Om Etymoleon - Word History, the etymology podcast.
Word History is a podcast for people who enjoy words and history. Each episode takes a small set of words linked to a theme. You'll hear what they mean, where they come from and which familiar words share the same linguistic roots, along with stories from the past related to their use. Listen for words that sharpen expression, and brief histories that show how ideas and practices, as well as language, took shape. Across an archive of more than a hundred episodes, you'll find explanations of word, name and phrase origins. The majority of etymologies featured return to Old English, Ancient Greek, Latin and Old French, providing a look into languages of the past that underpin English. New episodes on Sundays. Play the daily word game Derivety: https://derivety.com Get in touch: https://etymoleon.com
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This episode explores uncommon words for discussions about Power, examining their origins and familiar words from the same root. Words highlighted include recrudescence, lese-majeste, contumacious, de...
107. Time (00:14:57)
This episode covers rare words for conversations about Time, exploring their origins and recognisable words from the same root. Words featured include desultory, ephemeral, dilatory, tarry, exigent an...
106. Christmas Songs (00:12:58)
This podcast returns late January 2026. This episode begins with why Christmas carols were banned in the 17th century, and how the word carol comes from a French term for a dance performed by singers....
105. Etiquette (00:16:27)
This time we're getting into terms of etiquette and the origins of certain expected behaviours, starting with the word etiquette itself, which shares a root with ticket because rules of behaviour were...
104. Scotland (00:15:22)
This episode marks St Andrew's Day by looking at the origins of terms linked to Scottish dialects. It begins with the etymologies of Scotland and other historical names for the region, including Caled...
103. Names: Cross Cultural (00:15:49)
This episode looks at names that work across cultures, names that sound alike but emerge from entirely different linguistic roots. It opens with demographic data from the USA and from England and Wale...
102. Manifesting (00:14:07)
This time we're looking at words connected to the art of manifesting, tracing the origins of terms like abundance, affirmation and visualise. To describe what we sense from a person but can't see, we ...
101. Veganism (00:15:39)
This podcast returns mid-November 2025. This time we're looking into the etymologies of vegan related terms, beginning with the history of the Vegan Society and the roots of other dietary labels such ...
100. Anglosphere (00:15:27)
This episode looks at the differences between varieties of English across the Anglosphere, examining the origins of words that vary from place to place. Learn where the words trousers and pants come f...
99. Lies (00:14:15)
This time we're tracing the etymology of words tied to lies and deceit, beginning with research into how children learn, or fail, to tell untruths, and a look at words of honesty such as blunt and aut...
98. Names: Soap Characters (00:15:16)
This episode looks at surname origins through the lens of television soap operas, beginning with why these dramas are called soaps and how the conglomerate P&G remains involved in producing them. Some...
97. Sugar (00:15:34)
This episode traces the language of sugar and sweetness, from the Arabic roots of the word sugar to the names of modern artificial sweeteners. Discover how accidents in the lab led to the discovery of...
96. Smells (00:15:08)
This episode uncovers the surprising histories of fragrant words. Many, including perfume, incense and bakhoor, trace back to roots connected with smoke and fumes. Eau de toilette may seem like an odd...
95. Contradicting Meanings III (00:13:58)
This episode looks at words that contradict themselves, carrying opposite meanings at once or shifting dramatically over time. Manufacturing suggests mass production today, yet it comes from Latin mea...
94. Italian Cuisine (00:14:18)
This podcast returns in September 2025. This time we're tracing the origins of Italian sauce, pasta, pizza and dish names. There are various theories as to why puttanesca shares its name with an Itali...
93. Names: F (00:13:50)
This episode traces the meanings and origins of names beginning with F, through the lens of historical figures connected to mythology, politics, innovation and the beauty industry. Falguni Nayar, the ...
92. Assumptions (00:13:17)
This episode looks at terms connected to making assumptions, starting with the often-cited origin of the phrase "when you assume, you make an ass out of u/you and me". The word bias originally referre...
91. Tabloids (00:14:02)
This episode looks into the language of tabloid journalism, starting with the surprising pharmaceutical origins of the word tabloid itself. The British Daily Mail and Daily Mirror were the first newsp...
90. Independence (00:14:45)
This time we're looking at terms related to independence and free will, as Americans prepare to celebrate Independence Day. The episode opens with a brief look at the events leading to America's break...
89. Eateries (00:14:41)
This episode traces the origins of words for the places we eat, from the soupy history that gave us restaurant to the unknown roots of bistro, which entered English in the early 20th century, and bras...
88. Espionage (00:15:33)
This time we're uncovering the origins of espionage-related terms, from bug, alias, and surveillance to eavesdrop and secret, tracing how they entered the English language (and words they are related ...
87. Biblical (00:14:23)
This episode takes a look at terms and phrases that trace back to biblical roots. To "wash your hands of something/someone" has origins linked to the crucifixion, while a commonly misquoted phrase abo...
86. Names: Sayings (00:15:20)
This episode looks at the origins of names used in common sayings, uncovering the theories behind how these phrases came about and tracing the names to their historical linguistic roots. Gordon Bennet...
85. Big (00:15:17)
This episode is all about size, tracing the origins of words related to 'bigness' such as massive, monumental, enormous and gigantic. Discover how gargantuan and Brobdingnagian have literary beginning...
84. Colours (00:16:08)
This time we're tracing the origins of colour names and the terms and phrases linked to them. Learn how conditions like grapheme-colour synesthesia, where people associate letters or numbers with colo...
