Etymoleon - Word History, the etymology podcast.

Morphine was first drawn out of opium in 1806 and is named after a god of dreams. Egyptian remedies recorded ingredients that seem hard to take seriously, though some echo ideas later seen in aspirin and penicillin. A gunshot wound would go on to help a 19th century surgeon understand how the body digests food. Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as analgesic, febrifuge, hospital, accoucheur, PRN and clinic. Transition sound by https://audion...

To burke is to kill by strangulation, a word taken from the name of a 19th century murderer. In Anglo-Saxon England, a killing could be settled with payment through the wergild, a sum paid by the offender to the victim's family. In France, a petty criminal would go on to become one of the first figures to resemble a modern detective. Alongside these histories, this episode explores the origins of words such as assassin, scelerate, culprit, trucidate and lucre. Transition sound b...

This podcast returns on April 12th 2026. This episode explores unusual words for conversations about chance, examining their origins and recognisable words from the same root. Words covered include incertitude, vicissitude, pari-mutuel, fortuity, aleatory and serendipity. Plus, hear how some public offices in ancient Greece were filled by lottery rather than election, reflecting a belief that randomness could serve as a safeguard against corruption. Sources: https://ccel....

This episode explores lesser known words that are useful in conversations about reputation, considering their origins and recognisable words from the same root. Words highlighted include perfidious, calumny, susurration, ignominy, opprobrium, obloquy and flagitious. Listen to the history of how a derailed train helped shape the beginnings of the modern public relations industry. Sources: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1857-08-18/debates/4642f51a-ffe6-4eee-a43e-927...

This episode considers unusual words for conversations about happiness, examining their origins and recognisable words from the same root. Words featured include gaiety, delectation, sangfroid, equanimity, ananda and rapturous. Hear the history of Jeremy Bentham's attempt to systematically assess pleasure and pain as a guide for moral action. Sources: https://www.britannica.com/topic/eudaimonia https://blogs.library.mcgill.ca/osler-library/aequanimitas/ https://www.youtu...

This podcast returns on February 22nd 2026. This episode examines lesser-known words for discussions about Precision, looking at their origins and familiar words from the same root. Words explored include punctilious, ad litteram, cavilling, facsimile, pettifogging and fastidious. Find out when systems of measurement moved from regional variation to global uniformity. Sources: https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/20686987-candelabra-selected-essays-and-addresses https://wordhistorie...

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 and evitable. Listen for the history of how time, once determined locally, became standardised across Britain with the emergence of the railway. Sources: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/387/294/ https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/1/1/&n...

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 once written on small tabs. There are many theories about why placing your elbows on the table is considered rude, with one explanation linked to the need for stability. Forks were originally viewed as pretentious tools before becoming symbols of proper dining. In this context protocol refers to...

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 Wales that helps explain why many parents now seek names that fit multiple cultural contexts. In England and Wales, 37% of newborns have a parent born abroad, and in the USA approval of mixed marriage has risen from 4% in 1958 to 94% today. The name Maya or Maia can mean beloved, magic, brave, prince...

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 as pescetarian and the more recent reducetarian. Soya beans take their name from the sauce, not the other way around, and Quorn, the brand name for a mycoprotein product, has an unexpected historical link to fox hunting. There's also a linguistic connection between the words plant and clan, a par...

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 authentic, the latter etymologically meaning 'self doing'. Fake and bogus grew out of criminal slang, with bogus first referring to a machine that produced counterfeit coins. Charlatan describes someone full of empty talk, and its origins may be more obvious to Spanish speakers, much like Irish spea...

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 saccharin, sucralose and aspartame, and how aspartame is linked to asparagus. Follow the shared origin of mead, the ancient honey-based drink, Miod, the Polish word for honey, and the name Maeve. Learn how syrup joined sugar in passing through Arabic into English and the likely origin behind the...

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 meaning 'made by hand'. A model can be an unfinished prototype or a finished ideal, while mistress carries both admiration and scandal. Execute traces back to a Latin root meaning, 'to follow', but does it mean to begin or to kill? Is supporting someone holding them up or holding them down? And why ...