Category: English

Celtic Pathways – Spears and Sceptres

By Simon

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In this episode we find out what links the words spear and beam in Celtic languages with words for sceptre and arrow in other languages.

Romano British spearmen

The Proto-Celtic word *gaisos means spear. It comes from Proto-Germanic *gaizaz [ˈɣɑi̯.zɑz] (spear, pike, javelin), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰoysós (throwing spear), from *ǵʰey- (to throw, impel) [source].

Descendents in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • ga [ɡa]= spear, dart, sting, ray (of light), radius, suppository or (fishing) gaff in Irish.
  • gath [gah] = dart, beam, ray (of light), sting, barb or shooting pain in Scottish Gaelic
  • goull = beam, dart or ray in Manx
  • gwayw [ɡweɨ̯.ʊ] = lance, spear, javelin, shooting pain, stab, stitch or pang in Welsh
  • guw = spear in Cornish
  • goaf = spear, pike, javelin or stamen in Breton

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root in other languages include gezi [ɡe̞.s̻i] (arrow) in Basque (via Latin and Gaulish), գայիսոն [ɡɑjiˈsɔn/kʰɑjiˈsɔn] (sceptre) in Armenian (via Ancient Greek), gaesum (a Gaulish javelin) in Latin, and γαῖσος [ɡâi̯.sos] (a Gaulish javelin) in Ancient Greek [source].

Words from the same Proto-Germanic root include garfish (any fish of the needlefish family Belonidae) in English [source], geer (spear) in Dutch, Ger (spear) in German, and keihäs (spear, javelin, pike) in Finnish, [source].

Incidentally, my surname, Ager, possibly comes from the same Proto-Germanic root as well, via the Old English name Ēadgār, from ēad (happiness, prosperity), and gār (spear) [source].

You can find more details of words for spears, javelins and related things on the Celtiadur blog. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

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Omniglot News (02/07/23)

By Simon

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

New page: Armeno-Turkish (Էրմէնի խարֆլի Թիւրգչէ), a way to write Ottoman Turkish with the Armenian alphabet that was used in the Ottoman Empire until 1928.

Պիւթիւն ինսանլար հիւր, հաեսիեէթ վէ հաքլար պաքըմընտան էշիթ տoղարլար. Աքըլ վէ վիճտանա սահիփթիրլէր վէ պիրպիրլէրինէ քարշը քարտէշլիք զիհնիեէթի իլէ հարէքէթ էթմէլիտիրլէր.

There are new language pages about:

  • Kar (kar / kái yor), a Senufo language spoken in the southwest of Burkina Faso.
  • Cebaara (senã́rì), a Senufo language spoken in northern Ivory Coast
  • Dan, a Southeastern Mande language spoken in Ivory Coast, Libera and Guinea.

New phrases page: I’m learning [your language] – how to tell people that you’re learning their language in their language.

New numbers pages:

  • Waama, a Gur language spoken in Atakora Department in the northwest of Benin.
  • Kabiye (kabɩyɛ), a Gur language spoken in Togo, Benin and Ghana.

New Tower of Babel translation: Cebaara

On the Omniglot blog there’s a post called Oof! What a Hash!, about the origins and names of the # symbol, 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 the west of the Russian Federation.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Konobo, a Western Kru language spoken in Liberia.

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

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we take a seat to uncover the origins of the the word Chair, and find out how it’s connected to words like cathedral, catastrophe and cataract.

In other news: I was interviewed by Carlos Yerba López for his Hyperpolyglot Activist channel on YouTube:

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.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

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Adventures in Etymology – Chair

By Simon

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In this Adventure we’re taking a seat to uncover the origins of the word chair.

Three Chairs

A chair [t͡ʃɛə(ɹ)/t͡ʃɛɚ] is:

  • An item of furniture used to sit on or in, comprising a seat, legs or wheels, back, and sometimes arm rests, for use by one person.

It comes from Middle English chayer/chaier(e) [ˈtʃɛi̯ər(ə)] (a comfortable seat, such as a chair or couch; a throne), from Old French chaiere (chair, seat, throne) from Latin cathedra [ˈka.tʰe.dra] (armchair, ceremonial chair, office/rank of a teacher or bishop, pulpit, chair), from Ancient Greek καθέδρα [kaˈθe.ðra] (seat, posterior, base of a column, imperial throne), from κατά [kaˈta] (down) and ἕδρα [ˈe.ðra] (seat, chair, stool, bench), from PIE *sed- (to sit) [source].

