Episoder
-
What do the words companion and mate have in common with food? What is a Calque? Listen to this episode to find out!
Sources:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/history-of-word-companion
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/companion#:~:text=companion%20(plural%20companions),accompany%20or%20travel%20with%20another.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mate
https://www.smh.com.au/national/mate-what-s-the-history-of-our-most-treasured-salutation-20210513-p57rhk.html
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comrade
-
What do ancient theatre goers of Rome and the word explode have in common? Listen to the episode to find out!
Sources: https://mashedradish.com/2017/03/28/the-dramatic-roots-of-explode/
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/explode
-
Mangler du episoder?
-
What are words which contradict themselves called? Fast means to go fast, but, to stand fast means to not move at all. Listen to this episode to understand such words!
Sources:
https://medium.com/@jackashepherd/these-extremely-cool-words-mean-the-opposite-of-themselves-8e4f5fd63cd3
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-own-opposites#:~:text=A%20'Janus%20word'%20is%20a,antagonyms%2C%20or%20auto%2Dantonyms.
https://blog.maltalingua.com/what-are-janus-words/
https://www.economist.com/culture/2022/09/08/some-words-have-two-opposite-meanings-why
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus#:~:text=In%20ancient%20Roman%20religion%20and,named%20for%20Janus%20(Ianuarius).
https://www.andersonlock.com/blog/god-doors/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-antonym#:~:text=An%20auto%2Dantonym%20or%20autantonym,or%20%22to%20bind%20together%22.
-
What is the difference between a pirate and a privateer? What link has the pirate William Dampier has to guacomole, mango chutney, and to Charles Darwin? Listen to the episode to find out!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Dampier
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Selkirk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Hatley
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/eat-like-a-pirate
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/first-food-writer
https://ocean.si.edu/human-connections/exploration/william-dampier-pirate-who-collected-plants
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/arrival-of-english-explorer-william-dampier
https://www.britannica.com/story/pirates-privateers-corsairs-buccaneers-whats-the-difference#:~:text=A%20privateer%20was%20a%20pirate,belonging%20to%20a%20rival%20country.
https://blog.marinersmuseum.org/2012/09/the-difference-between-pirates-privateers-and-buccaneers-pt-1/
-
What does the word cereal and panic have to do with Greek mythology? Listen to the episode to find out!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_(dwarf_planet)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cereal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_(god)
https://drhoffman.com/article/the-origin-of-panic-3/
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-mythological-origin-of-panic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronos
https://www.etymonline.com/word/victory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_(mythology)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike_(mythology)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanus
-
Are the words humid and humour related? What does the word melancholy have to do with bile? Listen to the episode to find out!
Sources:
https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/the-origin-of-the-word-humor/
https://www.britannica.com/science/humor-ancient-physiology
https://uselessetymology.com/2017/11/29/the-etymology-of-humor/
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/112655/how-did-the-word-humor-which-originally-represented-bodily-fluids-end-up-rep
https://www.thecolourworks.com/hippocrates-galen-the-four-humours/
-
What does the word 'ado' mean in the phrase much ado about nothing? Why do we say fast food and not quick food? Listen to the episode to find out!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_word
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/fossil-words/shod-in-slipshod-and-roughshod
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_binomial
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_collocations
https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations.htm
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/Malkiel1959.pdf
-
What does pandemic and pandemonium have in common? Listen to the episode to find out!
Sources:
https://letsproofread.com/text/124/
https://wordhistories.net/2016/08/25/pandemonium/
https://blog.oup.com/2008/10/pandemonium/
https://www.etymonline.com/word/pandemonium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pand%C3%A6monium_(Paradise_Lost)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost
-
Was the animal sloth named after the Cardinal sin or was it the other way around? Listen to this episode to find out!
Sources:
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/sloth
https://mashedradish.com/2016/02/26/sloth/
https://www.etymonline.com/word/sloth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloth_(deadly_sin)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acedia
-
What does the Goddess of love have to do with the etymology of the word venom? Listen to find out!
