Etymology and surprising origins of English words

Learn about etymology, the study of word origins and derivations in historical linguistics, and the influence of a Proto-Indoeuropean (PIE) language in the formation of English and other modern languages in Europe, Russia, and Asia. Highlighted is how etymologists have come up with a theoretical model of the Proto-Indoeuropean language; how Modern English was influenced by the Proto-Germanic and Latin languages, both descendants of PIE; and how English continues to borrow words from other languages.
TO CLARIFY THE ORIGIN OF "WAR"
PIE *wers- "to confuse, mix up" ► Frankish *werra ► Old North French "werre (Old French "guerre," meaning dispute, war) ► late Old English wyrre, werre "large-scale military conflict." Cognates suggest the original sense was "to bring into confusion." There's much confusion in the history of the word in European languages because they borrowed it either from the Germanic or from the Latin root. Etymological trees can have many twisted and intersecting branches (which makes me glad I'm not an etymologist:)
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RELATED LINKS
Scientific American (2018). New Evidence Fuels Debate over the Origin of Modern Languages (web article):
www.scientificamerican.com/ar...
Business Insider (2015). "This animated map shows how European languages evolved" (web article and animated map): www.businessinsider.com/animat...
*Note: There are disagreements regarding where PIE originated and exactly how it spread.
Dictionary.com. "What Percentage of English Words are Derived from Latin?" (web article): dictionary.com/e/word-origins
Kutsui (Wikipedia User) "Countries where an Indo-European language is: a primary de facto national or official language a secondary official language officially recognized" (map): goo.gl/P8nxGV
Wikipedia. "Cot-caught merger" (web article about how the distinction in the vowel sounds of "cot" and "caught" is being lost in North American English): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cot%E2%...
Slate. "Languages that have contributed to English vocabulary over time" (web article) www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_va...
Ted.com. "20 words that once meant something very different" (web article illustrating semantic change): ideas.ted.com/20-words-that-on...
Soho Press. "The Proto-Indo-European family" (web article briefly explaining how etymologists built the "family tree for Indo-European;" includes a chart showing the modern languages descending from Proto-Indoeuropean): sohopress.com/the-proto-indo-...
Wikipedia. "Lists of English words by country or language of origin" (web page): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_o...
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#language #linguistics #etymology

[@snaplanguage]

CHECK OUT these vocabulary building videos; they go over the etymology of most words kzbin.info/aero/PLS9dE7WMFmJikh_a26F9vn4CTX2ArXutB

[@EdLeeSB]

This 6-year-old video has about 2.8K comments now, so maybe nobody’ll reply: the word “ancient” was said at least twice - which dialect led to its first syllable sounding like [ ˈæŋ- ] as opposed to the more mainstream [ ˈeɪn- ] ?

[@msc.fahmdyar1483]

I am from Afghanistan and speak 7 languages, farsi, pashto danish english german urdu and arabic, I see a lot of similarities between languages. Etymology is very interesting and can bring us closer, we are all one people.

[@laurencebyron9183]

Amazing!

[@arte0021]

Why danish and german?

[@msc.fahmdyar1483]

@@arte0021 I live in Denmark, can also fully understand Swedish and Norwegian.

[@arte0021]

@@msc.fahmdyar1483 i also live in Denmark but come from Russia originally. I speak russian, danish and English with little bit of spanish and german

[@quincytaylor9201]

I agree, were are one people. Learning another's language brings us even closer as one. فرسی کوچکی حرف میزنم و فرانسوی و ایتالیایی. آدمها یکی هستند

[@Thanos_Kyriakopoulos]

The etymology of the word etymology is etymon: truth and logos: reason, speech, word. So it's the truth of words

[@snaplanguage]

The Greek language gave us some great scientific or academic vocabulary. :D Cheers!

[@user-ut3db2ep8b]

@@snaplanguage And not only......so uneducated....and you put it out in public......cheers mate!

[@user-ut3db2ep8b]

Εύγε φίλε μου!!

[@snaplanguage]

@@user-ut3db2ep8b Personal attacks are lame.

[@user-ut3db2ep8b]

@@snaplanguage No...just ''putting'' things in order. : )

[@Ralphieboy]

"People who don't know the difference between entomology and etymology bug me in ways I cannot put into words."

[@snaplanguage]

Some of these words are very uncommon unless you're in those fields of study. They also sound similar. It's no wonder people get confused. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment! Cheers!

[@goyonman9655]

"bug"

[@snaplanguage]

@@goyonman9655 That would make it "buggology?" :D

[@nikmar77]

Entomo means bug in Greek. Most of the scientific words in medicine, science etc are greek. Biology for example means "study of life", the way living organisms operate.

[@snaplanguage]

@@nikmar77 Yes, we have the Greek language to thank for "sphygmomanometer." (I love that I even know that word! lol)

[@radiozelaza]

There's even a word in English which came all the way directly from Polish - spruce. This freaky tree was imported from the East Baltic region (known back then as Prussia), brought by Polish-speaking merchants who when asked "where's it from?" answered in Polish - "z Prus" (from Prussia). It sounded like SPRUCE.

[@snaplanguage]

Hah! I used to think this was just a story people told about "spruce" until I looked in up in an etymology dictionary and... "literally from Prussia!!!" How cool is that?! Thanks for watching and leaving an amusing comment. I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel. Cheers!

[@IO-kx9oj]

I'm was born and spent my childhood in that area of Poland, but I never knew this! Really unexpected! English and Polish don't have many words in common, and some words sound very similar but have completely different meaning. I remember telling a girl at school that I was a lunatic (meaning that I sleep-walk). She was very odd with me after that and it took me some time to figure out why

[@christianfreedom-seeker934]

"Are you worth your salt?" The ancient question posed to members of the merchant class. So really what is being asked is "Are you worth your salary?"

[@snaplanguage]

Cool. "Salt" always seems to be attached to something of value or worth, like "the salt of the earth." Thanks for watching and commenting! :D

[@davidvidal5297]

@@snaplanguage I could be wrong but I believe the Bible mentions something like that.

[@snaplanguage]

Yes, I believe so :)

[@310shadow310]

Salt was a valuable commodity in old times and I believe it was even used as currency at one point hence the term "worth your weight in salt"

[@clowncarqingdao]

@@310shadow310 Yes. In Cheshire, England, Roman soliders were paid in Mancunium (Manchester) from the Cheshire salt mines.

[@vicmarmo9334]

I love anyone who loves his stuff, knows his stuff, and shares that passion with others 🥰

[@snaplanguage]

I'm trying! I'm trying! LOL Thanks for your support. I really appreciate it. Cheers!

[@youbringmesunshine7071]

Well put!

[@taalliefhebber7876]

I started following Snap Language a few weeks ago. Dr. Franco's passion for langauge is hard to miss :)

[@zubair-gw7ek]

I'm a Bengali and I teach children English. It fascinates me that even though Bangla is technically the easternmost language by origin in the Proto Indo-European family while English is one of the westernmost, their grammar more often than not mirror each other. I know a good amount of Hindi-Urdu & a fair bit of German. And, I can assure you that in some ways German has features more in common with Hindi-Urdu than with English. And, even though Hindi-Urdu has a huge lexical similarity with Bangla, it's easier for a Bengali child to understand English and Bangla grammar side-by-side.

[@nemovidet2111]

People fleeing the Hittite empire went East (sanscrit) and West (latin). People fleeing the Danes (Norse) went East (Kiev) and West (Greenland, Iceland, and the British Isles). In Europe, Norse and Latin are language sources. English is an uncompromised merger of two languages: moon/lunar hand/manual. German (language) is an integrated merger---2000 years of hybridization. The Duts were in between two languages and eventually become the Dutch and the Deutch. There are no "Germans" (people); it is a myth started by Julius Caesar himself.

