Category: Podcast

Adventures in Etymology – Jelly

By Simon

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Today we are uncovering the origins of the word jelly.

Strawberry Jelly

Jelly [ˈd͡ʒɛl.i] is:

  • a dessert made by boiling gelatin(e), sugar and some flavouring (often derived from fruit) and allowing it to set (In the UK, Australia and NZ) – known as jello in North America (see below)
  • A clear or translucent fruit preserve, made from fruit juice and set using either naturally occurring, or added, pectin.

Note: there are various kinds of fruit preserves with different names in different countries. For example, what people in North America call jelly, might be called jam in the UK. More details.

Jelly comes from the Middle English gele [dʒɛˈleː] (jelly made from meat stock), from the Old French gelee (a cold spell, period of coldness), from geler (to freeze, become very cold), from the Latin gelāre (to freeze), from gelō (I freeze) from gelū (frost),from the PIE *gel- (to be cold, to freeze) [source].

Related words in English include gel, gelatin, gelid (very cold, icy, frosty), glacier, cold, cool, chill and congeal [source].

In North America the dessert made from gelatine and flavoured with fruit is known as jello. It was invented and trademarked by Pearle Bixby Wait in New York in 1897 as JELL-O. Since then the name has become genericized and is used to refer to any brand of fruit flavored gelatin dessert mix [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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Celtic Pathways – Step

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode we are tracking the origins of the word step.

Doors Open Day 2018 - McEwan Hall 017

The Proto-Celtic word for step is *kanxsman. It comes from the Proto-Celtic *kengeti (to step), from the Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- (to limp, walk lamely) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

  • céim [ceːmʲ] = step, degree, rank, pass, ravine, difficulty in Irish
  • ceum [kʲeːm] = step, footstep, pace, tread, path, degree, measure in Scottish Gaelic
  • keim = phase, step, degree, stage, standard, stile, grade in Manx
  • cam = step, stride, pace, leap, foot-fall, footprint, trace, progress in Welsh
  • kamm = pace, step, track in Cornish
  • kamm = pace, walk, tread, (foot)step in Breton

In Gaulish step was *kamman, which was borrowed into Latin as cammīnus (way), and became camino (track, path, road, way, route, journey) and caminar (to walk, stroll, travel) in Spanish, caminho (way, road, path) in Portugese, cammino (walk, path, way) and camminare (to walk, work (function)) in Italian, and chemin (path, way, pathway) in French [source].

The Proto-Celtic word *kengets (warrior) comes from the same PIE root, and became cing [kʲiŋʲɡʲ] (warrior, champion, hero), and cingid [kʲiŋʲɡʲiðʲ] (to step, proceed, go) in Old Irish, cinn [ciːnʲ] (to surpass, overcome, be too much for) in modern Irish, and cing [kʲiŋʲgʲ] (warrior, champion) in Scottish Gaelic. The word king in English comes from a different root – from the Proto-Germanic *kuningaz (king) [source].

The English word shank (the part of the leg between the knee and the ankle) also comes from the same PIE root, via the Old English sċanca [ˈʃɑn.kɑ] (leg) and the Proto-Germanic *skankô [ˈskɑŋ.kɔːː] (that which is bent, shank, thigh) [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.

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Omniglot News (09/10/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Äiwoo, an Oceanic language spoken mainly in the Reef Islands in Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands.
  • Iaai, a Southern Oceanic language spoken in New Caledonia.
  • Dumi (दुमी‎), a Kiranti language spoken in eastern Nepal.

There’s a new constructed script called Altus, which was devised by Paul Mbongo as an alternative way to write Lingala, a Bantu language spoken mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Republic of Congo.

Sample text in Lingala in the Altus alphabet

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Wapishana (Wapixana), a Northern Arawakan language spoken in Guyana and Brazil.
  • Yaghnobi (yaɣnobī́ zivók / яғнобӣ зивок), an Eastern Iranian language spoken in the Yaghnob valley in northwestern Tajikistan.
  • Dumi (दुमी‎), a Kiranti language spoken in eastern Nepal.

There’s a new page with family words in Urdu.

There’s a new Tower of Babel translation in Iaai.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a post called Different Worlds, which is about the Japanese stories known as isekai (different world), and the linguistic situations in such worlds, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

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

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was
Nheengatu (ñe’engatú), a Tupí-Guarani language spoken in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.

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

On the Celtic Pathways podcast we are digging up the origins of the word Iron.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we’re looking into, examining, scrutinizing and underseeking the origins of the word investigate.

In other news. this week my current streak on Duolingo passed 1,900 days, and yesterday I got to 1,904 days. So with my previous 96-day streak, I have now been studying languages every day for the past 2,000 days, or about five and a half years. In that time I’ve completed courses in Swedish, Russian, Danish, Romanian, Czech, Esperanto and Dutch. I also finished all the Spanish lessons, but then they added a whole bunch of new ones, which I’m working on those at the moment. I’m also refreshing my Japanese and Scottish Gaelic.

