Category: Proto-Germanic

Adventures in Etymology – Delays Expected

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we investigate the tardy roots of the word delay.

Expect delays

A delay [dɪˈleɪ̯ / dəˈleɪ̯] is a period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity, and various other things.

To delay can mean to put off until later; to defer; to retard; to temporarily stop; to wait; to hesitate, and other things.

It comes from Middle English delaien (to delay, postpone, withhold, hinder), from Old French deslai(i)er (to delay), probably a conflation of the Old Frankish words *lattjan (to delay, hinder) and *laibijan (to leave).

The former comes from Proto-Germanic *latjaną (to delay, hinder, stall), from PIE *leh₁d- (to leave, to be tired), and the latter comes from Proto-Germanic *laibijaną (to leave), from PIE *leyp- (to stick, fat) [source].

Words from the same Old French roots include délai (time limit, extension) in French, tlajja (to loiter, linger, stroll back forth) in Maltese, and dally (to waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness) and dalliance (playful flirtation, a wasting of time in idleness or triffles) in English [source].

Other words from the PIE root *leh₁d- (to leave, etc) include laten (to leave, let, cause to) in Dutch, lassen (to allow, permit, let) in German, laisser (to leave, forget, let) in French, and late, let, lease and lassitude in English [source].

Other words from the PIE root *leyp- (to stick, etc) include leve (to live, to be alive) in Danish, lepiť (to stick) in Slovak and leave, belive, life and liver in English [source].

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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.




Adventures in Etymology – Tongues

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we find out what links the words tongue and language.

Tongue

A tongue [tʌŋ] is a flexible muscular organ in the mouth that is used to move food around, for tasting and that is moved into various positions to modify the flow of air from the lungs in order to produce different sounds in speech. It can also refer to a language. Other meanings are available.

It comes from Middle English tong(e) / tung(e) (tongue, language, speech), from Old English tunge (a tongue, a language), from Proto-West Germanic *tungā (tongue, speech, language), from Proto-Germanic *tungǭ (tongue, speech, language), from PIE *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s (tongue) [source].

Words from the same roots include լեզու (lezu – tongue, language, speech, nation, people) in Armenian, liežuvis (tongue) in Lithuanian, jazyk (tongue, language) in Czech, tunga (tongue, language, speech) in Swedish, and Zunge (tongue) in German [source].

Words such as lingua in Italian, lengua in Spanish and langue in French, all of which mean tongue or language, also come from the same roots, via Old Latin dinguā (tongue, language, speech) and Proto-Italic *dn̥ɣwā (tongue) [source].

Words in Celtic languages, such as teanga (tongue, language) in Irish, tafod (tongue) in Welsh, and taves (tongue, language) in Cornish, share the same roots, via Proto-Celtic *tangʷāts (tongue) [source].

The English words language, linguist and lingual (related to the tongue) have the same PIE roots as well. Language comes from Middle English lang(u)age (language, tongue, speech), from Old French language (language), from Vulgar Latin *linguāticum (language, manner of speaking), from Latin lingua (tongue, speech, language), etc. The other words were borrowed directly from Latin [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.

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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.




Adventures in Etymology – Flowing Floods

By Simon

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What links the word flood with words for flow, river and high tide? Let’s find out in this Adventure in Etymology.

Flowing Floods

Meanings of flood [flʌd] include:

  • An overflow of a large amount of water (usually disastrous) from a lake or other body of water due to excessive rainfall or other input of water.
  • A large number or quantity of anything appearing more rapidly than can easily be dealt with (e.g. a flood of complaints).
  • The flowing in of the tide.

It comes from Middle English flod [floːd] (river, lake, ocean, flood), from Old English flōd / ᚠᛚᚩᛞᚢ [floːd] (flowing of the tide, river, stream, flood), from Proto-West Germanic *flōdu (river, flood), from Proto-Germanic *flōduz (river, flood), from PIE *plóh₃tus (overflow, deluge), from *pleh₃(w)- (to swim, to flow) [source].

