The Stories Behind Food Names | Otherwords

Check out RELISH on @PBSFood: • Relish with Chef Yia Vang
It shouldn't matter what a food is called as long as it tastes good, right? Well, maybe not.
Otherwords is a PBS web series on Storied that digs deep into this quintessential human trait of language and fınds the fascinating, thought-provoking, and funny stories behind the words and sounds we take for granted. Incorporating the fıelds of biology, history, cultural studies, literature, and more, linguistics has something for everyone and offers a unique perspective on what it means to be human.
Host: Erica Brozovsky, Ph.D.
Creator/Director: Andrew Matthews & Katie Graham
Writer: Erica Brozovsky, Ph.D.
Producer: Katie Graham
Editor/Animation: Andrew Matthews
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Fact Checker: Yvonne McGreevy
Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell
Stock Images from Shutterstock
Music from APM Music
Otherwords is produced by Spotzen for PBS.
© 2022 PBS. All rights reserved.

[@himesilva]

Extra fact: “urchin” is the Middle English word for hedgehog. Sea Urchin makes a lot of sense when you realize it’s “sea hedgehog”

[@kellydalstok8900]

In Dutch and German they’re called sea-hedgehog

[@mds_main]

In Italian it is also the literal translation of "sea hedgehog".

[@diamondsngunns88]

This is so cool!! 🤗❤️🌊

[@shockingheaven]

@@kellydalstok8900 Same for Spanish

[@ChrisPool]

So a Street Urchin or homeless child is called so because of unkept wild hair? A street hedgehog?

[@MattJammer]

The idea that people tried to change sauerkraut to freedom cabbage is just the funniest thing to me. I needed to pause the video to stop laughing

[@jakepullman4914]

Some things never change, I guess.

[@MemphiStig]

And they called German soldiers Krauts because of the food. So it's a strange switch.

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

....really?

[@chanterelle483]

The freedom frisbees did it for me.

[@flowertrue]

The word krrrraut is just too fun to say

[@piotrszewczuk4382]

In Poland recently a lot of people try to rename "pierogi ruskie" to "pierogi ukraińskie" (due to the Russia's invasion of Ukraine), it's very interesting bc "ruskie" doesnt mean Russian, but Ruthenian

[@KillsAll.]

Dang I wonder if they’re still called a White Russian or a Black Russian?

[@pandoraeeris7860]

Sir, this is a Wenduskie's.

[@JeighNeither]

Right, but "ruskie" does mean Russian in American English, although it is a bit of a dated term.

[@JeighNeither]

@@Itsgay2read Why did you capitalize "Wild"? & is it really wild after Russia invaded Ukraine w/o provocation 6 months ago? Especially when this video is about this exact subject?

[@xp_studios7804]

the Ruthenians can't catch a break lol

[@jacool2565]

In Spanish we only have the alive-dead distinction in food for fish. A fish swimming in the sea is "pez", but once it's in a platter it's "pescado" (Literally means fished or caught)

[@david2869]

And it's weird that in English we don't have that distinction. We don't even distinguish between one fish or many fish or between the act of catching fish and the fish themselves.

[@PabloSanchez-qu6ib]

Diablos! Hice el mismo comentario solo para descubrir que ya estaba hecho.

[@jacool2565]

@@PabloSanchez-qu6ib Jaja ntp suele pasar

[@DavidCruickshank]

@@david2869 Though weirdly enough we do distinguish between one species of fish and many species of fishes.

[@rna8arnold]

@@DavidCruickshank that's very fishy 😉

[@TheDuelManiacs]

My abuelo always said "Someone who doesn't know the difference between a burro and a burrow doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground."

[@Lucius1958]

*"As the Holy Book says, in the Book of Holes, Chapter 1: 'And they knew not their holes, from an Ass on the ground'..."* - Firesign Theatre

[@mrcryptozoic817]

LOL. Good job! A double!

[@allanrichardson3135]

I assume that your abuelo spoke English when he said that?