Do I speak all these languages now? Well, yes and no. I speak some of them fairly well, and can at least have basic conversations in the others. Some I understand and can read better than I speak or write them. The one I know the least of is Romanian, which I hadn’t studied before and tried to learn just using Duolingo. I found it difficult trying to work out the grammar, and there were no explanations.

Recently I’ve been enjoying using Super Duolingo (formerly Duolingo Plus). Normally you have to pay a monthly subscription for it, but I can use it for free, thanks to people who have signed up via one of the links on Omniglot. For each person that signs up, I get a free week. Would it be worth paying for this? Maybe, if you can afford it. You don’t have to worry about making mistakes as you don’t run out of hearts, except in the crown levels, you can practise your mistakes and take tests.

Have you tried Super Duolingo? If so, what do you think of it?

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 – Investigate

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Sherlock

Today we are looking into, examining, scrutinizing and underseeking the origins of the word investigate.

Investigate [ɪnˈves.tɪ.ɡeɪt/ɪnˈves.tə.ɡeɪt] means:

  • to inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.
  • to examine, look into, or scrutinize in order to discover something hidden or secret.
  • to conduct an inquiry or examination.

It comes from investigation, from the Latin investīgātiō (a searching into), from investīgātus (investigated), from investīgō (I track, trace out, search after, discover), from in- (in, within, inside) and vestīgō (I follow a track, search, investigate), possibly from the PIE root *steygʰ- (to walk) [source].

Related words in English include vestige (a mark left on the earth by a foot; a faint mark or visible sign left by something which is lost, or has perished, or is no longer present), vestigial, and the old word pervestigate (to investigate thoroughly) [source].

A synonym for investigate is underseek (to examine, explore, investigate, spend too little time or effort in seeking). It comes from the Middle English underseken, from the Old English undersēcan [ˌun.derˈseː.t͡ʃɑn] (to investigate, examine), from under (beneath), and sēċan (to look for, seek, visit, attack) [source].

Related words in other languages include onderzoeken (to investigate, research) in Dutch, untersuchen (to examine, investigate) in German, and undersøge (to examine, test, investigate) in Danish [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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Celtic Pathways – Iron

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode we are digging up the origins of the word iron.

iron fence

The Proto-Celtic word for iron is *īsarnom. It comes from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁ēsh₂r̥no- (bloody, red), from *h₁ésh₂r̥ (blood) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

  • iarann [ˈiəɾˠən̪ˠ] = iron in Irish
  • iarann [iər̪ˠən̪ˠ] = iron, (metal) blade, day’s worth cutting peat (for two) in Scottish Gaelic
  • yiarn = iron; tool, scythe, blade; dough (money); tip (gratuity) in Manx
  • haearn = iron, iron bar, hardness, strength, resoluteness, hard, strong, unyielding in Welsh
  • horn = iron in Cornish
  • houarn [ˈhuː.arn] = iron, flat iron; horseshoe in Breton

Words for iron in Germanic languages come from the same Proto-Celtic root, via the Proto-Germanic *īsarną (iron). They include iron in English, ijzer in Dutch, Eisen in German, järn in Swedish, and jern in Danish [source].

Words from the same PIE roots, include արյուն (aryun – blood, slaughter) in Armenian, asinis (blood, temperament, origin) in Latvian [source], words for blood in Romance languages [source], and words for sister in most European languages [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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

Omniglot News (02/10/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Hiw, a Southern Oceanic language spoken on the island of Hiw, one of the Torres Islands in Torba province of Vanuatu.
  • Rapa (Reo Rapa), an Eastern Polynesian language spoken on Rapa Iti, one of the Austral Islands in French Polynesia, and on Mangaia in the Cook Islands.

There’s a new constructed script called Nawa, which was created by Arturo Jiménez Zavala as an alternative way to write Spanish and Nahuatl.

Nawa alphabet

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Besermyan (бесерман), a dialect of Udmurt spoken in Udmurtia and the Kirov and Perm regions of the Russian Federation.
  • Rapa (Reo Rapa), an Eastern Polynesian language spoken on Rapa Iti in French Polynesia and Mangaia in the Cook Islands.
  • Fula (Fulfulde / 𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤬𞤵𞤤𞤣𞤫), a Senegambian language spoken in many parts of in West, Central and North Africa.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a post called Sake, which is about Japanese words for salmon (鮭 [sáꜜkè]) and alcohol / rice wine (酒 [sàké]), 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 South America.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was
Namonuito, a Micronesian language spoken on Namonuito Atoll in the Caroline Islands in the Federated States of Micronesia.

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

On the Celtic Pathways podcast we are teasing out the origins of the word Wool.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we unload the origins of the word Quay, and related words.

I also improved the Beitha Kukju and Elbasan pages, and made a separate page for the Old Uyghur alphabet.

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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Celtic Pathways – Wool

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode we are teasing out the origins of the word wool.