Words from the same roots possibly include flow in English, flod [fluːd] (river, flood, high tide) in Swedish, vloeien [ˈvlui̯ə(n)] (to flow) in Dutch, плувам [ˈpɫuvɐm] (to swim, to float) in Bulgarian, and plauti [ˈpɫɐ̂ʊtʲɪ] (to wash, rinse) in Lithuanian [source].

In Old English, another word for river (and stream) was ēa [æɑː], which comes from Proto-West Germanic *ahu (river), from Proto-Germanic *ahwō (stream, river, water), from PIE *h₂ekʷeh₂ ([flowing] water) [source].

Words from the same roots include eddy and ewer in English, å [oː] (river, creek, big stream) in Swedish, ø [øˀ] (island) in Danish, á [auː] (river) in Icelandic, and agua [ˈa.ɣ̞wa] (water) in Spanish [source].

There was a lot of rain in the UK this week, and plenty of large puddles on the roads, but I didn’t see any major floods. I hope things were okay where you are.

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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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.




Adventures in Etymology – Harmonious Reason

By Simon

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Are the words harmony and reason connected? Let’s find out in this Adventure in Etymology.

Singing in Pontio / Canu ym Mhontio

Meanings of harmony [ˈhɑː.mə.ni] include:

  • Agreement or accord.
  • A pleasing combination of elements, or arrangement of sounds.
  • Two or more notes played simultaneously to produce a chord.

It comes from Middle English armonie (harmonious sounds, song, music, harmony), from Old French (h)armonie (harmony, musical instrument), from Latin harmonia (harmony, music, peace), from Ancient Greek ἁρμονία (harmonía – joint, union, agreement, concord of sounds), from or related to ἁρμόζω (harmózō – I fit together), from PIE *h₂er- (to join, fit, fix together) [source].

Meanings of reason [ˈɹiː.zən] include:

  • A cause.
  • A motive for an action or a determination.
  • Rational thinking.

It comes from Middle English reso(u)n (reason), from Anglo-Norman raisun (logic, logical reasoning), from Latin ratiō (reason, calculation, procedure), from reor (to reckon, calculate, think), from Proto-Italic rēōr (to reckon, calculate, think), from PIE *h₂reh₁- (to think, reason, arrange), from *h₂er- (to join, fit, fix together) [source].

Other words from the same roots possibly include arachnid, art, ordinary, ornament, ratio and read in English, Rede (stream, current, flow) in German, araña (spider, chandelier) in Spanish, arment (herd of cattle or horses) in Catalan, гармония [ɡɐrˈmonʲɪjə] (harmony) in Russian [source].

One word for harmony (and melody) in Old English was swinsung, which came from swinsian (to sing) from Proto-West Germanic *swinisōn, from Proto-Germanic *swinisōną, from Proto-Germanic *swin- (to sound), from PIE *swenh₂- (to sound) [source].

Words from the same roots include assonance, sonata, sonnet, sound and swan in English, seinn (to play [an instrument], sing, warble, chatter) in Irish, honni (to claim, assert) in Welsh, and dzon (bell) in Polish [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.

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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.




Adventures in Etymology – Doomed Pride

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.

Maribo - Domhus (courthouse, 1920)

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.

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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.




Adventures in Etymology – Wholesome Health

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we examine the origins of the word health and related things.

Healthy no QR

Meanings of health [hɛlθ] include:

  • The state of being free from physical or psychological disease, illness, or malfunction.
  • A state of well-being or balance, often physical but sometimes also mental and social.

It comes from Middle English helthe [ˈhɛlθ(ə)] (soundness, health, recovery, remedy), from Old English hǣlþ [xæːlθ] (health, healing, cure), from Proto-Germanic *hailiþō [ˈxɑi̯.li.θɔː] (wholeness, health), from *hailaz [ˈxɑi̯.lɑz] (whole, intact, entire, healthy), from PIE *kéh₂ilos (healthy, whole) [source].