English words from the same roots include cathedra (the chair or throne of a bishop, the rank of bishop), cathedral, catastrophe, cataract and chaise (an open, horse-drawn carriage for one or two people).

Words from the same roots in other languages include cadair (chair), and cadeirlan (cathedral) in Welsh, cathaoir (chair, seat, throne) in Irish [source], and words for cathedral in many other languages [source]

The native English words for chair or seat were stool and settle. When chayer was borrowed from French their meanings changed: stool came to mean “A seat, especially for one person and without armrests.” [source], and settle, which originally meant a seat of any kind, came to mean “A long bench with a high back and arms, often with a chest or storage space underneath” [source]

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 are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

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Omniglot News (25/06/23)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

New writing system: Komering, a traditional script from the province of South Sumatra in Indonesia that was used to write Komering, a Lampungic language spoken along the Komering River.

Sample text in the Komering script

There are new language pages about:

  • Yamdena (Yakw), a Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian spoken mainly on Yamdena and Selaru islands in the Tanimbar archipelago in Maluku Province in eastern Indonesia.
  • Kei (Veveu Evav), a Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian spoken in the Kei Islands in Maluku Province in eastern Indonesia.
  • Fordata (vaidida), a Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian spoken in the Tanimbar archipelago in Maluku Province in eastern Indonesia.

New fictional script: Nunkish, which appears in the Violet Evergarden (ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン) anime TV series, and is used to write Nunkish, an encrypted version of Tamil.

Sample text in Nunkish

New constructed script: Urin Qichwa Simipaq Musuq Qillqa, an alternative way to write Southern Quechua invented by TheDankBoi69.

Sample of Urin Qichwa Simipaq Musuq Qillqa

New numbers page: Yamdena, Lampung and Komering

On the Omniglot blog we find out what links the words Croissant and Cereal, 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

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Dolgan (Дулҕан), a northern Turkic language spoken in the Taymyr Peninsula in the far north of the Russian Federation.

There’s a new Celtiadur post about words for Eight and related things, and I made improvements to the posts about words for Pigs and the number four.

The Celtic Pathways podcast this week, Hogging Sockets, uncovers links between words for pigs in Celtic languages with words like hog and socket in English.

I also improved the Somali language page and made separate pages for the Osmanya, Borama / Gadabuursi and Kaddare alphabets.

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.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

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Celtic Pathways – Hogging Sockets

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode we find out what links the words hog and socket with words for pig, ploughshare and related things in Celtic languages.

Family of Feral Hogs

The Proto-Celtic word sukkos means a pig (snout) or ploughshare, presumably because ploughshares looked like pig’s snouts. It comes from the Proto-Indo-European *súH-s (pig, hog, swine) [source]

Descendents in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • soc [sˠɔk] = sow in Irish.
  • soc [sɔxg] = beak, snout, socket, ploughshare, or a short, chubby person in Scottish Gaelic
  • sock = bow, nose, snout, ploughshare, jet or nozzle in Manx
  • hwch [huːχ] = sow, pig, swine, or a dirty creature in Welsh
  • hogh = hog, pig or swine in Cornish
  • houc’h = sow in Breton

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root in other languages include socket and possibly hog in English, and soc (ploughshare) in French.

The word socket comes from the Middle English soket, from the Anglo-Norman soket (spearhead), from the Old French soc (ploughshare), from the Vulgar Latin *soccus, from the Proto-Celtic *sokkos, probably via Gaulish [source].

The word hog comes from the Middle English hog(ge) (pig, swine, pig meat, hogget [young sheep]), from the Old English hogg (hog), either the Old Norse hǫggva (to hew), or from the Proto-Brythonic *hux (pig) [source].

The English word hoggan (a pork pasty), which is used mainly in Cornwall, probably comes from the Old Cornish hoggan/hogen) (pork pasty, pie), from hoch (pig), from the Proto-Brythonic *hux (pig). The word oggy/oggie (pasty), which is used in Devon and Cornwall, and also in Wales, comes from the same roots [source].

