Roomy Houses

2 July 2025 By Simon

One of the Swahili words I learnt recently is chumba (room). I wondered where it comes from and what other words are related to it. Let’s find out.

Chumba means room, chamber, cabin or cloakroom, and is a diminutive of nyumba [ˈɲu.ᵐbɑ] (house, apartment), which comes from Proto-Bantu *njʊ̀mbá (house) [source].

Related words include

chumba cha kulia = dining room
chumba cha kulalia = bedroom
kichumba = small room
jumba = mansion, large building
kijumba = cottage, small house
uchumba = courtship, engagement
-chumbisha = to get engaged to be married (of a man)
-chumbishwa = to get engaged to be married (of a woman)
mchumba = financé(e), lover, partner
wachumba = spouse, couple
unyumba = married life, marital relations
nyumba ya uzazi = womb, uterus (“house of parenthood”)
nyumbani = at home, in the house

Other room-related words in Swahili include:

bafu (bath, bathtub, bathroom), which was borrowed from English bath
darasa (classroom, class period, lesson), which was borrowed from Arabic دَرْس (dars – study, studies, lesson, class)
msalani (bathroom, toilet), a locative of msala (private chamber, retreat, bathroom, toilet), from Arabic مُصَلَّى (muṣallan – place of prayer, prayer room/hall)
faragha (privacy, private chamber, retreat, opportunity), which was borrowed from Arabic فَرَاغ (farāḡ – empty space)
sebule (living room), which was borrowed from Arabic (?)

Here are a few house- and home-related proverbs and sayings in Swahili:

Nyumba njema si mlango.
A good house isn’t judged by the door.
Kinywa ni jumba la maneno.
The mouth is a house of words.
Nyumba ya udongo haihimili kishindo.
A house made of mud cannot withstand a strong wind.
Mkate mkavu wa nyumbani ni bora kuliko nyama ya shuwa ya pengine.
A piece of dry bread from home is better than a roasted piece of meat from someone else’s home.

Sources: https://mhariri.com/kamusi/learn-swahili/proverbs-in-swahili-and-their-translations-and-meanings/, https://pristinetrails.com/blog/swahili-proverbs/

The more Swahili I learn, the more interesting it gets.

Gasting Flabbers

26 June 2025 By Simon

Is a flabbergast a gast that’s flabbered? Let’s find out.

A flabbergast is an awkward person, or an overwhelming confusion, shock or surprise, and to flabbergast is to overwhelm with bewilderment, or to amaze, confound, or stun, especially in a ludicrous manner.

Related words include

flabbergastion = bewildered shock or surprise; the state or condition of being flabbergasted
flabbergaster = a person, thing, fact or event that is flabbergasting, or that causes extreme shock; a state of surprise or fear
flabbergastly = surprisingly, astonishingly or amazingly

Flabbergast possibly comes from the Suffolk dialect words flap(py) (to strike) and aghast (terrified), or from Scots flabrigast (to swagger, boast, quite worn out, extremely fatigued). There are also versions of this word from Lancashire: flobbergrast and Northampton: flappergast [source].

Aghast means terrified; struck with amazement, or showing signs of terror or horror. It comes from Middle English agast, from agasten (to frighten or terrify), from Old English gǣstan (to frighten, gast, torment, afflict), from Proto-West Germanic *gaistijan, from Proto-Germanic *gaistijaną, which is related to *gaistaz (fear, terror, spirit, ghost, mind) [source].

Related words include ghost, ghast (an evil spirit or monster) and ghastly in English, gast (ghost) in Swedish, geest (ghost, spirit, mind) in Dutch, and Geist (spirit, essense, mind, ghost) in German [source].

Incidentally, gast is an old word in English meaning to frighten, and also comes from the same roots [source], as does the Old English word gāst (spirit, ghost, breath, demon), which became gost / gast / gaast / goost / goste in Middle English [source]. It acquired an h and became ghoost in the late 15th century due to influence from the Flemish word gheest, possibly thanks to Wynkyn de Worde, William Caxton‘s assistant [source].

Dwile Flonking

18 June 2025 By Simon

Have you ever flonked a dwile or gathered your girt in a snurd?

Dwile flonking is mentioned in a novel I’m currently reading, Fiends in High Places by D.C. Farmer, and as I had no idea what it meant, I thought I’d find out.

According to Wiktionary, dwile flonking is

“An obscure and intentionally preposterous sport in which teams take turns to dance while avoiding a “dwile” (beer-soaked cloth) thrown by their opponents.” It is also written dwile flunking, dwyle flonking, dwyle flunking. The first documented game took place in 1966 [source].