Words from the same roots include heal, whole, wholesome, holy and hale in English, heel [ɦeːl] (complete, full, whole, very) in Dutch, hele (to heal) in Danish, целя [tsɛˈlʲa̟] (to heal, cure) in Bulgarian, cały [ˈtsa.wɘ] (whole, complete, entire) in Polish [source].

Health should not be confused with health, an obsolete English word meaning a warrior, hero or man, which comes from Proto-Germanic *haliþaz [ˈxɑ.li.θɑz] (hero), and is related to words such as Held [hɛlt] (hero, protagonist) in German, held [ɦɛlt] (hero) in Dutch, and hjälte [ˈjɛlˌtɛ] (hero, main male protagonist in a work of fiction) in Swedish [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.

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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.




Adventures in Etymology – A Little Loitering

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we look into the origins of the word loiter.

Positively No Loitering

To loiter [ˈlɔɪtə(ɹ) / ˈlɔɪtɚ] can mean:

  • To stand about without any aim or purpose; to stand about idly.
  • To remain at a certain place instead of moving on.
  • (archaic) To stroll about without any aim or purpose, to ramble, to wander.

It comes from Middle English loitren (to idle away one’s time, to dawdle over one’s work, to linger or lurk idly in a place), from Middle Dutch loteren (to shake, wag, wobble), from Proto-Germanic *lūtaną (to bow down), from Proto-Indo-European *lewd- (to duck, crouch, cringe, become small) [source].

Words from the same roots include little, lout (a troublemaker, often violent) in English, luttel (little, few, mere) in Dutch, lude (lout, stoop) in Danish, луд (lud – crazy, mad, insane) in Bulgarian, liūdnas (sad, downhearted) in Lithuanian, and lut (to request, ask, plead, beg) in Albanian [source].

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Lëtzebuerg in Luxembourgish) also gets its name partly from the same roots, via Proto-Germanic *lūtilaz (bent, crouching, little) and *burgz (fortification, stronghold, city) [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.

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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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Adventures in Etymology – Nemesis

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we investigate the origins of the word nemesis.

Nemesis

Nemesis [ˈnɛməsɪs] can mean:

  • An enemy, especially an archenemy.
  • A person or character who specifically brings about the downfall of another person or character, as an agent of that character’s fate or destiny, especially within a narrative.
  • The personification of the “fatal flaw” of a dramatic hero in the style of Greek tragedy.
    Other meanings are available

It comes from Νέμεσῐς (Némesĭs – the Greek goddess of retribution), from Ancient Greek νέμεσις (némesis – distribution of what is due, righteous assignment of anger, wrath at anything unjust), from νέμω (némō – to deal out, distribute, dispense, count, hold, possess, pasture flocks), from Proto-Hellenic *némō from Proto-Indo-European *nem(h₁)- (to distribute, give, take) [source].

Words from the same roots include ņemt (to take, seize) in Latvian, nehmen (to take, hold, grasp) in German, nimma (to understand) in Swedish, nimble and number in English, nimh (poison, venom) in Irish and possibly nant (stream, brook) in Welsh [source].

The English word numb also comes from the same roots. It was originally the past participle of nim (to take, seize, steal – obsolete / archaic), which comes from Middle English nimen (to (under)take, draw, enter), from Old English niman (to take), from Proto-West Germanic *neman (to take), from Proto-Germanic *nemaną (to take), from PIE *nem(h₁)- (to distribute, give, take) [source].

The word nimps (easy – northern England) also possibly comes from the same roots, as do overnim (to take away, rob) and nimmer (a petty thief) [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.

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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.




Adventures in Etymology – Fishing for Fish

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we fish for the origins of the word fish.

#fish

Fish [fɪʃ] can refer to:

  • A typically cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in water, moving with the help of fins and breathing with gills.
  • Any animal (or any vertebrate) that lives exclusively in water.
  • As a verb it can mean: To hunt fish or other aquatic animals in a body of water, or to collect coral or pearls from the bottom of the sea.

Other meanings are available, and some would say there’s no such thing as a fish.

