Adventures in Etymology – Flowing Rhythms

28th February 2026 By Simon

What does the word rhythm have to do with flowing? Let’s find out in this Adventure in Etymology.

Meanings of rhythm [ˈɹɪð.m̩] include:

The variation of strong and weak elements (such as duration, accent) of sounds, notably in speech or music, over time; a beat or meter.
A specifically defined pattern of such variation.
A flow, repetition or regularity

It comes from Latin rhythmus [ˈrʰytʰ.mʊs] (rhythm), from Ancient Greek ῥῠθμός [r̥ytʰ.mós] (vibration, rhythm, measure, order, form), from Proto-Hellenic *hrutʰmós, from PIE *sru-dʰ-mo-s from *srew- (to flow, stream) [source].

Words from the same roots include catarrh, stream, rheumatism and rhyme / rime in English, ρέω (réo – to flow, run) in Greek, ritmo (rhythm, pace) in Spanish, strøm ([electrical] current, flow, stream) in Danish, srūti (to flow, stream, run) in Lithuanian, and sruth (stream, current, flow) in Irish [source].

The word logorrhea (excessive talkativeness, the excessive use of words in writing; excessive and often uncontrollable speaking due to a mental disorder) also comes from the same roots. It’s made up of logo- (word speech) and -rrhea (flowing), and was possibly modelled on verbal diarrhea – diarrhea also comes from the same roots [source].

Part of the word maelstrom (a large and violent whirlpool, a chaotic or turbulent situation) is also related. It comes from Dutch maelstrom (whirlpool), ultimately from PIE *melh₂- (to crush, grind) and *srew- (to flow, stream) [source].

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.

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.

Omniglot News (22/02/26)

22nd February 202626th February 2026 By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

Ipulo, a Central Tivoid language spoken in the Southwest and Northwest regions of Cameroon.
Isu, a Central Tivoid language spoken in the Menchum Department of the Northwest Region of Cameroon.
Baraba Tatar (Парабачы), a variety of Siberia Tatar, a Turkic a language spoken in Siberia in Russia.
Ralte (Râlte Pau), a Northeastern Kuki-Chin language spoken in Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura in the northeast of India.

New adapted script: Cantonese Cyrillic (Ғоңдұңва Сәйлейї Зимоў), a way to write Cantonese with the Cyrillic alphabet devised by Dijacz.

Янян сәңїпыңдәң, хәй жүнїм тұңмай күнлей сөң ятлёт пыңдәң. Кёйдей яў лейсың тұңмай лөңсәм, їце йыңдоң ї хыңдәй ғанхәй’ге зыңсән сөңдёйдой.

New numbers pages:

Sisaali (Sɩsaalɩ), a Southern Gur language spoken in southern Burkina Faso.
Edo (Ẹ̀dó), a Volta-Congo language spoken mainly in Edo State in southern Nigeria.
Ralte (Râlte Pau), a Northeastern Kuki-Chin language spoken in Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura in India.

New Tower of Babel translation in: Edo (Ẹ̀dó)

This week on the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Pages, Pagans & Peasants, in which we find out whether the words page, pagan, peasant and pheasant are related, and there’s the usual language quiz.

See if you guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in northeastern India.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Kuuk Thaayorre, a Pama-Nyungan language spoken in Queensland, Australia.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, entitled Plain Planes, we find out if the words plain, plane and plan are related.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

There’s also a new post on the Celtiadur blog this week entitled Knowing Recognition about words for to know, to recognize and related things in Celtic languages.

For more Omniglot News, see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046466483286

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Podchaser.

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.

Adventures in Etymology – Plain Planes

21st February 202621st February 2026 By Simon

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Are the words plain, plane and plan related? Let’s find out in this Adventure in Etymology.

Plain [pleɪn] as an adjective can mean:

Simple, unaltered, ordinary, unsophisticated.
Obvious, evident.
Open, honest, candid.
Unattractive
Flat, level (rare, regional)

It comes from Middle English pleyn (clear, unambiguous), from Anglo-Norman pleyn (plain), from Old French plain (plain [flat area]), from Latin plānus (level, flat, even, intelligible, clear), from Proto-Italic *plānos, from PIE *pleh₂-no-s (flattened) from *pleh₂- (flat) [source].

