Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot.

New language pages:

New numbers pages:

New phrases pages:

New Tower of Babel translation:

On the Omniglot blog there a new post entitled Knobbly Monsters about the creative ways journalists use to avoid repeating key words in their articles, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Tanzania.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Aheri Gondi (कोयम‎ / गोंडी‎), a Dravidian language spoken mainly in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Telangana.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, Sticky Climbs, we uncover the sticky roots of the word climb.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Shameful Disgrace about words for shame, disgrace and various other things in Celtic languages.

New song: It’s All Greek To Me, a song I wrote based on idioms that mean that things are incompehensible.

For more Omniglot News, see:

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Podchaser.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

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In this Adventure in Etymology we uncover the sticky roots of the word climb.

Meanings of climb [klaɪm] include:

It comes from Middle English climben [ˈkli(ː)mbən / ˈkli(ː)mən] (to climb, scale, ascend) – the b was no longer pronounced in Late Middle English – from Old English climban [ˈklim.bɑn] (to climb), from Proto-West Germanic *klimban (to climb), from Proto-Germanic *klimbaną (to climb), probably from *klibāną (to stick, adhere) from Proto-Indo-European *gley- (to smear, to stick, putty, glue) [source].

Words from the same roots possibly include glue, gluten, clay, to cleave, cliff, cloth in English, klimmen (to climb) and kleven (to stick, glue) in Dutch, glynu (to stick, adhere) in Welsh, and glina (clay, loam) in Polish [source].

The English word clamber (to climb with difficulty or in a haphazard fashion) possibly also comes from the same roots, and is related to klambra (to clamp) in Icelandic and klamra (to cling) in Swedish [source].

Incidentally, the word to cleave can mean both to split or sever something with a sharp instrument, and to adhere, cling, or stick fast to something. The second meaning shares common roots with climb, but the first doesn’t [source]

Instead, it comes from Middle English cleven (to cleave, split, slice), from Old English clēofan (to cleave, split), from Proto-West Germanic *kleuban (to split, cleave), from Proto-Germanic *kleubaną (to split, cleave), from Proto-Indo-European *glewbʰ- (to cut, to slice) [source].

Related words include cleft and glyph in English, kloof (gap, gorge, ravine) in Dutch (and in Afrikaans and South African English), and глубокий [ɡɫʊˈbokʲɪj] (deep, profound) in Russian [source].

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the Celtiadur blog.

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot.

New constructed script: Surat Binua, which was created by Reza Sumanda as a way to write Kendayan, a Land Dayak language spoken in Indonesia and Malaysia.

New constructed script: Tenzu, which was created by Reza Sumanda as a way to write Indonesian, and inspired by the Soyombo and Tibetan scripts.

New language pages:

New numbers pages:

On the Omniglot blog we investigate why the words flammable and inflammable mean the same thing in a post called Inflammability, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken mainly in Maharashtra and Telangana in central India.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Unami / Lenape, an Eastern Algonquian language that was historically spoken in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware in the USA, and later in Ontario and Oklahoma. It is currently being revived.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, we uncover the possible Celtic roots of words for heron in Romance languages in a post entitled Herons.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Swearing Oaths about words for oath, vow, (to) swear and various other things in Celtic languages.

For more Omniglot News, see:

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Podchaser.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

In this episode we uncover the possible Celtic roots of words for heron in Romance languages.

The Proto-Celtic word *korxsā / *korxsiyos means heron or crane [source], and possibly comes from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreik- (to screech, creak), which is imitative in origin [source].

Descendants in the modern Celtic languages include:

Words from the same Proto-Celtic roots, via Celtiberian *cárcia (heron) or Gaulish curcio (heron), possibly include garza (heron) in Galician, garza (heron) in Spanish, and garça (heron) in Portuguese [source].

The Welsh word crëyr [ˈkreː.ɨ̞r / ˈkreː.ɪr], which means heron or egret, probably comes from the same PIE roots, as do reiger (heron) in Dutch, Reiher (heron) in German, häger (heron) in Swedish, heron and egret in English, and haikara (heron, stork) in Finnish [source].

More details of heron-related words can be found in the Celtiadur post Herons.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot.

New constructed script: Urup Bidayuh’, which was created by Reza Sumanda as a way to write Biatah (Bidayuh), a Land Dayak language spoken in West Kalimantan in Indonesia, and Sarawak in Malaysia.

New language pages:

New numbers pages:

On the Omniglot blog we discover whether the words cargo and car are related in post called A Cargo of Cars, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language was spoken in Ontario in Canada and Oklahoma in the USA, and is currently being revived.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Rutul (мыхӏабишды‎), a Lezgic language spoken in the Republic of Dagestan in the southwest of Russia.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we find out what links helicopters, Roger Federer and Feathers.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Ashy Embers about words for ash, embers, cinders etc, and I made improvements to the post about Wings and related things.

Improved page: Kaitag language page.

In other news, I finished all the Italian lessons on Duolingo this week, and I’m continuing to study Swahili. I may learn some more of one of the languages I’ve already studied in the past, or try a new language. I haven’t decided which one yet. So far, I’ve completed Duolingo courses in Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Scottish Gaelic, Danish, Swedish, Dutch, Irish, Finnish, Czech, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Esperanto and Romanian.

For more Omniglot News, see:

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

In this Adventure in Etymology we investigate the word feather.