It comes from Middle English fisch [fiʃ] (fish, and other animals that live in water), from Old English fisċ / fix / ᚠᛁᛋᚳ [fiʃ / fisk] (fish), from Proto-West Germanic *fisk, from Proto-Germanic *fiskaz [ˈɸis.kɑz] (fish), from Proto-Indo-European *peysk- (fish) [source].

Words from the same PIE root include vis (fish) in Dutch, fisk (fish, Pisces) in Swedish, peixe (fish) in Portuguese, pez (fish, idiot) in Spanish, pêcher (to fish) in French, pysgodyn (fish) in Welsh, iasc (fish) in Irish, and piscine (fishy, pertaining to fish) and piscatorial (pertaining to fish, fishing or fishermen) in English [source].

The Proto-Indo-European *peysk- (fish) only has descendents in the Germanic, Romance and Celtic languages. Another PIE root for fish is *dʰǵʰúHs, which became ձուկ (juk – fish, calf muscle) in Armenian, zivs (fish) in Latvian, žuvis (fish) in Lithuanian, and ιχθύς (ichthýs – fish) in Greek – (archaic) appears mainly in compounds such as χθυοπώλης (ichthyopólis – fishmonger) [source].

ichthyosaur

Some fish-related words in English also come from the same roots, via Ancient Greek ἰχθύς [ixˈθis] (ikhthús, fish, stupid person). These include: ichthyology (fish science), ichthyosaur (any fishlike marine reptiles of the extinct order Ichthyosauria), ichthyolatry (the worship of fish or fish-shaped idols), and ichthyophobia (fear of fish) [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.

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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 – Rich Kingdoms

By Simon

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In this episode we discover the Celtic roots of words for kingdom, rich and related things in Germanic, Romance and other languages.

Kings & Queens

The Proto-Celtic word *rīgyom means kingdom, and comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs (king). Related words in Proto-Celtic include *rīxs (king) and *rīganī (queen) [source]

Related in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • rí [ɾˠiː] = king and banríon [bˠau(n̪ˠ)ˈɾˠiːnʲ] = queen in Irish
  • rìgh [r̪ʲi] = king and banrigh [bãũn̪r̪ʲɪ] = queen in Scottish Gaelic
  • ree [ɾiː] = king and benrein = queen in Manx
  • rhi [r̥iː] = king and rhiain (woman, girl, queen, lady) in Welsh
  • ri = king in Cornish
  • ri [ˈʁiː] = king in Breton

More details of words for king, queen and related things in Celtic languages can be found in the Celtiadur post Kings and Queens.

The Proto-Celtic word *rīgyom (kingdom) was borrowed into Proto-Germanic as *rīkiją (rulership, goverment, authority, realm, kingdom), and is the root of such words as rijk (realm, kingdom, empire, state) in Dutch, Reich (empire, state, realm) in German, říše (realm, empire, kingdom) in Czech, and rike (realm, kingdom, empire, nation) in Swedish [source].

The Proto-Celtic word *rīxs (king) was borrowed into Proto-Germanic as *rīkijaz (kingly, royal, noble, mighty, powerful, rich), which became rich in English, ryk (rich, wealthy) in Afrikaans, ricco (rich, wealthy, affluent) in Italian, and rikas (rich, wealthy, opulent, plentiful) in Finnish [source].

The Proto-Celtic word *rīxs (king) also found its way into names such as Friedrich and Heinrich in German, Henrik in Dutch (and other languages), and Roderick, Frederick, Henry and Richard in English [source].

Other words from PIE root *h₃rḗǵs (king) include rey (king) and reina (queen) in Spanish, रानी (rānī – queen, princess) in Hindi, and royal, regal, viceroy and maybe realm in English [source].

Incidentally, the continents of America (initially it referred just to South America, then to North America as well) were named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, and the name Amerigo comes ultimately from the Proto-Germanic name Amalarīks, from amalą (hard work, stuggle) and *rīks (king, ruler), from Proto-Celtic *rīxs (king) [source].

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