Omniglot News (16/03/25)

16th March 202516th March 2025 By Simon

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

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.

Celtic Pathways – Sooty Soot

15th March 202515th March 2025 By Simon

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

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].

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.

Adventures in Etymology – Cash

8th March 20258th March 2025 By Simon

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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.

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 – Accents

22nd February 202522nd February 2025 By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology, we find what the word accent has to do with singing.

Adventures in Etymology - Accents

An accent [ˈak.sənt / ˈæk.sɛnt] is:

The way in which people in a particular area, country, or social group pronounce words.
A mark written or printed over a letter to show how to pronounce it.
A special emphasis given to a particular syllable in a word, word in a sentence, or note in a set of musical notes. [source – other meanings are available]

It comes from Middle English accent (accent, modulation), from Latin accentus (a blast, signal, accent, tone), from accinō / accanō (to sing to), from ad (to[wards]), and canō (to sing, recite, sound), a calque of Ancient Greek προσῳδία (prosōidía – song sung to music; pronunciation of syllable), from πρός (prós – to) and ᾠδή (ōidḗ – song) [source].

Words for accent in many other languages come from the same roots, as do the words chant, descant, enchant, incant and hen in English, canu (to sing, intone, chant) in Welsh, can (to say) in Scottish Gaelic, cicogna (stork) in Spanish, káně (buzzard) in Czech, and خوانْدَن (xândan – to read, recite, sing, study) in Persian [source].

Incidentally, the Ancient Greek word προσῳδία (prosōidía – song sung to music; pronunciation of syllable) is the root (via Middle French and Latin) of the English word prosody, which is study of rhythm, intonation, stress, and related attributes in speech, or the study of the patterns of sounds and rhythms in poetry [source].

You might believe that you don’t have an accent, but you do. We all do. You might think that because you sound similar to most people around you, you don’t have an accent, while people from elsewhere do. From their perspective, it’s you that has an accent. I have a bit of a wandering accent that changes depending on who I’ve been listening and/or talking to.

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.

Celtic Pathways – Gulls

15th February 2025 By Simon

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In this episode we discover the possible Celtic roots of English and French words for seagull.

The Proto-Celtic word *wailannā means seagull, and possibly comes from the Proto-Indo-European *wáy (oh! ah! woe! alas!), and maybe related to *waylos (howler, wolf) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

faoileán = gull, seagull in Irish
faoileann [fɯːlən̪ˠ] = gull, seagull, common gull in Scottish Gaelic
foillan = gull, seagull in Manx
gwylan [ˈɡʊɨ̯lan / ˈɡʊi̯lan] = sea-gull, fair maiden, glutton in Welsh
golan [ˈɡoːlan / ˈɡʊlɐn] = gull, seagull in Cornish
gouelan [ˈɡweːlãn] = seagull in Breton

For more about words for gulls and related things in Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post: Gulls

The English word gull comes from Middle English gulle (gull, water bird), which was probably borrowed from a Brythonic language (Welsh or Cornish) [source].

The French word goéland [ɡɔ.e.lɑ̃] (gull, herring gull) was borrowed from Middle Breton goelan (gull, seagull) in the 15th century [source].

A more common French word for (sea)gull is mouette [mwɛt], which comes from Middle French mouette (seagull) from Old French moette (seagull), from maoe (seagull), from Old English mǣw (seagull) [source].

The Old Englsh word mǣw, comes from Proto-Germanic *maiwiz (seagull), from a non-Indo-European substrate, or is of imitative origin. It’s also found in Middle English as mewe (gull, seagull), in the archaic / dialectal English word mew (gull, seagull), in Dutch as meeuw (seagull), and in German as Möwe (seagull) [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.

Adventures in Etymology – Bottles, Boots and Butts

8th February 202516th February 2025 By Simon

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

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.

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 – Follow That Hound!

11th January 2025 By Simon

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In this episode we discover the possible Celtic roots of some words for hound and sleuth in Romance languages.

The Proto-Celtic word sekʷetor means to follow, and comes from Proto-Indo-European *sékʷetor (to be following), from *sekʷ- (to follow) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include: seicheamh (following, taking after, imitating, sequence, progression) and fosheicheamh (subsequence) in Irish [source], and sewya (to follow, result) in Cornish [source].

For more about words for (to) follow and related things in Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post: Pursuing Followers

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Gaulish (?) and Latin segusius (a hunting dog) include: sabuxo (hound) in Galician, segugio (hound, bloodhound, private eye, sleuth) in Spanish, and sabujo (hound, submissive person) in Portuguese [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include: associate, sector, sequence, society, (to) sue, suit, suite and subsequent in English, suivre (to follow) in French, segno (sign, mark, indication, target) in Italian, and seguir (to follow, continue, keep (on)) in Spanish [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.

Adventures in Etymology – Windy Wings

4th January 20259th August 2025 By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology, we find connections between the words wing, wind and feather.

