Other articles
Word Family - Wolf
Teaser
wolf, wolframite, Ralph, Raoul, lycanthrope, lupus
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Proto-Indo-European *welkʷ- dangerous?, wild?
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Proto-Indo-European *wl̥kʷós
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Anatolian
- Hittite 𒉿𒀠𒆪𒉿𒀸 walkuwa-
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Celtic *ulk(ʷ)os evil, bad or from *h₁elk-: "wound"
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Old Irish olc evil
- Irish olc evil, bad, grudge, misfortune, unfortunate
- Lepontic 𐌖𐌋𐌊𐌏𐌔 ulkos Evil? Wolf? (personal name) [1]
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Indo-Iranian *w …
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Word Family - Honu
Introduction
One final "turtle" word: "honu"
It is very tempting to unify *pəñu: "sea turtle" with *pəNuʔ: "to fill, full, container". And *pəNuʔ: "full" has potential cognates in the possible Sino-Austronesian macrofamily/Southeast Asian historic sprachbund.
And then at that point you're speculating a link between "green …
read moreWord Family - Turtle
Introduction
Turtledoves are not named after turtles, in fact "turtle" has meant the bird for longer than it meant the reptile.
In Middle English tortu meant "turtle" (from Latin tortuca) and turtel mean "turtledove" (from Latin turtur), then they collapsed into "turtle". The modern meaning of "turtle" won out, and …
read moreWord Family - Scarab
Introduction
A whole pile of words for things with shells and exoskeletons built on something like *kar-
Some of these are probably each of
- Wander words for crabs from an unknown substrate
- Derivations from possible Proto-Indo-European roots *krew-, *kh₂er-, (s)ker-, and/or *(s)kerp- with meanings related to …
Word Family - Arctic
Introduction
Here I'm following Blažek's compelling argument (2017) to derive *h₂ŕ̥Tḱos from *h₂r̥dh₂éḱh₃-s: "bee-eater", similar to many later words for bear that mean things like "honey eater", "honey pig", "thief of bees", "bee bear", "bee wolf", … . This instead of the traditional connection …
read moreWord Family - Fee
Teaser
fee, feudal, cyclops, peculiar, fight, Shadowfax
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Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- wool, livestock, wealth
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Proto-Indo-European *péḱu
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Old Armenian ասու asu fleece, wool
- Armenian ասր asr fine fleece
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Balto-Slavic *péku
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East Baltic
- Lithuanian pẽkus
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West Baltic
- Old Prussian pecku cattle
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Germanic *fehu wealth, cattle, the rune ᚠ
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East Germanic
- Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿 faihu property …
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Word Family - Heron
Introduction
I've been thinking about herons and egrets a lot recently. For the past year or so, our morning walk goes by a half mile of drainage ditch with an amazing variety of water birds. We regularly see 4 different species of heron: great blue heron, great egret, snowy egret …
read moreWord Family - Gossamer
Introduction
The period of unseasonably hot weather after an initial autumn cooling—now often called "Indian summer"—was previously called "goose summer" in English because it corresponds with the beginning of goose hunting season. Compare Irish fómhar beag na ngéanna: "warm period in Autumn (Indian summer)", literally "little autumn of …
read moreWord Family - Linen
Introduction
While *linom: "flax" and *līnom: "flax" obviously must be connected in some way, the difference in vowel length cannot be reconciled by any regular changes.
All versions with the long vowel are plausibly attributable to derivation from Latin līnum. All the short vowel versions could theoretically be from Greek …
read moreWord Family - Camel
June theme: Domestic Animals 🐕
Teaser
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Semitic *gamal- camel
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Central Semitic
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Arabic جمل jámal camel
- Maltese ġemel camel
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Northwest Semitic
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Aramaic
- Classical Syriac ܓܡܠܐ gamlā’ camel
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Canaanite
- Hebrew גמל gamal camel
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Phoenician
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Ancient Greek κάμηλος kámēlos camel
- Greek καμήλα kamíla camel
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Latin camēlus camel
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Old French
- English camel
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French chameau camel
- Haitian …
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Word Family - Cow
June theme: Domestic Animals 🐕
Introduction
Proto-Indo-European has *gʷṓws: "cow, cattle" and *woḱéh₂: "(female) cow". The expected feminine of the *gʷṓws would be something like **gʷow(s)éh₂. *woḱéh₂ looks similar, but not quite there.