According to Wikipedia,

“dwile flonking, dwyle flunking or nurdling is a British pub game played by two teams, with one dancing around in a circle, while a player from the other team attempts to hit them by throwing a beer-soaked cloth. The game is associated with the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the game can supposedly be traced back to the 16th century, it is thought to have been invented in the mid-1960s [source].

Apparently dwile flonking requires a dwile, a driveller (a stick of some kind) and a bucket full of beer. The dwile is soaked in beer, then one team forms a snurd (circle) of girts, while a member of the other team, the flonker, stands in the middle holding a dwile on a driveller. The jobanowl (referee) yells let’s go t’gither, and the girts begin to girt (dance in a circle) in one direction, while the flonker turns in the other direction and attempts to flonk the dwile at or over the head of one of the girts. Participants dress up in local rustic attire, and drink rather a lot of beer before, during and after the flonking of the dwile. Other ridiculous rules apply. See TradFolk for details.

It sounds like an ideal sport for the Olympics, and is in fact included in the Cotswold Olimpick Games, and is played annually in Beccles and Lewes in East Sussex in the south of England.

Dwile used to refer to a cloth for wiping or cleaning, and comes from Dutch dweil (floorcloth, mop, worthless person, weakling), from Middle Dutch dwâle (cloth, towel), from Old Dutch *thwāla (towel, washcloth), from Proto-West Germanic *þwahilu (towel, washcloth), from *þwahan (to wash, bathe) from Proto-Germanic *þwahaną (to wash, bathe) [source].

Words from the same roots include þvo (to wash, do laundry) in Icelandic, två (to wash) and tvål (soap) in Swedish, tovaglia (tablecloth, cloth) in Italian, toalha (towel, tablecloth) in Portuguese, and towel in English [source].

Flonking possibly comes from flong, an old past tense form of fling, which comes from Middle English flyngen (to dash, rush, charge, fly, strike, throw, fling), from Old Norse flengja / ᚠᛚᛁᚾᚴᛁᛅ (to whip, ride furiously), from Proto-Germanic *flangijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂k- [source].

Stages & Balconies

12 June 2025 By Simon

What links the Italian word palco (stage), with words like balcony, plank and block? Let’s find out.

Palco [ˈpal.ko] means platform, stand, layer, (theatre) box, stage, antler in Italian. Related words include palchetto (shelf, sidebar, upper tier box), palchettista (boxholder – ticket holder for the gallery or an upper tier box [in a theatre]), palcoscenico (stage), sottopalco (understage (area), backstage), and spalcare (to dismantle scaffolding, to prune or lop [trees]) [source].

It comes from Lombardic palk (stand, stage), from Old High German balko (beam), from Proto-West Germanic *balkō (beam, balk), from Proto-Germanic *balkô (beam, balk), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (beam, plank), or from PIE *bʰelǵʰ- (to swell) [source].

The English word balcony comes from the same roots, via Italian balcone (balcony, floor-length window), Old Italian balcone (scaffold), Lombardic *balk(o) (beam), Proto-Germanic *balkô (beam, balk), etc [source].

Plank also shares the same roots, but arrived via Middle English plank(e) (plank, counter, tablet, prop), Old French planke (plank, board), Late Latin planca (slat, plank), from Latin palanca (slat, plank, stake), from phalanga (wooden roller, carrying pole), from Ancient Greek φᾰ́λᾰγγᾰ (phắlăngă – phalanx, battle order), from φάλαγξ (phálanx – line of battle, phalanx, main body, trunk, log, beam), from PIE *bʰelǵ- (beam, plank) [source].

Block comes to us from Middle English blok (log, stump), from Old French bloc (log, block), from Middle Dutch blok (treetrunk), from Old Dutch *blok (log), from Proto-West Germanic *blokk (block, log), from Proto-Germanic *blukką (block, log, beam), from PIE *bʰelǵ- (beam, plank) [source].

Other words from the same roots include balk, bulk, fulcrum and phalanx in English, balk (beam, solid support) in Dutch, Balken (beam, bar) in German, balcão (counter, balcony) in Portuguese, and folcire (to support, sustain, guide, direct), fulcro (fulcrum, pivot,crux, core, thrust) and falca (gunwhale) in Italian [source].

Strong Names

5 June 2025 By Simon

What connects the names Cathal, Ronald, Valerie and Walter? Let’s find out.

Where’s Walter / Wally?

The name Cathal comes from Irish Cathal [ˈkahəlˠ], from Old Irish Cathal, from Proto-Celtic *Katuwalos from *katus (battle) and *walos (prince, chief), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (to rule, to be strong). The Welsh names Cadwal and Cadwaladr come from the same roots [source].

