Adventures in Etymology – Haven

28th January 202328th January 2023 By Simon

In this Adventure we’re finding a safe haven and other peaceful places.

A haven [ˈheɪvən] is:

A harbour or anchorage protected from the sea
A place of safety
A peaceful place

It comes from Middle English haven(e), from Old English hæfen [ˈxæ.fen] (inlet, harbour, port), from Proto-Germanic *hab(a)nō [ˈxɑ.βɑ.nɔː] (harbour, haven), from PIE *kh₂p(ó)neh₂, from *keh₂p- (to take, seize, grasp) [source].

The English word abra, which means a narrow mountain pass, was borrowed from Spanish abra (small bay, inlet, glade, clearing), which comes from French havre (haven), and comes ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hab(a)nō via Middle Dutch, Old Dutch and Proto-West-Germanic, or Old Danish and Old Norse [source].

Other words from the same Proto-Germanic roots include Hafen (harbour, port, haven) in German, haven (harbour, port) in Dutch, hamn (harbour) in Swedish, and havn (harbour, haven) in Danish [source].

Incidentally, the word heaven doesn’t come from the same roots as haven. Instead it comes from Middle English heven(e) [ˈhɛv(ə)nə] (heaven, the heavens), from Old English heofon [ˈxe͜o.fon] (sky, heaven), from Proto-West-Germanic *hebun (sky, heaven), the roots of which are uncertain [source].

In case you’re interested, here details of the origins of the word harbour.

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.

Celtic Pathways – Fields and Quays

21st January 202321st January 2023 By Simon

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In this episode we are looking into words for field, quay and related things.

The Proto-Celtic word *kagyom means a pen or enclosure. It comes from the Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (enclosure) [Source].

Related words in modern Celtic language include:

cai [ˈalˠə] = field, orchard or crop in Old Irish
cae [ˈalarχ/ˈaːlarχ] = hedge, hedgerow, fence; field, enclosure; circle, sphere; barrier or obstruction in Welsh
ke = hedge or fence in Cornish
kae = hedge or quay in Breton

The English word quay in English, was borrowed from the French word quai (quay, wharf, platfrom), which comes from the Latin caium (storehouse, shop, workshop, quay, wharf), from the Gaulish cagiíun/*kagyom, from the Proto-Celtic *kagyom. The Portuguese word cais (quay, wharf, pier) comes from the same roots [Source].

Other words from the same roots include:

cé [kʲeː] = quay in Irish
cidhe [kʲi.ə] = quay in Scottish Gaelic
keiy = jetty or quay(side) in Manx
cei [kei̯] = quay in Welsh
kay = quay in Cornish

The Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx words for quay come from the same Proto-Celtic root, via the Anglo-Norman kay, cail (quay, wharf) and Gaulish [source]. The Welsh and Cornish words for quay also come from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Middle English, Old French and Gaulish [source].

There are quite a few other words for Fields, Meadows and Pastures in Celtic languages. You can be find more details 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.

Adventures in Etymology – Chemise

21st January 202321st January 2023 By Simon

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In this Adventure we are uncovering the origins of the word chemise and related items of clothing.

A chemise [ʃəˈmiːz] is:

A short nightdress, or similar piece of lingerie
A woman’s dress that fits loosely
A wall that lines the face of a bank or earthwork
A loose shirtlike undergarment, especially for women (historical)

It comes from French chemise (shirt, folder, chemise (wall-enforcing earthwork)), from Old French chemise, from Late Latin camīsia (shirt, nightgown), from Gaulish camisia (shirt), from Frankish *chamithia (shirt) from Proto-Germanic *hamiþiją (shirt), from PIE *ḱam- (to cover, conceal) [source].

Words from the same roots include shimmy in English, chemise (shirt, folder) in French, camisa (shirt) in Spanish, hemd (shirt, undershirt) in Dutch, Hemd (shirt) in German, and komża (surplice) in Polish [source].

The Arabic word قميص‎ (qamīṣ – shirt or robe) was probably borrowed from Latin camisia. It was also borrowed into English as kameez [kəˈmiːz], as in shalwar kameez (a loose shirt worn in some South Asian and Islamic countries), and into various languages in South Asia, via Urdu قَمِیْض (qamīz – shirt) [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.

Adventures in Etymology – Obtuse Pronking

14th January 202314th January 2023 By Simon

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In this Adventure we are being indirect and circuitous and looking for an angle on the word obtuse.

Obtuse [əbˈtjuːs] means:

Blunt, pointed or acute in form
More than 90° and less than 180°
Intellectually dull or dim-witted
Deadened, muffled or mutted (sound)
Indirect or circuitous

Obtuse comes from Middle French obtus (obtuse, boring, dull, lifeless), from the Latin obtūsus (blunt, dull, obtuse), from obtundō (to batter, beat, strike, blunt, dull), from ob- (against) and tundō (to beat, strike, bruise, crush, pound), from PIE *(s)tewd- (to push, hit) [source].

Words from the same roots include student, study and studio in English, and tundir (to shear, mow) in Spanish [source].

