Category: Language

Adventures in Etymology – Jail / Gaol

By Simon

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In this Adventure we unlock the origins of the word jail / gaol.

Kilmainham Gaol

A jail / gaol [d͡ʒeɪ(ə)l] is:

  • A place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody.

Gaol was the standard spelling in the UK and Australia until about the 1930s, when apparently the game Monopoly popularised the jail spelling. It comes from the Middle English gai(o)le (jail, prison, birdcage), from the Old North French gaiole (cave, prison), from the Medieval Latin gabiola (cage) from the Late Latin caveola, a diminuative of cavea (hollow, cavity, cage), from cavus (hollow, concave) [source].

Jail comes from the Middle English jaile (jail, prison, birdcage), from the Old French jaiole (cage, prison), from the same Latin roots as gaol. Both words come from the Proto-Italic *kawos, and possibly from the PIE *ḱowh₁ós (hollow), from *ḱewh₁- (to swell) [source].

English words from the same roots include cave, cavern, cavity, cage and church [source].

Apparently in the USA a jail is under the jurisdiction of a local government (such as a county) and is used to confine people awaiting trail or those convicted of minor crimes [source], while a prison is under state jurisdiction and is used to confine those convicted of serious crimes [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.

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Omniglot News (04/12/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Akkala Sámi (Аһккэла саамь киилл), an Eastern Sámi language that was spoken on the Kola Peninsula in the Murmansk Oblast in the northwest of Russia.
  • East (James Bay) Cree (ᐄᔨᔫ ᐊᔨᒨᓐ / Îyiyû Ayimûn), a Cree language spoken around James Bay in northern Quebec in Canada.
  • Vitu, a Western Oceanic language spoken on the islands of Big Vitu (Garove) and Mudua in West New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea.

New constructed script: Ladowshand, which was created by Arcee Gonepike as an alternative way to write English

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Ladowshand

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Vitu, a Western Oceanic language spoken in West New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea.
  • Yelmek, a Bulaka River language spoken in West Papua in Indonesia.
  • Biak (wós Vyak), a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken in the Biak Islands in Papua Province in eastern Indonesia.
  • Kelabit (karuh Kelabit), a North Bornean language spoken in Sarawak in Malaysia.

There a new translation of the Tower of Babel story in Eastern Arrernte, a Pama-Nyungan language spoken in Central Australia.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post about idiomatic ways to say you’re happy in English and Scottish Gaelic called As Happy As A Shoe, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this is a Phippine language, but isn’t spoken in the Philippines

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Susu (Sosoxui), a Western Mande language spoken in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Sierra Leone in West Africa.

There’s a Celtiadur post about words for Boots and Shoes and one about Foreheads and related things in Celtic languages.

This week we have a joint Adventures in Etymology and Celtic Pathways podcast about the word brogue.

I also made improvements to the Klallam and Koasati 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.

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Adventures in Etymology / Celtic Pathways – Brogue

By Simon

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In this episode we’re look into the tangled origins of the word brogue. I decided to make this a joint Adventures in Etymology / Celtic Pathways episode rather doing two separate ones. I hope you don’t mind.

John Baker's Doppelmonk Brogue K188 Kalbsleder hellbraun (brown) (1)

The word brogue in English refers to a type of shoe, or a strong accent, particularly a strong Irish accent when speaking English, although it originally referred to Irish spoken with a strong English accent, or a heavy shoe of untanned leather.

It comes from the Irish word bróg (boot, shoe), from the Old Irish bróc [broːɡ] (shoe, sandal, greave), from the Old Norse brók (trousers, breeches) or the Old English brōc (underpants), both of which come from the Proto-Germanic *brōks (rear end, rump, leggings, pants, trousers), from the PIE *bʰreg- (to break, crack, split) [source].

