Category: Adventures in Etymology

Adventures in Etymology – Journey

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we’re going on a journey to find out what links the word journey with words for day, heaven and god.

Teelin / Teileann

Meanings of journey [ˈdʒɜːni / ˈdʒɝni] include:

  • A set amount of travelling, seen as a single unit; a discrete trip, a voyage.
  • Any process or progression likened to a journey, especially one that involves difficulties or personal development.
  • To travel, to make a trip or voyage.

It used to mean a day, a day’s travelling or work, and an also refer to a group of giraffes.

It comes from Middle English journe [dʒurˈneː] (an endeavour, enterprise, attempt, journey, battle), from Old French journee [dʒuɾˈneːə] (day, daytime, a day’s journey or work, day of battle) from Vulgar Latin *diurnāta [jorˈnada] (the span of a day) from Latin diurnum (of the day, daily) from diēs (day), ultimately from PIE *dyḗws (heaven, sky) [source].

Words from the same roots include and deity, diary, diva, divine, journal, Tuesday, Jupiter and Zeus in English, journée (day, daytime) in French, giornata (day) in Italian, dia (day) in Portuguese, and dia / Dia (a god, God) in Irish [source].

In Old English, a word for journey was faru [ˈfɑ.ru]. It’s related to the modern English fare (money paid for transport, a paying passenger, food and drink), which used to mean a journey, voyage, course or passage. Farewell also comes from the same roots [source].

I had a bit of a cold when I recorded this, so if my voice sounds a bit croaky, you know why.

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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 blog.

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Adventures in Etymology – Escape

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we free ourselves by looking into the word escape.

Escape

Escape [ɪˈskeɪp / əˈskeɪp] can mean:

  • To get free; to free oneself.
  • To avoid (any unpleasant person or thing); to elude, get away from
  • To avoid capture; to get away with something, avoid punishment
  • To elude the observation or notice of; to not be seen or remembered by

It comes from Middle English escāpen (to free oneself, get away, avoid, elude), from Old Northern French escaper (to evade, avoid) from Vulgar Latin *excappāre (to escape) from ex- (out) and cappa (cape, cloak), or literally “to get out of one’s cape; to leave a pursuer with just one’s cape” [source].

Words from the same roots include escapade (a daring or adventurous act; an undertaking which goes against convention) in English, scappare (to run away, flee, escape) in Italian, échapper (to escape, evade) in French, and escapar (to escape, get out, run away) in Spanish [source].

The English word scamper (to run lightly and quickly, especially in a playful or undignified manner) possibly comes from similar roots, via Middle Dutch schamperen (to insult, scorn, dishonour), Old French esc(h)amper (to break loose) and Vulgar Latin *excampāre, from ex- (out) and campō, from campus (field) [source].

Other interesting English word related to escaping include:

  • absquatulate = to leave quickly or in a hurry, to depart, flee, abscond – a jocular mock-Latin word coined in the USA in the 1830s from abscond, squat and perambulate [source].
  • skedaddle = to move or run away quickly – appeared in the USA in the 1860s. Possibly from scaddle, a UK dialect word meaning to run off in fright [source].
  • vamoose = to run away, flee, hurry – from Spanish vamos (we go) or vámonos (let’s go) [source].

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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 blog.

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Adventures in Etymology – Landlubber

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we look into the word landlubber, and related words in English and other languages.

His Majesty's Ship (HMS) Gaspee

A landlubber [ˈlænd.lʌ.bə / ˈlænd.lʌ.bɚ] is:

  • Someone unfamiliar with the sea or seamanship, especially a novice seaman.

It comes from lubber (a big, clumsy, stupid fellow who lives in idleness), from Middle English lobre (lazy lout) from lobbe (a lump), or from Old French lobeor (swindler, parasite), or from a Nordic word [source].

Related words include abbey-lubber (an able-bodied idler who grew sleek and fat from the charity of religious houses; a lazy monk), lubberly (clumsy, awkward, coarse), lubberland (a land of plenty), and lubberwort (a mythical herb that produces laziness) [source].

Landlubbers are also known as landsmen, land-lopers or fresh-water seamen in English.

Words in other languages for landlubber include landkrabbe (“land crab”) in Danish, landrot (“land rat”) in Dutch, and marin d’eau douce (“freshwater mariner”) in French [source].