As a noun, plain can mean:

An expanse of land with relatively low relief and few trees, especially a grassy expanse.
A broad, flat expanse in general, as of water.

This comes from the same roots as the adjective plain, but directly from Old French plain [source].

Words from the same roots include plane (flat surface), explain, plan, palm, piano, floor, flat and maybe plant and field in English, plan (map, plane, plan) in French, llano (even, flat, level, plain) in Spanish, flor (thin, transparent fabric) in Swedish, and llawr (floor, deck, stage, platform, cellar, ground) in Welsh [source].

The word clan (a group of people all descended from a common ancestor; a traditional social group of families in the Scottish Highlands having a common hereditary chieftain) possibly comes from the same roots via Irish clann (children, clan) or Scottish Gaelic clann (children, clan, tribe), both of which are from Old Irish cland (children, family, plant), from Old Welsh plant (children), from Latin planta (shoot, offspring), from PIE *pleh₂- (flat).

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.

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.

Omniglot News (15/02/26)

15th February 202616th February 2026 By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

New alphabet page: Berati, an alternative way to write Albanian used during the 19th century.

Sample text in the Berati alphabet

New constructed script: Cartierian, which created by Michael Kohlman to write his constructed language of the same name.

Sample text in Cartierian

New language pages:

Bumthang ( བུམ་ཐང་ཁ་), an Eastern Bodic language spoken mainly in Bumthang District in northern Bhutan.
Daka, a Northern Bantoid language spoken in Adamawa State in northeastern Nigeria.
Dza (nnwa’ dzâ), a Bambukic language spoken in Gomba, Taraba and Adamawa states in northeastern Nigeria.

New numbers pages:

Dza (nnwa’ dzâ), a Bambukic language spoken in Gomba, Taraba and Adamawa states in northeast Nigeria.
Haryanvi (हरयाणवी), an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in Haryana State in northern India.
Batak Angkola (ᯅᯖᯄ᯦᯲ ᯀᯰᯄ᯦ᯬᯞ), a Southern Batak language spoken in North Sumatra in Indonesia.

New phrases page: Hmar (Hmar Țawng), a Northern Mizo language spoken mainly in Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram in northeast India.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a new post entitled Omphaloskepsis about words for navel gazing in various languages, and there’s the usual language quiz.

See if you guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in northern Australia.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Ndali (Chindali), a Bantu language spoken in Tanzania and Malawi.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, entitled Channelling Reeds, we find out if the words channel, canal and cane connected.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

There’s also a new post on the Celtiadur blog this week entitled Central Navels about words for navel, centre, core and related things in Celtic languages.

Improved pages: Sukhothai script and Tibetan phrases

For more Omniglot News, see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046466483286

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Podchaser.

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.

Adventures in Etymology – Channelling Reeds

14th February 202614th February 2026 By Simon

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Are the words channel, canal and cane connected? Let find out in this Adventure in Etymology.

Meanings of channel [ˈtʃænəl] as a noun include:

The hollow bed of running waters.
The navigable part of a river.
A narrow body of water between two land masses.
A specific radio frequency or band of frequencies used for transmitting radio or television.

As a verb, to channel can mean:

To make or cut a channel or groove in.
To direct or guide along a desired course.
To serve as a medium for.

It comes from Middle English chanel (a river or sea bed, a navigable channel in a river, a gutter, drain or ditch), from Old French chenel (channel [of water]), from Latin canālis (pipe, spout, channel, gutter, groove), from canna (reed, cane), from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna – reed, reed mat), from Akkadian 𒂵𒉡𒌑𒌝 (qanûm – reed) [source].

Alternatively, the Ancient Greek word κάννα (kánna – reed, reed mat) comes from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû – reed), Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na – reed), from 𒄀 (gi – reed, measuring reed, unit of length equal to 6 cubits) [source].

Words from the same roots include canal, cannula and cane in English, قَنَاة (qanāh – channel, canal, spear) in Arabic, canna (cane, barrel, rod, tube) in Italian, caneta (pen) in Portuguese, and canol (centre, middle) in Welsh [source].