[@kingjojojo1]

first i was confused because i questioned in which latin country they use burro as a slang for a butt (just like peruvians and chileans use poto)

[@AdarshKumar-nj7rp]

Fun Fact about the etymology of Bombay Duck: The fish used to be snapped predominantly in Bombay (Mumbai), in the west coast, but was truly appreciated in Calcutta (Kolkata), in the east coast. It used to be shipped through the train in the mail freight along with letters and parcels, collectively called "Daak" in Bengali. The word daak got corrupted into duck.

[@FZ-bk9kh]

Fascinating! Thanks for sharing

[@visheshl]

So bombay duck is actually bombay fish, but when shipped to calcutta, it was literally bombay daak or a package/parcel from bombay. And then it becomes bombay duck...from bombay daak... interesting...also bengal/ calcutta have a sweet dessert called sondesh...means letter... Do you have an explanation why calcutta uses words for letters or parcels as names for food items ? It sounds interesting to find out about

[@winminexp]

I think Chinese name “qiyiquo” is actually name after “kiwi fruit”. “Mihoutao” (獼猴桃, macaque peach) is what’s originally called. However, when they imported kiwi fruits back to China, they adopted the name and marketed it as “qiyiquo” (奇異果，mystery fruit. Kiwi sounds like qiyi, right?)

[@kkfvjk]

The graphic also inverted the tone sign over 果 where it should be pointed downward instead of ô

[@jungleng]

I would totally buy a fruit just coz it's called macaque peach or monkey peach too…

[@Syumza]

@@kkfvjk in other words, ǒ

[@oldcowbb]

The name is more obviously translated from kiwi in Cantonese, 奇異(kay-yi)

[@biggusballuz5405]

Kiwis are originally known as Macaque peach/pear indeed, and also 毛梨 hairy pears, sheep or sun pears 羊/陽桃, as well as Wood Fruit 木子 and Hairy Wood Fruit 毛木果. The reason they are marketed as Kiwis is because the fruit isn't that widely consumed outside of Chinese medicine.

[@teucer915]

You're missing a fun but of trivia about Columbus: he also brought back what came to be called "Jamaica pepper" and actually kinda looks like a large peppercorn. It's still called that in Spanish to this day (pimienta de jamaica), but in modern English we call it "allspice".

[@ectooo]

omg! is that why? oh, wow.

[@Scarabola]

This reads like the intro to an epic animated series.

[@Philrc]

Also called that in Portuguese

[@hopsiepike]

While in Jamaica, they are called pimento!

[@seajelly2421]

Oh, I'd always wondered why allspice is called piment de Jamaïque in French. How did it become a Middle Eastern staple spice?

[@lyndsaybrown8471]

The puns are on this channel are always top tier.

[@AndrewMcColl]

I do remember doing a double take at a Vegas buffet a few years back. The soda fountain had 'Kiwi juice' as an option. My reaction, an actual Kiwi (New Zealandler), was of horror at what might emerge from the dispenser. Then I remembered that Americans drop the 'fruit' and all was right with the world. There was a similar moment of confusion back in the 90's during an episode of Friends. Poor Ross and his kiwi allergy.

[@rabidL3M0NS]

It’s such a pet peeve of mine when Americans call kiwifruit kiwis. Imagine if americans were a type of fruit.. now that I’ve said that it kinda does sound like the name of a fruit.. we’ve got tangerines, nectarines, mandarins, americans, tamarinds, persimmons.

[@AndrewMcColl]

@@rabidL3M0NS I don't mind it as much, I just have to remember the speaker's context. It's like when they refer to 'Lego' or 'math' - I think 'yeah nah, I know what you mean'.

[@MondeSerenaWilliams]

Did you think it was a juice made from human or the bird?

[@AndrewMcColl]

@@MondeSerenaWilliams both are referred to as Kiwis here, and I was in Vegas, so... yes?

[@tree427]

i have kiwi allergy too cant go anywhere near new zealand

[@TheChrisSimpson]

You could have added 2 more while on the Mexican dishes with interesting origins! Nacho's come from the guy who created them named Ignacio, of which nacho is a nick name. And Caesar Salad, which many assume to be named for Roman Caesar's, is actually named for its creator, Caesar Cardini, an Italian chef living in Mexico!

