Word-Origin Wednesday

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Word-Origin Wednesday is the weekly podcast that walks you through a word origin in five minutes or less.

The Grammar Geek


    • Oct 30, 2019 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 3m AVG DURATION
    • 88 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Word-Origin Wednesday

    Ghost and Ghoul (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2019 4:43


    "Ghost" is a pretty old word. "Ghoul," as an English word, not so much.

    October (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2019 2:53


    The names of "October" and a few other months make a lot more sense if we look at Latin and the Roman calendar.

    Sympathy (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2019 4:14


    The everyday meaning of "sympathy" has shifted over the years, but it's always had some connection to its Latin and Greek roots.

    Hysterical (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2019 4:54


    Before it entered everyday English, "hysterical" was medical Latin.

    Autumn and Fall (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2019 4:06


    Do you say "autumn" or "fall" to describe the season between summer and winter? Get the lowdown on the history of both words.

    Dead Duck (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2019 3:37


    "Dead" and "duck" go way back, but the term "dead duck" is only a couple of centuries old.

    Landlubber (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2019 3:29


    The often miswritten and mispronounced "landlubber" goes back a few centuries.

    Nice (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2019 3:54


    "Nice" has had at least a dozen definitions over the last few centuries.

    Peruse (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2019 4:17


    The Modern English "peruse" came from the Middle English "peruse" . . . or maybe it came from French.

    Factory And Manufacturing (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2019 4:03


    With Labor Day approaching, let's look at "factory" and "manufacturing." They were both borrowed from Latin.

    Escalate (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2019 4:11


    "Escalate" is fairly new word, and the current definition has been around since just the 1950s.

    Put Up Your Dukes (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2019 3:50


    "Put up your dukes," which has been around since at least the 1800s, is one example of Cockney rhyming slang.

    Nickname (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2019 4:09


    The transition from "ekename" to "nickname" is a fine demonstration of the transition from Middle English to Modern English.

    Posh (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2019 5:00


    "Posh," as it is used today, first appeared in print a little more than a century ago. But where did it come from?

    Karaoke (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2019 3:19


    It took several languages to bring "karaoke" to English in the 1970s.

    Honeymoon (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2019 3:59


    "Honey" and "moon" are very old. "Honeymoon" is relatively new, meaning it's a mere 500 years old.

    Aioli (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2019 2:56


    "Aioli" comes from French, as do the words for many prepared foods.

    Mascara (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2019 3:17


    "Mascara" is linked to many words from many languages, many of which go back centuries before commercially available mascara hit store shelves.

    Liar (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2019 3:16


    The word "liar" goes way back. As it turns out, people have been lying for a long time.

    Salary (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2019 2:43


    "Salary" is related to something in your kitchen, and it's not celery.

    Omelet (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2019 3:29


    Like a lot of food-related words, "omelet" comes from French. Its origin has nothing to do with eggs.

    Humble (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2019 3:56


    "Humble" came from French, which took it from Latin. It's always meant "lowly," although that's not how people use it today.

    Lavaliere (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2019 3:53


    A lavaliere is a fancy pendant. It's also a type of microphone. To find the origin, we go back to 17th-century France.

    Memorial (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2019 3:38


    "Memorial" comes from Latin and is related to a slew of other English words, including "remember" and "memorandum."

    Phases Of The Moon (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2019 3:22


    "Waxing," "waning," "crescent" and "gibbous" go back a long, long time.

    Whiskey (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2019 2:43


    "Whiskey" has been through some changes in its journey to English from (no surprise) Gaelic.

    May Day and Mayday (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2019 3:29


    May 1 is May Day (two words) in the United States. Don't confuse it with "mayday" (one word), the distress call for pilots.

    Verbiage and Verbage (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 24, 2019 3:23


    The often misused "verbiage" has been around for a few centuries, and its corrupt offspring, "verbage," is older than you might think.

    Easter (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 17, 2019 3:31


    "Easter" goes back to Old English and then goes back further. Celebrations of spring are older than Jesus.

    Rhythm And Rhyme (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2019 3:51


    "Rhythm" and "rhyme" are related words, both in meaning and etymology.

    Stay-at-Home Parent (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2019 4:42


    "Stay" and "home" and "parent" are old words, going back centuries. Words to describe someone who tends to the home and children are also very old. English speakers began using the term "stay-at-home parent" very recently.

    Leverage (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2019 3:40


    "Leverage" has been in the English language since the 18th century, but its position in everyday corporate speak is fairly recent.

    Tea (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2019 3:29


    Tea has been around for thousands of years, but English speakers didn't need a word for it until they started trading it in the 1590s.

    Butt Cheek (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2019 4:06


    "Butt" and "cheek" have been around for centuries. It took a while for English speakers to put them together.

    Ambulance (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2019 3:16


    "Ambulance" has been an English word since the 18th century, before motor vehicles, and is related to the word "amble."

    Selfie (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2019 3:57


    "Selfie" is a fairly new word, but its root word and suffix are centuries old. Some people don't like "selfie," but resistance is futile.

    Hiatus (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2018 2:59


    By tracing "hiatus," meaning a break, back to its ancient Proto-Indo European roots, we find it has some modern cousins with similar meanings but very different sounds.

    Penultimate (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2018 3:31


    "Penultimate" and its cousin, "ultimate," both come from Latin. As the meaning of "ultimate" shifts, poor "penultimate" is being left behind.

    Carnival (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2018 3:35


    The current popular meaning of "carnival" goes back to the 1920s, but the original meaning, which involves meat, goes back centuries.

    Buck (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2018 3:43


    We've been using the word "buck" as slang for money since the 1850s. There are two theories to explain why.

    Booze (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2018 3:34


    The slang term "booze" goes back many years as a noun and many more years as a verb. And what's a boozeroo?

    Lent (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2018 3:34


    The proper noun "Lent" evolved from a series of longer words ultimately related to spring.

    Valentine (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2018 2:34


    On Valentine's day, you might send a valentine to your valentine. All of those uses share the same origin.

    Complicit (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2018 3:51


    "Complicit" is Dictionary.com's 2017 Word of the Year. It's less than a century old, but the original "complicity" is much older.

    OK (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2018 4:32


    Which came first, "OK" or "okay"? And what does Martin Van Buren have to do with it?

    Fake News (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2018 5:18


    The American Dialect Society named "fake news" its 2017 Word of the Year. The term has been around for a while, but the past few years, it seems to be everywhere.

    Unkempt (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2018 4:18


    "Unkempt," which means "sloppy or disheveled," goes back centuries. It's not the same as "unkept."

    Carbonara (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2018 5:03


    Carbonara dishes typically contain bacon and a cream sauce, but the origin of the word probably involves coal. Let's explore the various theories.

    Cleave (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 3, 2018 4:38


    "Cleave" can mean "to split" or "to stick to." How did that happen? We explore "cleave" and other contronyms in this week's Word-Origin Wednesday.

    Auld Lang Syne (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 27, 2017 4:11


    We sing it every year on New Year's Eve, but what does "Auld Lang Syne" mean and where did it come from?

    Xmas (Word-Origin Wednesday)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2017 3:47


    "Xmas" is a common, but sometimes frowned-upon, shortening of "Christmas." Let's look at the history of both words.

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