Adventures in Etymology – Campus

17th September 202217th September 2022 By Simon

Today we are exploring origins of the word campus.

A campus [ˈkæmpəs / ˈkæmpʊs] is:

The grounds or property of a school, college, university, business, church, or hospital, often understood to include buildings and other structures.

It comes from the Latin campus (field. plain), from the Proto-Italic *kampos, from the Proto-Indo-European *kh₂ém-po-s, from *kh₂emp- (to bend, curve, smooth) [source].

Words from the same roots include camp, campaign and champagne in English, campo (field) in Italian, campo (country(side), field) in Portuguese, and champ (field) in French [source].

The southern Italian region of Campania, the name of which comes from the Latin campus, was the source of bronze used to make bells, which were known as campāna in Latin Latin. This comes from Campāna (of Campania) [source].

Words from the same Latin roots include: campanile (bell tower, belfry) and campanology (the study of bells) in English, campana (bell) in Italian, campana (bell, bell-shaped object, hood) in Spanish, and cumpănă (balance, scales, equilibirum) in Romanian [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 – Bells & Clocks

17th September 202217th September 2022 By Simon

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In this episode we’re looking at words for bells, clocks and related things..

The Proto-Celtic word for bell was *klokkos, which comes either from the Proto-Indo-European *klēg-/*klōg- (onomatopoeia), or from *kleg- (to cry, sound) [source].

Descendants in the modern Celtic languages include:

clog [klˠɔɡ] = bell, clock in Irish
clag [kl̪ˠag] = bell; crash, loud noise in Scottish Gaulish
clag = bell, clock, ball in Manx
cloch [kloːχ] = bell, bell-shaped object, bubble; prize, feat; o’clock in Welsh
klogh [klɔ:x / klo:h] = bell in Cornish
kloc’h = bell in Breton

The Medieval Latin word clocca possibly comes from the same Proto-Celtic root. It meant bell from the 8th century, bell-shaped clock from the 13th century and clock from the 15th century [source].

Words from the same Latin root include cloche, cloak and clock in English, cloche (bell, cover, clot) and cloque (blister) in French, klocka (clock, watch, bell) in Swedish, and Glocke (bell) in German [source].

More details about these words on 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.

Omniglot News (11/09/22)

11th September 202211th September 2022 By Simon

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

There are new language pages about:

Isthmus Mixe (Ayüük), a Mixe-Zoque language spoken in Oaxaca in southern Mexico.
Isan (อีสาน), a Lao-Phuthai language spoken in the Isan region in northeastern Thailand.

There are new numbers pages in:

Isthmus Mixe (Ayüük)
Isan (อีสาน)
Hmong Dau / White Hmong (Hmongb Dleub), a variety of Hmong spoken in Vietnam, China and Laos.

There’s a new family words page in: Khmer (ភាសាខ្មែរ), a Mon-Khmer language spoken mainly in Cambodia, and also in Vietnam and Thailand.

There’s a new adapted script: Tengwar for Kurdish, a way to write Kurmanji Kurdish with Tolkien’s Tengwar alphabet devised by Ersen Yeşer.

Article 1 of the UDHR in Kurdish in the Tengwar alphabet

There’s an Omniglot blog post called Sleep like a …, about idioms for sleeping well, such as sleep like a log, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Alaska, and he’s talking about repairing fishing nets.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was
Dagaare, a Gur language spoken in Ghana and Burkina Faso.

There are new Celtiadur posts about words for Blood, Surfaces and related things in Celtic languages.

There’s an episode of the Celtic Pathways podcast about words for Wagons and Carts.

In the Adventure in Etymology we delve into the origins of the word nostril, and find out how it’s connected to such words as hood and heed.

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

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 – Nostril

10th September 202210th September 2022 By Simon

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Today we are delving into the origins of the word nostril, as requested by Sculley_volley on Tiktok

A nostril [ˈnɒstɹɪl / ˈnɒstɹəl] is:

either of the two orifices located on the nose (or on the beak of a bird); used as a passage for air and other gases to travel the nasal passages.

