{"id":4317,"date":"2026-01-31T14:58:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T14:58:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=4317"},"modified":"2026-01-31T14:58:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T14:58:56","slug":"adventures-in-etymology-strong-comfort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=4317","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Etymology &#8211; Strong Comfort"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Strong Comfort\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2026-01-31T14:58:56+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M23S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this Adventure in Etymology we get comfortable and investigate the word comfort.\n\n\n\nAs a noun, comfort [\u02c8k\u028cm.f\u0259t \/ \u02c8k\u028cm.f\u025at] can mean:\n\n Contentment, ease\n Something that offers comfort\n Something relieving suffering or worry\n A cause of relief or...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/strongcomfort.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2.6\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_7455\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-4317-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/strongcomfort.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/strongcomfort.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/strongcomfort.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\/strongcomfort.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=4317-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/strongcomfort.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"strongcomfort.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this Adventure in Etymology we get comfortable and investigate the word <strong>comfort<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/sonstroem\/20964338369\/in\/photolist-xWxHpP-8WQSZf-4F1VFe-8uc6DP-8T7c2Q-PZyg47-GEqDpu-ZZs2KN-AhRaSP-8uc5Jc-Jtz3oH-byRvXJ-5j9TV3-8uf7jC-8uc9cx-y9U6Vt-8ufdoq-8ubYee-NESa1G-JJHHZ8-BNVLQ-dWvCJx-Df6daf-H9dAwV-rJjTZw-rkHKb-SpX7YS-4V158J-pfxj7u-5tiLx8-Qk1XU7-4wH698-4wMdLm-9Dii9c-ayf4k-2761ZGm-roArmY-PmPVh1-6jFvYX-pNW4uK-qNNXd7-uvArSh-MvKrbj-v5xBc-rqLHap-HW1f7D-F5uW7y-rqNa4h-7vQQg7-iphtA\" title=\"Comfortable Cat\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/5746\/20964338369_b5bd0fdcb5_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"389\" alt=\"Comfortable Cat\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>As a noun, <strong>comfort<\/strong> [\u02c8k\u028cm.f\u0259t \/ \u02c8k\u028cm.f\u025at] can mean:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Contentment, ease<\/li>\n<li>Something that offers comfort<\/li>\n<li>Something relieving suffering or worry<\/li>\n<li>A cause of relief or satisfaction<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As a verb, <strong>to comfort<\/strong> can mean:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To relieve the distress or suffering of<\/li>\n<li>To provide comfort to<\/li>\n<li>(<em>obsolete<\/em>) To make strong, to invigorate; to assist, help or aid<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Comfort<\/strong> is also a surname and a female given name, and the name of places in Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin in the USA [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Comfort\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>It comes from Middle English <em>comforten<\/em> [kum\u02c8f\u0254rt\u0259n] (to comfort), from Old French <em>conforter<\/em> (to reassure, comfort), from Latin <em>c\u014dnfort\u014d<\/em> (to make stronger, strengthen, give courage), from <em>con-<\/em> (with) and  <em>fortis<\/em> (strong, powerful, resolute, brave) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/comfort#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Words from the same roots include <strong>confortare<\/strong> (to comfort, console) in Italian, <strong>confortar<\/strong> (to comfort) in Portuguese, <strong>confort<\/strong> (comfort) and <strong>conforter<\/strong> (to strengthen, reinforce, confirm) in French, <strong>konfor<\/strong> (comfort) in Turkish (borrowed from French), and <strong>confort<\/strong> (cosiness) in Romanian (borrowed from French) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European\/k%C3%A9h%E2%82%82ilos\">source<\/a>]. <\/p>\n<p>The Spanish word <strong>confort<\/strong> also comes from the same roots. It means comfort or ease, and in the colloquial Spanish of Chile, it can refer to toilet paper &#8211; the name comes from a brand of toilet paper [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/confort#Spanish\">source<\/a>]. <\/p>\n<p>In Old English, one word for comfort or consolation was <strong>fr\u014dfor<\/strong> [\u02c8fro\u02d0.for], which became <em>frovre \/ frother<\/em> in Middle English, and survives in some English dialects as <strong>frover \/ frother<\/strong> (to comfort, solace) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/frofor#Old_English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\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<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5001128073855040\"\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- Blog horizontal --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5001128073855040\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"1685480124\"\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Strong Comfort\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2026-01-31T14:58:56+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M23S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this Adventure in Etymology we get comfortable and investigate the word comfort.\n\n\n\nAs a noun, comfort [\u02c8k\u028cm.f\u0259t \/ \u02c8k\u028cm.f\u025at] can mean:\n\n Contentment, ease\n Something that offers comfort\n Something relieving suffering or worry\n A cause of relief or...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/strongcomfort.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2.6\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_7456\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-4317-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/strongcomfort.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/strongcomfort.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/strongcomfort.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\/strongcomfort.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=4317-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/strongcomfort.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"strongcomfort.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this Adventure in Etymology we get comfortable and investigate the word comfort. As a noun, comfort [\u02c8k\u028cm.f\u0259t \/ \u02c8k\u028cm.f\u025at] can mean: Contentment, ease Something that offers comfort Something relieving suffering or worry A cause of relief or satisfaction As a verb, to comfort can mean: To relieve the distress or suffering of To provide [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,20,56,23,12,4,50,58,11,55,109,1,27,116,28,127],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures-in-etymology","category-english","category-etymology","category-french","category-italian","category-language","category-latin","category-middle-english","category-music","category-old-english-aenglisc","category-old-french-franceis","category-podcast","category-portuguese","category-romanian-limba-romana","category-spanish","category-turkish-turkce"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4317","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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4317"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4320,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4317\/revisions\/4320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}