Experienced sailors and seaman used to call themselves, and were called (Jolly) Jack Tars or Tars in English. The name Jack is/was used as a generic name, in the UK at least, and tar is probably related to the use of tar on ships to make things waterproof [source].

For more seafaring-related words, see this Omniglot blog post: Buckling Swashes, and this podcast, which inspired this post:

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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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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 blog.

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Adventures in Etymology – Dinkus

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we find out what the dickens a dinkus is, and what to do with an asterism.

Dinkus

A dinkus is:

  • A small drawing or artwork used for decoration in a magazine or periodical.
  • A small ornament, usually a line of three asterisks (* * *), especially for the purpose of breaking up sections of a chapter, article, or other text
⁎⁎⁎

It comes from German Ding (thing), from Old High German thing [ðinɡ] (thing, object, matter, case), from Proto-West Germanic *þing (court session, lawsuit, affair, matter, thing, object), from Proto-Germanic *þingą (date, appointment, meeting, assembly, matter, issue) [source].

Words from the same roots include thing in English, ding (matter, thing) in Dutch, þing [θiŋk] (assembly, meeting, council, parliament) in Icelandic, and ting (thing, court of law, legislative assembly) in Swedish [source].

Dinkus should not be confused with dingus, which can refer to something whose name you’ve forgot, i.e. a thingamajig, whatchamacallit, etc in North American and South African. In the USA and Canada it can also refer to a foolish, incompetent, or silly person [source].

Dingus was possibly borrowed from Dutch and/or Afrikaans dinges (thingamajig, whatshisname) and ding (thing).

An asterism is:

  • A rarely used typographical symbol (⁂, three asterisks arranged in a triangle), used to call attention to a passage or to separate subchapters in a book (like a dinkus).
  • An unofficial constellation (small group of stars that forms a visible pattern).
⁂

It comes from Ancient Greek ἀστερισμός [ˈæs.təˌɹɪz.əm] (a group of stars), from ἀστήρ [asˈtir] (star, planet, illustrious person, starfish) [source].

Asterism is also the name of a Japanese band:

The word asterisk (*) comes from the same roots, via Late Latin asteriscus (small star and Ancient Greek ἀστερῐ́σκος [as.teˈris.kos] (small star) [source].

Two asterisks on top of each other (⁑) are apparently used in texts to denote emphasis, comments, footnotes, corrections, or other similar annotations [source].

Parc Asterix

Incidentally, Asterix, the Gaulish hero of the comic books by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, gets his name from the French word astérisque (asterisk) combined with the Gaulish word *rīx (king) [source].

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Podchaser, Podbay or Podtail and other pod places.

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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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 blog.

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Adventures in Etymology – Stable Stables

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we find out whether the words stable (a building for horses) and stable (steady, permanent) are related.

Stables

A stable is:

  • a building for the lodging and feeding of horses, cattle, etc.
  • a collection of animals housed in such a building. [other meanings are available]

It comes from Middle Englsh stable (a building for horses), from Anglo-Norman stable (a place for keeping animals), from Latin stablum (dwelling, stable, hut, tavern), from stō (to stand, stay, remain) and‎ -bulum (instrumental suffix) [source].

In Old English, a stable was a horsern [ˈhorˠzˌerˠn] (“horse place”) [source] or a steall [stæ͜ɑll], from which we get the word stall (a compartment for a single animal in a stable or cattle shed) [source].

As an adjective stable means:

  • Relatively unchanging, steady, permanent; firmly fixed or established; consistent; not easily moved, altered, or destroyed

It comes from Middle English stable, from Anglo-Norman stable / stabel (stable, firm), from Latin stabilis (firm, steadfast), from stō (to stand, stay, remain) and -abilis (able). It displaced the Old English word for stable, staþolfæst [ˈstɑ.ðolˌfæst] [source].

So it seems that these two words do come from the same roots. Other words from the same roots include stage, stand, state and stamina in English, stabbio (pen, fold, pigsty) in Italian, estar (to be) in Spanish, and ystafell (room, building, house) in Welsh [source].

