Here’s a recording in a mystery language.
Do you know, or can you guess, the language?
Author: Simon
I am a linguist, web developer and musician. I live in Bangor in Wales and run Omniglot - the online encyclopedia of writing systems and languages, as well as making the Radio Omniglot Podcast.
Fording Fjord Ports
Are the words ford, fjord and port related? Let’s find out.
A ford [fɔːd / fɔɹd] is a location where a stream is shallow and the bottom has good footing, making it possible to cross from one side to the other with no bridge, by walking, riding, or driving through the water.
It comes from Middle English fōrd (ford, watering place, a spring, passage, path), from Old English ford (ford), from Proto-West Germanic *furdu (ford), from Proto-Germanic *furduz (ford), from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (crossing) [source].
Words from the same Proto-Germanic root include Förde (firth, fjord) and Furt (ford) in German, voorde (ford) in Dutch, ffordd (road, distance, way) in Welsh, and fordh (road, way, manner) in Cornish [source].
A fjord [ˈfiːɔːd / fiˈɔɹd] is a long, narrow, deep inlet between cliffs, and was borrowed from Norwegian.
The Norwegian word fjord [fjuːr] comes from Old Norse fjǫrðr (firth, fjord), from Proto-Germanic *ferþu(z) (inlet, fjord), from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (crossing) – so the same PIE root as ford, but a different Proto-Germanic root [source].
Words from the same Proto-Germanic root include fjörður (fjord) in Icelandic, fjørður (fjord, firth) in Faroese, fjord (firth, fjord, inlet) in Danish, and firth (an arm or inlet of the sea; a river estuary) in English [source].
Meanings of port [pɔːt / poɹt] include: a place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers; a town or city containing such a place, and the left-hand side of a vessel, including aircraft, when one is facing the front.
It comes from Middle English port (harbour, haven), from Old English port (port, harbour, haven, town, harbour town), from Latin portus (harbour, port, haven, refuge, warehouse), from Proto-Italic *portus (harbour), from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (crossing) – so the same PIE root as ford and fjord [source].
Words from the same PIE root include porto (port, harbour) in Italian, puerto (port, harbour) in Spanish, port (port) in French, and port (harbour, port, river bank, mound, refuge, haven) in Irish, porth (port, harbour, haven, estuary, landing-place) in Welsh and پل (pul – bridge, sound post) in Persian [source].
Language Quiz
Nearly Nigh
Which is nearer, near or nigh? Let’s find out.
The word nigh [naɪ] means near, close by, kindred, closely allied or intimate. It is used mainly in particular phrases, such as the end is nigh and is considered archaic and poetic.
It comes from Middle English neygh (near, adjacent), from Old English nēah (near, close), from Proto-West Germanic *nāhw (near, close), from Proto-Germanic *nēhw (near, close), from *nēhwaz (near, close), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- (to reach, attain)
Nigh was originally the word for near, while near was the comparative form meaning nearer, and next was the superlative form, meaning nearest [source].
Related words include:
- nighen = to come near, approach, bring near, appropriate
- nigh-hand = nearby, nearhand
- nigh on = almost, nearly, approaching, not quite
- nighness = the quality or state of being nigh, or near
These are all archaic, with the exception of nigh on, which is still used.
Words that come from the same roots may include near, enough and bring in English, nach (after, past, behind, to) and nahe (near) in German, na (after) and genoeg (enough, plenty) in Dutch, nog (enough, sufficient, probably) in Swedish, cyfoeth (wealth, riches) in Welsh, and cumhacht (power, might) in Irish [source].
The English word neighbour / neighbor also comes from the same roots, via Middle English neyghbour (neighbour), from neygh (near, adjacent) and bour (house, dwelling). Also from the same roots are Nachbar (neighbour) in German, nabo (neighbour) in Danish, naapuri (neighbour) in Finnish (via Old Swedish nabo), and nàbaidh (neighbour) in Scottish Gaelic (via Old Norse nábúi) [source].
Incidentally, in Middle English the word neyghbour replaced the word prome (neighbour), which was borrowed from Old French proeme (neighbour), from Latin proximus (nearest, next).
Language Quiz
Griffonage
What do griffons have to do with messy writing? Let’s find out.
Griffonage [ˈɡrɪfəˌnɑːʒ] is a rarely-used word that means careless handwriting or a crude or illegible scrawl. It comes from the French word griffonner (to scribble, scrawl), from griffer (to scratch), from Old French grifer, from griffe (claw, talon), from Old High German grīfan (to grab, grasp, gripe), from Proto-Germanic *grīpaną (to grab, grasp), from PIE *gʰreyb- (to grab, grasp) [source].