Names that also share the Proto-Celtic root *walos (prince, chief) include Conall – from *kū (dog, wolf) and *walos; Donald / Domhnall from *dubnos (world) and *walos, and (O’)Toole – from *toutā (people, tribe, tribal land) and *walos [source].

The name Ronald comes from Scottish Gaelic Raghnall [ˈrˠɤ̃ː.əl̪ˠ], from Old Norse Rǫgnvaldr, from Proto-Germanic *Raginawaldaz from *raginą (decision, advice, counsel) and *waldaz (wielder, rule), from *waldaną (to rule), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (to rule, to be strong) [source].

Names that also share the Proto-Germanic root *waldaz (wielder, rule) include Harold – from *harjaz (army, commander, warrior) and *waldaz; Oswald – from *ansuz (deity, god) and *waldaz; Gerald – from *gaizaz (spear, pike, javelin) and *waldaz, and Walter – from *waldaz and *harjaz (army, commander, warrior) [source].

The name Valerie comes from French Valérie, from Latin Valeria, a feminine form of the Roman family name Valerius, from Latin valere (to be strong), from valeō (to be strong, to be powerful, to be healthy, to be worthy), from Proto-Italic *waleō (to be strong) from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wl̥h₁éh₁yeti, from *h₂welh₁- (to rule, to be strong) [source]. Names from the same Latin roots include Valentine, Valeria and Valencia.

Parts of all these names can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂welh₁- (to rule, to be strong) – the same is true for the names Arnold, Reginald, Reynold and Vlad(imir) [source].

Other words from the same PIE root include: ambivalent, cuckold, evaluation, invalid, prevalence, unwieldy, valour and value in English, gwlad (country, sovereignty) and gwaladr (ruler, sovereign) in Welsh, walten (to rule, exercise control) in German, vallita (to prevail, predominate, reign) in Finnish, vládnout (to rule, reign) in Czech, and власт (vlast – power, authority, influence, government) in Bulgarian [source].

Foreign Eggplants

28 May 202528 May 2025 By Simon

When is a tomato not a tomato?

Recently I’ve been brushing up my knowledge of Mandarin Chinese by doing some Chinese lessons on Duolingo. The kind of Chinese taught there is Mandarin from Mainland China, which differs somewhat from the Mandarin of Taiwan that I’m more familiar with.

One difference is the word for tomato. In Mainland China it’s 西红柿 [西紅柿] (xīhóngshì), and in Taiwan it’s 番茄 (fānqié). 西红柿 means literally “western red persimmon”, and was borrowed into Tibetan as ཞི་ཧུང་ཧྲི (zhi hung hri) [source]. 番茄 means literally “foreign eggplant / aubergine”, and was borrowed into Zhuang as fanhgez [source].

Is 番茄 used at all in Mainland China, or in other Chinese-speaking regions?

Incidentally, the word tomato comes from Spanish tomate (tomato), from Classical Nahuatl tomatl (tomatillo), from Proto-Nahuan *tomatl (tomatillo) [source].

A tomatillo is “A plant of the nightshade family originating in Mexico, Physalis philadelphica, cultivated for its tomato-like green to green-purple fruit surrounded by a thin papery skin.” and is a diminutive of tomate – see above [source].

Other words that differ include:

Mainland China	Taiwan
土豆 (tǔdòu) = potato (“earth bean”)	馬鈴薯 (mǎlíngshǔ) = potato (“horse bell potato / yam”)
自行车 (zìxíngchē) = bicycle (“self go vehicle”)	腳踏車 (jiǎotàchē) = bicycle (“pedal vehicle”)
公交车 (gōngjiāochē) = bus (“public transport vehicle”)	公共汽車 (gōnggòngqìchē) = bus (“public car”) 公車 (gōngchē) = bus
出租车* (chūzūchē) = taxi (“vehicle for hire”)	計程車 (jìchéngchē) = taxi (“vehicle caculated by mileage”)
计算机** (jìsuànjī) = computer (“calculating machine”)	電腦 (diànnǎo) = computer (“electric brain”)

*出租車 (chūzūchē) = rental car in Taiwan.
**計算機 (jìsuànjī) = calculator in Taiwan.

Hosting Hostages

21 May 202524 May 2025 By Simon

Are the words hostage and host related? Let’s find out.

A host of daffodils

A hostage [ˈhɒs.tɪʤ / ˈhɑs.tɪʤ] is:

A person given as a pledge or security for the performance of the conditions of a treaty or similar agreement, such as to ensure the status of a vassal.
A person seized in order to compel another party to act (or refrain from acting) in a certain way, because of the threat of harm to the hostage.
other meanings are available.

