Category: Italian (italiano)

Adventures in Etymology – Minions

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we unravel the roots of the word minion.

Minions

A minion [ˈmɪnjən] is:

  • A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.
  • A sycophantic follower.
  • A small, yellow creature that appears in the Despicable Me and Minions films.

It used to mean:

  • A loved one; one highly esteemed and favoured.
  • Favoured, beloved

It comes from Middle French mignon (lover, favourite, darling), from Old French mignon (dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind), from Frankish *minnju (love, friendship, affection, memory), from Proto-Germanic *minþijō, (affectionate thought, care), from PIE *men- (to think, mind) [source].

Related words in Engish include minionette (small, delicate), minionlike (resembling a minion, finely, daintily), and miniondom (the realm, sphere, or world of minions; minions collectively).

Words from the same PIE roots include mignon (cute, sweet, lovely) in French, manit (to notice, observe, perceive) in Lithuanian, monieren (to criticize, complain) in German, mostrare (to show, indicate, point) in Italian, mynwent (graveyard, cemetery) in Welsh, and admonish, mantra, mind, monitor, monster, monument and summon in English [source].

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

The theme tune for this podcast is The Unexpected Badger / Y Mochyn Daear Annisgwyl, a piece I wrote and recorded in 2017.

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.




Celtic Pathways – Cumbersome Confluences

By Simon

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In this episode we disencumber the cumbersome and confluent Celtic roots of words like encumber.

The meeting of the waters

The Proto-Celtic word *kombereti means to bring together and comes from Proto-Celtic *kom- (with, together) and *bereti (to bear), from PIE *bʰéreti (to be carrying) [source].

Descendants in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • cumar = ravine, channel, rut in Irish
  • comar [komər] = confluence, concourse in Scottish Gaelic
  • cymer [ˈkəmɛr] = confluence, meeting of waters, meeting place or clash of armies in Welsh
  • kemper = confluence, junction of streams in Cornish
  • kember [ˈkɛm.bɛr] = confluence in Breton

Words from the same Proto-Celtic roots, via Gaulish *comberos (river dam) and Latin combrus (river dam), possibly include encombrer (to block off, clutter, congest, encumber, burden) in French, ingombrare (to encumber, clutter, choke) in Italian, and cumbersome, encumber and incumbrance in English [source].

You can be encumbered and unencumbered in English, but can you be simply cumbered? Yes, you can. Cumber is an old word that means to slow down, hinder or burden. It comes from Middle English combren (to trouble, vex, annoy), from Old French combre (dam, dike), from Latin combrus etc. [source].

Other words related to cumber include cumberer (one that cumbers), cumberless (unencumbered), and cumberground (a totally worthless object or person, something that is just in the way).

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Celtic Pathways – Celtic Carpenters

By Simon

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In this episode we drill down to the Celtic roots of words for carpenter in English and other languages.

Moffett Mill

The Proto-Celtic word *karbantos means (war) chariot or wagon and is possibly related to the Proto-Celtic word *korbos (wagon, basket). Beyond that, its origins are not known [source].

Descendants in the modern 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
  • karbed = vehicle in Breton

More details about words for Wagons & Carts in Celtic languages on Celtiadur.

The Gaulish word carbantos (chariot, wagon) comes from the same Proto-Celtic root, and was borrowed into Latin as carpentum (carriage, wagon, cart), from which we get the Latin word carpentārius (coachman, cartwright, carpenter) [source].

Words from the same Latin and Gaulish roots include charpente (framework, build, structure) and charpentier (carpenter) in French, carpentiere (carpenter) in Italian, carpintero (carpenter, woodpecker) in Spanish, and carpenter in English [source].

Incidentally, in Old English one word for carpenter, and woodworker, was trēowwyrhta, or literally “tree worker”. This later became treewright, an old word for a carpenter, joiner or other worker of wood [source].

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Celtic Pathways – Cheesy Hills

By Simon

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In this episode, we uncover the possible Celtic roots of words for hillsides and rough scrub land in Romance languages.

Cwm Idwal

The Proto-Celtic words *brigā (hill, fortress) and *brixs (hill), both come from Proto-Indo-European *bʰérǵʰ-s (something high up, fortified) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • brí [bʲɾʲiː] = brae, hill in Irish
  • bre [bre] = hill, headland in Scottish Gaelic
  • bre [bre] = hill, hillock, mountain, hill-country, upland, peak in Welsh
  • bre [brɛ: / bre:] = hill in Cornish – appears as Bray or Brae in placenames
  • bre [breː] = hill, mountain in Breton

For more details of related words in the Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post Hills.