Sources:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/venom-and-the-goddess-of-love
https://www.etymonline.com/word/poison
https://www.reddit.com/r/etymology/comments/o4x247/the_revered_deadly_beasts_loved_gonorrhea_venus/
https://www.etymonline.com/word/*wen-?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_52678
https://www.etymonline.com/word/venom
-
What does the word accolade have to word with a knight? Listen to this episode to find out!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accolade
https://www.britannica.com/topic/knight-cavalryman
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/brief-history-of-knights/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/dcslfi/how_did_one_become_a_knight_in_the_medival_ages/
https://www.reddit.com/r/etymology/comments/jcs078/accolade_an_embrace_kiss_especially_that_given_to/
https://historyofyesterday.com/how-did-squires-become-knights-in-the-medieval-era-e8a10d2f2db7
-
What does milk have to do with the Milky way? Does asterisk means little star? Answers to all these questions are found in this episode!
Sources:
https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/science-diction-sun/
https://www.etymologynerd.com/blog/sunny-disposition
https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-sun-moon-stars-946d9d0e5a13
https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question48.html
https://www.history.com/news/who-named-the-planets
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-history-of-galaxy
https://wordhistories.net/2016/08/11/galaxy-lettuce/
-
Was the fruit orange named after the colour or is it the other way around? Listen to this episode to find out!
Sources:
https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/article/the-etymology-of-the-orange
https://lithub.com/color-or-fruit-on-the-unlikely-etymology-of-orange/
-
In this episode, we look into certain words that describe words like onomatopoeia, embolalia, portmanteau, tmesis and bahuvrihi.
Sources:
https://www.history.com/news/where-did-the-word-barbarian-come-from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/barbarian
https://www.britannica.com/topic/portmanteau-word
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onomatopoeia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formulaic_language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tmesis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahuvrihi
https://humanparts.medium.com/ten-great-words-about-words-63c6e8622cca
-
Who is Jack and why is he associated with Halloween? Listen to this episode to find out!
Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/samhain
https://perma.cc/D4X6-PSHX
https://www.dictionary.com/e/jack/
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/the-story-of-jack-o-lantern-if-you-knew-the-sufferings-of-that-forsaken-craythur-1.4065773
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/the-twisted-transatlantic-tale-of-american-jack-o-lanterns
https://www.history.com/news/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-origins
-
What does the S.O.S distress signal have to do with the Titanic's fateful crash? Listen to find out!
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayday
https://yorkshireairmuseum.org/latest-news/its-mayday-but-that-means-trouble-for-aviators/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-pan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOS
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/31911/what-does-sos-stand
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/why-titanic-first-call-help-not-sos-signal
-
Why are Vampires called Vampires? Are there different types of Vampire like creatures in other cultures? Listen to find out!
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vlad-the-Impaler
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_the_Impaler
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_folklore_by_region
Wilson, K. M. (1985). The History of the Word “Vampire.” Journal of the History of Ideas, 46(4), 577. doi:10.2307/2709546
-
Where did the word juggernaut come from? Did it come from the name of a Hindu god? Listen to find out!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juggernaut
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mandeville
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odoric_of_Pordenone
https://www.learnreligions.com/rath-yatra-1770555
https://blog.oup.com/2017/08/origins-juggernaut-jagannath/
-
Why is a potato called a potato? Is it related to the poisonous nightshade family? Who is Parmentier and what did he do to popularise potatoes? Listen to the episode to find out!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato
https://culturedarm.com/cultural-history-potato-earth-apple/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine-Augustin_Parmentier
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_the_Great
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/parmentier-made-potatoes-popular
https://laidbackgardener.blog/2016/02/23/how-the-potato-got-its-name/
https://wordhistories.net/2017/09/29/spud-potato-origin/
-
What is the purpose of Gargoyles? Why are they called Gargoyles? Listen to the episode to find out!
Source:
https://www.academia.edu/9706139/A_Collision_of_Gargoyles_in_Evental_Aesthetics_2013_
https://goingtotehran.com/the-history-of-gargoyles/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gargoyle
- Se mer