[@mrcryptozoic817]

Sometimes obsessively reading the comments to a presentation is as enlightening as the presentation itself. I wondered where Caesar's salad came from. And if it was Mr Agustus, it would probably have lead salt on it and garum. Bleah!!

[@animeevergreenathena]

Oh my gosh, I didn't know that kiwis originated from China! I thought that they always came from a tropical country. Then again, China is a pretty diverse country despite what Westerners usually see it as. Thanks so much for sharing this! I think that this episode may be one of my favorites, next to the one that showcases how language and technology are interconnected with one another. :)

[@Bozeema]

Also, no-one outside of the US in english speaking countries shortens kiwifruit to kiwi; that's like shortening grapefruit to grape, the meaning is completely different.

[@flis625]

As far as I know, New Zealand isn’t a tropical country either. They grow heaps of them there and import them to us in Australia.

[@arnor398]

@@Bozeema its exactly opposite, all around the world the fruit is called kiwi/kivi or simmilar

[@MistSoalar]

If you search the origin of modern fruits we eat, you'll be surprised that so many of them are originated in China.

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

@@Bozeema uh no, excuse you. I don't know anyone who calls it a "kiwifruit". In my country, everyone calls them kiwis. Grapefruit and grapes are completely different fruits which may easily be accidentally mixed up. Nobody says "get me half a kilo of kiwis and they bring back a bird."

[@astablemultivibbrator8538]

In the Philippines, we have 4 dishes that are quite similar to each other. Menudo, mechado, kalderata, and afritada all feature tomato sauce and may contain bell peppers, carrots, potatoes, and peas. Historically, mechado refers to the cut of meat with a wick (literally "mitsa" or "mecha") of fat in the middle. Kaldereta literally means "cooked in a pot (kaldero)". Menudo is the manner of cutting meat into bite-sized chunks. Afritada literally means "fried" because the meat was supposed to be fried first before cooking in tomato sauce. However in the modern context, their differences boil down to the type of meat. Kalderata is often associated with beef, afritada is usually chicken, and both mechado and menudo are commonly pork.

[@samsoto6144]

That’s so interesting! In Mexico we also have a dish called Menudo but it has bits of the cow stomach and it’s actually a soup.

[@sebamoreno2986]

Thats interesting, here in chile we have mechada but that just means that the meat comes in mechas, so its like stringed meat

[@Thesmus]

to this day, i still have trouble distinguishing which dish is which lol

[@frankkolton1780]

I enjoy cooking many different cultural foods of world and have always had a lifelong interest in word and name origins, so it's easy to see the Spanish influence in the names of these dishes. Menudo in Spain is a stew made with tripe (cow's stomach). In Mexico it is a soup that uses tripe. In the Philippines it is a stew that often uses either pork, or chicken, or sometimes beef liver. The Cebuano term (or Binisaya if you prefer) ginagmay, means to cut into small pieces. Kaldero - cauldron - caldera. Caldo - Latin root caldus, heat, warm or hot. I love watching Pinoy cooking videos on KZbin, most give instructions mixing Tagalog and English in the same sentence, they do so effortlessly. I slowly pick up some Tagalog that way.

[@thelocalstumbler]

One of my favorite stories is how sandwich came about possibly because it was named after someone who used to be the Earl of Sandwich. Imagine if he had been the Earl of any other town!

[@Nydaruus]

Ahahaha

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

The Earl of Nantwich invented a snack which was the dampest leftover thing in his fridge slapped between two of the driest leftover things in his fridge. Unsurprisingly, it didn't catch on. (As outlined in one of the earlier editions of "The Meaning of Liff" by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd.)

[@toastyanon8902]

I’ve heard the story as well! The Earl didn’t want to leave his poker games for dinner, so he had his dinner brought to him between bread - the easier to eat with a handful of cards!