Wool

The Proto-Celtic word for wool is *wlanā. It comes from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂ (wool), from *h₂welh₁- (hair, wool) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

  • olann [ˈɔlˠən̪ˠ] = wool, woolly hair, mop of hair; woollen in Irish
  • olann [ˈɔl̪ˠən̪ˠ] = wool (usually while on sheep) in Scottish Gaelic
  • ollan = wool in Manx
  • gwlân = wool, down, soft hair, grass, herbage; woollen, soft, made of wool in Welsh
  • gwlan = wool in Cornish
  • gloan = wool in Breton

The English word flannel (a soft cloth material originally woven from wool, washcloth) comes from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Gaulish, Old French, Anglo-Norman and Middle English. This was reborrowed into French, and from French into other languages such as Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Swedish [source].

Words for wool in other European languages come from the same PIE root, including wool in English, wol [ʋɔl] in Dutch, Wolle [ˈvɔlə] in German, and lana in Italian and Spanish [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.

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Adventures in Etymology – Quay

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Nyhavn, Copenhagen / København

Today we are unloading the origins of the word quay.

A quay [kiː/keɪ] is:

  • a stone or concrete structure on navigable water used for loading and unloading vessels; a wharf.

It comes from the Middle English key(e) [ˈkɛi̯(ə)] (quay), from the Old French kay / cail (quay, wharf), from the Gaulish *kagyum / *cagiíum (enclosure), from the Proto-Celtic *kagyom (pen, enclosure), from the Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (enclosure, hedge) [source].

The spelling quay was adopted in the 1690s to emulate the French spelling quai. In Middle English it was spelled kay, kaye, key or keye.

Other words from the Proto-Celtic root *kagyom include cae [kaːɨ̯/kai̯] (hedge, fence, field, enclosure) in Welsh, ke (fence, hedge) in Cornish, kae (hedge, quay) in Breton, quai (quay, wharf, platform) in French, and cais (quay, wharf, pier) in Portuguese [source].

Words for quay in the Celtic languages come from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Middle English / Anglo-Norman and Gaulish. They include cidhe [kʲi.ə] in Scottish Gaelic, cé in Irish, and cei [kei̯] in Welsh [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

Omniglot News (25/09/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Gourmanchéma (gùlmàncéma), a Gur language spoken mainly in Burkina Faso, and also in Togo, Niger and Benin.
  • Konkomba (Likpakpaln), a Gur language spoken mainly in northern Ghana, and also in northern Togo.
  • Moba (Muaba), a Gur language spoken mainly in northern Togo, and also in southeastern Burkina Faso.

There’s a new constructed script called Mawar, which was created by Eko Wahyu Darmansyah to write his constructed language, Darman.

Sample text in the Mawar

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Rotuman (Fäeag Rotuma), an Oceanic language spoken mainly in the South Pacific island group of Rotuma.
  • Phoenician, a Northern Semitic language that was spoken around the Mediterranean until about the 2nd century AD.
  • Iu Mien (Iu Mienh), a Hmong-Mien language spoken in China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand.
  • Ewe (Èʋegbe), a Volta-Niger language spoken in Ghana, Togo and Benin.

There’s an Omniglot blog post entitled Fangled, which is about words that are newfangled, oldfangled and just fangled, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

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

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was
Gallo (galo), a Romance language spoken in parts of Brittany and Normandy in the northwest of France.

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

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

In the Adventure in Etymology we burrowing into the origins of the word Rabbit, and related words.

I wrote a new song based on idioms that mean something is easy, such as ‘as easy as falling off a log’. It called As Easy As and sounds a bit like this:

You can hear this song, other songs and tunes I’ve written on SoundCloud.

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 – Rabbit 🐇

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Today we are burrowing into the origins of the word rabbit.

Easter Bunny

A rabbit [ˈɹæbɪt] is:

  • a mammal of the family Leporidae, with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail.

It comes from the Middle English rabet(te) (young rabbit), from the Middle French *robotte/rabotte or the Anglo-Latin rabettus, from the Old French rabotte, probably from the Middle Dutch / West Flemish robbe (rabbit, seal). Beyond that its origins are uncertain [source].

Until the 19th century a rabbit was a young rabbit, while an adult rabbit was con(e)y (rabbit, hyrax), which comes from the Anglo-Norman conis (rabbits), from the Vulgar Latin *cuniclus (rabbit), from the Latin cuniculus (rabbit), from the Ancient Greek κύνικλος (kúniklos – rabbit), which probably comes from Iberian or Celtiberian [source].

Words from the same root include cuniculus (a burrow or low underground passage) in Englsh, coniglio (rabbit), cunicolo (tunnel, burrow, wormhole) in Italian, conejo (rabbit) in Spanish, and cwningen (rabbit, hyrax) in Welsh [source].

In Old English the word for rabbit, and hare, was hara [ˈhɑ.rɑ], which is the root of the word hare, and comes from the Proto-Germanic *hasô [ˈxɑ.sɔːː] (hare), from the Proto-Indo-European *ḱeh₂s- (grey) [source].

Another word for rabbit is bunny, which probably comes from the Scots bun(n) (the tail of a rabbit or hare), from the Scottish Gaelic bun (base, bottom, source, butt, stump), from the Old Irish bun (base, butt, foot), from the Proto-Celtic *bonus (foundation, base, butt) [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