Welsh oggies are larger than Cornish pasties and contain lamb, potatoes and leeks. Here’s a recipe.

Oggie

Incidentally, the Welsh words hogyn (boy) and hogen (girl), which are used mainly in North Wales, come from hòg (young/little boy, youth, lad, fellow), from the English hogg (young sheep or hogget), from the Middle English hogget (a boar/sheep of the second year), from Anglo-Norman hog(g)et (young boar) and an Anglo-Latin hogettus [source].

You can find more details of words for pig and related beasts on the Celtiadur blog. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

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Omniglot News (18/06/23)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Fordata (vaidida), a Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian spoken in the Tanimbar archipelago in the province of Maluku in eastern Indonesia.
  • Lamaholot, a Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian spoken on Flores, Solor and nearby islands in the province of East Nusa Tengara in eastern Indonesia.
  • Alorese, a Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian spoken in the Alor Regency in East Nusa Tenggara Province in eastern Indonesia.

New constructed script: Lofrati, a script invented by Sahin Ozmen that is modelled on Arabic and Hebrew scripts, and is used to write a constructed language by the same name.

Sample text in Lofrati

New constructed script: Our Secret Garden, a script based on flowers created by Rodrigo Witzel.

Sample text in Our Secret Garden

New constructed script: Plutonian, an alternative alphabet for English devised by Aiden Neuding.

Sample text in Plutonian

New numbers page: Fordata, Lamaholot, Alorese, Bunun, Tsou and Kerinci.

There’s a new Omniglot blog post about called Roses (薔薇), about kanji (characters) that Japanese people struggle to write, 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 the Russian Federation.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Butuanon, a Southern Bisayan language spoken in Agusan del Norte and Agusan de Sul provinces in Mindanao in the Philippines.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we uncover the fiery origins of the word Bureau.

There are new Celtiadur posts about words for Booths and Seven and related things in Celtic languages.

I also created separate pages the Lota Ende and Incung scripts, and for the Lio and Ende languages, and improved the Kerinci language 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.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

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Adventures in Etymology – Bureau

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this Adventure we are investigating the fiery origins of the word bureau.

Bureau du château de Beaumesnil

A bureau [ˈbjʊɹ.əʊ/ˈbjʊɹ.oʊ] is:

  • An administrative unit of government
  • An organization or office for collecting or providing information or news.
  • A desk, usually with a cover and compartments (mainly UK)
  • A chest of drawers for clothes (mainly USA)

It comes from French bureau [by.ʁo] (desk, office, ticket office, office staff), from Old French burel (frieze [coarse woolen cloth], garment made of frieze) from Late Latin burra (a small cow with a red muzzle; a shaggy garment), from burrus (red, reddish-brown), from Ancient πυρρός [pyr̥.r̥ós] (flame-coloured, redheaded) from πῦρ [pŷːr] (fire, lighning, fever), from PIE *péh₂wr̥ (fire) [source].

How did we get from coarse fabric to a desk to an office? Well, back in the 14th century the French word bureau meant a carpet on which one did one’s accounts, probably made of coarse fabric. Later a table for doing accounts, then a place where you do your accounts, and by the 16th century it meant an establishment open to the public where a service of collective interest is undertaken [source].

The word burel (a coarse woolen cloth) also exists in English and was borrowed from Old French [source], and the old word borrel (a mean, ignorant or unlearned fellow) probably comes from the same roots [source].

The English prefix pyro- (fire, heat, fever), as in pyromancy (divination by fire), pyrometer (a thermometer designed to measure high temperatures) and pyroclast (solid matter ejected into the air by an active volcano) comes from the same PIE root [source], as do such words as fire, pyre and purge [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 are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

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Celtic Pathways – Truant

By Simon

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In this episode we find out what links the word truant with words for beggar, wretch and related things in Celtic and other languages.

Begging

Truant [ˈtɹʊənt/ˈtɹuː.ənt] means:

  • Absent without permission, especially from school.
  • Wandering from business or duty; straying; loitering; idle, and shirking duty
  • One who is absent without permission, especially from school.