Words from the same roots include grip, gripe, grab, grasp, grave, groove, grope, grovel, grub and engrave in English, gryp (to grab) in Afrikaans, gräifen (to reach for, grab, catch) in Luxembourgish, grinfia (claw) in Italian, grípa (to catch, grab, clasp) in Icelandic, and grippe (influenza, flu) in French [source].
Other ways to describe messy handwriting in English include scribble, scrawl, chicken scratch and cacography, which also means bad spelling or puntuation, or deliberate comic misspelling [source]. Are there others?
Ways to describe messy handwriting in other languages include:
- ագռավի ճանկեր (ագռավի ճանկեր) = crow’s claws in Armenian
- 涂鸭 [塗鴨] (túyā) = daub(ings) of a duck in Chinese
- kragetæer = crow’s feet in Danish
- hanenpoten = cockerel feet in Dutch
- harakanvarpaat = magpie toes in Finnish
- pattes de mouche = fly’s legs in French
- ορνιθοσκαλίσματα (ornithoskalísmata) = chicken carvings in Greek
- ysgrifennu fel traed brain = writing like crow’s feet in Welsh [source]
It seems that messy handwriting is associated with crows and other birds in quite a few languages.
This post was inspired by this video on TikTok.
Language Quiz
Fribblish Fribblers
Do you fribble? Are you a fribblish fribbler?
Fribble [ˈfɹɪbəl] is an old word meaning to waste or fritter; to behave in a frivolous way or to totter. As an adjective it means of little or no importance or frivolous, and as a noun it means a trifling action, a trifler, a frivolous, contemptible fellow or a fop [source].
It is possibly related to frivol (to behave frivolously, to triffle), from French frivole (vain, conceited), from Latin frīvolus (silly, empty, trifling, frivolous, worthless), possibly from PIE *bʰreyH- (to scrape, pierce) [source].
Words related to fribble include fribbledom (frivolous or trifling behaviour), fribbleism (frivolity), fribbler (one who trifles or behaves frivolously), and fribblish (frivolous, trifling).
Words related to frivol include frivolous (silly, slight, trivial), frivolity (frivolous act, state of being frivolous) and maybe brine (salt water) and fray in English, frivol (frivolous) in Romanian, frívolo (frivolous, futile, inconstant, silly) in Portuguese, frívolo (frivolous, flippant) in Spanish [source].
Language Quiz
Horse Gate
What does a horse at a gate have to do with breaking and entering? Let’s find out.
The Chinese word 闯入 [闖入] means to break into, to barge into, to intrude (into), to charge in, or to gate-crash. It’s pronounced chuǎngrù in Mandarin and cong2 jap6 in Cantonese. It’s also found in Japanese as 闖入 (chinnyū), meaning instrusion or forced entry [source].
What’s that all got to do with horses and gates?
Well, the first character, 闯 [闖] means to rush, to charge, to dash, to break through, to temper oneself (through battling hardships) in Mandarin and Cantonese [source 1], [source 2], and to rush in or burst in in Japanese [source]. It’s made up of the characters 门 [門] (mén / mun4 / mon), meaning gate, door, entrance, and 马 [馬] (mǎ / maa5 / ba), meaning horse. It’s an ideogrammic compound that could be interpreted as a horse rushing through a gate [source].
The second character, 入 means to enter, go into, join and various other things in Chinese, and to enter or insert and so on in Japanese [source].
The character 闯 [闖] also appears in words such as:
- 闯荡 [闖盪] (chuǎngdàng / cong2 dong6) = to leave home to work, to get away from home, to wander the world, well-traveled, adventurous (Mandarin & Cantonese)
- 闯祸 [闖禍] (chuǎngguò / cong2 wo6) = to get into trouble, to suffer disaster, to suffer an accident, to induce or cause a disaster or misfortune (Mandarin / Cantonese)
- 私闯 [私闖] (sīchuǎng / si1 cong2) = to enter (a place) without permission, to intrude into (Mandarin / Cantonese)
- 闯关者 [闖關者] (chuǎngguānzhě / cong2 gwaan1 ze2) = gate-crasher, person who crashes through a barrier (Mandarin / Cantonese)
- 闖入者 (chinnyūsha) = to intruder or trespasser (Japanese)
- 闖入する (chinnyū suru) = to intrude or break in (Japanese)
Sources: Wiktionary, MDBG, CC-Canto, jisho