Ye olde word

Adithya Mohan
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Social Sciences

A podcast about words, phrases, their origins and histories.

  1. 08/31/2023

    Companion and Comrade

    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

    3 min

  2. 08/13/2023

    Explode

    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

    2 min

  3. 10/30/2022

    Janus words

    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.

    3 min

  4. 07/16/2022

    William Dampier

    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/

    6 min

  5. 11/20/2021

    Words from Greek myth-Part I

    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

    3 min

  6. 11/05/2021

    Humour

    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/

    5 min

  7. 10/24/2021

    Fossil words

    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

    4 min

  8. 09/21/2021

    Pandemonium

    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

    3 min
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About

A podcast about words, phrases, their origins and histories.

Information

  • Creator
    Adithya Mohan
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2023
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Adithya Mohan
  • Show Website
    Ye olde word