[@charananekibalijaun8837]

All are based on Sanskrit 🙏 we are one family

[@hitnailhalfway2485]

@@charananekibalijaun8837 i feel really sorry for people like you

[@charananekibalijaun8837]

@@hitnailhalfway2485 how? Your comment makes no sense

[@stormyr.3315]

0

[@monicacall7532]

I was so delighted and extremely excited to find your channel! My fourth grade teacher made learning etymology at a basic level (root words, suffixes, prefixes, origin of the words, original meaning, etc.) so fascinating that I began to read the dictionary out of curiosity and, frankly, just for fun. I still do. This love of words has continued over the years and has flowed over into my study of Romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese) too. I’m ready to learn more about one of my favorite subjects. Thanks for making this wonderful resource available to all of us who love words! I feel like I just hit the jackpot and discovered a treasure trove of new information.

[@snaplanguage]

Awesome. Any teacher who instills a love for learning is a Grade A teacher in my book! You may enjoy the vocabulary videos on the channel as well. I often go into the etymology of words so, even if you already know the word, you might know its etymology. Thanks for watching and for leaving such an inspiring comment.

[@greatingsfrom372]

Greetings! Saudações do Brasil!

[@tomwittner1490]

Wow!! Finally I've met someone with whom I might engage in an intelligent exchange regarding etymology and good grammar. I am a person of color living in America where good grammar, per se, is rare, especially in certain demographics. You have only to visit KZbin to see what I am referencing here.

[@snaplanguage]

There are many language varieties out there, and they’re all good. When it comes to “standard English,” yes, many Oriole have trouble with all the (convoluted) rules :) Thanks for watching and leaving a comment 😎👍

[@tomwittner1490]

@@snaplanguage. Hey Language, when it comes to grammar and etymology, I can be very, shall I say, "fastidious," and prone to argue. I noticed in your comment you said, "There are many language varieties out there..." Wouldn't it be more convenient to simply say, "There are many languages out there.." By using the word "varieties" aren't you being superfluous? You also said, "..they're all good." Tell me, what language would NOT be good. Didn't quite understand what you meant with the word "Oriole". What has a bird to do with "all the (convoluted) rules," surrounding "standard English, as you put it?

[@portlandart365]

Salt was physical money in ancient Roman. Roman soldiers were paid partly in salt. Hence 'salary'.

[@snaplanguage]

I had read before that they used salt as actual currency, but the sources I found for the video only mentioned salarium" as an amount of money to buy salt. It makes sense that salt (and other valuable goods) were used as currency, though... I find salt as currency a more interesting idea :) Thanks for watching and leaving a comment! :D

[@FlyingTeacup]

don't forget to store Salt in the Cellar (from the same root of 'Sel')

[@stefanode7402]

@@snaplanguage I know that here in the past (I am writing from Rome) SOLDiers were payed with salt (in Italian SOLDI means money and of course it comes from Salt), which was precious, easy to transport and used all over the world. The farmers used to pay and be payed with sheeps and other animals, LAT Pecus, so another -less used- word for money is Pecunia, ENG Pecuniary.

[@mayj257]

something everyone already knew , glad you finally caught on. It was also mentioned several times in this video as if it were news.

[@snaplanguage]

Wow! That’s fascinating. I’m starting to get more and more into etymology. Thanks for the interesting comment:)

[@angelinasophiakamaratou1205]

As a Greek, I love the fact that we learn Ancient Greek at school too. I'm proud to say that the English language has borrowed 41 645 words from Greek!

[@snaplanguage]

Indeed! There are many words of Greek origin in many languages, especially words in technical fields and in the sciences. They're usually "big words" that I'm sure Greek speakers have no trouble understanding LOL Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel!

[@Ruthavecflute]

Thank you for the loneing the words!

[@shaunmckenzie5509]

And now the tables have turned and you're borrowing words from English

[@angelinasophiakamaratou1205]

@@shaunmckenzie5509 i strictly use greek words when i speak or write in greek so no

[@shaunmckenzie5509]

@@angelinasophiakamaratou1205 I know many Greeks. They use a lot of English loanwords. You are not your entire country.

[@jefftonkinson7283]

This is one of the best examples of using text overlays to convey content and keep it interesting. Very well done.

[@snaplanguage]

It takes an enormous amount of editing time to get all that on the screen, but I think it's worth it. It's nice to hear someone appreciates it Thanks for watching and leaving such a kind comment. I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel.

[@johnnevin6663]

Really interesting video! That g -> w shift happened a lot between English and French. For example, garderobe gave English wardrobe, This is similar to the k -> h shift you mention: the two sounds used to be closer. Sometimes both survive, as in guarantee and warranty.

[@Adhjie]

voiced verner law eg sauce is from me 'see' would be some segu in Pgermanic

[@shaunmckenzie5509]

Gu- words in many Latin languages is close to the English W. In Spanish, whiskey is guisqui. Guerra was like 'werra', which is similar to war. The English word 'ward' comes from 'guard'. It world have been more of a W or GW ("gward") sound back in the day, not the hard G it is now.

[@victoremman4639]

The latin and greek Gu could be related to the semitic Q but also the Dj or J. In the word Grammar from greek and latin orgin, we have the semitic Etyma JR which means "tie and tracted" : what is Grammar if not a principle to assemble words together and produce a speech following rules ? I study semitic etymology and now it's obvious the PIE is from semitic cradle. The etyma system is not enought known. An Etyma is an ancient root created with 2 letters, mostly 2 consonnants, it's not a syllabe.

[@athrongthongru9745]

Why are there so little likes. This channel deserves million likes. Keep it up!!!

[@snaplanguage]

+Athrong Thongrü Thank you!!! That's a great compliment. KZbin is a great platform, but it's not always easy to get noticed, especially when it comes to educational topics. With support from people like you, We'll keep working on it. I hope you're enjoying the rest of the channel. Thanks for watching! :D

[@alexkairis3927]

Yeah, I agree. I love stuff like this.

[@mayj257]

lame

[@kibpat3872]

Athrong Thongrü Because ppl do not focus on educating themselves, they focus on “selfies” and stupidness as such

[@TWESHELLSHOCKR]

I'm about to purchase one. Because We have to embrace knowledge.

[@Oxaras]

I am a native Persian speaker but I also speak English and French when I learned French and English I saw so many similarities between English French and Persian oh, there is hundreds if not thousands of similar words in these languages that were borrowed and have the same route

[@clairejonas6125]

English is made up of 70% french words... and the roots of french are latin but not only.

[@davidstoyanoff]

We are all one people.

[@shaunmckenzie5509]

@@clairejonas6125 not all of those words are french though. Many were borrowed directly from latin, and in some cases is different from the French word

[@clairejonas6125]

@@shaunmckenzie5509 I was only talking about borrowing from the french, the rest comes from latin and germanic languages.

[@victoremman4639]

Selon une hypothèse admise de presque tous, le Proto-indo-européen lie le Celte au Sanskrit en passant par le farsi. Pourtant, l'origine du PIE est le berceau sémitique. J'étudie les langes sémitiques pour en trouver son origine. L'enquête m'a mené sur 2 pistes : l'existence certaine d'étymon, des racines très anciennes, plus vieille que la civilisation summérienne. Un étymon est composé de 2 consonnes uniquement. La deuxième révélation lors de l'enquête, c'est l'existence d'un sens archéologique contenu dans un phone isolé, par exemple le Alif signifiant "causalité" d'où le terme Ab-père, le B signifiant Accessibilité d'où le terme Bab-Porte, etc. L'étymologie est encore de nos jours très mal abordée scientifiquement.

