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  1. Word Family - Geyser

    December theme: Religion 📿

    Introduction

    This root has been reconstructed as *ǵʰew-, *ǵʰewH-, *gewH, *gʷewH, *gʷewh₂, with different combinations of the definitions I've listed, but:

    • While it's an unusual amount of variation in the phonological reconstruction, they're all still awfully similar.
    • Looking at any two of "pour …
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  2. Word Family - Bid

    December theme: Religion 📿

    Introduction

    *bʰewdʰ- vs. *gʷʰedʰ-: two families that end up being super confusing in Germanic languages, since *bʰ and *gʷʰ merge at the beginning of a word. In English, they end up being homophones with complementary/opposite meanings: "offer" vs. "ask for".

    I had to do …

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  3. Word Family - Diurnal

    December theme: Religion 📿

    Introduction

    We start religion words with *dyḗwos ph₂tḗr, Old Father Shining-Sky himself.

    Interestingly English "day" is not from this root, despite similarity to many IE words for day, e.g. Latin diēs, etc. Germanic d corresponds to Latin f (PIE ); Latin d corresponds …

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  4. Word Family - Nectar

    November theme: Mes de Muertos 💀

    Teaser

    innocent, noxious, necromancer, nectar

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *neḱ- to perish, to disappear
      • Proto-Indo-European *néḱyeti perishes, disappears imperfective
        • Indo-Iranian *náĉyati
          • Indo-Aryan
            • Dardic
              • Kashmiri نَشُن naśun to be destroyed, to disappear, to wear away
            • Sanskrit 𑀦𑀰𑁆𑀬𑀢𑀺 naśyati to be lost, to perish, to disappear, to be gone …
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  5. Word Family - Death

    November theme: Mes de Muertos 💀

    Introduction

    A root meaning "to run, to depart" can be reconstructed from Hellenic and Indo-Iranian. But in Northwest branches, Balto-Slavic, Celtic, Germanic, and possibly Italic, there is a phonologically identical root meaning "to die". So it's probably a euphemism coined in a Late Northwest Indo-European …

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  6. Word Family - Mummy

    October theme: Ancient Borrowings 𒅴

    Teaser

    mu, mummy

    Full Text

    • Proto-Afro-Asiatic *maʾ-
      • Berber
        • Tashelhit aman water
        • Tuareg ⵎⵏ aman water
      • Chadic
        • West Chadic
          • Tangale am water
      • Egyptian 𓈖 mw water, rain, sea, lake
        • Demotic Egyptian mw
          • Coptic ⲙⲟⲟⲩ moou water
          • Egyptian Arabic امبو ʾumbū water, drink childish
          • Ancient Greek μῦ
            • Greek μι mi
            • English mu
              • English …
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  7. Word Family - Lily

    October theme: Ancient Borrowings 𒅴

    Introduction

    tulips and lilies from Egyptian

    Teaser

    Full Text

    • Afro-Asiatic *ḥrr
      • Egyptian 𓁷:𓂋-𓂋:𓏏-𓆰 ḥrrt flower, blossom
        • Egyptian 𓁹-𓁷:𓂋-𓂋:𓏏-𓆰 jrj-ḥrrt to blossom lit. "make-flower" or "do-flower"
        • Demotic Egyptian ḥrrj flower
          • Coptic ϩⲣⲏⲣⲉ hrēre flower
          • Fayyumic Coptic ϩⲗⲏⲣⲓ hlēri flower
            • Classical Greek λείριον leírion lily
              • Serbo-Croatian лије̑р lijȇr lily
              • Latin līlium …
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  8. Word Family - Elephant

    October theme: Ancient Borrowings 𒅴

    Teaser

    ivory, elephant

    Full Text

    • Proto-Afro-Asiatic *leb-
      • Chadic
        • West Chadic
          • Tangale labata elephant
      • Egyptian 𓍋𓃀𓅱 ābu elephant, ivory usually with determiner suffix 𓃰 or 𓌟 to distinguish between "elephant" and "ivory"
        • Coptic ⲓⲏⲃ yēb elephant
          • Latin ebur ivory
            • French ivoire ivory
              • English ivory
            • Italian avorio ivory
            • Irish eabhar ivory
        • Sanskrit …
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  9. Word Family - Tepid

    September theme: Fire 🔥

    Teaser

    Tbilisi, tepid

    Full Text

    • ? Unknown original source [1]
      • Proto-Afro-Asiatic *dp- heat, fire, steam [1]
        • Chadic
          • Hausa dafa to cook
        • Cushitic *daf- steam, sweat
          • Gedeo daffa sweat
          • Oromo damfa steam
            • Oromo damfisa boil, heat in water
        • Semitic *d-p-ʔ- heat, be warm
          • Central Semitic
            • Arabic دفئ dāfiʾ warm
      • Proto-Kartvelian …
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  10. Word Family - Aidan

    September theme: Fire 🔥

    Teaser

    ether, Aidan, edifice, anneal, estivation

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- ignite, fire
      • Proto-Indo-European *h₂éydʰ-eti burning, igniting primary verb
        • Indo-Iranian *Háydʰati
          • Indo-Aryan
            • Sanskrit 𑀏𑀥𑀢𑁂 édhate to spread, to grow, to increase, to prosper
        • Hellenic
          • Classical Greek αἴθω aíthō To kindle, to light, to burn
            • Classical Greek …
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  11. Word Family - Ignite

    September theme: Fire 🔥

    Introduction

    Proto-Indo-European had (at least) two words *h₁n̥gʷnis: "fire" (grammatically animate) and *péh₂wr̥ (grammatically inanimate).