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Gaulish *brigā (hill, fortress) and Latin *brigna (rocky terrain), possibly include bricco (hill, crag, ridgeside) in Italian, breña (scrub, brush, rough ground) in Spanish and Galician, and brenha (scrub, complication, confusion) in Portuguese [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include burrow and borough, (and place names ending in burg(h), boro(ugh), bury, etc.) in English, Burg (castle) in German, burcht (citadel, castle, borough, burrow) in Dutch, and bourg (market town, village) in French – also found in place names, such as Strasbourg and Luxembourg [source].

My take

Incidentally, the French cheese brie comes from and is named after the historic region of Brie in northern France, which gets its name from Gaulish *brigā (hill, fortress), from Proto-Celtic *brigā (hill, fortress) [source].

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Celtic Pathways – Floors

By Simon

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In this episode we unearth the possible Celtic roots of words for field and related things in Galician and other languages.

Attic with added cusions

The Proto-Celtic word *ɸlārom means floor and comes from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂ros (to be flat, from *pleh₂- (flat) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • lár [l̪ˠɑːɾˠ] = ground, floor, middle, centre in Irish
  • làr [l̪ˠaːɾ] = floor, ground, storey, middle, centre in Scottish Gaelic
  • laare = flat, level, set, sill, centre, bottom, deck, floor, storey in Manx
  • llawr [ɬau̯r] = floor, deck, stage, platform, cellar, ground in Welsh
  • leur = floor, ground, storey in Cornish
  • leur [løːr] = floor, ground, area in Breton

For more details of related words in the Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post Floor / Ground.

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root possibly include leira (field, a strip of cultivable land) in Galician, leira (furrow, a strip of cultivated land) in Portuguese, llera (a pebbly or stony area) in Spanish [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include flat, floor, palm, piano, plan and plane in English, piazza [ˈpjat.tsa] (square, plaza, market, space) in Italian, Flur [fluːr] (hall, corridor, stairwell) in German, and vloer [vluːr] (floor, ground, surface) in Dutch [source].

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.




Celtic Pathways – Crooked Rims

By Simon

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In this episode we unravel the Celtic roots of words for wheel, rim and related things in French, Spanish and other languages.

circus wagon wheel

The Proto-Celtic word *kambitā means rim and comes from Proto-Celtic *kambos (twisted, crooked, bent), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱh₂embos (crooked), possibly from *(s)ḱamb- (bent, crooked) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • camedd [ˈkameð] = crookedness, curvature, loop, bend, joint, hook in Welsh
  • kammek = (wheel) rim in Cornish
  • kammed [ˈkã.mːɛt] = rim, rounded in Breton

For more details of related words in the Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post Crooked.

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Transalpine Gaulish cambita (curve) and Latin *cambita, include jante (rim, wheel rim) in French, jante (rim, wheel rim) in Portuguese, llanta (tyre rim, wheel rim, tyre, fat) in Spanish, jant (rim, wheel rim) in Turkish [source].

Words from the same PIE roots possibly include schimpen (to abuse, swear at, mock) in Dutch, schimpfen (to tell off, scold, yell at) in German, skimp (to jeer, jibe, scoff, taunt) in Afrikaans, and skimp (to poke fun (at), banter, mock, speak sarcastically (about)) in Scots [source].

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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Adventures in Etymology – Ridiculous

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology, we’re risking ridicule and getting rather ridiculously ridiculous.

Ridiculous

Ridiculous [ɹɪˈdɪkjələs/ɹɪˈdɪkjʊləs] means deserving or ridicule, foolish, absurd, astonishing, extreme or unbelievable.

It comes from Latin rīdiculus [riːˈd̪ɪkʊɫ̪ʊs̠] (laughable, funny, amusing, silly, absurd, ridiculous), from rīdeō (to laugh (at), ridicule, mock), the origins of which are not known [source].

Words from the same roots include ridicule (mocking words or behaviour; to make fun of), risible (ludicrous, ridiculous, provoking laughter) and derisory (laughably small or inadequate) in English, ridere (to laugh) in Italian, sourire (to smile) in French, and ridikül (ridiculous) in German [source].

The rare English word ridibund (inclined to and easily brought to laughter, happy), and the anatomical term risorius (the facial muscle used when smiling) also come from the same roots [source]

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

The theme tune for this episode is The Unexpected Badger / Y Mochyn Daear Annisgwyl, a piece I composed and recorded in 2017.

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

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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Celtic Pathways – Windy Braying

By Simon

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In this episode we discover the flatulent Celtic roots of words for to bray and related things in English, French and other languages.