[@SarahAllenHumboldt]

Thank you so much for this; it is great fun to explore origins and derivations; I hope that you make more. You are a good presenter and educator.

[@sparklelight]

Thanks for this kind sharing

[@YorgosEU]

I'm a native Greek speaker learning Dutch. It's amazing how many similarities I see in verbs that are made out of a main verb and a preposition (example1) . Υπό =onder =under Θετω=stellen And υποθέτω = onderstellen =suppose. Etc...

[@snaplanguage]

Cool! You see these connections all over European languages. Wel bedankt voor het kijken en vor de voor de leuke reactie

[@au7weeng534]

It's almost like they're calques... I wouldn't be surprised if "suppose" (sub-pose) was an calque of ypopheto (?), but I wonder if onderstellen (or German unterstellen with a vaguely similar meaning - to allege, or rather, to impute a motive to someone) is a calque. another example, the German "entscheiden", like the English "decide" (which it means) seems to be composed of two words that vaguely mean "apart" and "cut down" (caedere.) and there are lots of such examples. I wonder if these are all (or some of them) the result of conscious calquing, perhaps even in modern or early-modern times. An alternative would be everyone came up with the same mental imagery independently (unlikely). Another of course would be that these things go all the way back to PIE.

[@johnrogan9420]

Stellen ist place in Deutsche...tankstelle...gas or benzene station.

[@johnrogan9420]

60 percent is 3 out of 5 ...professor

[@dee7781]

@@au7weeng534 when you say calque, I thought calculate...

[@Effrosyne]

The word etymology derives from the Greek word ετυμολογία (etumología), itself from ἔτυμον (étumon), meaning "true sense or sense of a truth", and the suffix -logia, denoting "the study of". Thank you for this video ❤️

[@snaplanguage]

I think it's really cool how words "hide" a lot of information in them. That's a good reason to understand their ετυμολογία :) You may enjoy the vocabulary videos on the channel. I often go into the etymology of a word so, even if you already know it, you may not have known its origins. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!

[@kkm4415]

I'm very lucky that my reading comprehension instructor showed us some of these videos. Both videos and comments are helpful for people who are interest in studying English. Great job thank you!

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you for the great feedback, Jesy! I'm glad instructors are using my videos... that's the whole idea :D

[@yamika.]

I really like this channel. There's so much to learn, so much thought and research put into your videos!!!

[@snaplanguage]

Glad you're enjoying the channel. I have quite a few plans for the near and long future. I hope to keep seeing you around our language and linguistics community. :D

[@YamBahadurDura]

Awesome presentation! Thanks a lot for an insightful knowledge imparting.

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you for the very kind comment. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@tuahabadar]

What a great treasure, I found on youtube!!

[@fumarc4501]

This is awesome! Thank you for sharing.

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. If you can, share it with others. Cheers! :D

[@Arundhathi99089]

I've been in search of something like this channel for a long time. Glad I found it today, subscribed to it straightaway

[@snaplanguage]

I'm so happy to hear you're enjoying the channel. I'll keep making videos as long as there are people like you who are interested and so supportive of my work. Thank you so much!!

[@PatrickJouannes]

Etymology : My son (French) used to pronounce DRAPEAU "flag" as CRAPAUD "toad". This simple example shows how a word can evolve in meaning and spelling even in modern time. It's important to say that the invention of written language had a very important impact on the evolution of the spoken language : it can slow it down or on the contrary it can speed it up !!!

[@dalesco4205]

I love etymology, it can give so many clues regarding cultures and history. I speak 3 languages as my channel content shows and what I've noticed is that apart from similarities in vocabulary, it also changes the way one thinks, even though I consider the tongues I speak more like dialects than languages.

[@lucasvinicius8273]

I love this subject, it's incredible, and somehow it explains a little bit why different civilizations, separated by time and geography, sometimes have similarities in mythological and religious narratives.

[@youbringmesunshine7071]

Another ethymology enthusiast here! Was great to listen to you !!

[@snaplanguage]

Awesome! I wouldn't call myself a total etymology geek, but it's pretty fascinating, isn't it? Thank you for watching and for leaving such a supportive comment. I hope you're enjoying the channel. You may enjoy the vocabulary videos. I often get into the etymology of a word so, even if you already know the word, you may not have known its origins. Cheers!

[@stefansoder6903]

In the history of the universe, this is probably the best short and easy-to-understand video that explain this subject that even has been made.

[@norawallberg1345]

Agreed

[@snaplanguage]

You're awesome! Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave such nice feedback. -- Cheers! :D

[@nedcrouch3202]

uh...read much?

[@ronaldderooij1774]

I am Dutch, and I read in an etymological dictionary about the Dutch word "oorlog" (war). It was described as a very ancient word still in use with the original meaning being: "an unwanted confusing situation that is put upon you". If this happens to you, you are (in Dutch) "in de war" (very confused). Therein lies the link with the english word "war".

[@nemovidet2111]

Let me WARn you: when you are "in Dutch" (= in trouble) you should be WARy.

[@ronaldderooij1774]

@@nemovidet2111 I did not know that! Haha. Thanks. I wish I had an English etymological dictionary now...

[@snaplanguage]

That's interesting. (ik spreek een beetje vlaams, dus dat interesseert me.) In Proto-Germanic, which is where "war" comes from ultimately, *werz-a* mea was the source for *vervirren* in German, meaning "confuse, perplex." I suppose even though oorlog is so different from English war or German Kriege, there is a connection there with confusion. Wel bedankt voor het wetenswaardige commentaar! Cheers!

[@snaplanguage]

WARn you and WARy is fun *pop linguistics* 😂😂😂

[@hurri7720]

@@snaplanguage , As a Finn I wonder about the link of war to the Finnish "sota" and the Swedish "krig". And indeed the topic of languages and how they are related is interesting. Nice also that the fact English is a Germanic language was mentioned and not a true unique world leading English innovation being copied all over the world.

[@peterbennett4578]

Engaging and most interesting. I look forward to your future presentations

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you! I'm glad you've enjoyed it. I hope you've subscribed so you don't miss the many new videos we have in the works. -- Cheers! :D

[@rnnyhoff]

I learned SO MUCH from this video ... thank you very much. I will post and share this terrific educational work. Bravo and keep up your splendid explanations of the wonders of language.

[@snaplanguage]

Awesome, thank you very much for your support. I hope you're enjoying the other videos on the channel. If you're interested in etymology, you may enjoy the vocabulary videos. I often get into the etymology of a word so, even if you know the word, you may not have know its origins. Thanks again! 👍

[@muhammadrafiqulislamkhan6994]

Good evening Teacher. I love learning you any English topic. Give us more and more videos. Thank you.

[@snaplanguage]

Thanks for watching and for your support. I'm already working on the next two videos! :D

[@muhammadrafiqulislamkhan6994]

Snap Language Thank you very much teacher. We are with you Sir.

[@lepasela7292]

This channel deserves million likes,because its very very interesting,to know the roots from the words.Its a channel,for few people.maybe,its nice to make one dedication for greek language.

[@snaplanguage]

Thanks for the kind words. :) I have a series of vocabulary videos where I often get into the word roots so, even if you already know the word, you may learn about its origin. There are plenty of Greek root words in that series, and I will keep making more of them for a long time. Again, thanks for supporting the channel and leaving a comment, Cheers!

[@polytrelaras1]

@@snaplanguage That would be great. Thanks !