It comes from the Middle English nosethirl [ˈnɔːsˌθirl] (nostril), from the Old English nosþȳrel [ˈnosˌθyː.rel] (nostril), from nosu [ˈno.su] (nose) and þyrel (hole, opening, aperture, pierced). Another word for nostril is nosehole, and the technical/medical term is naris [source].

The word thirl is or was used in some dialects of English to mean a hole, aperture, nostril, or a low door in a dry-stone wall to allow sheep (and hares) to pass through, otherwise known as a smoot. It’s cognate with the word thrill [source].

Incidentally, the word smoot is also a unit of length equal to 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m), which was named after Oliver R. Smoot, who was used to measure the Harvard Bridge as a prank in 1958. The bridge was found to be 364.4 smoots (2,035 ft; 620.1 m) long [source].

In Old English, þyrel [ˈθy.rel] appeared in other compound words such as ēagþyrel (window, lit. “eye hole”), wāgþyrel (doorway, lit. “wall hole”), and swātþyrel (pore, lit. “sweat hole”) [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 – Wagons and Carts

9th September 20229th September 2022 By Simon

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In this episode we’re looking at words for wagons, carts and related vehicles.

One Proto-Celtic word for wagon was *karros, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós (vehicle), from *ḱers- (to run) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

*karros = wagon in Gaulish
carr [kɑːɾˠ / kæːɾˠ] = car in Irish
càr [kar] = car, cart, raft in Scottish Gaulish
carr = car, cab, van in Manx
car [kar] = vehicle, car, sled, dray; rack, stand in Welsh
karr [karː / kær] = car in Cornish
karr = car, coach, carriage, trailer, vehicle in Breton

The Gaulish word *karros was borrowed into Latin as carrus (wagon, cart, cartload), which became carro (wagon, cart, van, lorry, truck) in Italian; carro (cart, car, bus) in Spanish; car (bus, coach) in French, car, carriage and chariot in English, and related words in most other Indo-European languages [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include currus (chariot, car, wagon) in Latin, horse in English, hors (mare, female foal, frivolous woman) in Norwegian (Nynorsk), and hross (horse) in Icelandic [source].

The Proto-Celtic word *karbantos means (war) chariot or wagon and is possibly related to the Proto-Celtic word *korbos (wagon, basket). [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

carbad [ˈkaɾˠəbˠəd̪ˠ] = chariot in Irish
carbad [karabad] = chariot, coach, carriage, wagon, vehicle, bier, jaw(bone) in Scottish Gaulish
carbyd = bus, coach, vehicle, bier, hearse in Manx
cerbyd [ˈkɛrbɨ̞d / ˈkɛrbɪd] = car, carriage, chariot, wagon, coach; clumsy fellow, bungler in Welsh
cerpit = chariot, wagon in Old Cornish
karbed = vehicle in Breton

The French word charpente (framework, structure) comes from the same Proto-Celtic root, via the Gaulish carbantos and the Latin carpentum (carriage, chariot, wagon, cart) [source].

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.

Omniglot News (04/09/22)

4th September 20224th September 2022 By Simon

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

There are new language pages about:

Gulf Arabic (خليجي‎), a variety of Arabic spoken mainly around the Persian Gulf in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabic, Oman, Qatar and other countries.
Kusaal (Kʋsaal), a Gur language spoken mainly in northern Ghana, and also in Burkina Faso and Togo.
Southern Birifor (Birfoɔr), a Gur language spoken in northern Ghana and northeastern Côte d’Ivoire

There are new numbers pages in:

Proto-Polynesian, the reconstructed ancestor of all modern Polynesian languages.
Emae (Fakamakata), a Polynesian language spoken mainly on the island of Emae in Shefa province of Vanuatu.

There are new family words pages in:

Lao (ພາສາລາວ), a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in Laos, and also in Cambodia and Vietnam.
Thai (ภาษาไทย), a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in Thailand

There are now recordings of all the Finnish numbers

There’s an Omniglot blog post called Apologetic Thanks, about words for thanks and apologies in Chinese and Japanese, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in parts of West Africa.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Isan (ภาษาอีสาน), a Lao-Phutai language spoken in the Isan region in the northeast of Thailand.

There’s a new Celtiadur post are about words for This & That and related things in Celtic languages.

There’s an episode of the Celtic Pathways podcast about words for Horses.