Sino-Tibetan *ŋwa: "cattle, ox" is also highly reminiscent of *gʷṓws …
read moreWord Family - Swine
June theme: Domestic Animals 🐕
Introduction
I present two families for "pig" here, partly because Armenian խոզ xoz is derivable from either family (see footnote [1])
Family 1, Indo-European *suH- pig, sow?", possibly related to Akkadian 𒊺𒄷𒌑 še-hu-u₂ and Sumerian 𒋚 šah; and family 2, Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰóryos: "pig", probably central PIE dialect (Greek …
read moreWord Family - Canine
June theme: Domestic Animals 🐕
Introduction
I get a little speculative here, if not downright provocative. There are words for dog all over Eurasia that recall each other. These could be onomatopoeic, but they do not much resemble the common forms you find in words that actually used as dog sound …
read moreWord Family - Pterodactyl
April theme: Dinosaurs and Friends🦕
Introduction
Pterodactyl. Two cool realizations about Greek "pter-". 1) "Helicopter" is so strongly segmented as "heli-copter" in English, it's fun to realize that the Greek construction is actually "helico-pter": "twisting (helix) wing". 2) More recently I realized it's an awesome example of Grimm's Law: apply …
read moreWord Family - Ankylosaurus
April theme: Dinosaurs and Friends🦕
Introduction
Ankylosaurus! And as an unexpected bonus, I found Azhdarchid pterosaurs deep in the family, too. Pterosaurs are probably my very favorite Mesozoic animals (stay tuned for next week!). Also in this family: various spiders and snakes and fears and sins in various languages.
I …
read moreWord Family - Stegosaurus
April theme: Dinosaurs and Friends🦕
Teaser
steganography, detect, tile, Stegosaurus, thug, toga, thatch, deck
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Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- to cover s-mobile root
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Proto-Indo-European *(s)tég-eti primary verb
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Balto-Slavic
- Lithuanian stíegti to roof, to thatch
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Hellenic
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Classical Greek στέγω stégō to cover, to wrap, to make watertight
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Classical Greek στέγη stégē roof …
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Word Family - Triceratops
April theme: Dinosaurs and Friends🦕
Teaser
horn, unicorn, cheer, migraine, carrot, Triceratops
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Proto-Afro-Asiatic
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Egyptian *qar- horn
- Egyptian qr.tj horns (dual)
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Semitic *qarn- horn
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Central Semitic
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Arabic قَرْن qarn horn, century
- Maltese qarn horn
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Northwest Semitic
- Aramaic קַרְנָא
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Canaanite
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Hebrew קֶרֶן qéren horn, antler, light beam, corner, keratin
- Hebrew חַד קֶרֶן ẖad-qéren unicorn …
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Word Family - Weasel
Teaser
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Proto-Indo-European *weys- slime, poison, flow, melt
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Proto-Indo-European *wisós action noun, zero-grade variant
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Hellenic *wihós
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Ancient Greek ῑ̓ός īós poison, venom
- Greek ιός iós venom, virus
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Indo-Iranian *wišás
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Indo-Aryan *wíṣas
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Dardic *biṣá
- Kalasha biṣ poison
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Sanskrit विष viṣá poison, venom, bane
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Sauraseni 𑀯𑀺𑀲 visa
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Madhya
- Hindi …
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Word Family - Attercop
November theme: Spiders 🕷
Teaser
edema, Oedipus, oat, atter, attercop
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Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyd- to swell, abcess, tumor
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Proto-Indo-European h₂oydéy-eti
- Old Armenian այտնում aytnum to swell, to be inflamed, to be bloated
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Hellenic
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Ancient Greek οἰδέω I swell, I become swollen
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Ancient Greek οἴδημᾰ oídēma a swelling, a tumor
- English edema
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Proto-Indo-European …
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Word Family - Venom
November theme: Spiders 🕷️
Teaser
win, wish, Venus, Darwin, vanadium, venom, wonder, winsome
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Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- to love, to want
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Proto-Indo-European *wn̥h₁néwti?
