Omniglot News (13/04/25)

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

  • Yaka (Yiyáká), a Bantu language spoken mainly in Kwango Province in the southwest of the DRC.
  • Yansi (kiBeembe), a Bantu language spoken in the south of the Republic of the Congo.
  • Shatt (Caning), an Eastern Sudanic language spoken in South Kordofan Province in the south of Sudan.

New numbers pages:

  • Shatt (Caning), an Eastern Sudanic language spoken in South Kordofan Province of Sudan.
  • Occitan (occitan, lenga d’òc), a Gallo-Romance language spoken in southern France, Monaco, northwest Italy and northern Spain.
  • Limosin (lemosin), a variety of Occitan spoken in Limousin, Charente and Dordogne in the southwest of France.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Lord of the Marches in which we investigate the word marquis, and there’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

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

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Monguor (Dēd Mongol), a Mongolic language spoken in Qinghai and Gansu Provinces in the of northeast of China.

In this week’s Celtic Pathwys podcast, Crooked Rims, we discover the crooked Celtic roots of words for rim and wheel rim in French, Spanish and other languages.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there’s a new post about words for Stewards & Mayors and related things.

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

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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.

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Omniglot News (06/04/25)

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

  • Bembe (kiBeembe), a Bantu language spoken in the south of the Republic of the Congo.
  • Kwambi (Oshikwambi), a Southwest Bantu language spoken mainly in northern Namibia.
  • Luyana (Esiluyana), a Bantu language spoken in mainly the Western Province of Zambia.
  • Yeyi (Shiyeyi), a Bantu language spoken mainly in the northwest of Botswana, and also in the northeast of Namibia.

New numbers pages:

  • Alyawarr, a Pama-Nyungan language spoken mainly in the Northern Territory of Australia.
  • Kala Lagaw Ya, a Pama-Nyungan language spoken on the Torres Strait Islands between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
  • Jah Hut, an Aslian language spoken mainly in Pahang state in the south of peninsula Malaysia.

On the Omniglot blog we find out what the Italian word matita (pencil) has to do with blood and stones in a new post entitled Bloody Pencils, and there’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in the northeast of China.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Nambikwara (Kitãulhu), a Nambikwaran language spoken in Mato Grosso in western Brazil.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, we’re risking ridicule and getting rather ridiculously Ridiculous

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there’s a new post about words for Malt and related things, and I made improvements to the posts about Swords and Spikes and Nails, Claws and Talons.

In other news, I added the 8,000th page to Omniglot this week.

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

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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 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

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.

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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.

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Celtic Pathways – Windy Braying

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].

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Adventures in Etymology – Haywire

Haywire is wire used to bind bales of hay, and can also refer to something that’s roughly-made, erratic or uncontrollable. How are these meanings related? Let’s find out in this Adventure in Etymology.

Baling twine repair

As a noun, haywire [ˈheɪ.waɪ.ə(ɹ) / ˈheɪ.waɪɚ] means wire used for binding bales of hay, straw or grass, and is also known as bale wire, baling wire, farm wire or soft wire.

As an adjective, haywire means roughly-made, unsophisticated, decrepit, or behaviorally erratic or uncontrollable, especially when referring to machines and mechanical processes.

As a verb, to haywire means to attach or fix with haywire, and to go haywire means to become wildly confused, out of control, or mentally unbalanced. [source].

Originally haywire meant likely to become tangled unpredictably or unusably, or fall apart, as if bound by the soft springy wire used to bind hay bales. This usage comes from lumber camps in New England in 1905, when a haywire outfit was a company that patched up machinery temporarily using haywire rather than fixed it properly [source].

The expression to go haywire, which first appeared in writing in the 1920s, represents something held together or repaired with haywire falling apart or behaving unpredicatbly, or something that has gone wrong or is no good. As haywire tends to whip itself into wild and unruly tangles when cut, this meaning makes sense [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.

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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.

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Omniglot News (16/03/25)

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

  • Saxwe (saxwɛgbe), a Gbe language spoken in the Atlantique, Couffo and Mono departments in the southwest of Benin.
  • Ekpeye (Ẹkpeye), an Igboid language spoken in Rivers and Bayelsa states in southern Nigeria.
  • Gun (Gungbe), an Eastern Gbe language spoken in southeastern Benin and southwestern Nigeria.

New numbers page:

  • Romani (romani ćhib), an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Roma people throughtout Europe and the USA.

New adapted script: Aksara Kémara Jawa-Bali-Indhonésia (អក្សរខេមរជវ-ពលិ-ឥណ្ឌោនេស្យ), a way to write Javanese, Balinese, Indonesian, etc with the Khmer script devised by Tom Mai.

Sample text in Aksara Kémara Jawa-Bali-Indhonésia in Javanese

New adapted script: Hrvatsku Glagoljicu (ⱈⱃⰲⰰⱅⱄⰽⱆ ⰳⰾⰰⰳⱁⰾⱐⰻⱌⱆ), a way to write Croatian with the Glagolitic script devised by Aahan Kotian.