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.

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.

Omniglot News (08/02/26)

8th February 2026 By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

New alphabet; Vellara alphabet, an alternative alphabet for Albanian created during the 19th century.

Article 1 of the UDHR in Albanian written in the Vellara alphabet

New alphabet: Veso Bey alphabet, an alphabet that was used to write Albanian in southern Albania in the 19th century.

Sample text in the Veso Bey alphabet

New language pages:

Bekwarra (Ebekwara), a Bendi language spoken in Cross River State in southeastern Nigeria.
Kalamang, a Trans-New Guinea language spoken on Karas Island in West Papua in Indonesia.
Woisika (Kamang), a West Bomberai language spoken on Alor Island in East Nusa Tenggara Province in southern Indonesia.
Klon, a West Bomberai language spoken on Alor Island in East Nusa Tenggara Province in southern Indonesia.

New numbers pages:

Bekwarra (Ebekwara), a Bendi language spoken in Cross River State in southeastern Nigeria.
Kalamang, a Trans-New Guinea language spoken on Karas Island in West Papua in Indonesia.
Klon, a West Bomberai language spoken on Alor Island in East Nusa Tenggara Province in southern Indonesia.

New Tower of Babel translation: Bekwarra (Ebekwara), a Bendi language spoken in Cross River State in southeastern Nigeria.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a new post entitled Little Friends about mistranslation and words for child in Chinese and French, and there’s the usual language quiz.

See if you guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Tanzania and Malawi.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Negidal (Неғида хэсэнин), a Northern Tungusic language spoken in Khabarovskij Kraj in the Russian Far East.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, entitled Doomed Pride, we find out what links the word doom with words for judgement, courts and pride.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

There’s also a new post on the Celtiadur blog this week entitled Thousands about words for thousand, mile and related things in Celtic languages.

Improved page: Todhri alphabet

For more Omniglot News, see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046466483286

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Podchaser.

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.

Adventures in Etymology – Doomed Pride

7th February 20267th February 2026 By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we find out what links the word doom with words for judgement, courts and pride.

As a noun, doom [duːm] can mean:

Destiny, especially terrible
An undesirable fate
Dread; a feeling of danger

As a verb, to doom can mean:

To pronounce judgment or sentence on sb
To condem
To fix irrevocably the ill fate of sb

It comes from Middle English doom [doːm] (a judgement, [legal] decision, justice, authority), from Proto-West Germanic *dōm (judgement), from Proto-Germanic *dōmaz (judgement, fame, repute), from PIE *dʰóh₁mos (that which is put), from *dʰeh₁- (to do, put, place) [source].

English words from the same roots include deed, deem, defect and wisdom and other words ending in -dom [source].

Words in other languages from the same roots include doem (doom, condemnation, verdict, judgement) in Dutch, domare (judge, referee, umpire) in Swedish, domhus (courthouse) in Danish, дума (thought, meditation, duma [Russian legislature]) in Russian, duma (pride) in Polish, and dáil (tryst, betrothal, legislature) in Irish [source].

Incidentally, one word for court in Old English was dōmhūs (“judgement house”). It’s cognate with Danish domhus, and became dome-howse (a judgement hall) in Middle English [source].

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.

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.

Omniglot News (01/02/26)

1st February 2026 By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

Wooi, an Eastern Malayo-Polynesian language spoken on Yapen Island in Papua Province in eastern Indonesia.
Adi, an Eastern Tani language spoken in Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India.
Bebe (Naami), an Eastern Beboid language spoken in the North West Region of Cameroon.
Louisiana Creole (kouri-vini), a French-basd creole language spoken mainly in southern Louisiana in the USA.

New numbers pages:

Nlakaʼpamux (Thompson), an Interior Salishan language spoken in Canada and in the USA.
Louisiana Creole (kouri-vini), a French-basd creole language spoken mainly in southern Louisiana in the USA.
Baure, a Southern Arawakan language spoken in northeastern Bolivia.
Saraiki (سرائيكى), a Lahnda language spoken in Pakistan and northern India.