It comes from Middle English (h)ostage (hostage), from Old French (h)ostage, either from Old French oste (innkeeper, landlord, host), or from Latin obsidāticum (condition of being held captive), from Latin obses (hostage, captive, security, pledge), from ob- (in front of) and sedeō (to sit) [source].

A host [həʊst / hoʊst] is:

One which receives or entertains a guest, socially, commercially, or officially.
A person or organization responsible for running an event.
A moderator or master of ceremonies for a performance.
other meanings are available.

It comes from Middle English hoste (host), from Old French oste (innkeeper, landlord host), from Latin hospitem, from hospes (host, guest, visitor, stranger, foreigner, unaware, inexperienced, untrained), from Proto-Italic *hostipotis (host), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstipotis (lord, master, guest), from *gʰóstis (stranger, host, guest, enemy) and *pótis (master, ruler, husband) [source].

Host can also refer to a multitude of people arrayed as an army (e.g. a Heavenly host (of angels)). This comes from the same PIE root (*gʰóstis) as the other kind of host, via Middle English oost (host, army), Old French ost(e) (army), Latin hostis (an enemy of the state, a hostile), Proto-Italic *hostis (stranger, guest) [source].

Another meaning of host is the consecrated bread of the Eucharist. This comes from Middle English (h)oist (a sacrificial victim, the Eucharistic wafer), from Old French hoiste, from Latin hostia ( sacrifice, offering, victim, sacrificial animal, the consecrated bread), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰostiyo-, from *ǵʰes- (hand, to take, to give in exchange) [source].

So hostage and host might be related, at least in the first two senses.

Other words related to host include guest in English, Gast (guest) in German, gäst (guest) in Swedish, and gjest (guest) in Norwegian [source].

In Old English, the word ġīs(e)l [jiːzl] meant hostage, and comes from Proto-West Germanic *gīsl (hostage), from Proto-Germanic *gīslaz (hostage), from Proto-Celtic *geistlos (hostage, bail), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeydʰ- (to yearn for). So a hostage is “one who yearns for (release)” [source].

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root (*geistlos), include giall (hostage) in Irish, giall (hostage, pledge) in Scottish Gaelic, gwystl (pledge, pawn, hostage) in Welsh, gijzelen (to take hostage) in Dutch, and Geisel (hostage) in German, gidsel (hostage) in Danish and gísl (hostage) in Icelandic [source].

Another word from the same Proto-Celtic root is kihlata (to betroth) in Finnish, which comes via Proto-Finnic *kihla (pledge, bet, wager, engagement gift), and Proto-Germanic *gīslaz (hostage) [source].

Rustling Frou-frous

16 May 202516 May 2025 By Simon

The word frou-frou came up last night at the French conversation group and I thought I’d find out more about it.

In French, frou-frou [fʁu.fʁu] refers to a rustling sound, as of silk fabric. It also means rustle, frilly, frilliness or frills. Related words include froufrouter (to swish, rustle), and froufroutement (rustle, scroop, swish) [source]. It is of imitative origin [source].

Scroop? Apparently it means a rustling sound like that produced from friction between silk fibres; to produce a harsh scraping, grating sound, as of friction; to make sounds such as of a chair on the floor or chalk on a blackboard; or to produce a rustling sound, like that from friction between silk fibres, and is of imitative origin [source].

Frou-frou [ˈfɹuːfɹuː] was borrowed into English and means:

A rustling sound, particularly the rustling of a large silk dress.
Liable to create the sound of rustling cloth, similar to 19th-century dresses.
Highly ornamented, overly elaborate; excessively girly.
Unimportant, silly, useless.
To move with the sound of rustling dresses [source].

It has also been borrowed into Portuguese as frufru, where it means overly decorated or colourful, or a ruff, rustle or rustling (of fabrics) [source], and into Spanish as frufrú (rustle, rustling (of fabrics)) [source]

Other ways to say rustle in French include:

froissement [fʁwas.mɑ̃] = rustle, rustling, crumpling, wrinkling (of paper, fabric, etc)
bruissement [bʁɥis.mɑ̃] = rustling (of paper), murmuring, swish
bruire [bʁɥiʁ] = to rustle, rattle, roar, murmur, whisper, hum, swish
froisser [fʁwa.se] = to crease, wrinkle, rustle, ruffle (feathers), strain (a muscle) hurt, offend, take offence [source].

