Cholan Mayan language spoken in Chiapas in southern Mexico.
  • Karata, (кӏкӏирлӏи), an Avar-Andic language spoken in southern Dagestan in the Russian Federation.
  • Kaitag, (хайдакьан кув), a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in Dagestan in the Russian Federation.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a post about the word kiki and other popular slang words in the USA, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken on a couple of islands in the southern Pacific.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was
Yao (chiYao), a Bantu language spoken in Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we find out what links the word Caboodle with words like booth, bothy and bosky.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post about words for Mighty Abilities and related things in Celtic languages.

There’s a new Celtic Pathways podcast about words for Towns and Beehives and related things in Celtic languages.

I also made improvements to the Caucasian Albanian, Toto and Avoiuli script pages, and to the Towns and Tribes, Houses, Towns & Villages and Houses and Dwellings Celtiadur posts.

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.

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Adventures in Etymology – Caboodle

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this Adventure we’re looking into the word caboodle.

Kits and Kaboodle-001

A caboodle (also written kaboodle) is:

  • Any large collection of things or people.

It appears in the US slang expressions the (whole) kit and caboodle and the whole caboodle and means “everything entirely; the whole lot; all together; as one” It first appeared in writing in the 1830s as the whole boodle, and as the whole caboodle in 1848 [source].

Caboodle/kaboodle comes from boodle,which originally meant a crowd, and later phony money or swag, from Dutch boedel [ˈbu.dəl] (property, riches), from Proto-West-Germanic bōþl (house, dwelling, property), from Proto-Germanic *bōþlą [ˈbɔːθ.lɑ̃] (house, dwelling), possibly from PIE *bʰuH- (to become, appear, grow) [source]

Words from the same roots include baile (home, place, town, city) in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, balley (town, village, farm) in Manx, ból (dwelling, abode, home, lair, bed) in Icelandic, and bosky (bushy, bristling) in English [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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

Celtic Pathways – Towns and Beehives

By Simon

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In this episode we’re finding out how words for towns and related things in Celtic languages are linked to words for beehives in other languages.

Trefor

The Proto-Celtic word *trebā means dwelling, and comes from the Proto-Indo-European *treb- (dwelling, settlement) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic language include:

  • treibh [ˈtʲɾʲɛv] = house, homestead, farmstead, household, family, tribe or race in Irish.
  • treubh [treːv] = tribe, family, clan or kin, and possibly treabh [tro] = farming village in Scottish Gaelic
  • tre(f) [treː(v)] = town; town centre; dwelling(-place), habitation, residence, home; house (and surrounding land), homestead or farm in Welsh
  • tre = [trɛ:/tre:] = farmstead, home, town or village in Cornish
  • trev = town in Breton

There doesn’t appear to be a cognate word in Manx.

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root (via Latin) possibly include trobo (beehive, skep) in Galician, and truébanu (beehive, barrel, basket) in Asturian [source].

The archaic English word thorp(e) (a group of houses standing together in the country; a hamlet; a village), which appears in place names such as Milnthorpe and Scunthorpe, comes from the same PIE roots [source].

Other words from the same PIE roots include Dorf (hamlet, village, town) in German, torp (farm, cottage, croft) in Swedish, þorp (village, farm) in Icelandic, and trevë (country, region, village) in Albanian [source].

You can be find more details of words for Towns and Tribes in Celtic languages 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 (05/03/2023)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

There are new writing systems pages about:

  • Chorasmian, which was used to write Khwarezmian, an extinct East Iranian language that was spoken in what is now northern Uzbekistan, and parts of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan until 1200 AD.
  • North Arabian, the collective name for a group of scripts that were used in north and central Arabia and southern Syria from about the 8th Century BC until the 4th century AD.

Sample text in North Arabian

There are new language pages about:

  • Mongsen Ao, a Kuki–Chin–Naga language spoken in Nagaland in the northeast India.
  • Tewa, a Tanoan language spoken mainly in the Rio Grande valley in New Mexico, and also in Arizona, in the USA.
  • Northern Birifor (Bɩrfʋɔr), a Gur language spoken mainly in the southwest of Burkina Faso.

New constructed script: Tenrái, which was created by Judah Kapulare to write Khasi, a Khasi-Palaungic language spoken mainly in Meghalaya state in the northeast of India.