In the Adventure in Etymology we uncover the origins of the word hat, and find out how it’s connected to such words as hood and heed.

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

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 – Hat

3rd September 20223rd September 2022 By Simon

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Today we are uncovering the origins of the word hat.

A hat [hæt / hat] is:

a covering for the head, often in the approximate form of a cone, dome or cylinder closed at its top end, and sometimes having a brim and other decoration
a particular role or capacity that a person might fill.

It comes from the Middle English hat [hat] (hat, cap, helmet), from the Old English hæt(t) (hat, head-covering), from the Proto-Germanic *hattuz [ˈxɑt.tuz] (hat), from the Proto-Indo-European *kadʰnú-, from *kadʰ- (to guard, cover, protect, care for) [source].

Words from the same root include: hood, heed in English, hat (hat) in Danish, hatta (hat) and hätta (bonnet, hood) in Swedish, hattu (hat, cap) in Finnish, hoed (hat, lid) in Dutch, Hut (hat, cap, protection, keeping) in German, and cadw (to keep, guard, defend, save) in Welsh [source].

There are quite a few idioms and sayings related to hats, including:

at the drop of a hat = (to do sth) without any hesitation, instantly. For example, I can talk about language and linguistics at the drop of a hat.
to eat one’s hat = a humorous action that one will allegedly take place if something very unlikely happens. For example, if a million people listen to this podcast, I’ll eat my hat.
old hat = something very common or out of date.
to pass the hat = to ask for money, solicit donations or contributions
to keep sth under one’s hat = to keep sth secret

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 – Horses

2nd September 202211th May 2024 By Simon

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In this episode we’re looking at words for horses and related beasts.

One Proto-Celtic word for horse was *kaballos, which possibly comes from an Asiatic source, and may ultimately come from the Proto-Indo-European *kebʰ- (worn-out horse, nag) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

*caballos = horse in Gaulish
capall [ˈkapˠəl̪ˠ] = horse, mare in Irish
capall [kahbəl̪ˠ] = mare, colt, horse, small horse in Scottish Gaulish
cabbyl = horse in Manx
ceffyl [ˈkɛfɨ̞l / ˈkɛfɪl] = horse, nag in Welsh
cevil, kevil = horse in Middle Cornish, and kevelek (woodcock) in Revived Cornish
cefel = horse in Old Breton, and kefeleg (woodcock) in modern Breton

The Gaulish word *caballos was borrowed into Latin as caballus. In Classical Latin it was only used in poetry, while equus was the usual word for horse. In Vulgar Latin and Late Latin caballus was more commonly used, and mean a horse, nag, pack-horse, jade or hack.

Words for horse in various other languages come from the same Latin root, including cavallo in Italian, caballo in Spanish, cavalo in Portuguese and cheval in French [source]. The English words cavalry, chivalry and cavalier also come from the same Latin roots [source].

Another Proto-Celtic word for horse was *ekʷos, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁éḱwos (stallion, horse) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

epos = horse in Gaulish
each [ax] = horse (archaic) Irish
each [ɛx] = horse in Scottish Gaulish
eagh = steed, riding horse in Manx
ebol [ˈɛbɔl / ˈeːbɔl] = colt, foal, sucker in Welsh
ebel = horse in Cornish
ebeul [ˈe.bøl] = foal in Breton

The English words equine, equestrian come from the same PIE root, via Latin [source], as do words beginning with hippo-, such as hippopotamus, hippodrome and hippomancy (divination by the interpretation of the appearance and behaviour of horses) the via Ancient Greek [source].

Another Proto-Celtic word for horse was *markos, which possibly comes from the Proto-Indo-European *márkos (horse) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

marc [mˠaɾˠk] = horse (literary, archaic) Irish
marc [marxk] = charger, warhorse (literary) in Scottish Gaulish
mark = horse in Manx
march [marχ] = horse, stallion, war-horse, steed in Welsh
margh [ˈmaɾx] = horse in Cornish
marc’h [ˈmaʁχ] = horse, easel in Breton

The English words mare and marshal possibly come from the same roots [source].

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.

Omniglot News (28/08/22)

28th August 202228th August 2022 By Simon

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

We have some new adapted and constructed scripts this week:

Tiukigul (튜키글), a way to write Turkish with the Korean Hangul script created by Adiljan Barat.