It comes from Middle English truant/truand (one who receives alms, a begger, vagabond, vagrant, scoundrel, rogue, shiftless or good-for-nothing fellow) from Old French truand (vagabond, beggar, rogue), either from Gaulish *trugan (wretch), or from Breton truant (beggar), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (to rub, turn, drill, pierce) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • trua [t̪ˠɾˠuə] = pity, sympathy, compassion, miserable person or wretch in Irish.
  • truaghan [truəɣan] = poor soul, poor thing or wretch in Scottish Gaelic
  • truanagh = miserable, mournful or sorrowful person in Manx
  • truan = wretch, miserable person; wretched, miserable, pathetic, poor or weak in Welsh
  • truan = sad, miserable, unfortunate or wretched in Cornish
  • truant = beggar in Breton

Other words from the same Proto-Celtic root include truand [tʁy.ɑ̃] (crook, gangster, beggar) in French [source], truhan [tɾuˈan] (scoundrel, scammer, swindler, rogue, crook, [historically] jester, buffoon) in Spanish, truão (jester) in Portuguese, and trogo (jester) in Galician [source].

Incidentally, words for truant in Celtic languages include: fánach in Irish, air falach in Scottish Gaelic, truggan in Manx, and triwant in Welsh.

What do you call the action of playing truant?

For me its skiving (off) and when you do it, you’re a skiver.

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly [afflilate link].

You can find more details of these words on the Celtiadur blog. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

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Omniglot News (04/06/23)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Numèè (Nââ kwényï), a New Caledonian language spoken in the South Province of New Caledonia.
  • Safaliba (Safale̱ba), a Northern Gur language spoken in northwestern Ghana.
  • Western Sisaala (Isaalo), a Southern Gur language spoken in the Upper West Region of northern Ghana.

New adapted script: N’Ko Français (ߣߴߞߏ ߝߙߊߣߛߊߌߛ), which is a way to write French with the N’Ko alphabet that was invented by Elija Vesna.

Sample text in N'Ko Français

New time page in Tamil (தமிழ்), a Dravidian language spoken in southern India, Sri Lanka and Singapore.

New numbers page: Frafra, Western Sisaala and Numèè.

New Tower of Babel text: Durustal, an alternative way to write Uyghur.

There’s a new Omniglot blog post about Semesters 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 Paraguay and Argentina.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Brahui (براوی), a Dravidian language spoken mainly in the Balochistan region of Pakistan.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we look into the origins of the word Friend, and find to connections to words like afraid, free and Friday.

There’s a new Celtiadur post called Hexagonal about words for six and related things 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.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

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Adventures in Etymology – Friend

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this Adventure we find out what links the word friend with words like afraid, free and Friday.

The winning quiz team

A friend [fɹɛnd] is:

  • A person, typically someone other than a family member, spouse or lover, whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.
  • A person with whom one is vaguely or indirectly acquainted.

It comes from Middle English fre(e)nd [freːnd] (A friend or compatriot; a close associate; A patron, philanthropist, or supporter; A family member; one of one’s kin), from Old English frēond [fre͜oːnd] (friend, lover) from Proto-West-Germanic *friund (friend), from Proto-Germanic *frijōndz (friend, loved one), from PIE *preyH- (to love, to please) [source].

English words from the same roots include afraid, free, proper and possibly Friday [source].

Friday? It comes from Old English frīġedæġ [ˈfriː.jeˌdæj] (Friday), from Proto-Western-Germanic *Frījā dag (Friday, “Frigg’s day”), a calque of the Latin diēs Veneris (Friday, “day of Venus”). Frījā/Frigg was the Norse goddess of love, and associated with the Roman goddess Venus. Her name possibly comes from Proto-Germanic *frijōną (to love, free, like), from *frijaz (free), from PIE *priHós (dear, beloved, happy, free), from *preyH- (to love, to please) [source].

So you could say that Friday is the day of freedom, or friendship or love, or all three. Whichever you prefer.

Incidentally, the second syllables of the names Geoffrey/Jeffrey, Godfrey, Siegfried and Winfred come ultimately from PIE *preyH- as well [source]. However, the name Winifred comes from Welsh Gwenfrewi, from gwen (white, fair, blessed) and ffrwd (brook, stream) [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 are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com