Category: English

Celtic Pathways – Rotten Bran

By Simon

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In this episode we discover the rotten Celtic roots of the English word bran, the Galician word braña (meadow, bog), and related words in other languages.

Rotten Bran

The Proto-Celtic word *bragnos means rotten. It comes from the PIE *bʰreHg- (to smell, have a strong odour) [source].

Descendents in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • bréan [bʲɾʲiːa̯nˠ] = foul, putrid, rotten or to pollute in Irish
  • breun [brʲeːn] = foetid, putrid, disgusting or filthy in Scottish Gaelic
  • breinn = foetid, loathsome, nasty or offensive in Manx
  • braen [braːɨ̯n] = rotten, putrid, corrupt or mouldy in Welsh
  • breyn = putrid or rotten in Cornish
  • brein [ˈbrɛ̃jn] = rotten or uncultivated in Breton

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, via the Gaulish brennos (rotten) and the Latin *brennos, include bran in English, berner (to trick, fool, hoodwink) in French [source].

The Asturian word braña (pasture, meadowland), and Galician word braña (mire, bog, marsh, moorland) possibly also come from the same Proto-Celtic root [source].

Words from the same PIE root include flair, fragrant, and bray in English, and брага [ˈbraɡə] (home brew) in Russian [source].

More about words for Rotten and related things in Celtic languages.

You can find more connections between Celtic languages 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 (03/12/23)

By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Tanga (Batanga), a Bantu language spoken in western Equatorial Guinea and western Cameroon.
  • Kili (кили), a Tungusic language spoken in the southeast of the Russian Federation, and in northeastern China

New fictional scripts: Final Fantasy scripts – the scripts that appear in the Final Fantasy X games (Al Bhed, Spiran and Yevon)

Sample letters in the Yevon script

New adapted script: Ellinovalkanikó Kyrillikó Alfávito (Greek Balkan Cyrillic Alphabet), a way to write Greek with the Cyrillic alphabet devised by Xavier Merica.

О́лоі і а́нђръпоі гэнніои́нтаі элэи́ђэроі хаі і́соі стьн аціопрэ́пэіа хаі та діхаіъ́мата. Эі́наі проіхісмэ́ноі мэ логіхь́ хаі синэі́дьсь, хаі офэі́лоин на симпэріфэ́ронтаі мэтаци́ тоис мэ пнэи́ма адэлфоси́ньс.

New adapted script: Diacritical English, a compact way to write English mainly with the Cyillic alphabet with added diacritics invented by Ava Robbins-Kräg.

л̭̀ х̄м̂н б́̌ŋс р̭́ б̃рн фр́́ н̭д к̗ы̄̂л н̬ д̌гн̌т̌ н̭д р̌гхтс. ð́̌ р̭́ н̗д̃ы́д ы̌ð р́̂с̃н н̭д к̃нс̌́нс́ н̭д ш̃̄лд к̭т т̃ы̂рдс н̰́ н̭̃ð́р н̬ а сп̌р̌т ф̰ бр̃ð́рх̃̃д.

New Tower of Babel translation: Aringa, a Central Sudanic language spoken in the northwest of Uganda.

There’s a new Omniglot blog post entitled Titles about titles like Ms, Mx, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this is a Sinitic language.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Ingrian (Ižoran keeli), a Finnic language spoken in the Leningrad Oblast in the northwest of the Russia Federation.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, entitled Finger, we find out what the words finger, fist and Pompeii have in common.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post called Weak and Feeble about words for weak, feeble and related things.

Improved pages: Fang, Toda, Tindi, Tiriyó language pages.

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 – Finger

By Simon

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In this adventure, we’re poking the origins of the word finger.

fingers

A finger is:

  • A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb.
  • Similar or similar-looking extremities in other animals.

It comes from Middle English fynger (finger, toes), from Old English finger (finger), from Proto-West-Germanic *fingr (finger), from Proto-Germanic *fingraz [ˈɸiŋ.ɡrɑz] (finger), probably from PIE *penkʷrós, from *pénkʷe (five) [source].

