Adventures in Etymology – Rightly Adroit

Adventures in Etymology – Rightly Adroit

From Radio Omniglot by Simon Ager

May 9, 2026 · 2 min

About this episode

This episode explores the etymology of the word 'adroit' and its related terms.

In this Adventure in Etymology we deftly discover the right roots of the word adroit. Adroit [əˈdɹɔɪt] means deft, dexterous or skillful. Related words include adroitness (skillfulness or ease of ability), and maladroit (awkward, clumsy, inept). It comes from French adroit (skilful, apt, skilled), from à (to) and droit (right, law, right angle), so could […]

People in this episode

Host: Simon Ager

Topics covered

  • etymology
  • language
  • word origins
  • adroit
  • skillfulness
  • French language

Keywords

  • adroit
  • etymology
  • language
  • skillful
  • French
  • word origins
  • adroitness
  • maladroit

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: French

Books & works: Adventures in Etymology, adroit, adroitness, maladroit

More episodes of Radio Omniglot

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Radio Omniglot podcast page.