A wing [wɪŋ] is:

An appendage of an animal’s (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly.
A fin at the side of a ray or similar fish.
Part of an aircraft that produces the lift for rising into the air. (other meanings are available)

It comes from Middle English winge / wenge [ˈwinɡ(ə) / ˈwɛnɡ(ə)] (wing, flank of an army, shelter, refuge), from Old Norse vængr [ˈwɛ̃ːŋɡr̩] (wing), possibly from Proto-Germanic *wēingijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (to blow) [source].

Words from the same Old Norse root include vinge (wing) in Danish, vængur (wing) in Icelandic, and vinge (wing) in Swedish [source].

Words from the same PIE root possibly include aeroplane, athlete, fan, vent, and weather in English, waaien (to blow, be windy, wave) in Dutch, vento (wind) Italian, and vent (wind, flatulence, empty words) in French [source].

The English word wind [wɪnd] also comes from the same roots, via Middle English wynd / wind [wi(ː)nd] (wind), from Old English wind [wind] (wind, flatulence), from Proto-West-Germanic *wind (wind from Proto-Germanic *windaz [ˈwin.dɑz] (wind) from Proto-Indo-European h₂wéh₁n̥ts (blowing, that which blows, air, wind), from *h₂weh₁- (to blow) [source].

Incidentally, in Old Englsh, a word for wing was fiþre [ˈfiθ.re], which was displaced by the Old Norse vængr (wing). It comes from Proto-Germanic *fiþriją [ɸi.θri.jɑ̃] (feathers, plummage, wing) from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ / pth₂én- (wing, feather), from *peth₂- (to fly). It became feþer / fether (feather) in Middle English, and feather in modern English. [source].

By the way, Happy New Year! Blwyddyn newydd dda! Bonne année ! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! 新年快樂！新年快乐！ Felice anno nuovo! 新年おめでとうございます! Bliain úr faoi shéan is faoi mhaise duit! Bliadhna mhath ùr! Blein Vie Noa! Ein gutes neues Jahr! Feliĉan novan jaron! Поздравляю с Новым Годом! Šťastný nový rok! Godt nytår! Gott nytt år! La Mulți Ani! Onnellista uutta vuotta! 🎆🎉🥂🥳

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.

Celtic Pathways – Country Gardens

8th December 2024 By Simon

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In this episode we uncover links between words for country and land in Celtic languages, and words for garden, wood and related things in other languages.

Bodnant Garden / Gardd Bodnant

The Proto-Celtic word *mrogis means border(land), march, mark, region, country, territory or province, and comes from Proto-Indo-European *mórǵs (frontier, border) [source]

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

brugh = dwelling, mansion in Irish
brugh [bruh] = broch (a type of Iron Age stone tower with hollow double-layered walls – see below), fortified tower, large house, mansion, fairy mound in Scottish Gaelic
brogh = broch in Manx
bro [broː] = region, country, land, neighbourhood, border, limit, boundary in Welsh
bro = country, land in Cornish
bro [broː] = counry(-side) in Breton

For more about words for border, land, country and related things in Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post: Region and Country

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Gaulish *brogis and Latin brogi-/broges, include brolo (vegetable garden, orchard, grove) in Italian, and breuil (wood, copse, coppice) in French, bröol (a lawn or vegetable garden surrounding house) in Cimbrian, and Brühl (enclosed land, (wet/swampy) meadow) in German (found mainly in place names).

Words from the same PIE root include margin, and march (a border region; formal, rhythmic way of walking) in English, and marge (margin, markup) in French, marca (brand, make, trademark) in Italian [source], Mark (a fortified border area, marches) in German, and mark (field) in Danish, as in Denmark [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 – Tan Oaks

23rd November 202423rd November 2024 By Simon

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In this episode we discover the possible Celtic roots of words such as tan, tannin and Tannenbaum.

The Proto-Celtic word *tannos means green oak, and comes from Proto-Indo-European *(s)dʰnwos/*(s)dʰonu (fir).

Related words in the Celtic languages include:

tinne = the letter t in the Ogham alphabet (ᚈ) in Irish
tinne [tʲenə] = the letter t (ᚈ) in Ogham; gorse, whin, furze (archaic) in Scottish Gaelic
taneru = to tan (hide) in Welsh
glastanen gelyn = holm oak in Cornish
tann = sessile oaks in Breton

For more about words for oak and related things, see the Celtiadur post: Oak (trees)

Words from the same Proto-Celtic roots, via Gaulish *tannos (oak) and Latin tannum (oak bark), include tan (pulped oak bark used in the tanning process of leather) in French, tano (stem, slip) in Galician, tanería (tannery) in Spanish, Tannenbaum (fir tree, Christmas tree) in German, θάμνος (thámnos – bush) in Greek, and tan, tannery, tannin (tannic acid) in English.

Words from the same PIE roots include thanë (cranberry bush) in Albanian, and धनु (dhanu – bow, Sagittarius) in Sanskrit. [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.

Radio Omniglot

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Omniglot News (16/03/25)

Celtic Pathways – Sooty Soot

Adventures in Etymology – Cash

Adventures in Etymology – Accents

Celtic Pathways – Gulls

Adventures in Etymology – Bottles, Boots and Butts

Celtic Pathways – Follow That Hound!

Adventures in Etymology – Windy Wings

Celtic Pathways – Country Gardens

Celtic Pathways – Tan Oaks