Word-Origin Wednesday

"Biceps" and "triceps" both come from Latin. Think you know their proper singular form? Think again.

English speakers might have taken "ridicule" from Latin or might have taken it from French. A related English word definitely came from Latin. Listen to find out what that word is!

This episode features a centuries-old Greek word and a new American word. Which is which?!?!

"Kindergarten" came to English in the 19th century from Germany. Its literal meaning has been mostly forgotten, and its spelling often is too.

"Uber" came to us from German and existed for decades in English as a prefix before taking on its current meaning.

"Decimal" comes from the Latin word for "tenth." Its etymological cousins include "decade," "dime," "December" and..."decimate"?

"Tattoo" has two meanings: a skin marking and a military signal. Are they related? Not at all.

"Conservative" came to English in the 14th century and hung around for 400 years before becoming what it is today: a word almost exclusively applied to politics and religion.

"Liberal," which comes from Latin via French, has been part of the English language since the 14th century, but it didn't have its current political definition until the 19th century.

"Until" can be traced back more than 1,000 years, all the way to Old Norse. This episode also includes a discussion of the related preposition "till" and a definition of Middle English.