Three years and over 120 episodes in, this podcast will be taking an extended break until the end of the year. 

Please leave a rating or review in your podcast app and stay subscribed for future episodes. 

Get in touch: https://etymoleon.com. 

An Italian folk dance has origins in medieval beliefs about a spider bite. Japanese folklore has a shapeshifting spider that lures young men. An 18th century illustration is behind the name of one of the world's largest spiders.  

Alongside these histories, this episode uncovers the origins of words such as cobweb, Anansi, matriphagy, tarantula, Jorogumo, arachnomelia, chelated and autotomy.  

Transition sound by https://audionautix.com   

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCsHkU-TH3Y 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nWba9Ii5Lo 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvUHcsZOhJ8 

https://www.bbcearth.com/factfiles/animals/insects-arachnids/black-widow 

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/maria-sibylla-merian-metamorphosis-art-and-science.html 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3unTLVQvTjM 

A 13th century city restricted the movements of glassmakers to protect valuable production secrets. For much of history, reading aloud was more common than reading silently in the mind. An early music player without a volume control may have inspired a popular phrase. 

Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as divulge, recite, endophasia, expose, radio silence and schtum. 

Transition sound by https://audionautix.com 

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https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/47746/save-libraries-by-changing-them 

https://qz.com/quartzy/1118580/the-beginning-of-silent-reading-was-also-the-beginning-of-an-interior-life 

https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/why-do-we-say-mums-the-word/ 

https://uk.pcmag.com/operating-systems/135023/the-rise-of-dos-how-microsoft-got-the-ibm-pc-os-contract 

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jul/07/marketingandpr.drink 

https://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/brief-history-murano-glass-told-expert 

A 4,000-year-old carving may be one of the oldest maps in Europe. A west coast American state appeared as an island on maps for centuries. An African territory remains unclaimed because colonial boundary agreements make ownership disadvantageous for both neighbouring countries. 

Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as atlas, treaty, latitude, California, occident, plagiarism and condominium. 


Transition sound by https://audionautix.com 
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56648055 

https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/world-book 

https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/departures/california-calafia-khalif-the-origin-of-the-name-california 

https://blogs.loc.gov/maps/2020/06/hy-brasil-the-supernatural-island/ 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/03/welcome-to-the-land-that-no-country-wants-bir-tawil 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1203480.stm 

https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/stories/design/mapping-london-iconic-tube-map 

https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tutorials/what-are-charles-booths-poverty-maps 

This podcast returns on July 12th 2026. A 19th century decision involving 24 rabbits reshaped an entire continent. The inventor of an explosive became synonymous with peace. A president's speech turned a game into a metaphor for consequence. 

Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as sequela, corollary, irruption, repercussion and domino. 

Transition sound by https://audionautix.com  
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https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/rabbits-introduced 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/23/australias-rabbit-invasion-traced-back-to-single-importation-of-24-animals-in-1859-study-finds 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSCeqt5im-A 

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/history/how-dynamite-spawned-nobel-prizes 

This podcast returns on June 28th 2026. An experiment suggests most people would rather give themselves an electric shock than sit alone with boredom. Excavations reveal students were being punished with the monotony of writing lines thousands of years ago. The computer game millions of office workers have used to kill time was created by an intern.

Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as monotony, ennui, onychophagy, ad nauseam, flâneur, meander and cliché.

Transition sound by https://audionautix.com  

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orQKfIXMiA8

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/60360466

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/a-noble-experiment-how-solitary-came-to-america/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/travel/article/20191027-the-word-that-encapsulates-frenchness

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/guy-wrote-windows-solitaire-did-231250280.html

A Hollywood actress's workout helped drive sales of VCRs. A video rental chain laughed at the chance to buy a future streaming giant. Video replay transformed how NFL referees judged the game.

Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as betamax, footage, record, kinescope, bootleg, blockbuster and leotard.

Transition sound by https://audionautix.com  

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https://www.wipo.int/en/web/wipo-magazine/articles/50-years-of-the-video-cassette-recorder-35495

https://janefonda.com/the-workout/

https://www.oed.com/discover/revision-bootleg

https://time.com/5776406/blockbuster-meaning/

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/sep/14/netflix-marc-randolph-founder-blockbuster

https://operations.nfl.com/officiating/instant-replay/history-of-instant-replay 

A queen travelled with her dead husband's corpse, reportedly opening the coffin along the journey to kiss his feet. The rejection of repeated marriage proposals may have helped shape some of a poet's best work. Studies suggest pheromones can influence how discerning people are when judging the attractiveness of others.

Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as callipygian, panache, olfactophilia, limerence, pulchritude, uxorious and sillage.

Transition sound by https://audionautix.com  

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3oCuFRk09w

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligo/lifestyle/yeats-and-gonne-a-love-story/40066934.html

https://www.tutor2u.net/psychology/reference/relationships-physical-attractiveness

This podcast returns on May 31st 2026. A rejected advance gives rise to a false accusation. Twins are born, each to a different father. A king kills his nephews and serves them at a feast. Greek mythology is full of controversial tales. 

Alongside these mythological stories, this episode traces the origins of words such as oppugn, vitriol, infandous, cannibal, inveigh, lurid and obscene. 

Transition sound by https://audionautix.com 

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https://www.greekmythology.com/ 

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2018/dec/11/one-set-twins-two-fathers-how-common-is-superfecundation 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHY1HxWadeo 

Morphine was first drawn out of opium in 1806 and is named after a god of dreams. Egyptian remedies recorded ingredients that seem hard to take seriously, though some echo ideas later seen in aspirin and penicillin. A gunshot wound would go on to help a 19th century surgeon understand how the body digests food. 

Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as analgesic, febrifuge, hospital, accoucheur, PRN and clinic. 

Transition sound by https://audionautix.com 

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https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/41595/pg41595-images.html

https://www.geriwalton.com/bonesetters-joint-manipulators-and-musculoskeletal-fixers/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-19012179

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/21/magazine/the-lives-they-lived-dana-raphael.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772609624000261

https://becker.wustl.edu/news/william-beaumonts-momentous-and-unethical-experiments/