[@HerrHertzsprung]

Great video, Marc. Thank you! I'm bilingual (Spanish-English) and, knowing both languages in depth, I clearly grasp their similarities. Thank you too, serendipity factor lurking about in KZbin!

[@snaplanguage]

Yay, serendipity! I'm glad you found the channel. Each time I learn about a word's etymology, it means more and makes more sense. I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel. You may enjoy the vocabulary videos. I often go into the etymology of a word so, even if you already knew the word, you may not have known about its origin. Thank you!

[@jjimener67]

Very interesting. As a Spanish speaker my teachers always encouraged me to rather use the wordsderived from a Germanic root and to avoid those whitch have a Latin root. What I didn't expect was to find so many Latin roots in English. Thank you very much

[@snaplanguage]

In general, words of Germanic origin sound less formal or "learned" than those from Latin or Greek. For example, to "look up" (e.g., a word in the dictionary) sounds more informal than "search" or "investigate." Depending on the situation, I don't see why not use them too Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you enjoy the rest of the channel :D

[@vayalobo]

I'd like to know why the number 8 and the word "night" sound so similar in various languages: Spanish: ocho - noche Portuguese: oito - noite Italian: otto - notte English: eight - night German: Acht - Nacht Rumanian: opt - noapte Catalan: vuit - nit etc.

[@snaplanguage]

I've seen hypothesis going around about that. The one I buy into most is that the PIE root words for "eight" and "night" were similar to each other, but they were different words. We may never really know for sure. Thanks for watching and leaving a question. I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel.

[@vayalobo]

@@snaplanguage Thank you so much for your answer. My own guess is that, in the days when there was no "official" summer and winter time, in most of the regions - for example - of the Rome Empire the night started at eight in the evening...so, who knows, maybe the ancient Romes decided to "baptize" that time of the day with a similar word (noctis - octo), but who knows 🤔 Greetings from Gran Canaria (Spain)...and, since the origin of words always fascinated me, you've got a new subscriber. Take care

[@patshelby9285]

Fascinating observation.

[@Sofiasofietje]

Dutch: acht, nacht

[@MouAresounTaPneusta]

Nychta in Hellenic.

[@aayushiagarwal6077]

This video is sooooooo interesting. I love this 🔥♥️

[@snaplanguage]

Nice! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for leaving such a nice comment! :D

[@melstiller8561]

I am a brand-new subscriber. It's March 26, 2022, and my passion for words has led me to your channel. I look forward to watching many more videos.

[@snaplanguage]

Welcome aboard! I hope you enjoy the channel. Did you find the "Word of the Week" series. I'm about to add new videos to it. Enjoy!

[@goodyeoman4534]

Such a nice, friendly and informative video. Thank you, from England.

[@snaplanguage]

Thank *You* for watching and leaving such a friendly, supportive comment! I hope you enjoy the other content on the channel

[@kevinb9327]

I am subscribed! I'm always looking up etymologies. Place names sources fascinate me, too.

[@snaplanguage]

Welcome aboard and thanks for leaving a comment! I have an ongoing new series on vocabulary, Word of the Week, which often gets into the etymologies of related words. Check it out. Cheers!

[@samhain1894]

I’m the same...always googling origin of everyday words!

[@snaplanguage]

@@samhain1894 Some word origins are wild. Then you never see the word the same again. What were the ancients thinking?!! Literally and figuratively LOL

[@mademan4life]

This was a very peaceful and insightful thing to watch.

[@snaplanguage]

Awesome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope you're enjoying the rest of the channel. Be sure to click the bell button so you're notified when new videos come out. Cheers! :D

[@ruchasahasrabudhe9503]

This is beautiful! Always loved the little facts about etymology! These are little known things that you describe really well, thanks!! Also, it's very refreshing to see this from a non-academic perspective cause sometimes you get too lost in tables and charts and theory to love linguistics. If English is spoken a 100 years later, could it maybe sounds very global-oriented? It keeps borrowing more and more words like you mentioned and more than that, it's inventing a whole new way of speaking(an accent, if you will), amirite? Tbh, this whole video is lit.

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you! Nice to know it was "lit" LOL I try to make videos that are well researched an informative without dumbing them down. It's good to know I'm getting there. English already has a huge number of borrowings from all over. Because it's an international language, it's bound to continue adding vocabulary and even sentence structures that eventually will just be part of the language. I'm not sure I'll be around to see it though. LOL Thanks for watching and leaving an awesome comment! :D

[@samueldeandrade8535]

This man is hero of linguistics. Just AMAZING!

[@snaplanguage]

I'm not sure about "hero" 😁 but I appreciate the supportive comment! Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!

[@erkkinho]

At the moment when war was borrowed, it was "werre" that had been borrowed from Frankish. So, it is originally a Germanic word that was borrowed to Romance languages, and accidentally to English via old North-French.

[@snaplanguage]

Thanks. I had already added a note in the descriptions about that. Of course, I can't expect people to read it. I apologize for misspeaking in the video.

[@lesfreresdelaquote1176]

Actually, it is a little more complex than that. William spoke a variety of French, which was called Norman French (from Normandy). In this dialect, the Germanic "w" had been kept intact. In Norman French people used words such as: werre/guerre, warde/garde, wette/guetter(wait), warrant/garant, ware/gare. In Parisian French on the other hand, the germanic "w" evolved in "gu" and eventually since this variety of French became dominant, the old pronunciations faded and disappeared in continal French, while they survived in English.

[@vanbrabant6791]

Interesting, since Dutch stems from Frankish (and French from popular Latin, to confuse our minds :-) ). And in Dutch war is called "oorlog" nowadays, which means war fleet in DK, NO and SE.

[@HarryGuit]

Regard Latin „bellum gerrere“. As we know Frankish was a Germanic language borrowing heavily from Latin during a centuries long cultural and linguistic assimilation process. BTW I‘m from Franconia in Germany and my home dialect is „Frankish“ - closer to German than to French but softer than the surrounding German dialects.

[@erkkinho]

@@HarryGuit It is Bellum gerere. The verb gero has nothing to do etymologically with werra.

[@silasfrisenette9226]

Love your video! It's great. Just a quick comment; in Danish we say "fader" as the real word for dad, it's just easier to say far, it's sluggish and shortened, but in old Danish texts it is written out "fader", so the connection to father and vater (and even pater) is even more visible! Same goes with mother (moder, mor) and brother (broder, bror) :D

[@snaplanguage]

Thanks for the comment! That's very interesting and shows how most European languages are all related even though the relationships do not seem very clear on the surface.

[@AK-fu8ti]

If I'm not mistaken this all derives from ancient Greek Πατήρ (Pateer), then it went to Latin and then to all of Europe. But I don't know if there is some arab root to the Greek word.

[@silasfrisenette9226]

@@AK-fu8ti no that's wrong 😊 They all derive from a word in Proto-Indo-European, *ph2ter, not from Greek, and it didn't go 'through latin! They all independently inherited the word from the proto-language. And no, there is no Arabic cognate, since the semitic languages are (as far as we know) aren't (immediately) related to the Indo-European languages 😊

[@AK-fu8ti]

@@silasfrisenette9226 Oh, thanks for letting me know. Have a nice day.

[@silasfrisenette9226]

@@AK-fu8ti you too! 😊

[@uzordinmadennis5635]

Even when you said you ain't etymologist,I still gain lots in the the little you have said.You are such a good teacher.Thanks

[@snaplanguage]

Aww, thank you! I'm not an etymologist, but I can still do research Thanks for watching and for the sweet comment

[@MariaNI-yf1bz]

Oh my God..This is perfect!! Love it!! You have a new subcriber!!