Words from the same Proto-Germanic roots include vinger (finger) in Dutch, Finger (finger) in German, and finger (finger) in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include five, fist, pentagon (and other words beginning with penta-) in English, and words for five in most Indo-European languages [source]

Incidentally, the name of the Roman town of Pompeii, which was destroyed in an eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, also comes from the same roots, via the Oscan word 𐌐𐌖𐌌𐌐𐌄 (pumpe – five), a reference to its five districts [source].

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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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.

Celtic Pathways – Whisk(e)y and Biscuits

By Simon

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In this episode we’re gazing into the origins of the words whisk(e)y and bourbon, both of which have Celtic roots.

Whisky

Whisk(e)y is a liquor distilled from the fermented mash of grain (such as barley, rye or corn). It’s typically written with an e in Scotland, Canada and Australia, and without an e in Ireland, England and the USA. This distinction emerged in the 19th century.

It was borrowed from the Irish uisce beatha [ˈɪʃcə ˈbʲahə]) and/or the Scottish Gaelic uisge-beatha [ˈɯʃkʲə ˈbɛhə], both of which mean “water of life” and which are calques of the Latin aqua vitae (“water of life”) [source].

The spelling and pronounciation of this word in English has varied over time: uskebeaghe (1581), usquebaugh (1610), usquebath (1621), and usquebae (1715). These were abbreviated to usque, which became whisk(e)y, which first appeared in writing in 1715 [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • uisce [ˈɪʃk̟ɪ] = water, rain, tears, saliva and in Irish
  • uisge [ɯʃgʲə] = water, rain in Scottish Gaelic
  • ushtey [ˈuʃtʲə] = water in Manx
  • beatha [ˈbʲahə] = life, living, sustenance in Irish
  • beatha [bɛhə] = life, existence, food in Scottish Gaelic
  • bea = animation, life, lifespan in Manx
  • bywyd [ˈbəu̯ɨ̞d/ˈbou̯ɪd] = life, existence; liveliness in Welsh
  • bewnans [‘bɛʊnans] = life, living in Cornish Gaelic
  • buhez [ˈbyːe(z)] = life in Breton

More about words for water and life in Celtic languages.

Forteresse médiévale
Bourbon l’Archambault

The word bourbon refers to a type of whiskey, named after Bourbon County in Kentucky, and/or Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Both names come from the French House of Bourbon, which is named after the lordship of Bourbon l’Archambault, which is now a town in the Allier department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central France [source].

Untitled
Bourbon biscuits

In the UK a Bourbon (biscuit) is a sandwich biscuit consisting of two thin rectangular dark chocolate-flavoured biscuits with a chocolate buttercream filling. The name also comes from the French House of Bourbon. According to a 2009 survey, it’s the fifth most popular biscuit in the UK for dunking in tea [source].

The French name Bourbon comes from Borvo, the name of a Celtic deity associated with hot springs, from Proto-Celtic *borvo (froth, foam), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁- (to be hot, boil).

Words from the same PIE root include bruth (heat, rash, eruption) in Irish, bruth (heat, fire) in Scottish Gaelic, brooan (rash, eruption) in Manx, brwd (eager, keen, passionate) in Welsh, broud (ember, excitement) in Breton [more details of these words], and also bread, brew, broth, burn and fervor in English [source].

You can find more connections between Celtic and other languages 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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Adventures in Etymology – Bone

By Simon

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In this adventure we’re uncovering the origins of the word bone.

Bones

A bone is:

  • A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates.
  • Any of the components of an endoskeleton, made of bone.

It comes from Middle English bon (bone), from Old English bān [bɑːn] (bone, ivory), from Proto-Germanic bainą [ˈbɑi̯.nɑ̃] (leg, bone), from *bainaz [ˈbɑi̯.nɑz] (straight), from PIE *bʰeyh₂- (to hit, strike, hew, cut) [source].