Cacahuète braying

The Proto-Celtic word *bragyeti means to fart or flatulate and comes from Proto-Celtic *braxsman (fart), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreHg- (to stink, smell, have a strong odour) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • broim [bˠɾˠiːmʲ] = fart in Irish
  • braim [brãũm] = fart, breaking of wind in Scottish Gaelic
  • breim = fart in Manx
  • bram [bram] = fart, gentle puff in Welsh
  • bramm = fart in Cornish
  • bramm [brãmː ] = fart in Breton

For more about words for fart and related things in Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post: Breaking the Wind.

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, Gaulish *bragiū (fart) and Latin bragiō (to bray, cry, weep), include (to) bray in English, braire (to bray, shout, cry, weep) and brailler (to shout, yell, speak very loudly) in French, and sbraitare (to shout, scream, yell, rant) in Italian [source].

Words from the same PIE root possibly include braña (mire, bog, fen, march, moorland) in Galician, flair, fragrant in English, flairer (to smell, sniff, scent, sense) in French, fragare (to smell) in Italian, and cheirar (to smell) in Portuguese [source].

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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Adventures in Etymology – Bottles, Boots and Butts

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology, we find connections between words for bottle, boot and butt in various languages.

Balcony pix

Meanings of bottle [ˈbɔtɫ̩ / ˈbɑ.təl] include:

  • A container, typically made of glass or plastic and having a tapered neck, used primarily for holding liquids.
  • The contents of such a container.

It comes from Middle English botel [ˈbutəl] (bottle, flask, wineskin), from Old French boteille [buˈteʎə] (bottle), from Late Latin butticula (bottle, flask), from buttis (cask, barrel), from Ancient Greek βοῦττῐς (boûttĭs – a type of vessel), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeHw- (to swell, puff) [source].

Words from the same roots include boot, butt (cask, barrel), and butler in English, bottiglia (bottle) in Italian, botte (boot, oppression) in French, botija (jug, vessel) in Spanish, butoi (barrel, cask) in Romanian, buta (butt, cask, stock, stocky person) in Irish, and búča (pumpkin, squash, head) in Slovenian [source].

Words for bottle in Old English included:

  • flasce [ˈflɑs.ke] (bottle, flask), which comes from Proto-Germanic *flaskǭ (flask, bottle), lives on as flask in English, and is related the German word Flasche (bottle, flask, flagon), fles (bottle) in Dutch, and flaska (bottle) in Swedish [source].
  • ampella [ˈɑm.pel.lɑ] (flask, bottle, flagon, vial), which comes from Proto-West Germanic *ampullā (flask), from Latin ampulla (a two-handled vessel with a swollen middle), from amphora (a large vessel, especially one made of clay with two handles used for storing and transporting wine and oil), from Ancient Greek ἀμφορεύς (amphoreús – jar with a narrow neck, amphora). It lives on as ampoule in English [source].

A related word in German is Ampel, which can refer to a traffic light, a ceiling lamp or a container which hangs from the ceiling (for a plant, etc.) [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.

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

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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Celtic Pathways – Calamitous Swords

By Simon

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In this episode we discover the possible Celtic roots of some words for sword, hammer and related things in Romance and Slavic languages.

Swords

The Proto-Celtic word *kladiwos means sword, and comes from Proto-Celtic *kladeti (to stab, dig), from Proto-Indo-European *kl̥h₂dʰ-é-ti, from *kelh₂- (to beat, strike) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • claíomh [kl̪ˠiːvˠ/kl̪ˠiːw] = sword in Irish
  • claidheamh [kl̪ˠajəv] = sword in Scottish Gaelic
  • cliwe = sword in Manx
  • cleddyf [ˈklɛðɨ̞v/ˈkleːðɪv] = sword, blade, brace (on a door or wall) in Welsh
  • kledha = sword in Cornish
  • kleze [ˈkleː.ze] = sword, glaive (a light lance with a long, sharp-pointed head) in Breton

For more about words for sword and related things in Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post: Swords & Spikes

Words directly from the same Proto-Celtic root *kladiwos (sword) include kladivo (hammer, gavel) in Croatian, kladivo (hammer, sledgehammer) in Czech, kladivo (hammer, stamp, maul, hammerhead) in Slovak, kladivo (hammer, sledgehammer) in Slovenian [source].

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root *kladiwos (sword), via Gaulish *kladyos (sword), and Latin gladius (sword, death, a gladiatorial contest), possibly include gladiator, gladiolus and glaive in English, esglai (fright) in Catalan, ghiado (sword, dagger, knife, frost, cold), and giaggiolo (iris [flower]) in Italian, gládio (sword, power, strength) in Portuguese and glaïeul (gladiolus) in French [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include calamity, clade, clergy, cleric, clerk, coup, and glaive in English, коля (kolja – to slaughter, butcher) in Bulgarian, kłoda (log, trunk, beehive, barrel) in Polish, and Holz (wood) in German [source].

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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