[@snaplanguage]

Welcome aboard! I'm glad you found Snap Language!

[@sherinchush7889]

Aha, you back. It's great to see you back.

[@snaplanguage]

Thanks! I've been back for a while and plowing along! :D If you can share the link to the channel with others, it will help the channel grow so I can keep making more videos without a long hiatus. haha

[@Daumir]

I'm Brazilian and I remember when I was studying French and I came across the word "celibetaire", which means "single" (a person who is not married) and is a very common word. But in Portuguese there is the word "celibatário" that, on the other hand, is not used anymore to define someone who is not married but to define the vow a priest must make to enter the priesthood, which means he is not either going to get married or make sex. If he does, he cant be a catholic priest anymore. interesting, isn't it?

[@snaplanguage]

That's really cool. Changes in meaning happen a lot in any language. When related languages split from their "parent language(s), the meanings can change in each language separately and you end up with cognates that actually mean different things. That's why "actual" in English and "atual" in Portuguese or have such different (but still related) meanings ("in reality" x "at present"). Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel

[@carloscheval]

Great video indeed, very suitable for college students and the like. Thanks a lot!! I'll be looking forward for more of this sort of videos.

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you, Carlos! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. :D

[@CocoaBeachLiving]

Damn, glad I found your channel 👍 it's been a while since I've encountered sanity and thoughtfulness, with regard to etymology 😊😊😊ty

[@snaplanguage]

Awesome! I'm glad you found the channel, too -- even though this video isn't perfect 😑 I'm glad it can give people some food for thought. You may enjoy the vocabulary videos on the channel, too. I often get into the etymology of words so, even if you already knew a word, you may not have known its origins (which I often learn myself when I'm creating the videos. Cheers!

[@prakhartrivedi1788]

You should also do a video about how languages branched out to develop into uniquely sounding ones

[@blackraven4842]

Stop telling him what he should do, don't you know how to request?

[@goodmaro]

Another way you could've gone from "sal" leads to "salad" in English, via "ensalada" in Spanish, "salted". At one time the concept simply referred to cold preserved foods, and salting being the common way to preserve them...salad. Quite opposite to the current construction of salads from very fresh foods, but as before, they are mostly not cooked.

[@snaplanguage]

Yes, I find it fascinating how words can change their meanings when they're borrowed (and even within the same language). After a few generations, you're left wondering how we got from A to B. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel. Cheers!

[@thefisherking78]

Love it! I'm a casual enthusiast of etymology and other historical linguistics. I drive my wife (a native Spanish speaker and actual linguist) nuts by asking questions about etymology, which she ironically doesn't care about.

[@snaplanguage]

LOL Linguists have a variety of interests. I myself don't like all aspects of linguistics; I find some quite boring actually. -- You may enjoy this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipzXgYGJZt2risU -- your wife will thank me 😂 Thanks for watching and leaving a message. I hope you enjoy the rest of the channel.

[@Pao234_]

Same here, just that instead of a wife, it's my mom

[@jimbrown5552]

Thanks again for sharing

[@saberliberta]

Your Portuguese pronunciation is so clear it sounds like a native speaker way of saying. Muito obrigado pelas informações.

[@snaplanguage]

De nada! Someone said my French sucks... Oh well, you can't please everybody all the time, right? LOL Cheers!

[@saberliberta]

@@snaplanguage I agree with you, but you can be sure that the majority of people enjoys your work and is very grateful to you. I'm into learning languages as well and invite you to visit my channel if you feel like.

[@AE0N777]

@@snaplanguage I’m a French Canadian and I can vouch against this. Your french is obviously not perfect but it’s far from bad!

[@michelbeauloye4269]

@@snaplanguage I honestly think that your way of pronounciating (?) French words is perfectly correct. By the way, thanks a lot for your very clear and understandable explanations. A bientôt.

[@snaplanguage]

Well, people like to pick on the imperfections when they can't think of anything to say. lol Thanks for the kind words.

[@pedroupaiva]

I like how your pronunciation of Portuguese is better than your French! That's rare for English speakers. Thanks for giving some highlight to our language! Also amazing video, I love how you teach!

[@snaplanguage]

Thanks for the very nice compliments! I speak English, Portuguese, Spanish, German, and Dutch (so those words not a problem)... French, not so much... It was a fun video to shoot; a few minutes into taping, I didn't know what language I spoke anymore LOL Merci d'avoir regardé la vidéo! I hope que esteja gostando do resto do canal! Bis bald :D

[@snaplanguage]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIeUYZyka5iShc0 :)

[@marvinsilverman4394]

portuguese comes from Galego galego is the mother language

[@khunpingpong]

yess! thank you...i found a good vid to my explorations...again nice

[@scotthardy6992]

Thank you for the video. I found it very informative. I'm an expat that speaks many languages and has been interested in this subject for decades. If I'm not mistake, Sanskrit belongs to the proto-Indo-European family of languages. It is one of the three earliest and most ancient documented languages. Maybe it should be included as a reference for all. Once again thank you!

[@snaplanguage]

Sanskrit is an Indo-European language, indeed. Many people take its early beginnings to mean that it is "the Mother of All Languages," though, which etymologists would disagree with. It's a large family tree, so the branches reach far and wide. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment! Cheers

[@GeeMoney843]

Agreed. I came here for the info but also to diverisify my recommendations

[@anisgilos]

I loved this video! very interesting and fun. I love how his tone is very casual, makes the video less stressful:)

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you for watching and leaving great compliments. We'll let him know you like his tone :D

[@virtuouswomen76]

I totally agree....this is extremely interesting

[@gamerboi5969]

He makes it all sound so interesting

[@dariodelgado5355]

That is one of the most interesting exercises when studying the evolution of any kanguage. Thanks

[@snaplanguage]

It's a fascinating field in linguistics. I'm glad etymologists are doing all the work, though, because it must be really difficult LOL Thanks for watching and leaving a comment.

[@angeliemacaraeg6313]

I love watching your videos sir. You make learning fun and more interesting. You're so soft-spoken but you're definitely not boring. Keep up the great work sir. May I know what subject you teach in universities sir?

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you for the kind words. Off and on I teach reading, writing, statistics, and research methodology. Cheers!

[@PappyMandarine]

In French, the equivalent of meat (viande) was also used to signify food in general. It's also the equivalent of the word flesh (chair) that actually meant what we refer to today by the word meat. The history of this word is thus exactly the same between English & French. No idea how though.

[@kaloarepo288]

Originally in English the word meat referred to all kinds of foods even sweets -this usage continues in the word "sweetmeats" -the word for meat in the modern restrictive sense would have been "flesh."Same with word "corn" -originally it referred to all types of grains but in America it came to refer to only the maize plant.

[@PappyMandarine]

@@kaloarepo288 You're probably replying to the wrong person. My comment was about the equivalent of the word "meat" in French.

[@yautiano]

How surprising is the evolution of words through time and space! In Spanish, the word "vianda" (obviously related to French "viande") according to a Spanish dictionary, it also means food in general. Well perhaps that is the meaning in Spain or in some Latin-American countries. However in Puerto Rico its meaning is not the same. It is a very commonly word used here to refer specifically to locally cultivated tubers in general which usually are prepared and served together such as sweet potato, manioc, and many others. As you see totally unrelated to meat!

[@markoshea6833]

La Verbe fait? chair. On the 'meat in general' question: meat was all there was. There was no potatoes or spagetti?