I forget mention on the podcast, but the reason I chose the word stable for this adventure is because it’s related to the Scottish Gaelic sabhal [sa.əl̪ˠ] (barn), which comes from Middle Irish saball, from Latin stabulum [source], and I’ve just spent a week doing a course in Scottish Gaelic songs at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (“Ostag’s Big Barn”), the Gaelic college on the Isle of Skye [more details].

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Podchaser, Podbay or Podtail and other pod places.

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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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 blog.

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Adventures in Etymology – Noodling About Noodles

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we’re noodling around with the word noodle.

Noodling About Noodles

As a noun, a noodle can refer to:

  • A string or flat strip of pasta or other dough, usually cooked (at least initially) by boiling, and served in soup or in a dry form mixed with a sauce and other ingredients.
  • An object which is long and thin like a noodle.

It comes from Dutch noedel (noodle), or from German Nudel (a piece of pasta, noodle). The origin of these words is uncertain [source].

Apparently in the USA noodle can refer to Asian noodles and Italian pasta, whereas in the UK, noodle only refers to Asian noodles.

As a verb, to noodle can mean:

  • To play a musical instrument or to sing in an improvisatory or light-hearted manner
  • To ponder or think, especially in an unproductive or unsystematic manner
  • To attempt in an informal or uncertain manner; to fiddle.

In Shetland dialect, to noddle means to hum or sing (a tune) at a low pitch or volume. This may be a blend of the Shetland word nune (to sing softly, croon, hum) and doodle (to play the bagpipes) in Scottish English.

The English verb to noodle may come from the Shetland word, or from German nudeln (to make music or sing listlessly, at a low pitch or volume, or in an improvisatory manner). It was possibly influenced by doodle (to draw or scribble aimlessly).

In informal British English, to noodle can also mean to engage in frivolous behaviour, or to fool around or waste time, and it used to mean a person with poor judgement, a fool, or to fool or trick someone.

Other meanings of noodle are available.

Incidentally, I like to noodle on my various musical instruments, and with my voice, and wrote a little ditty about this the other day, which goes something like this:

I’m just noodling away quite happily
and nothing can get in my way
I could noodle all day down by the bay
and noodle all through the night

Will you noodle with me down by the sea?
Will you noodle along the shore?
Will you noodle and moodle and all that caboodle?
We’ll have a lot of fun you’ll see

We can noodle and doodle and eat some strudel
with oodles of custard and cream
And then noodle some more it won’t be a bore
Just noodling down on the shore

Just noodling down on the shore
Just noodling down on the shore
Just noodling down on the shore
Just noodling down on the shore

To moodle means to dawdle aimlessly, to idle time away [source], oodles means an unspecified large amount, number, or quantity; lots, tons [source], and cabdoodle means any large collection of things or people [source]

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Podchaser, Podbay or Podtail and other pod places.

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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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 blog.

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Adventures in Etymology – Shambling Shambles

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we’re looking into the origins of the word shamble (and shambles).

Shambles
The Shambles in York

To shamble means to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet, and a shamble is one of a succession of niches or platforms, one above another, to hold ore which is thrown successively from platform to platform, and thus raised to a higher level in a mine.

It comes from Middle English schamel / schambyll [ˈʃaːməl] (footstool), from Old English sċamol [ˈʃɑ.mol] (stool), from Proto-West Germanic *skamil (stool, bench), from Latin scabellum (footstool, a kind of percussion instrument played with the foot), from scamnum (stool, step, bench, ridge), from PIE *skabʰ- (to hold up) [source].

Words from the same roots include scanno (seat, bench, stool) in Italian, escano (bench, footstool) in Portuguese, scaun (chair, seat, stool, throne, residence, butcher’s block) in Romanian, Schemel (footstool) in German, and iskemle (chair) in Turkish [source].

In the plural, shambles means a scene of great disorder or ruin, a great mess or clutter, a scene of bloodshed, carnage or devastation, or a slaughterhouse, and it used to mean a butcher’s shop. It comes from the same roots as the singular shamble [source].

There’s a street in York in the north of England called The Shambles (see the photo above), that was once home to many butchers. They originally displayed their wares on stalls or benches known as shamels or schambylls, which gave the street its name. There are several similarly-named streets in other parts of the UK and Ireland [source].