Related words in other Celtic languages include:

  • bròg [brɔːg] = shoe, boot, hoof in Scottish Gaelic
  • braag = brogue, shoe in Manx
  • brog = brogue (shoe) in Welsh

Brogue in the sense of accent might come from the Irish word barróg (hug, wrestling grip, brogue, impediment of speech) [source], which comes from the Old Irish barróc (fast hold, tight grip, embrace, gripe, stitch) [source],

Other words from the Proto-Germanic root *brōks include breeches/britches in English, brók (trousers, underpants) in Icelandic and Faroese, brok (trousers) in Swedish and Norwegian, and broek (trousers) in Dutch [source].

The Irish word bríste (trousers), the Manx word breeçhyn (breeches) and the Welsh word brits/britsh (breeches) were borrowed from the English word breeches. The Scottish Gaelic word briogais (trousers) comes from the Scots breeks (trousers, breeches), from the Middle English breke, from the Old English brēċ [breːt͡ʃ] (underpants) [source].

More details of shoe– and trouser-related words in Celtic languages can be found 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.

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 (27/11/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Aneityum (Anejom̃), a Southern Oceanic language spoken on Aneityum Island in Tafea Province in the south of Vanuatu.
  • Kokota (Ooe Kokota), a Western Oceanic language spoken on Santa Isabel Island in Isabel Province in the Solomon Islands.
  • Nobonob, a Madang language spoken in Madang Province in Papua New Guinea.

New constructed script: Latin Partabet, which is an alternative way to write English using parts of Latin letters.

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Latin Partabet

New adapated script: Japan Arabic, a way to write Japanese with the Arabic script.

سوبوتي نو نينڬين وا جييوٓ ني اوماري، سونڬين تو كينري نو تيندي بيوٓدوٓديسو. كاريرا ني وا ايشيكي‌ تو كنجوٓ ڬا اري، اوتاڬاي ني كوٓدوٓ سورو هيتسويوٓ ڬا اريماسو كيوٓداي أي نو سييشين دي.

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Manam, a Western Oceanic language spoken on Manam Island in Papua New Guinea.
  • Sursurunga, a Western Oceanic language spoken in Namatanai district of New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea.
  • Western Subanon (Sinubanon), a Philippine language spoken on the Zamboanga Peninsula in the Mindanao region of the Philippines.
  • Kokota (Ooe Kokota), a Western Oceanic language spoken on Santa Isabel Island in Isabel Province in the Solomon Islands.

New Tower of Babel translation in Aneityum

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post called Water Trumpets, which is about the French phrase une trombe d’eau (cloudburst, downpour), 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 parts of West Africa.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Inuinnaqtun, an Inuit language spoken in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, of Canada.

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

On the Celtic Pathways podcast we’re examining some words for flowers and related things.

In the Adventure in Etymology we’re looking into the origins of the word quiver, both the quiver for arrows, and quiver as in to shake, which come from different roots.

In other news, I went to a concert this week featuring N’famady Kouyaté, a singer and musician from Guinea in West Africa, who is based in Cardiff in Wales. He sings in Mandinka and Susu, and possibly in other languages, and also adds bits of English and Welsh in some songs. It was great fun. Here are a couple of his songs:

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 – Quiver

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this Adventure we investigate the origins of the word quiver.

Mongol Bow and Arrow Quiver

A quiver [ˈkwɪvə / ˈkwɪvɚ] is:

  • A portable case for holding arrows
  • A collection or store

To quiver means:

  • To shake with a slight, rapid, tremulous movement
  • To tremble, as from cold or strong emotion.

Quiver as an adjective means:

  • fast, speedy, rapid
  • energetic, vigourous, vibrant

The quiver for arrows comes from the Middle English quiver/whiver (a quiver, arrow case, case for a bow) from the Anglo-Norman quivre (a quiver), from the Old Dutch cocere/kokere (a quiver, case) from the Proto-West Germanic *kukur (container), possibly from Hunnic and/or ultimately from Proto-Mongolic *kökexür (leather vessel for liquids, snuff bottle) [source].

Words from the same Proto-Mongolic root include хөхүүр / ᠬᠥᠬᠦᠦᠷ [xoxur] (leather bag for holding liquid, wineskin, waterskin, snuffbox) in Mongolian, koker [ˈkoː.kər] (tube, cylinder, quiver) in Dutch, Köcher [ˈkœçɐ] (a quiver) in German, and kukkaro [ˈkukːɑro] (purse) in Finnish [source].

