Adventures in Etymology – Unkempt Combs

6th September 20256th September 2025 By Simon

You can be unkempt, but can you be just kempt? Let’s find out in this Adventure in Etymology on Radio Omniglot.

An unkempt llama

Unkempt [ˌʌnˈkɛmpt] means uncombed or dishevelled (hair), disorderly, untidy, messy, rough or unpolished.

It comes from unkemmed, from Middle English kembed (well-combed, neat), from kemben [ˈkɛm(b)ən] (to comb), from Old English cemben [ˈkem.bɑn] (to comb), from Proto-West Germanic *kambijan (to comb), from Proto-Germanic *kambijaną (to comb), from *kambaz (comb) from Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbʰos (tooth, peg), from *ǵembʰ- (to bite, chomp) [source].

Combs

Words from the same roots possibly include dhëmb (tooth) in Albanian, zub (tooth) in Slovak, kampa (comb) and hammas (tooth, cog, sprocket) in Finnish, kam (comb, ridge) in Dutch, and comb in English [source].

The word kempt does exist in English and means neat and tidy, especially when talking about hair. These days it is usually used humorously, but it was more commonly used in the past [source].

A camshaft

Incidentally, the English word cam, as in camshaft, camwheel, etc, comes from the same roots, via Dutch kam (comb, ridge). The Dutch word was also borrowed into French as came (cam, stuff, trinket), Italian as camma (cam), and into other languages [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.

Celtic Pathways – Calamitous Swords

25th January 2025 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.

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].

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Adventures in Etymology – Door

13th July 202413th July 2024 By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology, we’re opening doors to find the origins of the word door.

A door [dɔː / dɔɹ] is:

A portal of entry into a building, room, or vehicle, typically consisting of a rigid plane movable on a hinge. It may have a handle to help open and close, a latch to hold it closed, and a lock that ensures it cannot be opened without a key.

It comes from Middle English dor(e) [ˈdɔːr(ə)] (door), from Old English duru [ˈdu.ru] (door, opening) from Proto-West-Germanic *dur (door, hatch, flap) from Proto-Germanic *durz (door, hatch, flap), from PIE *dʰwer- (door) [source].

Words from the same roots include forum, forensic and thyroid in English, dörr (door) in Swedish, drws (door, doorway) in Welsh, dvor (court, courtyard) in Slovak and ترس (tors – shield, buckler) in Persian [source].

Incidentally, in Old English one word for window was ēagduru [ˈæ͜ɑːɡˌdu.ru], or literally “eye-door”. Another was ēagþyrel [ˈæ͜ɑːɡˌθy.rel], or “eye-hole” [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.

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.

Episode 23 – Czech (čeština)

14th September 201918th December 2019 By Simon

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In this episode I talk about the Czech language (čeština / český jazyk). I give an overview of the language itself, talk about my efforts to learn it.

Examples of Czech noun cases

Nominative: (Já) ji vidím = I see her
Genitive: Její květy jsou modré = Her flowers are blue
Dative: Dávám jí květiny = I give her flowers
Accusative: Ona mě vidí = She sees me
Vocative: Ahoj Evo = Hi Eva
Locative: Jsem doma = I am at home
Instrumental: Ona cestuje autobusem = She is travelling by bus

Some Czech tongue twisters without vowels

Chrt pln skvrn zdrhl z Brd.
A greyhound full of spots escaped from the Brdy (mountains)
Chrt pln skvrn zhltl hrst zrn.
A greyhound full of spots swallowed a handful of grain.
Chrt pln skvrn vtrhl skrz trs chrp v čtvrť Krč, prv zhltl čtvrt hrst zrn.
A greyhound full of spots barged through a tuft of cornflowers into the Krč neighbourhood, (but) first, it swallowed a quarter-handful of grain.
Plch zdrhl skrz drn, prv zhltl čtvrthrst zrn.
A dormouse escaped through a turf; first it swallowed a quarter-handful of grain.
Zdrhl krt skrz drn, zprv zhltl hrst zrn.
A mole escaped through a turf; first, it swallowed a quarter-handful of grain.
Vlk pln žbrnd zdrhl hrd z mlh Brd skrz vrch Smrk v čtvrť srn Krč.
A wolf full of poor-quality beverages escaped proud from the mists of Brdy through the Smrk hill into the roe deer district of Krč.
Prd krt skrz drn, zprv zhlt hrst zrn
A mole farted through grass, having swallowed a handful of grain
Škrt plch z mlh Brd pln skvrn z mrv prv hrd scvrnkl z brzd skrz trs chrp v krs vrb mls mrch srn čtvrthrst zrn
A miser dormouse from the mists of Brdy full of spots from manure, firstly proud, pushed (with its fingers in a specific way) a dainty of bitchy roe deer, quarter-handful of grain, off the brakes through a tuft of cornflowers into the dwarfed willows.