{"id":3865,"date":"2025-04-05T14:04:39","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T14:04:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=3865"},"modified":"2025-04-05T14:06:47","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T14:06:47","slug":"adventures-in-etymology-ridiculous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=3865","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Etymology &#8211; Ridiculous"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Ridiculous\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2025-04-05T14:04:39+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT1M21S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this Adventure in Etymology, we're risking ridicule and getting rather ridiculously ridiculous.\n\n\n\nRidiculous [\u0279\u026a\u02c8d\u026akj\u0259l\u0259s\/\u0279\u026a\u02c8d\u026akj\u028al\u0259s] means deserving or ridicule, foolish, absurd, astonishing, extreme or unbelievable.\n\nIt comes from Latin r\u012bdicu...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/ridiculous.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"1.3\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_2965\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-3865-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/ridiculous.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/ridiculous.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/ridiculous.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/ridiculous.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=3865-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/ridiculous.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"ridiculous.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this Adventure in Etymology, we&#8217;re risking ridicule and getting rather ridiculously <strong>ridiculous<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/victoriafee\/3644685087\/in\/photolist-2g2U8q-3pX4-6deNQ6-ns2jxa-5WH58f-UCQKwn-5rVZ1n-RHaymA-6y4XU4-5WjNWL-7q9Lfn-CXMvg-DKF4uj-7h3Uxk-2s5o6i-2s9L4S-4qJrzr-48Wiax-2hvcpmn-9Vk65F-DDUfq-441UdS-5hnxM9-43WRDX-soZKrr-8AxHp-VG4DYr-441RC5-6VxcUF-6rFtXu-5ukTom-7sewJc-bF6Hx-9XkHQm-5Cfp5y-f8Kt9T-4QGW1g-8gQHBy-gQcyQH-4YtUeu-54TsM-AUSy4f-nQXKb-6LXE7e-dhj4pp-7Sv3mE-68tK5Q-2n3n5Ku-ebwZL\" title=\"Ridiculous\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/3316\/3644685087_a66b2c1bfb_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Ridiculous\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ridiculous<\/strong> [\u0279\u026a\u02c8d\u026akj\u0259l\u0259s\/\u0279\u026a\u02c8d\u026akj\u028al\u0259s] means deserving or ridicule, foolish, absurd, astonishing, extreme or unbelievable.<\/p>\n<p>It comes from Latin <em>r\u012bdiculus<\/em> [ri\u02d0\u02c8d\u032a\u026ak\u028a\u026b\u032a\u028as\u0320] (laughable, funny, amusing, silly, absurd, ridiculous), from <em>r\u012bde\u014d<\/em> (to laugh (at), ridicule, mock), the origins of which are not known [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/ridiculous#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Words from the same roots include <strong>ridicule<\/strong> (mocking words or behaviour; to make fun of), <strong>risible<\/strong> (ludicrous, ridiculous, provoking laughter) and <strong>derisory<\/strong> (laughably small or inadequate) in English, <strong>ridere<\/strong> (to laugh) in Italian, <strong>sourire<\/strong> (to smile) in French, and <strong>ridik\u00fcl<\/strong> (ridiculous) in German [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/go_haywire#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>The rare English word <strong>ridibund<\/strong> (inclined to and easily brought to laughter, happy), and the anatomical term <strong>risorius<\/strong> (the facial muscle used when smiling) also come from the same roots [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/ridibund#English\">source<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>You can also listen to this podcast on: <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/radio-omniglot\/id1432641094\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/8b1b1d1b-b39e-4277-b28d-479a3b5043b3\/radio-omniglot\">Amazon Music<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/tunein.com\/podcasts\/Education-Podcasts\/Radio-Omniglot-p1154145\/\">TuneIn<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.podchaser.com\/podcasts\/radio-omniglot-716327\">Podchaser<\/a>, <a href=\"<a href=\"https:\/\/podbay.fm\/p\/radio-omniglot\">Podbay<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/podtail.com\/da\/podcast\/radio-omniglot\/\">Podtail<\/a> and other pod places.<\/p>\n<p>The theme tune for this episode is <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/simon-ager\/the-unexpected-badger\">The Unexpected Badger \/ Y Mochyn Daear Annisgwyl<\/a>, a piece I composed and recorded in 2017.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/339162597&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;show_comments=true&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/simon-ager\" title=\"Simon Ager\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\">Simon Ager<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/simon-ager\/the-unexpected-badger\" title=\"The Unexpected Badger \/ Y Mochyn Daear Annisgwyl\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\">The Unexpected Badger \/ Y Mochyn Daear Annisgwyl<\/a><\/div>\n<p>If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/uk\/cgi-bin\/webscr?cmd=_flow&amp;SESSION=aLjPfXL-vP_1gQ_U23Iz8_hSWLlhzLHPMFZrt32dIEfG8htoNFLYaPoWkv8&amp;dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8def8934b92a630e40b7fef61ab7e9fe63\">PayPal<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/omniglot\">Patreon<\/a>, or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/donations.htm\">contribute to Omniglot in other ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with <a href=\"https:\/\/blubrry.com\/services\/podcast-hosting\/?code=omniglot\">Blubrry Podcast Hosting<\/a>, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code <strong>omniglot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.japanesepod101.com\/member\/go.php?r=759259&amp;i=b0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/banners\/banner_japanesepod.jpg\" alt=\"The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com\" width=\"630\" height=\"83\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/\">Omniglot Blog<\/a>, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/\">Celtiadur<\/a> blog.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/my.kualo.com\/uk\/go\/00572\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.kualo.com\/rewards\/uk-unlimited-728x90.gif\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\" border=\"0\"\nalt=\"Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Ridiculous\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2025-04-05T14:04:39+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT1M21S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this Adventure in Etymology, we're risking ridicule and getting rather ridiculously ridiculous.\n\n\n\nRidiculous [\u0279\u026a\u02c8d\u026akj\u0259l\u0259s\/\u0279\u026a\u02c8d\u026akj\u028al\u0259s] means deserving or ridicule, foolish, absurd, astonishing, extreme or unbelievable.\n\nIt comes from Latin r\u012bdicu...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/ridiculous.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"1.3\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_2966\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-3865-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/ridiculous.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/ridiculous.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/ridiculous.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/ridiculous.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=3865-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/ridiculous.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"ridiculous.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this Adventure in Etymology, we&#8217;re risking ridicule and getting rather ridiculously ridiculous. Ridiculous [\u0279\u026a\u02c8d\u026akj\u0259l\u0259s\/\u0279\u026a\u02c8d\u026akj\u028al\u0259s] means deserving or ridicule, foolish, absurd, astonishing, extreme or unbelievable. It comes from Latin r\u012bdiculus [ri\u02d0\u02c8d\u032a\u026ak\u028a\u026b\u032a\u028as\u0320] (laughable, funny, amusing, silly, absurd, ridiculous), from r\u012bde\u014d (to laugh (at), ridicule, mock), the origins of which are not known [source]. Words from the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,20,56,23,24,12,4,50,11,1],"tags":[222,90,9,167,15,88,8,220,219,221,103],"class_list":["post-3865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures-in-etymology","category-english","category-etymology","category-french","category-german","category-italian","category-language","category-latin","category-music","category-podcast","tag-english","tag-etymology","tag-language","tag-linguistics","tag-music","tag-omniglot","tag-podcast","tag-ridicule","tag-ridiculous","tag-risible","tag-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3865"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3868,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3865\/revisions\/3868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}