Radio Omniglot

You can be unkempt, but can you be just kempt? Let’s find out in this Adventure in Etymology on Radio Omniglot.

An unkempt llama

Unkempt [ˌʌnˈkɛmpt] means uncombed or dishevelled (hair), disorderly,…

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New language pages:

• Naman, a Southern Oceanic language spoken on Malekula Island in central Vanuatu.
• Mbugu (kiMbugu) / Maʼa (kiMaʼa), a Bantu lan…

In this episode we unearth the Celtic roots of words for birch (tree) in various languages.

The Proto-Celtic word *betuyā means birch tree, and comes from Proto-Indo-European *gʷetu-yo-s, from *gʷet…

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New language pages:

• Kwangali (Rukwangali), a Bantu language spoken in northern Namibia and southern Angola.
• Lega (Kilega), a Bantu language spoke…

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

Meanings of climb [klaɪm] include:

• To ascend, rise or go up
• To mount, move upwards
• To scale, get to the top of
• To move …

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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 Ma…

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-…

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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 K…

In this Adventure in Etymology we investigate the word feather.

A feather [ˈfɛð.ə(ɹ) / ˈfɛð.ɚ] is:

• A branching, hair-like structure that grows on the bodies of birds, used for flight, swimming, pro…

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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 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 th…

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New constructed script: Saramukhi, an alternative script for Indonesian and English created by Reza Sumanda and inspired by the Devanagari and Mar…

In this Adventure in Etymology we investigate the word discombobulate.

To discombobulate [ˌdɪs.kəmˈbɒb.jəˌleɪt] is:

• To throw into a state of confusion
• To befuddle or perplex.
• To upset or embarrass

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New phonetic script: Vniverall (Universal) Alphabet, which was created by Thomas Harriot in the 1580s as a way to write the Carolina Algonquian la…

In this episode we uncover the Celtic roots of words for oar, to row and related things in Basque.

The Proto-Celtic word *rāmyos means oar, spade or shovel and comes from the Proto-Indo-European *h…

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New writing system: Khom Thai, a descendent of the Old Khmer script used mainly to write religious texts in Pali, Sanskrit, Khmer, Thai and Lao.

Fr…

In this Adventure in Etymology we untangle the roots of the word number.

A number [ˈnɐmbə(ɹ) / ˈnʌ̟mbɚ(ɹ)] is:

• Quantity
• An abstract entity used to describe quantity.
• A numeral: a symbol for a non-n…

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New language pages:

• Talinga, a Northeast Bantu language spoken in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Kobo (Kɨkobo) a Bantu language…

In this episode we discover the possible Celtic roots of words for doctor in some Germanic languages.

The Proto-Celtic word *leigis means healer and either comes from Proto-Germaic *lēkiz (healing,…

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New writing system: Lai Tay, which was used to write Tai Yo, a Southwestern Tai langauge spoken in Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.

New language pages:…