The verb to quiver and the adjective quiver (fast, energetic, vigourous) come from the Middle English quvier/cwiver (active, agile, lively, brisk, quick), from the Old English *cwifer, possibly related to cwic (alive. living, intelligent, keen), from which we get the modern English word quick [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 – Flowers

By Simon

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In this episode we’re look into words for flowers and related things.

View from Sabhal Mòr Ostaig

In Proto-Celtic, the word *blātus meant flower of blossom. It comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰleh₃- (bloom, flower) [source].

Descendents in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • bláth [bˠl̪ˠɑː/bˠl̪ˠaː] = blossom, flower; bloom, beauty, prime; prosperity or abundance in Irish
  • blàth [bl̪ˠaː] = bloom, blossom, flower, consequence, effect or heyday in Scottish Gaelic
  • blaa [bleː] = bloom, blossom, flower, heyday or pride in Manx
  • blodyn [ˈblɔdɨ̞n / ˈbloːdɪn] = flower, bloom, blossoms, florets, flowering plant or petal in Welsh
  • bleujen [ˈblɛdʒən] = blossom or flower in Cornish
  • bleuñv [blœ̃w] = flowers, flowering, apogee or menstruation in Breton

The Proto-Celtic word *blātus became *blātōnā (flower) in Gaulish, which was borrowed into Medieval Latin as blādōna (mullein – plants of the genus Verbascum), which became belladonna (a.k.a. deadly nightshade / Atropa belladonna) in Italian [source].

English words from the same PIE root include bloom, blossom, blade, flower, flour, flourish, foliage and folio [source].

Incidentally, words meaning flour in some Celtic languages come from the same PIE root, via Anglo-Norman, Old French, Latin and Proto-Italic. They include fflŵr/fflowr in Welsh, flooyr in Manx, flùr in Scottish Gaelic, and plúr in Irish, which also means flower [more details].

More details of flower-related words in Celtic languages can be found 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.

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 – Nonchalant

By Simon

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In this Adventure we’re calmly looking into the origins of the word nonchalant.

Isabelle

Nonchalant [ˈnɒn.ʃəl.ənt / ˌnɑn.ʃəˈlɑnt] means:

  • casually calm and relaxed
  • indifferent, unconcerned, behaving as if detached

It comes from the French nonchalant (indolent, cool, relaxed) from the Old French nonchaloir (to have no importance, indifference), from non- (not) and chaloir (to heat, bother, concern), from the Latin calēre (to matter or care) from caleō (I am warm or hot, I glow) [source].

Words from the same Latin roots include calorie, cauldron, chowder, caldera, coddle and scald in English, calor (heat) in Spanish, and chaleur (heat, warmth, fervour) in French [source].

If you can be nonchalant, can you be chalant? Well, the word chalent does exist, at least in informal use, and means careful, attentive or concerned [source], or concerning, frustrating and possibly hostile [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 (13/11/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Nengone (p’ene nengone), a Southern Oceanic language spoken mainly on Maré and Tiga islands, which are part Loyalty Islands Province in New Caledonia.
  • Daakaka, a Southern Oceanic language spoken in the southwest of Ambrym Island in Malampa Province of Vanuatu
  • Sa (Lokit), a Southern Oceanic language spoken in the south of Pentecost Island in Penama Province of Vanuatu.

New constructed script: Cebuano Script (Suwat Sinugbu), which was created by John Clement Husain and Mares Barrioquinto as an alternative way to write Cebuano (Bisaya), a Philippine language spoken mainly in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines.

Sample text in the Cebuano Script

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Etruscan (mekh Rasnal), a language that was spoken in Eturia in Italy from about 600 BC to the 5th century AD.
  • Nengone (p’ene nengone), a Southern Oceanic language spoken mainly on Maré and Tiga islands in New Caledonia.
  • Ingrian (Ižoran keeli), a Finno-Ugric language spoken in the Ingria region in the northwest of the Russian Federation.