A feather [ˈfɛð.ə(ɹ) / ˈfɛð.ɚ] is:

It comes from Middle English feþer (feather), from Old English feþer (feather, pen), from Proto-West Germanic *feþru (feather, wing), from Proto-Germanic *feþrō (feather), from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ (feather, wing), from *peth₂- (to fly, to spread out) [source].

Words from the same Proto-Germanic roots include veer (feather, plume) and vlerk (wing, scoundrel) in Dutch, Feder (feather, spring, nib, penholder, fountain pen) and Gefieder (plumage) in German, and federa (pillowcase) in Italian (via Lombardic fedeara (feather)) [source].

By the way, the Swiss tennis player Roger Federer gets his surname from the Swiss German word Federer, which means ‘one who works with or trades in quills’, which are traditionally made from feathers [source]

Other words from the same Proto-Indo-European roots include πτηνό (ptinó – bird) in Greek, पत्र (patra – letter, paper, document, leaf) in Hindi, adar (birds) and adain (wing, fin) in Welsh, and appetite, petal, petition and fathom in English [source].

Incidentally, the word heliocopter also comes from the same roots, via French hélicoptère (helicopter), which comes from Ancient Greek ἕλιξ (hélix – spiral) &‎ πτερόν (pterón – feather, wing) – at least the -pter part does – see also pterodactyl (“winged finger”) [source].

Can anybody identify which birds the feathers in the photo at the top of this post come from? I found them in my garden.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the Celtiadur blog.

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot.

New constructed script: Urup Bakatiʼ, which was created by Reza Sumanda as a way to write Bakatiʼ, a Land Dayak language spoken in West Kalimantan in Indonesia.

New language pages:

New numbers pages:

On the Omniglot blog we look at the world through rose-tinted spectacles and discover that everything is coming up roses as we investigate some rose-related expressions in a post entitled Rose-Tinted, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in the southwest of Russia.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: North Ambryn (Ranon) a North-Central Vanuatu language spoken on Ambryn Island in Malampa Province in the north of Vanuatu.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, Sunwise, we unravel the Celtic origins of the English word desieal (the direction of the sun, right-hand side).

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled First Things First about words for first, before, previous and related things, and I made improvements to the post about words for To Seek and related things in Celtic languages.

Improved page: Kven phrases

New song: Discombobulation

This recording features me on vocals, guitar, cavaquinho, descant recorder, tenor recorder and (GarageBand) drums. It’s also available on SoundCloud.

For more Omniglot News, see:

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

In this episode we unravel the Celtic roots the English word deiseal.

Deiseal [ˈdjɛʃəl] refers to a motion towards the right, in the direction of the hands of a clock or of the apparent motion of the sun (in the Northern Hemisphere); a turning in this direction. It is also written deisal, deasil, deisul or deshil [source].

Apparently deiseal can also be said when someone sneezes or swallows something awry. In this context, it means ‘May it go right’, and is an alternative to ‘(God) bless you’ or ‘gesundheit’.

It was borrowed from the Irish word deiseal (righthand direction, direction of the sun, clockwise, sunwise), which comes from Old Irish dess [dʲes] (right, south) and sel [sʲel] (a turn, a while), from Proto-Celtic *dexswos (right, south) and *swelos (a turn) [source].

Related words in the Celtic languages include mearbhall [ˈmʲaɾˠəwəl̪ˠ] (bewilderment, confusion) in Irish, deiseal [dʲeʃal] (clockwise, facing south, finished, ready, poised, prepared, handy, dexterous) in Scottish Gaelic, jeshal (clockwise) in Manx, and chwŷl [χwɨːl] (turn of events, course, destiny) in Welsh.

And also tuathal [ˈt̪ˠuəhəl̪ˠ] (anticlockwise, counterclockwise) in Irish, and tuathal [tuəhəl̪ˠ] (anticlockwise, unlucky, ill-omened, confused, agitated, disorien(ta)ted) in Scottish Gaelic [source].

More details of such words can be found in the Celtiadur post To Seek.

Another word for anticlockwise in English is widdershins / withershins, which also used to mean ‘the wrong way’. It comes from Middle Low German weddersins, from wedder- (whither, against, opposite) and sin (direction, way) [source].

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot.

New constructed script: Saramukhi, an alternative script for Indonesian and English created by Reza Sumanda and inspired by the Devanagari and Marchen scripts.

New adapted script: Groeg (κροηκ​​), a way to write Welsh with the Greek alphabet devised by Xavier Merica.

New language pages:

New numbers pages:

On the Omniglot blog we find out whether the words gig, jig and the German word Geige (violin) are connected in a post entitled Gigs, Jigs & Fiddles, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Vanuatu.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Kituba, a Kikongo-based creole spoken in Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, Discombobulation, we investigate the word discombobulate and related words.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Each & Every about words for each, every, all and related things in Celtic languages.

For more Omniglot News, see:

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

In this Adventure in Etymology we investigate the word discombobulate.

To discombobulate [ˌdɪs.kəmˈbɒb.jəˌleɪt] is:

It was coined in the USA and first appeared in writing in around 1867 [source]. It is a fanciful mock-Latin term of a kind that was popular at that time, and was possibly inspired by words like discompose and discomfit [source].

Similar words were in use from about 1825, including discomboberated, discombobolate and discomboberate [source]

Related words include:

Other mock-Latin words coined in the 19th century include to absquatulate (to leave quickly, to flee), to bloviate (to speak at length in a pompous or boastful manner), to hornswoggle (to deceive or trick), and to skedaddle (to run away quickly) [source].

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the Celtiadur blog.