Ⱄⰲⰰ ⰾⱓⰴⱄⰽⰰ ⰱⰻћⰰ ⱃⰰђⰰⱓ ⱄⰵ ⱄⰾⱁⰱⱁⰴⱀⰰ ⰻ ⱔⰴⱀⰰⰽⰰ ⱆ ⰴⱁⱄⱅⱁⱑⱀⱄⱅⰲⱆ ⰻ ⱂⱃⰰⰲⰻⱞⰰ. Ⱁⱀⰰ ⱄⱆ ⱁⰱⰴⰰⱃⰵⱀⰰ ⱃⰰⰸⱆⱞⱁⱞ ⰻ ⱄⰲⰻⱔⱎћⱆ ⰻ ⱅⱃⰵⰱⰰ ⱔⰴⱀⰻ ⱂⱃⰵⱞⰰ ⰴⱃⱆⰳⰻⱞⰰ ⰴⰰ ⱂⱁⱄⱅⱆⱂⰰⱓ ⱆ ⰴⱆⱈⱆ ⰱⱃⰰⱅⱄⱅⰲⰰ.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Strong Strings in which we find out whether the the words string, strong, strength, strait, stretch and strict related, and there’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in the Southeast Sulawesi Province in Indonesia.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Arikara (Sáhniš), a Northern Caddoan language spoken in Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota, USA.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, we discover the possible Celtic roots of words for Soot in French and other languages..

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there are new posts about words for Soot and Benches and related things in Celtic languages, and I made improvements to the post about Hedgehogs

Improved page: Tulu language page.

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

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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 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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Celtic Pathways – Sooty Soot

In this episode we discover the possible Celtic roots of words for soot in English, French and various other languages.

Anybody else smell smoke??

The Proto-Celtic word *sūdyā means soot and comes from Proto-Indo-European *suh₃d- (soot [?]), or from sed- (to sit) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • súiche [ˈsˠuːçɪ] = soot in Irish
  • sùith [suːj] = soot in Scottish Gaelic
  • sooie = smut, soot in Manx
  • huddygl [ˈhɨ̞ðɨ̞ɡl / ˈhɪðɪɡl] = soot in Welsh
  • hudhygel = soot in Cornish
  • huzil [ˈhyː(z)il] = soot in Breton

For more about words for soot and related things in Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post: Soot.

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Gaulish *sūdiā (soot [?]), include sutge (soot) in Catalan, suie (soot) in French, and maybe soot in English, sot (soot) in Swedish, sadza (soot) in Polish, сажа (saža – soot) in Russian, and saze (soot) in Czech [source].

Incidentally, another Welsh word for soot is fflacs, which refers specifically to soot blown down a chimney on a windy day [source].

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Omniglot News (09/03/25)

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

  • Mpiemo (Mbimu), a Bantu language spoken in the Central African Republic, Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo.
  • Ebira (èbìrà), a Volta-Niger language spoken mainly in Kogi State in central Nigeria.
  • Gun (Gungbe), an Eastern Gbe language spoken in southeastern Benin and southwestern Nigeria.

New adapted script: Shavian for Esperanto (Ŝava alfabeto), a way to write Esperanto with the Shavian (Shaw) Alphabet.

𐑗𐑦𐑪𐑢 𐑣𐑩𐑫𐑩𐑢 𐑧𐑕𐑑𐑨𐑕 𐑛𐑧𐑵𐑨𐑕𐑒𐑧 𐑤𐑦𐑚𐑧𐑮𐑨𐑢 𐑒𐑨𐑢 𐑧𐑜𐑨𐑤𐑨𐑢 𐑤𐑨𐑘 𐑛𐑦𐑜𐑵𐑩 𐑒𐑨𐑢 𐑮𐑨𐑢𐑑𐑩𐑢. 𐑦𐑤𐑦 𐑐𐑩𐑕𐑧𐑛𐑨𐑕 𐑮𐑨𐑔𐑦𐑩𐑵 𐑒𐑨𐑢 𐑒𐑩𐑵𐑕𐑔𐑦𐑧𐑵𐑔𐑩𐑵, 𐑒𐑨𐑢 𐑛𐑧𐑝𐑪𐑕 𐑒𐑩𐑵𐑛𐑪𐑑𐑦 𐑪𐑵𐑪 𐑨𐑤 𐑨𐑤𐑦𐑨 𐑧𐑵 𐑕𐑐𐑦𐑮𐑦𐑑𐑩 𐑛𐑧 𐑓𐑮𐑨𐑑𐑧𐑔𐑩.

New numbers page:

  • Ebira, a Volta-Niger language spoken in central Nigeria.

New Tower of Babel translation: Ebira, a Volta-Niger language spoken in central Nigeria.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Swallowing Camels about some interesting Danish idioms, and there’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in North Dakota in the USA.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Kurukh (कुड़ुख़), a northern Dravidian language spoken mainly in northern India, and also in Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, we’re grasping the Cash box as we look into the origins of the word cash.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

A bonus Adventure in Etymology is avalable on my Patreon page.