New phrases pages:

Nlakaʼpamux, an Interior Salishan language spoken in Canada and in the USA.
Bonggi, a North Bornean language spoken mainly on Banggi Island in Sabah in East Malaysia.

New family words page: Bonggi.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a new post entitled Ideophones about ideophonic words in Bebe (Naami), Japanese, Korea, Tamil and Zulu, and there’s a new language quiz. Can you guess what language this is?

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in the Russian Far East region.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Ajië (Waawilûû), a New Caledonian language spoken on the east coast of New Caledonia.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, Strong Comfort, we get comfortable and investigate the word comfort and related things.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

There’s also a new post on the Celtiadur blog this week entitled Separation about words for to separate, to split and related things in Celtic languages.

For more Omniglot News, see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/Omniglot-100430558332117

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Podchaser.

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.

Adventures in Etymology – Strong Comfort

31st January 2026 By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we get comfortable and investigate the word comfort.

As a noun, comfort [ˈkʌm.fət / ˈkʌm.fɚt] can mean:

Contentment, ease
Something that offers comfort
Something relieving suffering or worry
A cause of relief or satisfaction

As a verb, to comfort can mean:

To relieve the distress or suffering of
To provide comfort to
(obsolete) To make strong, to invigorate; to assist, help or aid

Comfort is also a surname and a female given name, and the name of places in Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin in the USA [source].

It comes from Middle English comforten [kumˈfɔrtən] (to comfort), from Old French conforter (to reassure, comfort), from Latin cōnfortō (to make stronger, strengthen, give courage), from con- (with) and fortis (strong, powerful, resolute, brave) [source].

Words from the same roots include confortare (to comfort, console) in Italian, confortar (to comfort) in Portuguese, confort (comfort) and conforter (to strengthen, reinforce, confirm) in French, konfor (comfort) in Turkish (borrowed from French), and confort (cosiness) in Romanian (borrowed from French) [source].

The Spanish word confort also comes from the same roots. It means comfort or ease, and in the colloquial Spanish of Chile, it can refer to toilet paper – the name comes from a brand of toilet paper [source].

In Old English, one word for comfort or consolation was frōfor [ˈfroː.for], which became frovre / frother in Middle English, and survives in some English dialects as frover / frother (to comfort, solace) [source].

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.

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.

Omniglot News (25/01/26)

25th January 2026 By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

Pamona, a Celebic language spoken in Sulawesi in Indonesia.
Bawean (bhâsa Phêbiyên), a Madurese language spoken on Bawean Island in the Gresik Regency in East Java Province in southern Indonesia.
Wakasihu (Sou Rikedu), a Central Maluku language spoken on Ambon Island in Maluku Province in eastern Indonesia.
Maybrat, a language isolate spoken in Southwest Papua Province in eastern Indonesia.

New numbers pages:

Maybrat, a language isolate spoken in Southwest Papua Province in eastern Indonesia..
Ahanta (Ayɩnda), a Kwa language spoken in the Western Region of Ghana.
Ajië (Waawilûû), a New Caledonian language spoken on the east coast of New Caledonia.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a new post entitled Immersion about my adventures in China and my thoughts on language immersion, and there’s a new language quiz. Can you guess what language this is?

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in New Caledonia.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Gumuz (ŋgiša baha), a Nilo-Saharan language spoken in the northwest of Ethiopia andthe southeast of Sudan.

This week’s Adventure in Etymology, Wholesome Health, examines the origins of the word health and related things.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

There’s also a new post on the Celtiadur blog this week entitled Change about words for change and related things in Celtic languages.

For more Omniglot News, see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/Omniglot-100430558332117

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Podchaser.

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.

Radio Omniglot

Podcasts about languages and words

Author: Simon

Adventures in Etymology – Flowing Rhythms

Omniglot News (22/02/26)

Adventures in Etymology – Plain Planes

Omniglot News (15/02/26)

Adventures in Etymology – Channelling Reeds

Omniglot News (08/02/26)

Adventures in Etymology – Doomed Pride

Omniglot News (01/02/26)

Adventures in Etymology – Strong Comfort

Omniglot News (25/01/26)