Category: English

Celtic Pathways – Wool

By Simon

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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 – Rabbit 🐇

By Simon

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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.

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Celtic Pathways – Beer

By Simon

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In this episode we are investigating words for beer and related things.

P1020436

In Proto-Celtic beer was *kormi or *kurman, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *kremH- (to burn), or from *ḱr̥h₃-m- (porridge, soup), or from *ḱh₁erh₂- (to mix) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

  • coirm [kɞɾʲəmʲ] = ale, drinking-party, feast, banquet in Irish
  • cuirm [kurʲum] = feast, banquet, entertainment; ale, beer (archaic) in Scottish Gaulish
  • cuirrey = banquet, feast in Manx
  • cwrw [ˈkʊru / ˈkuːru] = beer, ale in Welsh
  • korev, kor = ale, beer in Cornish
  • korev = ale, beer in Breton

The Latin word cervēsa (beer) comes from the same Proto-Celtic roots. From this we get the Spanish word cerveza (beer), the Portuguese word cerveja (beer), the French word cervoise (ale, beer – archaic), and the Italian word cervogia (beer – archaic) [source].

Other words for beer in Celtic languages include:

  • beoir [bʲoːɾʲ] = beer in Irish
  • beòir [bjɔːrʲ] = beer in Scottish Gaulish
  • beer = beer in Manx
  • bir = beer, ale in Welsh
  • bier = ale, beer in Breton

The words in the Goidelic languages come from the Old Norse bjórr (beer), from the Proto-Germanic *beuzą [ˈbeu̯.zɑ̃] (beer), from the Proto-Indo-Eurpean *bʰews- (dross, sediment) [source]. The Welsh word were borrowed from English, and the Breton word was borrowed from French.

Sláinte! Slàinte! Slaynt! Iechyd da! Yeghes da! Yec’hed mat! (Good health! / Cheers!)

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 (18/09/22)

By Simon

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Bedawi Arabic (بدوي‎), a variety of Arabic spoken mainly in Egypt and Jordan, and also in Israel, Syria and Palestine.
  • Midland Mixe (Ayüük), a Mixe-Zoque language spoken in the Sierra Norte Region in Oaxaca in southern Mexico.
  • Berba (Byali), a Gur language spoken mainly in northern Benin, and also in Burkina Faso and Togo.

There’s a new phrases page in Basaa (Ɓǎsɔ́ɔ̀), a Western Kru language spoken in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Tedim (Tidim), a Kukish language spoken in northwestern Myanmar and northern India.
  • Acehnese (Bahsa Acèh), a Chamic language spoken in Aceh in Sumatra in Indonesia.
  • Dungan (Хуэйзў йүян), a variety of Chinese spoken in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

There’s an Omniglot blog post about Wanderwörter, which are words that have spread to many different languages, often via trade, such as tea, wine and chocolate, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this isn’t French, but it’s closely related to French.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was
Iñupiaq (Inupiatun), an Eskimo-Aleut language spoken in northern Alaska in the USA.

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

There’s an episode of the Celtic Pathways podcast about words for Bells and Clocks, and I improved the Bells and Clocks post on the Celtiadur blog.

In the Adventure in Etymology we explore into the origins of the word campus, and find out how it’s connected to words like campaign and champagne.

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 – Campus

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig

Today we are exploring origins of the word campus.

A campus [ˈkæmpəs / ˈkæmpʊs] is:

  • The grounds or property of a school, college, university, business, church, or hospital, often understood to include buildings and other structures.

It comes from the Latin campus (field. plain), from the Proto-Italic *kampos, from the Proto-Indo-European *kh₂ém-po-s, from *kh₂emp- (to bend, curve, smooth) [source].

Words from the same roots include camp, campaign and champagne in English, campo (field) in Italian, campo (country(side), field) in Portuguese, and champ (field) in French [source].

The southern Italian region of Campania, the name of which comes from the Latin campus, was the source of bronze used to make bells, which were known as campāna in Latin Latin. This comes from Campāna (of Campania) [source].

Words from the same Latin roots include: campanile (bell tower, belfry) and campanology (the study of bells) in English, campana (bell) in Italian, campana (bell, bell-shaped object, hood) in Spanish, and cumpănă (balance, scales, equilibirum) in Romanian [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 – Bells & Clocks

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode we’re looking at words for bells, clocks and related things..

Bells

The Proto-Celtic word for bell was *klokkos, which comes either from the Proto-Indo-European *klēg-/*klōg- (onomatopoeia), or from *kleg- (to cry, sound) [source].

Descendants in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • clog [klˠɔɡ] = bell, clock in Irish
  • clag [kl̪ˠag] = bell; crash, loud noise in Scottish Gaulish
  • clag = bell, clock, ball in Manx
  • cloch [kloːχ] = bell, bell-shaped object, bubble; prize, feat; o’clock in Welsh
  • klogh [klɔ:x / klo:h] = bell in Cornish
  • kloc’h = bell in Breton

The Medieval Latin word clocca possibly comes from the same Proto-Celtic root. It meant bell from the 8th century, bell-shaped clock from the 13th century and clock from the 15th century [source].

Words from the same Latin root include cloche, cloak and clock in English, cloche (bell, cover, clot) and cloque (blister) in French, klocka (clock, watch, bell) in Swedish, and Glocke (bell) in German [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 (11/09/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Isthmus Mixe (Ayüük), a Mixe-Zoque language spoken in Oaxaca in southern Mexico.
  • Isan (อีสาน), a Lao-Phuthai language spoken in the Isan region in northeastern Thailand.

There are new numbers pages in:

There’s a new family words page in: Khmer (ភាសាខ្មែរ), a Mon-Khmer language spoken mainly in Cambodia, and also in Vietnam and Thailand.

There’s a new adapted script: Tengwar for Kurdish, a way to write Kurmanji Kurdish with Tolkien’s Tengwar alphabet devised by Ersen Yeşer.

Article 1 of the UDHR in Kurdish in the Tengwar alphabet

There’s an Omniglot blog post called Sleep like a …, about idioms for sleeping well, such as sleep like a log, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Alaska, and he’s talking about repairing fishing nets.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was
Dagaare, a Gur language spoken in Ghana and Burkina Faso.

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

There’s an episode of the Celtic Pathways podcast about words for Wagons and Carts.

In the Adventure in Etymology we delve into the origins of the word nostril, 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.

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Adventures in Etymology – Nostril

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Nostrils

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.

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Celtic Pathways – Wagons and Carts

By Simon

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

Chariot

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.

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Omniglot News (04/09/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

There are new language pages about:

  • 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.

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