Sample text in Tenrái

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Manipuri, (ꯃꯩꯇꯩꯂꯣꯟ / Miteilon), a Kukish language spoken in Manipur in the northeast of India.
  • Mavea, a Southern Oceanic language spoken on Mavea island in Vanuatu.

On the Omniglot blog we investigating the origins of the phrase ‘the apple never falls far from the tree’ in a post called Falling Apples, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

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

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim), a Central Salishan language spoken in the southwest of British Columbia in Canada.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we’re finding out what links the word Herb with words like gray, graze, green and grow.

By the way, this is the 100th episode of Adventures in Etymology – if you’d like to see a list of all the words covered so far, head on over to Radio Omniglot. If you’d like me to look into any words that I haven’t already covered, in English or other languages, you can leave your suggestions there as well.

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

There’s a new Celtic Pathways podcast about words for Heights and related things in Celtic languages.

I also made improvements to the South Arabian, Siddham, Sogdian script pages, and the Celtiadur post about words for High, Elevated, Noble 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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Korean with KoreanClass101

Adventures in Etymology – Herbs

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this Adventure we’re digging up the origins of the word herb.

Herbs

A herb [hɜːb/(h)ɝb] is:

  • Any green, leafy plant, or parts thereof, used to flavour or season food.
  • A plant whose roots, leaves or seeds, etc. are used in medicine.

It comes from Middle English herbe [ˈhɛ(ː)rb(ə)] (a herbaceous plant, herbage, woody plant, tree), from Old French erbe [ˈɛr.bə] (grass, herb), from Latin herba [ˈher.ba] (grass, herbage, herb, weeds, plant), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- (to grow, become green) [source].

The initial h sound in herb disappeared at some point, and was restored during the 15th century based on the Latin spelling. However, it wasn’t pronounced by many people until the 19th century, and still isn’t by many speakers, especially in North America.

Words from the same roots include grow, green, graze, gray/grey in English, herbe (grass) in French, erba (grass, herb) in Italian, and hierba (herb, grass) in Spanish [source].

Incidentally, this is the 100th episode of this series, which started in March 2021. You can find a list of all the words covered on Radio Omniglot. If you would like me to look into any words that I haven’t already covered, in English or other languages, you can leave your suggestions there as well.

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

Celtic Pathways – Heights

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode we’re looking up words for high and related things.

View from Snowdon

The Proto-Celtic word *ardwos means high, and comes from the Proto-Indo-European *h₃r̥dʰwós., from *h₃erdʰ- (to increase, grow; upright, high) [Source].

Related words in the modern Celtic language include:

  • ard [ɑːɾˠd̪ˠ/æːɾˠd̪ˠ] = height, hillock, top, high part; high, tall, loud, ambitious, chief, excellent, noble or advanced in Irish.
  • àrd [aːr̪ˠd] = high, lofty, tall; great; loud; chief, eminent, superior or supreme in Scottish Gaelic
  • ard = high, towering, tall, big, loud, height, high place, fell, incline, district, region, direction, compass point or pole in Manx
  • ardd [arð] = hill, highland, top, high or upland in Welsh
  • ardh = height or high place in Cornish
  • arz = high or elevated in Breton

The Ardennes, a region of forests and hills in mainly in Belgium, Luxembourg, and also in France and Germany, was known as Arduenna Silva in Latin. The first part of the Latin name probably comes from the Gaulish *arduenna (high), or from the Latin arduus (lofty, high, steep, tall), which comes from the same PIE root [source].

Other words from the same PIE roots include arbor, arduous, orthodox and orthography in English, arbre (tree) in French, árbol (tree, mast) in Spanish, and рост [rost] (growth, increase, rise, height, stature) in Russian [source].

You can be find more details of words for High, Elevated, Noble and related things in Celtic languages 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 (26/02/2023)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

New writing system: Basahan, a version of Baybayin script that was used to write Bikol languages until the mid-19th century.

There are new language pages about:

  • Mavea, a Southern Oceanic language spoken on the island of Mavea in northern Vanuatu.
  • Ske, a Southern Oceanic language spoken in the southwest of Pentecost Island in Vanuatu.
  • Lo-Toga, a Southern Oceanic language spoken on the islands of Lo and Toga, which are part of the Torres group of islands in northern Vanuatu.