[@LKKL18]

This video was really interesting for me, because I was really surprised as I learned that PIE root of "heart" is "kerd", because I'm Georgian and noticed that the PIE word "kerd" is really similar to the Georgian word მკერდი (mkerdi), which means breast and which is the area, where the heart is located. It's totally mind-blowing. Also the most surprising thing is, that the Georgian language isn't the Indoeurpian language or the one related with those languages, but the totally independent language.

[@snaplanguage]

That's pretty fascinating. I'm sure the examples you gave are not just a coincidence. I'm sure etymologists have done research on Georgian. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel.

[@evaluna3909]

Bellissimo video. La spiegazione é molto calma🌸👍

[@snaplanguage]

Grazie mille! You're very kind. I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel

[@MiuMiuKoo]

Thank you for sharing 👍

[@snaplanguage]

No problem 👍 Thank *YOU* for watching and leaving a comment. Enjoy the rest of the channel :coo:

[@paschaliskagias9675]

I am not in this field, but I like very much how the words in the Greek language are connected. Let me give you an example. In Greek, money is «Chrima» and derives from the word «Chrisi» or usefulness in English. With money effectively we are exchanging usefulness. I think that such connections are highly sophisticated, especially if we consider that they have been developed 3.000 years ago.

[@snaplanguage]

You can find many examples of words of Greek origin around the world. English definitely has many of those, especially in science and technology. I have a series of "vocabulary building" videos. Greek word roots pop up quite frequently, of course. For example, here kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5OWmpSBrLKblZI Thanks for watching and leaving a comment! Cheers

[@mansoorzahid6272]

Cham or Charm is used for animal skin in indo pak, there was a time animal skin was turned in to small round like coins and that was a money to buy any thing, so this way there is connection in these words

[@roysigurdkarlsbakk3842]

In Norwegian, we have this word "dass", meaning "toilet". It's not what you'll use in very polite terms, but it's very common. It turns out, the word originated from WW2, when German soldiers came to somewhere in the middle of nowhere and had to use the toilet and asked "Kann ich das Haus benutzen?" (or something like that, I'm not fluent in German), and the farmer or whatever he or she was, probably understood, but didn't know German too well. So "Das Haus" became a sort of slang, dropping the noun and written "Dass" [das:] (according to Norwegian writing, the a being short and the s being long). So an article turned into a noun. This is possibly one of more interesting examples in Norwegian etymology I know of ;)

[@snaplanguage]

Das ist sehr morsom :) Interestingly enough, some words in English were created or changed because people misheard something. In Middle English, an apron was "a napron." People misinterpreted it, and "napron" became "an apron." The same happened to "an ekename" (literally, an also-name), and it became "a nickname." Of course, the story behing "dass" is much funnier than any of that 😂 I hope you're enjoying the other videos on the channel. Tusen tak!

[@thomhansen5298]

@@snaplanguage This is actually one of my favourite mistakes done to the "thank you" spelling in Norwegian. "Tusen tak" in Norwegian literary translate into "a thousand roofs". While "Tusen takK" means "a thousand thanks". It is a very common and tiny mistake, but non the less very funny to me :) and also understandable when the danes spell it "Tusind tak". But you know.. the danes... :b

[@snaplanguage]

@@thomhansen5298 People love picking on the poor Danes! LOL Oops!... I guess I mixed Danish and Norwegian there, huh? I'll make sure I wish people "a thousand roofs" only when I'm in Denmark

[@ArghaBagchi]

In Bengali, we have a similar word "daast" (soft d and soft t) meaning defecation. It has a Persian root, probably with same pronunciation. Norwegian "dass" may have come from the same source.

[@roysigurdkarlsbakk3842]

@@ArghaBagchi no, the roots of the Norwegian word "dass" is well known to be a misunderstanding where the German article "das" was beleived to be a noun or adjective in front of "haus", as in "das haus", beleived to mean "toilet house" by locals, while it really only means "the house". Etymologically, it really is quite a special case, the article that turned into a noun. Btw, definite article in Norwegian, is a postfix, so "a house" is "et hus", but "the house" is "huset".

[@Pookleberry]

Great video!! I love etymology. I'm an Englishman, who has lived in Denmark for nearly 40 years. I speak fluent Danish and it is clear that the old Viking languages had a profound impact on English. I was interested in the word 'meat, which originally meant food. The Danish word for food is 'mad' (the last d is like the word 'the' without the 'e') 'Heart' is 'hjerte' in Danish. Also many basic English verbs are based on Danish go - gå hear - høre see - se feel - føle And body parts hair - hår knee - knæ elbow - albue toe - tå nose - næse ear - øre eye - øje

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you! I learned a little Norwegian (definitely not enough to do much with it), and these similarities to the other Germanic languages were striking. If you put German, Dutch, Danish/Norwegian/Swedish, and English in a police lineup (identity parade), you might pick the wrong guy! LOL (It blew my mind when I learned "tå" and "to" in Norwegian!) Thanks for watching and for leaving a comment! -- Cheers!

[@noortjelief1987]

As I understamd these words in eglish are not 'based' in danish, but they have the same 'grandfather'. Feel -føle - voelen (nl) - fühlen (d)

[@tomthekhmerbreed9166]

Not so many poeple are deeply educated more than low educated ones, that's why useful videos related to such deep knowledge are not so interested or worth likes, but keep going on, now more and more people are developing their knowledge. For me, who is inerested in languages really admire your work!

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you very much for your support. I agree that this channel reaches a niche interested in language and linguistics, but my hope is that some people will *gain an interest* because they watched these videos. Who knows? We may end up getting to a million subscribers... one day... in the distant future... LOL Thanks again, Cheers! :D

[@kaloarepo288]

One surprising thing I learnt about word origins the other day is that the Greek word for "tail" is "ouros" seen in such scientific words like dasyure -an Australian animal with a bushy tail and this word "ouros' is closely related to the English and German words "arse" -makes sense when you think where these items of anatomy are located.

[@snaplanguage]

Hah! That really is surprising (and funny). Words have interesting histories, and some of them make you realize how word origins are hiding in words that sometimes sound very different. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. :D

[@alkminidim.5188]

Yes! I'm a native Greek speaker and really love etymology! Actually tail in Greek is ουρά (oura) but has many forms like ouros. Some other names with -ouros are coelurus (κοῖλος, koilos = hollow + οὐρά, oura = tail) which was a dinosaur (from Greek δεινός (dinos) = very big + σαύρα = lizard) and platurus (πλατύς= wide + oura)

[@alkminidim.5188]

Also, if you're interested in biology or science in general and search the etymology of the words you'll be surprised about how many they are as exactly they are in (ancient mostly) Greek!

[@zisikaragiannis2390]

Same with the Australian Platypus. Flat feet.

[@Ruthavecflute]

We've also borrowed it in the word 'Ouroboros', meaning a snake eating it's own tail!

[@bananaanan]

Great work on this....thanks

[@snaplanguage]

Well, finally a positive comment! LOL I appreciate it. There's always room for improvement... but I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope you're enjoying the rest of the channel. In the vocabulary videos, I often get into the etymology of a word so, even if you already know the word, you may not have known its origin. Cheers!

[@kimsherlock8969]

Love this content 😊

[@Seth-mu3wo]

As a native English speaker that learned Spanish and German, there are amazing similarities and wild differences that have developed between them. I also speak a little Italian, French, and Portuguese, but only a little. I'm still shocked how much I can understand listening to people speaking these languages, because of similar word usage and structure.