If you want to talk about rustling cattle or other animals, the word voler (to steal, rob, fly) is used in French, and the French equivalent of to rustle up (to prepare quickly) is préparer en vitesse (“to prepare / make hurriedly”).

Knotted Knitting

8 May 2025 By Simon

What do the words knot and knit have to do with King Canute, and how do they connect to Bluetooth? Let’s find out.

A knot [nɒt, nɑt] is:

a looping of a piece of string or of any other long, flexible material that cannot be untangled without passing one or both ends of the material through its loops
A tangled clump of hair or similar.
The whorl left in lumber by the base of a branch growing out of the tree’s trunk.
A unit of speed, equal to one nautical mile per hour.

(other meanings are available)

It comes from Middle English knotte [ˈknɔt(ə)] (knot, tie, binding, link), from Old English cnotta [ˈknot.tɑ] (knot), from Proto-West Germanic *knottō, from Proto-Germanic *knuttô (knot), probably from Proto-Indo-European *gnod- (to bind) [source].

Words from the same roots in other languages include knot [knɔt] (knot, (hair) bun, skein) in Dutch, knútur [ˈknʉuːtʊɹ] (knot, lump) in Faroese, knude [ˈknuːðə] (knot, node) in Danish, knut [ˈknʉːt] (knot, an exterior corner of a (wooden) building) in Swedish, and maybe knead and node in English [source].

The English word knit comes from the same roots, via Middle English knytten [ˈknitən] (to wrap, secure, join, unite, fix, repair), from Old English cnyttan [ˈknyt.tɑn] (to tie, bind, knot, knit), from Proto-West Germanic *knuttijan (to bind, tie, knit), from Proto-Germanic *knuttijaną (to bind/tie into a knot), from *knuttô (knot) [source].

Canute, a.k.a. Canute the Great, Cnut or Knut, was King of England (from 1016), King of Denmark (from 1018) and King of Norway (from 1028) until his death in 1035. His name comes from Middle English Canut, from Anglo-Norman *Canut, Kenut, from Old Norse Knútr, from knútr (knot, hump), from Proto-Germanic *knuttô (knot) [source].

How does this all connect to Bluetooth? Well, King Canute was the son of Sweyn Forkbeard (Sveinn Haraldsson tjúguskegg), who was King of Denmark from 986-1014, and grandson of Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson (Haraldr Blátǫnn Gormsson), who was King of Denmark from c. 958-986 and King of Norway from c. 970-985/986. The Bluetooth wireless technology is named after Harald Bluetooth as it unites devices like Harald united the tribes of Denmark into a single kingdom. The Bluetooth logo is made up of the Younger Futhark runes for his initials ᚼ (H) and ᛒ (B) [source].

Dog Days

29 April 2025 By Simon

What does the word canicule have to do with heat waves and dogs? Let’s find out.

In French, canicule [ka.ni.kyl] refers to a heat wave or hot spell, the dog days of summer, or Sirius (Canis Major / the Dog Star). A heat wave is also known as une vague de chaleur. In English, it’s an old word for dog days. It comes from Latin canīcula (puppy), from canis (dog, hound), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ (dog) [source].

Related words include caniculaire (scorching), chenille (caterpiller), chien (dog) and chiot (puppy) in French, and canine (of or pertaining to a dog), cynophile (a dog lover) and kennel (a dog house) in English.

What are the dog days (of summer)?

(archaic) The days following the heliacal rising of Sirius, now in early August at dates varying by latitude.
The unpleasantly hot days of late summer.
Any similar period of inactivity, laziness, or stagnation.

The expression dog days is a calque of Latin diēs caniculārēs (puppy days), a calque of Ancient Greek κυνάδες ἡμέραι (kunádes hēmérai – dog days). The return of Sirius to the night sky (its heliacal rising), occurred in antiquity around 25th July in Athens and 29th July in Rome, and was considered by the Greeks and Romans to herald what were considered the hottest, least healthy, and least lucky days of summer [source].

Bad weather is also associated with dogs in French: temps de chien (‘dog weather’) means bad, filthy, dreadful or awful weather. Similar associations are made in Italian: tempo da cani (‘dog weather’ – bad or rotten weather); German: Hundewetter (‘dog weather’ – bad weather), and Dutch: hondenweer (‘dog weather’ – particularly bad or rough weather, the kind of weather when it is raining cats and dogs) [source]. In Welsh, unsettled weather is tywydd llwynog (‘fox weather’) [source].

Is bad weather associated with dogs, or other canines, in other languages?

Incidentally, the letter R was known as littera canīna (‘dog’s letter’) in Latin because its trilled pronunciation sounds a bit like a dog [source].

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Adventures in the world of words and language

Category: English