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Germanic *winnaną to strive, to work, to gain, to win
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East Germanic
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Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 winnan to suffer
- Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰 winna suffering, passion, the letter 𐍅
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North Germanic
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Old Norse …
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Word Family - Web
Word Family - Spider
November theme: Spiders 🕷
Teaser
spin, spider, span, poise, peso, ponder
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Proto-Indo-European *(s)pen- to stretch, to spin
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Proto-Indo-European *(s)penH-
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Proto-Indo-European *(s)penH-ti primary verb
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Balto-Slavic *pinˀtei to braid, to stretch
- Lithuanian pìnti to braid, to twine, to chatter
Slavic *pęti to stretch
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East Slavic пꙗти …
- Lithuanian pìnti to braid, to twine, to chatter
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Word Family - Moa
Teaser
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Sino-Austronesian
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Austronesian *manuk bird
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Malayo-Polynesian
- Bajau memanuk bird
- Javanese manuk bird
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Malayic *manuk
- Malay manuk bird, chicken
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Philippine
- Tagalog manók chicken
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Oceanic
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Micronesian
- Chuukese machang bird
- Kiribati man bird
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Polynesian *manu bird
- Tongan manupuna bird
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Nuclear Polynesian
- Samoan manu bird
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Eastern Polynesian
- Rapa Nui manu bird …
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Word Family - Duck
April theme: Birds 🐦
Teaser
Donald Duck dives to the deep abyss of Dover in a Bathysphere! (What a dope.)
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Proto-Indo-European *dʰewb- deep, hollow
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Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbti goes deep, sinks, dives primary verb
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Balto-Slavic
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Slavic *ďubati to peck
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East Slavic
- Russian дю́бать djúbatʹ
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Germanic *dūbanã to dive …
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Word Family - Thrush
April theme: Birds 🐦
Teaser
Full Text
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Northwest Indo-European *tr(o)zdos [1]
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Balto-Slavic
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East Baltic
- Lithuanian strazdas thrush
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Slavic *drȏzdъ thrush
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East Slavic
- Russian дрозд drozd thrush
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South Slavic
- Serbo-Croatian дро̏зд drȍzd thrush
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West Slavic
- Polish drozd thrush
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Celtic *trezd
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Gaulish *tresd
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Gaulish *tresdina
- French draine mistle …
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Word Family - Avian
Introduction
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwis: "bird" and Proto-Indo-European *h₂ówis: "sheep" appear to be umlaut variants, presumably through the more sparsely attested root *h₂ew-: "to put on clothes, to cover". *h₂éwis: "bird" would be from a passive participle, "a clothed (in feathers)". *h₂ówis: "sheep" from an active participle …
read moreWord Family - Bee
March theme: Bees
Teaser
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰewh₂- to hit, to strike
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰewh₂ti primary verb
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Proto-Albanian *bajā
- Albanian bahe sling
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Balto-Slavic
- Lithuanian bausti to chastise, to punish
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Celtic
- Old Irish fo-botha threaten lit. "under-*beat"
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Italic
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Latin *fūtō
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Latin confūtō
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Western Romance …
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Word Family - Honey
Word Family - Mead
March theme: Bees 🐝
Teaser
mulch, marmalade, Melissa, mead, amethyst, methane
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Unknown source
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Proto-Indo-European *mélit honey [1]
- Albanian mjaltë honey
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Anatolian
- Hittite 𒈪𒇷𒀉 mi-li-it honey
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Armenian մեղր mełr honey
- Armenian մեղու mełu bee
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Celtic *meli honey
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Brythonic
- Welsh mêl honey
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Old Irish mil
- Irish mil honey
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Celtic *melissis honey-like
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Old Irish milis …
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Word Family - Hive