[@snaplanguage]

Definitely, once you learn a couple of European languages, the next gets even easier. The only problem is dealing with those pesky false cognates or words with identical roots but different meanings LOL Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you enjoy the rest of the channel

[@Abeturk]

The names of some organs it's used as the suffix for nouns, “Ak”= ~each one of both (Yan= side) (Gül= rose) (Şek=facet) (Dal=subsection, branch) (Taş=stone) Yan-ak= each of both sides of the face >Yanak=the cheek Kül-ak = each of both roses >Kulak= the ear Şek-ak = each of both sides of the forehead >Şakak= temple Dal-ak=dalak=the spleen Böbür-ak=böbrek=the kidney Bağaç-ak>(Paça-ak)>bacak= the leg (the ankle) Bathuw-ak>(Pathy-ak)=(phatyak>hadyak>adyak)=Ayak= the foot > each of the feet (pati = paw) Taş-ak=testicle Her iki-ciğer.=Akciğer=the lung Tül-karn-ak =that obscures/ shadowing each of both dark/ covert periods= Karanlık (batıni) çağların her birini örten tül Zhu'l-karn-eyn=the (shader) owner of each of both times Dhu'al-chorn-ein=double-horned-one=(the horned hunter)Herne the hunter> Cernunnos> Karneios it's used as the suffix for verbs, “Ak /ek“=a-qa ~which thing to / what’s to… Er-mek = to get / to reach Bar-mak (Varmak)= to arrive / to achieve Er-en-mek > erinmek / Bar-an-mak > barınmak Erin-ek / barın-ak = what’s there to arrive at oneself Ernek / Barnak > Parmak = Finger Tut-mak = to hold / to keep Tut-ak=Dudak=(what’s to hold)> the lip Tara-mak = to comb/ to rake Tara-ak > Tarak =(what’s there to comb)> the comb Tara-en-mak > taranmak = to comb oneself Taran-ak > Tırnak =(what’s there to comb oneself)> fingernail

[@serakxi]

I speak portuguese, and aways found interesting when I'm studying Italian and I find words like "Finisce" or "Scusi", words that I understand more because of the English variants than Italian being a Romance language

[@snaplanguage]

Indeed! It's as if all these word roots got mixed up in European languages. Some got one root, others got another related one. LOL These similarities are one of the reasons etymology got started. People started realizing that very different languages had words that deep down were somehow related. It's a fascinating field. Cheers!

[@rachelcarmina3958]

I grew up with Italian parents in Canada so I knew English and Italian. In school we learned French. I was fascinated by how incredibly similar Italian and French were.The Spanish I heard in Western style movies amazed me because other than some basic words, they too were so similar to Italian. I found that I could follow the dialogue in Spanish without issue.

[@rachelcarmina3958]

There are two simple English words that I find interesting. Both "in" and "me" are essentially the same words in English and the Italian language. I could never understand how these basic Italian words ended up in the English language.

[@celenglish381A]

Nicely delivered sir 👍

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Brilliant presentation-thanks!

[@snaplanguage]

Glad you enjoyed it! :D

[@patrickhodson8715]

New fun thing to do. Take English words we got from Greek, (e.g. photograph) and change them to their Latin or English forms, and then put them back into English grammar and phonotactics and such. So “photograph” becomes “luciscript” or “lightwrite”

[@snaplanguage]

That *is* a fun game.... photography would be... lightbilding? :) Have you heard of the Anglish Moot -- anglish.wikia.com/wiki/Headside The idea is to eliminate Latin-root words from English. The result can be pretty interesting (e.g., "wordbook" for "dictionary") and sometimes odd (e.g., "sourstuff" for "oxygen").

[@patrickhodson8715]

Snap Language I think photography would become luciscripture and lightwriting 🤔 but yeah I know about the uncleft beholding and it’s hilarious!

[@abc-yn4yl]

Snap Language You never can escape from latin Latin= lightning language Don't belive greek conspiracy in few years you'll be in historical crisis....belive me

[@AK-fu8ti]

@@abc-yn4yl What do you mean? It's not conspiracy, it's true. Photography derives from Greek Φωτογραφία (pronounced Fotografia or Photographia) with Φως meaning light and γράφω meaning write. It's pure logic, not conspiracy.

[@smultronpojke4010]

When you brought up how meat used to refer to food in general, i had a massive aha-moment! I'm Swedish and we use the word mat to refer to food, and I figured it might be a cognate with meat. I did some research and turns out not just that meat and mat are cognates, but that pretty much every germanic language has a word that's also cognate with meat/mat and refers to food in general, and that English is just an oddball

[@snaplanguage]

Thanks for sharing this great aha-moment! :) I don’t know very much about Swedish, but I understand that “food” in Old Norse is “matr.” Drop the ending (“r”) and, voilà, you’ve got yourself a meal-well, at least en måltid lol

[@DylanPerryFeatureAnimation]

What about the word mate, being someone you share food (ie meat/mete) with..

[@onewordhereonewordthere6975]

@@DylanPerryFeatureAnimation English is so corrupted it ought to be abolished! Where do cows go to eat the cafeteria or the cafe? m/ate.

[@silasfrisenette9226]

I had the exact same aha-moment! I stopped the video and had to ponder. I am Danish, and we say mad meaning food and I made the same connection!

[@fartreta]

We have a cognate to 'food' in Swedish as well, namely 'föda' which to some extent is synonymous with 'mat' but more often it has the sense of nutrition/nourishment/aliment or the like. 'Fast föda' means 'solid food' for example.

[@scottallencarr]

I'm a big fan of communication and its languages, have been a long time. Eventually I got into etymology which added immeasurable depth to my anthropoligical knowledge. The history of the languages is the story of our migrations, away from and back to, each other.

[@snaplanguage]

Etymology is indeed a fascinating area. It's archaeology, history, linguistics, statistics, and a great deal of patience all rolled up into one. Whenever I look up a word's etymology and there's a big surprise, that word means more than before. Really cool! Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel.

[@markoshea6833]

@@snaplanguage Don Winslow in 'Savages' went into it a little bit. Or 'The Gentlemen's Hour'.

[@ErikVSV]

Man, I love etymology. Thanks for the video!

[@snaplanguage]

You and me both! Sometimes I want to look one word up and end up going from word to word for a long time LOL I hope you're enjoying the rest of the channel. You may enjoy the vocabulary videos. I often get into the etymology of a word so, even if you already know the word, you may not have know about its origin. Thank you watching and taking the time to leave a comment!

[@ptolemyauletesxii8642]

I've just come up with an etymological theory a few moments ago. The modern word sinister, meaning sneaky or conniving, or generally bad, comes from the Latin sinister, left handed, or left. But that word itself is of no known origin, with one somewhat unconvincing suggestion that it is related to an older Sanskrit word. However, the Latin for a fold, or pocket, or a curve, or bay, is sinus. The Romans commonly wore their toga with their right hand free for gesturing, and their left hand wound up in the folds of their toga. Is it possible that the word sinister comes from sinus, as it was the left hand that was enclosed in the sinus? Are there any etymological experts here who can shine any light on this possibility?

[@snaplanguage]

- I'm sure someone has studied this. It is often the case, too, that a word's true origin gets lost in time, and there is no way to know for sure until they find some new text that may elicit some new hypothesis. - Etymonline seems to be a very solid, well researched source.I found a lot of information, including links to related words, at www.etymonline.com/word/sinister - Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! :D

[@joecato1138]

That actually makes a lot of sense. A left hand tucked away in a pocket or fold would be an excellent way to conceal a weapon.

[@stefanode7402]

@@joecato1138 the word "sinistro" is much older than "invention" of pocket. Moreover a non left-handed would have difficulties to use a weapon with his wrong hand. With fantasy I can imagine that origin of negative meaning of this word could come from LAT "sine-estrum" : without (female) ovulation, which was a serious and negative lack...but I am not an expert, I am just a curious self-taught from Roma.

