The Thai words for fire, die and rim sound an awful lot like the English words fire, die and rim. Why is that? John explains.

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Words like thence and thither are all but obsolete in English, but they were actually quite useful! John explains.

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Do you know the difference between a rabbit and a hare? And what then is a bunny? Follow John through the etymological warrens of these several words.

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It may seem apparent how we got from busyness to business, but the origins of the word “busy” itself are shrouded in mystery. John explains.

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As a daily listener to WNYC Public Radio in New York City, John has noticed that a certain announcer frequently mispronounces words on air. He has thoughts.

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Working backwards from existing languages, linguists have had great success reconstructing Proto-Indo-European. Does that mean we can do the same for all language families? John explains.

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A cyclone came through and blew off most of English’s clothes, says John, in Part II of his discussion of Indo-European.

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There are at least five defining features among hundreds of related languages from English to Hindi to Russian. And what does any of that have to do with the Hittites? John explains.

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The simple verb to go quickly gets complex in just about any language and English is no exception. John explains.

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What does the bat in “acrobat” have to do with the word come? John explains.

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