On the Celtiadur blog, there’s a new post entitled Satisfying Pleasure about words for satisfaction, pleasure, gratitude 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

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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 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 – Cash

In this Adventure in Etymology, we are grasping the cash box as we look into the origins of the word cash.

Cash - part of my collection of coins and banknotes

Cash [kæʃ] is:

  • Money in the form of notes or bills and coins
  • Liquid assets, money that can be traded quickly, as distinct from assets that are invested and cannot be easily exchanged.
  • Money.
  • A place where money is kept, or where it is deposited and paid out; a money box. (archaic)

It comes from Middle French caisse (money box, chest), from Occitan caissa from Latin capsa (box, case, holder, repository, bookcase), from capiō (to take, capture, seize), from Old Latin kapio, from Proto-Italic *kapjō (to take, seize), from Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti (to be grasping), from *kap- (to seize, grab, hold) [source].

Words from the same roots include case, chase, have, haven, heave, heft and disciple in English, caja (box, case, bank) in Spanish, caisse (box, crate, cash register) in French, hebben (to have, possess, own, hold) in Dutch, and cuach (bowl, goblet) in Irish [source].

Hang on, how is disciple related to cash? Well, it comes from Middle English disciple (disciple), from Old English discipul (disciple, scholar), from Latin discipulus (student, pupil, disciple, scholar), from dis- (asunder, apart) and Proto-Italic *kapelos (one who takes), from *kapiō (to take), from Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti, etc. So a disciple or scholar could be one said to be who ‘takes apart’ ideas, knowledge, etc. [source].

There are many other words for cash and money in English, including brass, bread, dosh, dough, funds, moolah, readies, spondoolicks and wonga – do you know any others? [source].

By the way, this week there is a bonus Adventure in Etymology on my Patreon page.

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.

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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.

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Omniglot News (02/03/25)

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

  • Mbuun (kiMbuun), a western Bantu language spoken in Kwilu Province in the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • Aka, a Bantu language spoken the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • Komo (Kikomo), a Bantu language spoken in Tshopo Province in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

New constructed script: Θũʘṵʢṳ / Old Speech, a script and language developed by Kitsune Sobo and Charlie Chey for ‘The Song of Eternavis’, a multimedia project detailing the fictional world of Eternavis.

Sample text in Θũʘṵʢṳ / Old Speech

New constructed script: Saturnian, an alternative alphabet for English and Italian designed by Murray Callahan, which is partly based on Tolkien’s Tengwar script.

Sample text in Saturnian

New adapted script: Neo-Tifinagh for Arabic (ⴻⴰⵍⴽⵉⵜⴰⴰⴱⴰⵜ ⴻⴰⵏⵄⴰⵎⴰⴰⵣⵉⵖⵉⵢⵢⴰ), a way to write Arabic with the Neo-Tifinagh script devised by Aahan Kotian.

ⵢⵓⵓⵍⴰⴷⵓ ⴵⴰⵎⵉⵉⵄⵓ ⴰⵏ ⵏⴰⴰⵙⵉ ⴻⴰⵃⵔⴰⴰⵔⴰⵏ ⵎⵓⵜⴰⵙⴰⴰⵡⵉⵉⵏⴰ ⴼⵉⵉ ⴰⵍ ⴽⴰⵔⴰⴰⵎⴰⵜⵉ ⵡⴰ ⴰⵍ ⵃⵓⵇⵓⵓⵇ. ⵡⴰ ⵇⴰⴷ ⵡⵓⵀⵉⴱⵓⵓ ⵄⴰⵇⵍⴰⵏ ⵡⴰ ⴹⴰⵎⵉⵉⵔⴰⵏ ⵡⴰ ⵄⴰⵍⴰⵢⵀⵉⵎ ⵄⴰⵏ ⵢⵓⵄⴰⴰⵎⵉⵍⴰ ⴱⴰⵄⴹⵓⵀⵓⵎ ⴱⴰⵄⴹⴰⵏ ⴱⵉⵔⵓⵓⵃⵉ ⴰⵍ ⵉⵅⴰⴰⴻ.

New numbers pages:

  • Jirel (जिरेल), a Southern Tibetic language spoken mainly in Bagmati Province in eastern Nepal.
  • Itbayat (Itbayatan), a Batanic language spoken mainly on Itbayat Island in the Batanes Islands in the Philippines.
  • Palauan (a tekoi er a Belau), a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken in Palau, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Improved numbers page: Sundanese

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Swallowing Camels about some interesting Danish idioms, and there’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken mainly in northern India, and also in Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Ikwerre, an Igboid language spoken mainly in River State in southern Nigeria.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, Quays, we uncover the Celtic roots of words for quay, jetty, pier, etc. in English, French and other languages.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there’s a new post about words for Bishop 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

JapanesePod101.com

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 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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