Afleveringen
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Haywire is wire used to bind bales of hay, and can also refer to something that’s roughly-made, erratic or uncontrollable. How are these meanings related? Let’s find out in this Adventure in Etymology. As a noun, haywire [ˈheɪ.waɪ.ə(ɹ) / ˈheɪ.waɪɚ] means wire used for binding bales of hay, straw or grass, and is also known […]
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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 […]
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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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] […]
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Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New language pages: Mpiemo (Mbimu), a Bantu language spoken in the Central African Republic, Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo. Ebira (èbìrà), a Volta-Niger language spoken mainly in Kogi State in central Nigeria. Gun (Gungbe), an Eastern Gbe language spoken in southeastern Benin and southwestern […]
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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 [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. […]
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Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New language pages: Mbuun (kiMbuun), a western Bantu language spoken in Kwilu Province in the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Aka, a Bantu language spoken the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Komo (Kikomo), a Bantu language spoken in […]
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In this episode we discover the Celtic roots of words for quay, jetty, pier, etc. in English, French and other languages. Bangor Pier. Photo by Simon Ager The Proto-Celtic word *kagyom means pen or enclosure, and comes from the Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (enclosure, hedge), from *kagʰ- (to keep, hold, close, enclose, fence, hedge, barrier, field, pasture) […]
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Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New language pages: Maʼanyan, an East Barito language spoken in the provinces of Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan in Indonesia. Nuaulu, an East Central Maluku language spoken on Seram Island in eastern Indonesia. Uma, a Celebic language spoken mainly in Central Sulawesi Province in central Indonesia. […]
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In this Adventure in Etymology, we find what the word accent has to do with singing. 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 […]
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Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New writing system: Kodava Lipi, or Muthanna Script, was created in 1970 by Dr. I M Muthanna to write Kodava, a Dravidian language spoken in Karnataka in the southwest of India. It was chosen as the official script for Kodava in 2022. New language pages: Mbama […]