Also from the same roots we get the word stot, which means a leap using all four legs at once. This is what springboks, Thomson’s gazelles, pronghorns and other species do as a way to show predators that they would be difficult to catch (see below) [source].

Stotting is also known as pronking or pronging, which come from Afrikaans pronk (to show off, strut or prance), from Dutch pronken (to display, show off) [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.

Celtic Pathways – Swans

10th January 202310th January 2023 By Simon

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In this episode we are looking into words for swan.

In Proto-Celtic word for swan was *eli-, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁el- (swan, bird, waterfowl) [Source].

Related words in modern Celtic language include:

eala [ˈalˠə] = swan in Irish
eala [jal̪ˠə] = swan in Scottish Gaelic
olla(y) = (mute) swan in Manx
alarch [ˈalarχ/ˈaːlarχ] = swan, the constellation Cygnus in Welsh
alargh = (mute) swan in Cornish
alarc’h = swan in Breton

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root include alondra (lark) in Spanish, alouette (lark) in French, and allodola (skylark) in Italian. They were probably borrowed from the Gaulish alauda (skylark), from ala (swan) [Source].

Other words from the PIE root *h₁el- include auk in English, olor (swan) in Latin, alke (auk) in Danish and Norwegian, and álka (razorbill) in Faroese and Icelandic [Source].

More details of words for swan 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.

Celtic Pathways – New & Year

2nd January 20232nd January 2023 By Simon

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In this episode we are looking into words for new and year in Celtic languages.

A multilingual Happy New Year!

One Proto-Celtic word for new is *nouyos, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *néw(y)os (new), from which most words for new in Indo-European languages are descended [Source].

Related words in modern Celtic language include:

nua [n̪ˠuə / n̪ˠuː] = new, fresh, recent, novel; newness, new thing in Irish
nuadh [nuəɣ] = new, fresh, recent, novel, modern, unfamiliar in Scottish Gaelic
noa = fresh, modern, new, novel, original, recent, unused in Manx
newydd [ˈnɛu̯.ɨ̞ð] = new, recent, newly-grown, modern, late, novel, changed, fresh in Welsh
nowydh = fresh, new, novel, newly, just in Cornish
nevez [ˈne.ve] = new in Breton

The town of Noia in A Coruña in Galicia in the northwest of Spain probably gets its name from the same Proto-Celtic root, possibly via the Celtiberian nouiza [Source].

Another Proto-Celtic word for new is *ɸūros, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *puHrós (wheat), possibly from *pewH- (to be clean, pure) [Source].

Related words in modern Celtic language include:

úr [uːɾˠ] = fresh; free, liberal, moist in Irish
ùr [uːr] = new, fresh in Scottish Gaelic
oor = new, sweet, novel, sappy, crisp, span, fresh, hour, raw in Manx
ir [iːr] = verdant, green, juicy, sappy, moist, succulent in Welsh
yr [ɪ:r/iːr] = fresh in Cornish

Words from the same PIE roots include pure in English, პური (ṗuri – bread, wheat) in Georgian, and պուրի (puri – a type of Georgian bread) in Armenian [Source].

In Proto-Celtic words for year were *blēdanī/*bleido. which possibly come from the Proto-Indo-European *bʰloyd- (pale) [source].

Related words in modern Celtic language include:

bliain [bʲlʲiənʲ] = year in Irish
bliadhna [bliən̪ˠə] = year, vintage in Scottish Gaelic
blein = [blʲeːnʲ / blʲiᵈn] = year, twelvemonth in Manx
blwyddyn [ˈblʊɨ̯ðɨ̞n] = year, a long time, ages; lifetime, life in Welsh
bledhen = year in Cornish
bloavezh = year in Breton

Words from the same PIE root include бледный (pale) in Russian, бледен (pale, pallied, insignificant) in Bulgarian, and bledý (pale) in Czech [source].

More details of new and year-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.

Amok and Havoc

31st December 202231st December 2022 By Simon

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In this Adventure we’re looking into the origins of the words amok and havoc. It’s a double bill this week as I had a break for Christmas last week.

Amok [əˈmɒk/əˈmʌk] means:

Out of control, especially when armed and dangerous.
In a frenzy of violence, or on a killing spree; berserk.

It usually appears in the phrase to run amok, which means to go on a rampage, to be in an uncontrollable rage, to go beserk, to go postal or to wreak havoc [source].

Amok comes from the Portuguese amouco (amok), from the Malay amuk (to go on a killing spree, to run amok), from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *hamuk. The Tagalog word hamok (fierce fighting, brawl) and the Māori word amo (to charge, attack) come from the same roots [source].

Other English words derived from Malay include bamboo, camphor, cassowary, cockatoo, compound (as in an enclousure), gecko, gingham, gong and orangutan [source].

The word havoc [ˈhævək] means:

Widespread devastation and destruction, mayhem
to pillage, cause havoc

It comes from the Middle English havok (plunder, pillage), from the Old French havok, from havot (pillaging, looting) [source].