Words from the same roots include been (leg, limb, side) in Dutch, Bein (leg) in German, ben (leg, bone, sinecure) in Danish, bít (to beat, fight) in Czech, and buain (harvest, reap, cut) in Scottish Gaelic [source].

Incidentally, in Old English a poetic way to refer to the body was bānhūs [ˈbɑːnˌhuːs] (“bone house”). It was also called a sāwolhūs [ˈsɑː.welˌhuːs] (“soul house”) or feorhhūs [ˈfe͜orˠxˌhuːs] (“life/soul house”) [source].

Here’s a song in Scottish Gaelic about cutting the bracken (buain na rainich) called ‘Tha mi sgìth’ (I’m tired), sung by Brian Ó hEadhra:

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

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.

Omniglot News (12/11/23)

By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Waorani (Wao Terero), a languge isolate spoken in eastern Ecuador and also in Peru.
  • Lhao Vo (Lhaovo), a Burmish language spoken mainly in northern Myanmar, and also in the southwest of China.
  • Lashi (Lacid), a Burmish language spoken in southwestern China and northeastern Myanmar.
  • Rawang (Rvwàng), a Nungish language spoken mainly in northern Myanmar, and also in southwestern China and northeastern India.

New constructed script: Silabario Amazónico, a syllabic script for indigenous Amazonian and Andean languages created by Juan Casco from Ecuador.

Sample text in Silabario Amazónico

New numbers pages:

  • Kulisusu (Pogau Kolinsusu), a Celebic language spoken mainly on Buton Island in Southeast Sulawesi Province in Indonesia.
  • Tukang Besi, a Celebic language spoken in the Tukangbesi Islands in Southeast Sulawesi Province in Indonesia.
  • Cia-Cia (Bahasa Ciacia / 바하사 찌아찌아), a Celebic language spoken on the Buton, Binongko and Batu Atas islands in Southeast Sulawesi Province in Indonesia.
  • Kurtöp, an East Bodish language spoken in the Lhuntse District in northeast Bhutan.

On the Omniglot blog we explore the question What is Writing?, and there’s a post entitled Tarragon Dragons in which we find out what links the word tarragon with dragons, 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 Bhutan.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Sirmauri (सिरमौरी), a Western Pahari language spoken in Himachal Pradesh in northern India.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, we’re Holding On to some words about holding and related things in Celtic and other languages.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post called Facing Opposition and related things, and I made improvements to the posts entitled Happy & fortunate and Animals

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Korean with KoreanClass101

Celtic Pathways – Holding On

By Simon

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In this episode we’re getting to grips with words for holding and and related things.

Paimpol - Breton Dance Display

A Proto-Celtic word for to grab, seize, take or hold is *gabyeti, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ- (to grab, take) [source].

Descendents in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • gabh [ɡavʲ/ɡo(ː)] = to take, arrest, go, come in Irish
  • gabh [gav] = take, go, recite, break (in) in Scottish Gaelic
  • gow = to take in Manx
  • gafael [ˈɡavaɨ̯l/ˈɡaːvai̯l] = to hold, grasp, grip in Welsh
  • gavel = capacity, grasp in Cornish

There doesn’t appear to be a related word in Breton.

The Spanish word gavilla (sheaf, gang, band) comes from the same Proto-Celtic root, via the Late Latin gabella and the Gaulish *gabali (taking, seizure) [source].

The word gwall (large amount), and which is apparently used in the English of Cork in Ireland comes from same Celtic roots via the Irish word gabháil (catch, seizure, assumption) [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include able, debt, debit, doubt and habit in English, avere (to have) in Italian, avoir (to have) in French, and haber (to hold, possess) in Spanish [source].

You can find more details of words for Taking Hold 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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

Omniglot News (05/11/23)

By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Sawila (Manata), an East Alor language spoken in the Alor Regency in East Nusa Tenggara Province in southern Indonesia.
  • Karai-karai (bo Karaikarai), a West Chadic language spoken mainly in Yobe State in the northeast of Nigeria.
  • Bole (bṑ pìkkà), a West Chadic language spoken mainly in Yobe and Gombe states in the northeast of Nigeria.
  • Zaiwa (Zaiwa mying), a Burmish language spoken in southwestern China and northeastern Myanmar.