Incidentally, a German equivalent of shamble is schlurfen [ˈʃlʊɐ̯fn̩], which means to shuffle (walk without picking up one’s feet). It’s related to the English word slurp [source].

Now it’s time to shamble off. I made a bit of an omnishambles of this post – I wrote most of it, then accidentally deleted half of it and had to rewrite it as I couldn’t retrieve the lost bits. I hope it’s not too shambolic.

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Podchaser, Podbay or Podtail and other pod places.

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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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 blog.

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Adventures in Etymology – Guide

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we’re looking into the origins of the word guide.

Guided Tour

Guide [ɡaɪd] means:

  • Someone who guides, especially someone hired to show people around a place or an institution and offer information and explanation, or to lead them through dangerous terrain.
  • A document or book that offers information or instruction; guidebook.

It comes from Middle English gīde / gidde / guide (guide, pilot, helmsman), from Old French guide (guide) from Old Occitan guida (guide), from guidar (to guide, lead), from Frankish *wītan (to show the way, lead), from Proto-Germanic *wītaną (to see, know, go, depart), from PIE *weyd- (to see, know) [source].

Words from the same roots include druid, history, idea, vision, wise and wit in English, gwybod (to know) in Welsh, fios (knowledge, information) in Irish and veta (to know) in Swedish [source].

The English word guide has been borrowed into various other languages, including Japanese: ガイド (gaido – guide, tour guide, conductor, guiding, leading, guidebook) [source], and Korean: 가이드 (gaideu – tour guide, guidebook, user’s manual) [source].

By the way, there’s an episode of the Celtic Pathways podcast about the word druid, and there’s a post on my Celtiadur blog about words related to knowledge in Celtic languages.

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Podchaser, Podbay or Podtail and other pod places.

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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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 blog.

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Adventures in Etymology – Storm

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we’re stirring up the origins of the word storm, as it’s been quite stormful (abounding in storms, stormy) here in the UK recently.

lightning-storm

A storm [stɔːm/stɔɹm] is:

  • an extreme weather condition with very strong wind, heavy rain, and often thunder and lightning
  • A heavy expulsion or fall of things
  • A violent agitation of human society [source]

It comes from Middle English storm (storm, dispute, brawl, fight), from Old English storm (storm), from Proto-West-Germanic *sturm (storm), from Proto-Germanic *sturmaz (storm), from PIE *(s)twerH- (to stir up, agitate, urge on, propel) [source]

Words from the same roots include steer, stir, turbine, turbulence and turbo in English, turba (mob) in Spanish, torma (crowd, throng) in Italian, and twrf (disturbance, tumult) in Welsh [source].

Incidentally, stormful means abounding with storms or stormy, and when the weather is stormful, you might be bestormed (overtaken with a storm, assailed with storms), stormbound (caught in a storm) or stormtossed (tossed by the wind in a storm), so make sure everything is stormworthy (fit for weathering a storm) and stormproof (capable of resisting a storm).

Here’s a stormy little song called Thunder Vengeance by Lovebites, one of my favourite Japanese bands:

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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 blog.

Adventures in Etymology – Procrastination

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we’re looking into the origins of the word procrastination, unless I start procrastinating, as often happens.

Procrastination image

Procrastination [pɹəʊˌkɹæs.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən] is:

  • The act of postponing, delaying or putting off, especially habitually or intentionally.

It comes from Middle French procrastination, from Latin prōcrāstinātiō (procrastination), from prōcrāstinō (to procrastinate), from prō (for, before) and crāstinus (of tomorrow), from crās (tomorrow) [source]

Words from the same roots include craje [ˈkraj(ə)] (tomorrow) in Neapolitan, cras [kras] (tomorrow) in Sardinian, and the obsolete English word crastin (the day after, the morrow) [source].

An antonym of procrastination is precrastination (the completion of a task too quickly or too early for the optimal outcome; the compulsion to act in this way) [source].

If you’re a chronic procrastinator, as I am, you might even perendinate (to procrastinate for a long time, especially two days), from Latin perendinare (to defer until the day after tomorrow) [source].

Incidentally, while procrastination is often seen as negative habit, it can also help you to prioritise aspects of your life that bring joy, according to an article in MedicalNewsToday.

So, procrastinate now! Or maybe later.

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 blog.