It appears in the phrase to wreak havoc, which means to cause damage, disruption or destruction [source]. Incidentally, I wrote about the word wreak on the Omniglot blog this week.

In Middle English it was used in the phrases crien havok (to give the signal for general plundering, and maken havok (to plunder thoroughly and indscriminately) [source]. The phrase, to cry havoc (to give an army the order to plunder) was and possibly still is used in modern English [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly [afflilate link].

I chose these words because I spent Christmas with my family (see below), including my niece and nephews, who are all under 10. While they didn’t exactly run amok or wreak havoc, a house full of young children can be a bit chaotic.

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.

Celtic Pathways – Javelin

17th December 20227th July 2023 By Simon

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In this episode we’re getting to grips with the word javelin.

A javelin is a light spear thrown with the hand and used as a weapon, or a metal-tipped spear thrown for distance in an athletic field event. It comes from the Old French javelline (javelin), a diminutive of javelot (javelin), from the Vulgar Latin *gabalottus (spear), from the Gaulish *gabalos (fork), from the Proto-Celtic gablā- (fork, forked branch), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰabʰlos (fork, branch of tree) [source].

Related words in modern Celtic language include:

gabhal [ɡoːəl̪ˠ] = bifurcation, fork, crotch, junction in Irish
gobhal [ɡoːəl̪ˠ] = bifurcation, fork, crotch, junction in Scottish Gaelic
goal = fork, branch, crotch, crutch, junction, perineum in Manx
gafl [gafl] = fork, stride, lap, inner part of the thigh, groin, angle, nook in Welsh
gowl = crotch, fork in Cornish
goal = fork in Breton

The English word gable comes from the same Gaulish root, via the Old French gable [source]. The English word gaffle (a lever used to bend a crossbow) possibly comes from the same Gaulish root, via Middle English gaffolle, the Middle Dutch gaf(f)el (fork) and the Proto-West Germanic *gabulu (fork) [source].

Words in other languages from the same Gaulish root include Gaffel (gaff) in German, gaffel (fork) in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and kahveli (gaff, fork) in Finnish [source].

More details of fork-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.

Adventures in Etymology – Snort

17th December 202217th December 2022 By Simon

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In this Adventure we are snuffling around the origins of the word snort.

Snort [snɔɹt] means:

The sound made by exhaling or inhaling roughly through the nose.
to exhale roughly through the nose; to make a snort
to inhale snuff or another snortable substance

It comes from the Middle English snorten (to snore, breathe heavily, snort), from fnorten/fnōren (to snore loudly, to snort in one’s sleep, (of a horse) to snort), from the Old English fnora (a sneeze, sneezing), from the Proto-Germanic *fnuzô, from the Proto-Indo-European *pnew- (to breathe, snort, sneeze) [source].

Words derived from snort include chortle (a joyful, somewhat muffled laugh, rather like a snorting chuckle) – a blend of chuckle and snort [source]; and snortle (a hearty laugh that is punctuated by a snort on the inhale) – a blend of snort and chortle [source].

Words from the same roots at snort include πνέω [ˈpne.o] (to blow) in Greek; niezen (to sneeze) in Dutch; sneeze, pneumonia and pneumatic in English; and fnysa (to snort, scoff, sniff, harumph) in Swedish [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.

Celtic Pathways – Coracle

11th December 202212th December 2022 By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode we’re getting out onto the river to look into the word coracle.

A coracle is a small, rounded, lightweight boat traditionally used in Wales, in parts of the West Country of England. in Ireland and in Scotland. It is made of a framework of split and interwoven willow rods, tied with willow bark and traditionally covered with an animal skin such as horse or bullock hide, with a thin layer of tar to waterproof it. These days calico, canvas or fibreglass are used instead of animal hide [source].

They are also known as currachs/curraghs in Ireland and Scotland, and these words were all borrowed from Celtic languages: coracle from Welsh, currach/curragh from Irish or Scottish Gaelic.

Related words in Celtic language include:

curach [kəˈɾˠax] = currach, coracle in Irish
curach [kurəx] = coracle, curragh, frame (of a coracle or an animal) in Scottish Gaelic
curragh [ˈkɔrʊɡ(i)] = coracle, canoe in Manx
corwg(l) = coracle, skiff; vessel, drinking vessel in Welsh
koroug = coracle in Cornish
korac’h = coracle in Breton

These words comes from the Proto-Celtic *korukos (leather boat), probably from the PIE *(s)koro- (leather), from *(s)ker- (to cut off) [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include cuir (leather) in French, cuero (leather, animal skin, hide) in Spanish and couro (leather, hide) in Portuguese [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.

Radio Omniglot

Podcasts about languages and words

Category: Etymology

Adventures in Etymology – Haven

Celtic Pathways – Fields and Quays

Adventures in Etymology – Chemise

Adventures in Etymology – Obtuse Pronking

Celtic Pathways – Swans

Celtic Pathways – New & Year

Amok and Havoc

Celtic Pathways – Javelin

Adventures in Etymology – Snort

Celtic Pathways – Coracle