[@douggtrad]

His portuguese accent is great I'm really impressed

[@snaplanguage]

We aim to please! :D I've also been told that my French accent sucks... which sounds about right! LOL Cheers!

[@sergioevandro4259]

Pensei que ele fosse português!

[@snaplanguage]

@@sergioevandro4259 I visited Portugal once. Does that count? LOL Cheers!

[@sergioevandro4259]

@@snaplanguage yes it does 😁

[@Kai-nk2ee]

@@snaplanguage where are you from?

[@Daytonadaisy-12]

ur blowing my mind man keep it up

[@snaplanguage]

Thanks for watching and leaving a mind blowing comment \:D/

[@kavoileum]

Thank you for your videos, this is how a teacher who teaches foreign language should be... telling story about words can be a lot easier for students to remember as well as teach them in context. You have the enthusiasm. By the way, "en-" means "in" "thaos" means "god" "-asm" means an action, a quality so the etymology of enthusiasm means "a quality of being in god."

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you! That's such a kind and encouraging comment. I have a series of vocabulary video where I use some storytelling so people remember the words better. I'm glad that it's been resonating with many viewers. :) Thanks again... I'll keep the enthusiasm alive :D

[@luisaugustobonilha8210]

What surprises me most is that the spoken language can use a different alphabet, or better, up to two or more alphabets. This is really incredible.

[@snaplanguage]

Language developed "naturally." Writing systems are "artificial" in the sense that they were created to represent the spoken language. Some writing systems use lines and scribbles to represent individual sounds, others to represent syllables or even whole words and concepts. I think it's pretty cool, too! Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. Cheers!

[@SwetyBoi]

"That would be a really long video..." DO IT!

[@shahid8545]

I really enjoyed this thank you

[@snaplanguage]

Glad you enjoyed it! I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel. Cheers!

[@shahid8545]

@@snaplanguage Yes I have subscribed, looking forward to viewing more content from your channel keep up the great work. ✌🏽

[@laurencelance586]

I've always found this a facinating topic.

[@snaplanguage]

Me too! Even more so after I made this video. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. Check out the vocabulary videos on the channel. I go into the etymology of some words so, even if you already know the word, you may not have known about its origin. Cheers!

[@laurencelance586]

@@snaplanguage I am a Free Mason, although we simply call ourselves Masons. Our rituals are many centuries old, and some of the words simply make no sense to an English speaking person. The English historian John Robbinson, in his "Born In Blood" puzzled out that many of our ritual words aren't English. They are French. When one goes back to that language of 300 and more years ago suddenly our rituals make sense.

[@malachi5813]

Speech impediments, alcohol, and isolation have changed language a lot too

[@snaplanguage]

LOL @ alcohol! Thanks for watching and leaving a comment :D

[@FosteringMotivation]

Illiteracy is a factor as well.

[@gravitygravy6819]

Connecting the dots and seeing a pattern is good.. Teach an A.I to learn etymology

[@arturrosa3166]

I just landed on this video by mere chance and don't know anything about you (but I already subscribed) but just wanted to mention that the way you pronounce portuguese words is exactly on point, exactly like a native would say (I'm a native portuguese speaker). Pardon my curiosity, but is portuguese one of your native languages?

[@snaplanguage]

Yes, I lived in Brazil for a long time. My Portuguese is really rusty now, so it's nice to know I still "got it" Thanks for watching, leaving a comment, and subscribing. I hope you enjoy the channel

[@MrPrimoPR]

Buen trabajo informativo y educativo.

[@snaplanguage]

Gracias por ver el video y por el amable comentario. Me alegro que hayas disfrutado. Cheers!

[@kertebrahimi8469]

I speak french english persian and some spanish.i am amazed by the similarities.i can find similar words in all these languages.a word in one language changes to a similar meaning i another..Amazing.

[@snaplanguage]

It *is* pretty amazing, isn't it. Even languages that seem so different from each other on the surface can still preserve common origins. Sometimes they're hiding deep in the words (which is why I'm glad etymologists are doing all the hard work to figure it out LOL). Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. Cheers!

[@rodolfoklienwilmes1571]

Muy bueno y aclarar cualquier aspecto de los idiomas

[@charananekibalijaun8837]

Etymology is extremely interesting

[@snaplanguage]

It's fascinating. Once you start learning about word origins, you can't stop! LOL Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you're enjoying the rest of the channel. Cheers!

[@ATinyPillow]

I found the word “ocean” particularly intriguing ;) .

[@charananekibalijaun8837]

@@ATinyPillow very true indeed. The word derives from Sanskrit "āśáyāna" - 'laying on water' and Greek Ὠκεανός. They have the same proto-Indo-Germanic root 'ō-kei-ṃ[h1]no' - 'lying on top', related to Greek word 'κεῖται', meaning 'to lay'

[@ATinyPillow]

@@charananekibalijaun8837: Please note that when I initially looked up the etymology of “ocean” there was no mention of the globe as well as other additions, - > “the vast body of water on the surface of the globe” < - and - > “ In early times, when the only known land masses were Eurasia and Africa, the ocean was an endless river that flowed around them. Until c. 1650, commonly ocean sea, translating Latin mare oceanum. Application to individual bodies of water began 14c. (occean Atlantyke, 1387); five of them are usually reckoned, but this is arbitrary. The English word also occasionally was applied to smaller subdivisions, such as German Ocean "North Sea." < - Those sections have been added fairly recently. ocean (n.) c. 1300, occean, "the vast body of water on the surface of the globe," from Old French occean "ocean" (12c., Modern French océan), from Latin oceanus, from Greek ōkeanos, the great river or sea surrounding the disk of the Earth (as opposed to the Mediterranean), a word of unknown origin; Beekes suggests it is Pre-Greek. Personified as Oceanus, son of Uranus and Gaia and husband of Tethys. In early times, when the only known land masses were Eurasia and Africa, the ocean was an endless river that flowed around them. Until c. 1650, commonly ocean sea, translating Latin mare oceanum. Application to individual bodies of water began 14c. (occean Atlantyke, 1387); five of them are usually reckoned, but this is arbitrary. The English word also occasionally was applied to smaller subdivisions, such as German Ocean "North Sea." This is how it was originally written prior to the recent additions noted above; ocean (n.) c. 1300, occean, from Old French occean "ocean" (12c., Modern French océan), from Latin oceanus, from Greek ōkeanos, the great river or sea surrounding the disk of the Earth, a word of unknown origin; Beekes suggests it is Pre-Greek. Personified as Oceanus, son of Uranus and Gaia and husband of Tethys. Anyway, I found it rather intriguing when it says “the great river or sea surrounding - > the disk of the earth < - “ Being a priest, I found this quite interesting because in the Great Isaiah Scroll found among the Dead Sea Scrolls it says; “It is he who sits above - > the disk of the earth < - “ It seems at the time of the origin/etymology of the word “ocean” and at the time of the writing of the Great Isaiah Scroll, earth was viewed as “a disk”. Also interesting is that the earth was all a single landmass according to the Hebrew Bible and the land was separated in the days of Peleg. Me thinks that there is more truth seeping through the cracks here than many would care to admit. As usual, there is a modicum of truth in everything. ;) .

[@jaroslavcech225]

This is a great video!

[@snaplanguage]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the channel! And thanks for subscribing

[@emiliomarrello7161]

Almost afraid to use the wrong word, awesome production. Although as Canadians when it comes to language we speak English and not American. Try asking for a serviette in a restaurant or shopping for a chesterfield. I do agree with another post, salt was indeed a form of payment and salt mines were the early treasures. Thanks