    Effectively all descendants of *h₁engʷ- have lost the labialization, so distinguishing it from reconstructed **h₁eng- is not immediately obivous. It mostly survives only in languages that …

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  12. Word Family - Aqua

    August theme: Elements So Slow 🌎🌊

    Teaser

    Avon, Punjab, island, Scandinavia, aquarium, sewer, sober

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- water, body of water
      • Anatolian *h₂epo river
        • Hittite *hapa river
          • Hittite 𒄩𒉺𒀀 ḫa-pa-a toward the river
      • Balto-Slavic
        • Lithuanian ùpė river
      • Celtic *abonā river
        • Brythonic *aβon
          • Cumbric *avon
            • Cumbric *Ir Avon Fresh-Water …
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  13. Word Family - Earth

    August theme: Earth and Water 🌎🌊

    Introduction

    Semtic *ʾartɬʼ-: "earth" and Proto-Indo-European *h₁erTeH: "earth". I connect these for several reasons (beyond the obvious). First, there are several indicators that *h₁ was pronounced as a glottal stop, including a number of other words that are apparent correspondences between PIE *h₁ and …

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  14. Word Family - Human

    August theme: Earth and Water 🌎🌊

    Teaser

    chthonic, algorithm, humus, Demeter, Gaea, George, geometry, chameleon, camomile, humility, Daoine Sidhe, human

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *dʰéǵʰm̥ earth singular
      • Anatolian
        • Hittite 𒋼𒂊𒃷 te-e-kán / tēkan earth
      • Proto-Indo-European *dʰǵʰōm the earth, the lands collective
      • Albanian dhe earth
      • Anatolian
        • Hittite *tagān
          • Hittite ta-ga-an-zi-pa-aš earth-goddess …
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  15. Word Family - Edge

    Teaser

    oxygen, acid, eager, vinegar, tear, lachrymose, edge, axe, hammer, hear, acoustic, coin, cuneiform, cone

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- sharp
      • Proto-Indo-European *h₂oḱós sharp
        • Hellenic
          • Classical Greek ὀξύς oxús sharp, pointed, clever, swift
            • French oxygène oxygen Greek technical formation "sharp-forming", for oxygen's role in forming acids
              • English oxygen
              • Translingual …
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  16. Word Family - Seven

    July theme: Miscellaneous 🔨

    Introduction

    For 2017-07-07, I just had to do "seven".

    All words mean "seven" unless otherwise specified.

    It may seems strange to see the word for "seven" borrowed around between so many different language families, when the numbers 1-10 are so highly conserved in descendants of (post-Anatolian) Proto-Indo-European …

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  17. Word Family - Avatar

    June theme: Pride In Words 🏳️‍🌈

    Teaser

    avatar, trans-, tradition, nectar, thorough

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- to cross over, pass through, overcome
      • Proto-Indo-European *térh₂eti primary verb form
        • Indo-Iranian *tárHati
          • Indo-Aryan *tárHati
            • Sanskrit तरति tarati pass over, float, swim
              • Sauraseni *tiradi
                • Madhya
                  • Hindi तैरना tairnā to float
          • Iranian *tárHatī
            • Avestan titarat̰ overcame
            • Northern …
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  18. Word Family - Queer

    June theme: Pride In Words 🏳️‍🌈

    Teaser

    torque, torch, queer, intricate

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- to turn
      • Proto-Indo-European *terkʷti
        • Anatolian
          • Hittite 𒋻𒆪𒉿𒀭𒍣 tarku-zi performs a round dance, dances in twisting manner
      • Proto-Indo-European *terkʷeti
        • Albanian tjerr I spin
        • Hellenic
          • Mycenaean Greek *to-ro-qe
            • Mycenaean Greek 𐀵𐀫𐀤𐀍𐀕𐀜 to-ro-qe-jo-me-no ?
            • Mycenaean Greek 𐀁𐀵𐀫𐀣𐀲 e-to-ro-qa-ta oar holder, twisted …
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  19. Word Family - Two

    June theme: Pride In Words 🏳️‍🌈

    Teaser

    two, neodymium, duet, biceps, bi-, biscuit, duplicate, Maldives, doppelganger, icosahedron, twin, nonbinary

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ two
      • Old Armenian երկու erku two [1]
        • Old Armenian կրկին krkin double, doubled, iterated
          • Armenian կրկին krkin double, again, once more
        • Armenian երկու erku two
      • Italic *duō two
        • Umbrian 𐌕𐌖𐌚 tuf two
        • Latin …
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  20. Word Family - Thread