Word Family - Elephant
October theme: Ancient Borrowings 𒅴
Teaser
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Proto-Afro-Asiatic *leb-
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Chadic
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West Chadic
- Tangale labata elephant
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Egyptian 𓍋𓃀𓅱 ābu elephant, ivory usually with determiner suffix 𓃰 or 𓌟 to distinguish between "elephant" and "ivory"
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Coptic ⲓⲏⲃ yēb elephant
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Latin ebur ivory
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French ivoire ivory
- English ivory
- Italian avorio ivory
- Irish eabhar ivory
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- Sanskrit …
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Word Family - Mare
August theme: Horses 🐎
Introduction
This one is really cool and just might go back all the way to the original domestication of horses in Central Asia. Maybe—just maybe—the Thai word for the knight piece in chess and the Welsh word for the knight piece in chess might be …
read moreWord Family - Edge
Teaser
oxygen, acid, eager, vinegar, tear, lachrymose, edge, axe, hammer, hear, acoustic, coin, cuneiform, cone
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Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- sharp
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Proto-Indo-European *h₂oḱós sharp
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Hellenic
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Classical Greek ὀξύς oxús sharp, pointed, clever, swift
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French oxygène oxygen Greek technical formation "sharp-forming", for oxygen's role in forming acids
- English oxygen
- Translingual …
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Word Family - Text
March theme: Cloth 👘
Teaser
subtle, text, technology, dachshund, city, haunt, position
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Proto-Indo-European *teḱ- to beget, to bring forth, to generate
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Proto-Indo-European *téḱnom begotten
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Hellenic
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Ancient Greek τέκνον téknon child, descendant, young animal
- Greek τέκνο tékno offspring, child
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Proto-Indo-European *títḱe-ti Reduplicated thematic verb form
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Hellenic *tíktō
- Ancient Greek τίκτω tíktō …
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Word Family - Light
Teaser
light, Lucifer, Nowruz, berkelium, Waterloo, Roxana, lunatic, lynx
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Proto-Indo-European *lewk- to shine, to see
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Proto-Indo-European *lowkéh-ti to be shining, to be visible stative
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Balto-Slavic *laukeitei to look for?
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East Baltic
- Lithuanian láukti to wait, to expect, to hope for
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Slavic *lučìti to see? to find? to accomplish …
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Word Family - Cat
April theme: Miscellaneous light and cat words 🦁
Teaser
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Egyptian *Caw [1]
- Coptic ϣⲁⲩ šau cat dialectic
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Egyptian *Cawt female cat with regular feminine -t
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Aramaic qaṭṭu cat
- Arabic قِطّ qiṭṭ cat
- Hebrew חָתוּל khatúl cat
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Old Armenian կատու katu cat
- Armenian կատու katu cat
- Georgian კატა ḳaṭa cat
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Byzantine Greek …
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Word Family - Small Horse Families
March theme: Horses 🐎
Introduction
Two final, small "horse" families.
Update: I have re-made the "ride"/"palfrey" family on a separate page. It is not small.
Teaser
and
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Proto-Indo-European *reydʰ- to ride
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Proto-Indo-European *reydʰ-ti primary verb
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Germanic *rīdaną to ride
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North Germanic
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Old Norse …
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Word Family - Cavalry
Word Family - Horse
March theme: March of Horses 🐎
Introduction
In which car and horse turn out to be the same word: "thing that runs". As are corsair and hussar.
Teaser
course, corsair, current, curriculum, excursion, parkour, car, charge, walrus, horse, epicurean, corral, rush
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Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- to run
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Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥séti
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Italic …
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Word Family - Equus
March theme: March of Horses 🐎
Teaser
hippopotamus, equestrian, zebra
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Proto-Indo-European *h₁eḱ- swift, fast [1]
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Proto-Indo-European *h₁oh₁ḱus a *o-∅-us reduplicative adjective form
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Hellenic
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Ancient Greek ὠκῠ́ς ōkús fast, swift
- Ancient Greek ποδώκης podṓkēs swift-footed
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Ancient Greek ὠκῠ́ροος ōkúroos swift-flowing
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Ancient Greek Ὠκυρόη Ōkuróē Swift-Flowing (personal name), river divinity …
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