There’s a new version of the Tower of Babel story in Lun Bawang, a North Bornean language spoken in the Sesayap river area of North Kalimantan province in Indonesia.

There’s an Omniglot blog post about the word Myriad and other ways to refer to a large or countless number, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in the Northern Territory of Australia.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Cimbrian (Tzimbrisch), a Germanic language spoken in northeastern Italy.

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

On the Celtic Pathways podcast we’re looking at some Crooked and Twisted words.

In the Adventure in Etymology we’re getting perplexed and confused by the origins of the word Befuddle.

I joined Mastodon this week, specifically Polyglot City. I’ll be posting there fairly regularly as Omniglot. Join me if you’d like to.

In other news, I went to a concert this week featuring the Welsh harpist, Catrin Finch, and the Senegalese kora player, Seckou Keita, who sang in Wolof and Mandinka – not languages you hear very often in Bangor.

Here’s one of the tunes they played:

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 – Befuddle

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this Adventure in Etymology we are getting perplexed and confused by the origins of the word befuddle.

Golden Lion Tamarin (Leontopithicus rosalia)

Befuddle [bɪˈfʌdl] means:

  • to perplex or confuse (sb)
  • to stupefy (sb), especially with alcohol

It comes from be- (a prefix) and fuddle (to confuse, intoxicate, get drunk; intoxication, a muddle or confusion) [source], possibly from the Low German fud(d)eln (to work negligently) [source].

Related words include befuddlement (a state of being befuddled), fuddlesome (confusing), fuddler (drunkard) and fuddling (intoxication).

Incidentally, in some English dialects, such as in Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Bedfordshire, a fuddle is a party or picnic where attendees bring food and wine.

Such an event might also be called a potluck, potluck dinner, pitch-in, shared lunch, faith supper, covered-dish supper, Jacob’s Join, bring a plate or fellowship meal [source]. Other names are available. What would you call it?

According to the description of the photo, which is of a Golden Lion Tamarin (Leontopithicus rosalia) by the way, “Tamarins are easy to confuse. I just asked him what the square root of 5 was, and he got all befuddled.” So it’s a good way to illustrate befuddlement, and I like to use photos of cute animals on my posts, because why the hell not?

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 – Crooked and Twisted

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode we’re looking at some crooked and twisted words.

Spiral staircase in Conwy / Grisiau troellog yng Nghonwy

In Proto-Celtic, the word *kambos meant twisted, crooked or bent. It comes from the Proto-Indo-European word *kh₂em- (to arch, bend, curve), from *(s)ḱh₂embos (crooked) [source].

Descendents in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • cam [kaumˠ] = bend, bent, crooked, crookedness, fraud; to bend, crook, distort in Irish
  • cam [kaum] = bent, crooked, awry, not straight, squinty, wry, one-eyed; bend, curve, trick in Scottish Gaelic
  • cam = bent, crooked, deceitful, intricate, knotty, perverse, rakish, wry, wrong in Manx
  • cam [kam] = crooked, bent, hunch-backed, distorted, wry, bowed, curved, looped, winding in Welsh
  • kamm = bent, crooked, erroneous, error, wrong in Cornish
  • kamm = angled, bent, bend in Breton

The Proto-Celtic word *kambos is the root of the Galician words camba (doorjamb of an oven, handmill), cambar (to bend), cambiar (to change) [source]. The word cambiar (to change) in Spanish and Portuguese, and the word change in English come from the same Celtic roots [source].

*kambos is possibly also the root of the French word as camus [ka.my] (flat-nosed, snub-nosed) [source], which was borrowed into English as camous/camoys (flat, depressed, crooked nose – used until the 19th century) [source].

The English word kam (crooked, awry) was borrowed from the Welsh word cam, but is no longer used [source].

The name Campbell comes from the Scottish Gaelic Caimbeul, from cam (crooked) and beul (mouth) [source], while Cameron comes from Camshròn, from cam (crooked) and sròn (nose) [source].

More details of crooked words in Celtic languages can be found 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.

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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