Sample text in Tiukigul

Göktürkçe, an alternative way to write modern Turkish with the Old Turkish (Göktürk) alphabet devised by Gökbey Uluç.

Sample text in Göktürkçe

Scorapice Shorthand, a way write English with Russian shorthand devised by Anatole Fiodorov.

Sample text in Scorapice

Ka Hakalama Hou, an alternative way to write Hawaiian created by Seth Van Middlesworth.

Sample text in the Ka Hakalama Hou

There are new language pages about:

Mampruli (Ŋmampulli), a Gur language spoken in northern Ghana.
Frafra (ninkãrɛ / gʋrnɛ / fãrfãre), a Gur language spoken in northern Ghan and southern Burkina Faso.
Jian’ou (建甌事 / Gṳ̿ing-é-dī), a variety of Northern Min spoken in Jian’ou city in northern Fujian province in the southeast of China.

New phrases page: Oromo (Afaan Oromoo), a Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Egypt.

There are new numbers pages in:

Tai Nuea (ᥖᥭᥰ ᥖᥬᥲ ᥑᥨᥒᥰ), a Southwestern Tai language spoken mainly in Yunnan province in the southwest of China. /li>
Mossi (Mòoré), a Gur language spoken in Burkina-Faso, Mali and Togo.
Mampruli (Ŋmampulli)

There a new version of the Tower of Babel story in Mampruli.

There’s a new article about The Scottish Gaelic dialects of St Kilda.

There’s an Omniglot blog post about the expression Six Ways to Sunday, which means ‘in every possible way/direction’, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

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

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was North Slavey (Sahtúotʼı̨nę Yatį́), a Northern Athabaskan language spoken in the District of Mackenzie in the Northwest Territories of Canada.

There are new Celtiadur posts are about words for Servants, Bareness and related things in Celtic languages.

There’s an episode of the Celtic Pathways podcast about words for Servant and related people.

In the Adventure in Etymology we unpeel the origins of the word library, and find out how it’s connected to such words as lobby and lodge.

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

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 – Library

27th August 202227th August 2022 By Simon

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Shankland Reading Room, Bangor University. Photo by Richard Simcott

Today we are unpeeling the origins of the word library.

A library [ˈlaɪbɹi / ˈlaɪbɹəɹi] is:

a building, room, or organization that has a collection of books, documents, music, and sometimes things such as tools or artwork, for people to borrow, usually without payment.

It comes from the Middle English librarie [libˈraːriː(ə)] (library, reading room, bookshelf, bookcase, archive, collection (of texts)), from the Anglo-Norman librarie (library, collection of books), from the Old French librairie, from the Latin librārium (bookcase, library), from liber (book, inner bark of a tree) and -ārium (place for) [source].

The word liber comes from the PIE *lewbʰ- (to peel, cut off, harm), perhaps from *lew- (to cut off). The English words leaf, lobby and lodge possibly come from the same roots [source].

A Middle English word for library was boch(o)us, from the Old English bōchūs [ˈboːkˌhuːs] (library), from bōc (book) and hūs (house). The word bookhouse (a repository/store of books, library) exists in modern English, although is not in common usage [source].

Cognates of library in Romance languages, such as librarie in French and librería in Spanish, mean ‘bookshop / bookstore’. They used to mean library until about the 16th century, and were replaced by words derived from the the Latin bibliothēca (library) [source].

The word bibliotheca used to be used in English to mean a collection or catalogue of books, or a library. It was borrowed from the Latin bibliothēca (library), from the Ancient Greek βιβλιοθήκη (bibliothḗkē – bookcase, library, records office, ), from βιβλίον (biblíon – book) and‎ θήκη (thḗkē – box, chest) [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.

Radio Omniglot

Podcasts about languages and words

Category: Podcast

Adventures in Etymology – Campus

Celtic Pathways – Bells & Clocks

Omniglot News (11/09/22)

Adventures in Etymology – Nostril

Celtic Pathways – Wagons and Carts

Omniglot News (04/09/22)

Adventures in Etymology – Hat

Celtic Pathways – Horses

Omniglot News (28/08/22)

Adventures in Etymology – Library