New page about: Medefaidrin, a language and script that was created in the 1930s by two church leaders in a congregation of Ibibio speakers in southern Nigeria.

Sample text in the Medefaidrin alphabetAksara Naon, which was created by Ahmad Syibli as an alternative way to write Sundanese and Indonesian.

Sample text in Aksara Naon

New constructed script: Semanggi, which was created by Pardomuan Harahap as an alternative way to write Indonesian.

Sample text in Semanggi

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Lo-Toga, a Southern Oceanic language spoken on the islands of Lo and Toga in northern Vanuatu.
  • Lakon, a Southern Oceanic language spoken on Gaua island in Vanuatu.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a post about the Dutch word Ietsiepietsie, which means a little, a little bit, or a teeny tiny bit, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

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

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was
She (Ho Ne), a Hmong-Mien language spoken in Guangdong Province in southern China.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we’re unraveling the origins of the word Wicker.

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

There’s a new Celtic Pathways podcast about words for Hurdles and related things in Celtic languages.

I also made improvements to the Dives Akuru page.

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Korean with KoreanClass101

Adventures in Etymology – Wicker

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this Adventure we’re unravelling the origins of the word wicker.

Four little baskets sitting on a wall
Wicker [ˈwɪkə(ɹ)/ˈwɪkɚ] is:

  • A flexible branch or twig of a plant such as willow, used in weaving baskets and furniture.

It comes from Middle English wiker (wickerwork), possibly from Old Norse veikr (pliant, weak), from Proto-Germanic *waikwaz [ˈwɑi̯.kʷɑz] (weak, soft, pliable), from *wīkwaną [ˈwiː.kʷɑ.nɑ̃] (to yield, fold, retreat) from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- (to bend, curve, divide) [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include week, weak, province and cervix in English; Wechsel (change, bill of exchange) in German; växel (change, bill of exchange, switch, gear) in Swedish; fois (time) in French; and vez (time, instance, place, turn) in Spanish [source].

Incidentally, the Middle English word woke [wɔːk/wɑːk], which meant weak, feeble, helpless, unimportant or bendable, comes from the same roots, as did the word wocnesse [ˈwɔːknɛs] (vulnerability to sin or iniquity, lack of fighting skill) [source].

They are not related to the modern usage of woke, which is an abbreviation woken (up), and originated in African-American vernacular as meaning awake, conscious, alert, well-informed, especially in racial and other social justice issues. It is often used in a dergatory way about anyone who holds views that are disliked by the person using it [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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

Celtic Pathways – Hurdles

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode we’re looking into words for hurdle and related things.

Dublin at Christmas

The Proto-Celtic word *klētā means palisade or hurdle, and comes from the Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (to lean) [Source].

Related words in the modern Celtic language include:

  • cliath [klʲiə] = wattled, latticed, frame, hurdle, phalanx, staff or a (musical) stave in Irish. Also found in Baile Átha Cliath, the Irish name for Dublin.
  • cliath [kliə] = grid, lattice, grate, grating, shoal (of fish), hurdle, harrow, stockade, or (musical) stave in Scottish Gaelic
  • cleeah = lattice, wicker, fret, darn, stave, staff, grid, stretcher, grate, grating, criss-cross or school of fish in Manx
  • clwyd [kluːɨ̯d] = movable hurdle, wattle, lattice, rack, crate, gate, door; protection, cover or defence in Welsh
  • kloos = fence or rack in Cornish
  • kloued = fence, barrier, gate, railings, grating or grid in Breton

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Gaulish and Latin, include claie (wicker rack, trellis, hurdle) in French and cheda (wattled laterals at the base of a traditional cart) in Galician [source].

Words from the same PIE root include client, climate, clinic, incline and lean in English, leunen (to lean) in Dutch, lehnen (to lean) in German, chinàre (to bend) in Italian, and clemente (lenient) in Spanish [source], clé (left) and cleith (pole, cudgel, wattle) in Irish, cledd (left hand/side) in Welsh and related words in Celtic languages [more details].

You can be find more details of words for Hurdle Fences in Celtic languages 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.