    May theme: Cloth 👘

    Teaser

    throw, dreidel, tribade, attrition, thresh, tour, turn, tournament, thread, detergent

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- to rub, turn
      • Proto-Indo-European *terh₁ti
        • Balto-Slavic
          • Lithuanian trinti to rub
          • Slavic *tèrti to rub
            • East Slavic
              • Russian тере́ть terétʹ to rub, to polish, to grind
            • South Slavic
              • Serbo-Croatian тр̏ти …
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  21. Word Family - Fabric

    May theme: Cloth 👘

    Introduction

    A small family, apparently from *dʰeh₂bʰ-: "fit together, fitting, make".

    Germanic *(ge)dabaną: "to fit, to be fitting" and Balto-Slavic forms like Lithuanian dabinti: "to decorate, to beautify" and Slavic *dobrъ: "good" are almost certainly related to each other. Likewise Latin faber: "craftsman, maker …

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  22. Word Family - Silk

    May theme: Cloth 👘

    Teaser

    silk, 絲

    Full Text

    • Old Chinese *slɯ silk, fine thread
      • Middle Chinese silk, fine thread
        • Mandarin silk, fine thread
        • Cantonese si1 silk, fine thread
        • Korean sil thread
        • Vietnamese raw silk, thread
      • Taiwanese si silk, fine thread
      • Ancient Greek Σήρ S …
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  23. Word Family - Cloth

    May theme: Cloth 👘

    Teaser

    clay, glue, cloth, cloud, child

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *gleh₁- ball up, amass
      • Proto-Indo-European *gleh₁y- to smear, to stick, to glue
        • Proto-Indo-European *gléh₁iti
          • Proto-Albanian *en-gleita
            • Albanian ngjit stick, glue, adhere
        • Proto-Indo-European *gloh₁iyós sticky
          • Germanic *klajjaz clay
            • Old English clǣġ clay
              • English clay
              • English clog …
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  24. Word Family - Easter

    Teaser

    Eärendil, Easter, air, soar, east, Austria, Australia, early, Erigeron

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- dawn, east
      • Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwsōs Divinity of Dawn
        • Germanic *auzi
          • Germanic *Auziwandilaz Bright-Wanderer, Dawn-Wanderer, Morning Star personal name [1]
            • East Germanic
              • Gothic 𐌰𐌿𐌶𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌹𐌻 auzandil morning star (Venus), Lucifer
            • North Germanic
              • Old Norse Aurvandil
            • West Germanic
              • Old …
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  25. Word Family - Cat

    April theme: Miscellaneous light and cat words 🦁

    Teaser

    cat,caterpillar

    Full Text

    • Egyptian *Caw [1]
      • Coptic ϣⲁⲩ šau cat dialectic
      • Egyptian *Cawt female cat with regular feminine -t
        • Aramaic qaṭṭu cat
          • Arabic قِطّ qiṭṭ cat
          • Hebrew חָתוּל khatúl cat
          • Old Armenian կատու katu cat
            • Armenian կատու katu cat
          • Georgian კატა ḳaṭa cat
          • Byzantine Greek …
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  26. Word Family - Cavalry

    March theme: Horses

    Teaser

    capercaillie, chivalry, cavalier, cavalry

    Full Text

    • ??
      • Turkic
        • Old Turkish käväl horse? [1]
        • Persian ?
        • Proto-Slavic *kobyla mare (female horse)
          • Russian кобы́ла kobýla mare
          • Polish kobyła mare
      • Saka kabä
      • Ancient Greek καβάλλης kabállēs nag, pony
      • Proto-Celtic *capallos
        • Brythonic *kappilos horse
          • Welsh ceffyl horse
            • English Cavall [2]
            • English Cabal …
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  27. Word Family - Equus

    March theme: March of Horses 🐎

    Teaser

    hippopotamus, equestrian, zebra

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *h₁eḱ- swift, fast [1]
      • Proto-Indo-European *h₁oh₁ḱus a *o-∅-us reduplicative adjective form
        • Hellenic
          • Ancient Greek ὠκῠ́ς ōkús fast, swift
            • Ancient Greek ποδώκης podṓkēs swift-footed
            • Ancient Greek ὠκῠ́ροος ōkúroos swift-flowing
              • Ancient Greek Ὠκυρόη Ōkuróē Swift-Flowing (personal name), river divinity …
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  28. Word Family - Smile

    Teaser

    mirror, admire, miracle, Miranda, smile

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *smey- to laugh, to be glad
      • Proto-Indo-European *sméyeti primry verb
        • Balto-Slavic
          • Lithuanian smiêt to laugh
          • Slavic *smьjàti to laugh
            • East Slavic
              • Russian смеяться smejátʹsja to laugh, to mock
            • South Slavic
              • Serbo-Croatian смѝјати smìjati to laugh
            • West Slavic
              • Polish śmiaćsię to …
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