New numbers pages:

  • Bole (bṑ pìkkà), a West Chadic language spoken mainly in Yobe and Gombe states in the northeast of Nigeria.
  • Badaga (படகா / ಬಡಗ), a southern Dravidian language spoken in Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India.
  • Tokodede, a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken in East Timor.

There’s a new idiom page with versions of the saying As Snug as a Bug in a Rug in various languages.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post about Snudging & Snuggling and related words, 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 Himachal Pradesh in northern India.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Guambiano (Nam Trik), a Barbacoan language spoken in southwestern Colombia.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology podcast, we uncover the origins of the word Ghost 👻, and find out where that ghostly h comes from.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post about words for Order and related things, and I made improvements to the posts entitled Bad, Frosty Ice and Quick, Fast & Lively.

I also made separate pages for the Lisu language and the Fraser 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.

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 Korean with KoreanClass101

Adventures in Etymology – Ghost

By Simon

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In this adventure we’re uncovering the origins of the word ghost.

Ghosts

A ghost is:

  • The disembodied soul; the soul or spirit of a deceased person; a spirit appearing after death
  • Any faint shadowy semblance; an unsubstantial image.

It comes from Middle English gost (angel, devil, spirit, the Holy Ghost), from Old English gāst [ɡɑːst] (spirit, ghost, breath, demon), from Proto-West-Germanic *gaist (ghost, spirit), from Proto-Germanic *gaistaz (terror, fear, spirit, ghost, mind), from PIE *ǵʰéysd-os, from *ǵʰeysd- (anger, agitation) [source].

Words from the same roots include geisa (to rage, storm) in Icelandic, gast (ghost) in Swedish, geest (ghost spirit, mind) in Dutch and ghastly and poltergeist in English, [source].

Incidentally, the h in ghost mysteriously materialised, a bit like a ghost, in the Prologue to William Caxton’s Royal Book, printed in 1484, in a reference to the ‘Holy Ghoost’. It was probably his assistant, Wynkyn de Worde, who was responsible, and who was influenced by Flemish word gheest (ghost) [source].

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

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.

Omniglot News (29/10/23)

By Simon

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Arhuaco (Ikʉ), a Chibchan language spoken in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region in northern Colombia.
  • Mussau-Emira, an Oceanic language spoken on the islands of Mussau and Emira in New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea.
  • Gumuz (ŋgiša baha), a Nilo-Saharan language spoken in northwestern Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan.
  • Avatime (Sị̀yàsɛ̄̀), a Kwa language spoken in eastern Ghana.

New adapted script: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Arabialainen Kirjaimisto (سوُوَمالایس-ئوُگریلاینەن ئارابیئالاینەن کیریامیستوَ ) / Finno-Ugric Arabic Alphabet, an adaptation of the Arabic script to write Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian devised by A. Elbrens.

Article 1 of the UDHR in Suomalais-Ugrilainen Arabialainen Kirjaimisto (Finno-Ugric Arabic Alphabet)

New numbers pages:

  • Arhuaco (Ikʉ), a Chibchan language spoken in northern Colombia.
  • Mussau-Emira, an Oceanic language spoken in New Ireland Province in Papua New Guinea
  • Kumak, a Northern New Caledonian language spoken in the North Province of New Caledonia

New idiom page: The Grass is Always Greener (on the other side of the fence) containing equivalents of this saying in various languages.

I also wrote a new song based on this idiom called The Side Other. It goes something like this:

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post called Losing the North, which is about various ways to say that you’re lost, dazed or confused in French, 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 Colombia.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Zaiwa (Tsaiwa), a Burmish language spoken in southwestern China and eastern Myanmar.

There are new Celtiadur posts about words for Sure, Certainly and Hiding & Concealment, and I made improvements to the post about words for Hills.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, entitled Protruberences, we look into words for hill, breast and related things in Celtic languages, and find related words in other 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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Korean with KoreanClass101