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

@@toastyanon8902 "Saturday Night Live" did THE MOST HILARIOUS sketch about all these common things named after aristocrats. If you search KZbin for "SNL Earl of Sandwich," it'll be the first video thrown out. But the title won't mention the Earl of Sandwich, and it kind of gives away the whole joke. Fair warning. 😉

[@eddierayvanlynch6133]

@@Beedo_Sookcool Imo, it's one of the top five sketches from the original cast. (Great recommendation, btw) 👍🤣

[@blue_champignon5738]

Spanish Tapas come from the verb tapar: "to cover" and depending on who's asking it's either Spanish monarchs who got wine glasses with a snack to cover their drink or farmers who covered their drinks with food to prevent flies from getting in

[@mychkineplot7677]

To prevent flies for getting it ? It was for the flies to be attracted by the food and not to go in the drink ? It was for flies ?!!!🤯

[@jesuscoutofandino6280]

There are a lot of theories about the origin of the name, and none of them are very well documented. One I've read long ago was a law by I dont remember which King making it an order that inns didnt serve wine without food to try to avoid drunkeness, specially on wagon drivers and post messengers. Also helps that wine was traditionally not served in glasses, which were expensive and rare, but bowls. Still doest, today, if you go to some places. So the small bowl of wine would be covered with a dish of more less the same size. So it would very much look like a cover lid on the bowl. But again, while that seems straightfoward, the origin of the custom is, well, pick one of the dozen of tales :)

[@Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache]

I think I took up cooking because learning recipes from around the world is like a crash course in learning a culture and history.

[@ChurchillGeoff]

word of advice, in New Zealand don't try to ask for Kiwi at the supermarket, its a protected species, this has lead to many awkward conversations with Americans overseas when they ask me (a kiwi) if I want a kiwi, no thanks I already am one

[@kingjojojo1]

then what is it called over there? chinese gooseberry?

[@indigohalf]

In much the same way that stores had to find the right name for the kiwifruit, the oh-so-exotic avocado was once sold in the US under the name "alligator pear."

[@alvingoh8084]

The Chinese name of avocado is 鳄梨 literally translates to “alligator pear”lmao now I know why it is called this way in Chinese

[@msjkramey]

​@@alvingoh8084 isn't turkey literally "fire chicken," too? That's all I remember from helping out a student in his Chinese class

[@alvingoh8084]

@@msjkramey yes it is

[@allanrichardson3135]

One etymology of “avocado” that I read said that Spanish explorers thought the native word for the fruit sounded like the Spanish word for “attorney,” “abogado.” Which itself comes from the Latin “advocatus,” from “ad-“ meaning toward and “vocare” meaning to call or speak, which is “advocate” in English.

[@AuliaAF]

Indonesia still manages to differentiate the peppers. As we already had different words for piper pepper (merica or lada) and chili pepper (cabai), the renaming doesn't stick. Even when written in English, we often use chilli (only) instead of chilli pepper, and the pepper part may cause confusion. So if you ask Indonesian, "Is it pepper?" we often answer with, "No, it's chilli." Meanwhile, since we don't have bellpepper, the imported bellpepper is known as "paprika" and many of us doesn't know that it's related to "chilli."

[@JeighNeither]

It's a waning Americanism tbf, w/the onslaught of food culture & average Americans knowing a bit more about the world around them thanks to Google.

[@guidoylosfreaks]

So we do in Spanish. There are "chiles" and all the different types of chiles: serrano, guajillo, chipotle, jalapeño, piquín, de árbol, manzano, poblano... etc. And there's also "pimienta" which is a completely different thing. Once I stayed with a Pakistani family in Toronto and they said their food was hot. But when I tried it all it had was black pepper, not bad but not what I expected.

[@blankonga]

@@guidoylosfreaks nop they do it on Mexican Spanish

[@lakrids-pibe]

Yeah it bothers me when the word "pepper" is used for everything. Same with "spice". Cinnamon, cardamom and ginger are also spices. You want spicy food? Here's a cinnamon bun for you. And a vanilla milkshake.

[@PabloSanchez-qu6ib]

@@lakrids-pibe it's an English language problem, there isn't a word for "picante" and you have to use "spicy" or "hot" instead. Imagine a poor Mexican confidently digging into the soup laughing off the gringos that told him it was hot just to burn his tongue off.

[@sheren_b]

this is really fascinating how the etymology of various food names mostly comes from marketing, the prune/dried plum part probably was the most amusing bc it really is cool to be totally regular 😎

[@renatocann5142]

Can't get enough of this series! Great work as always Dr B. et al ✨

[@EmperorOfSomething]

My first time seeing this series and I enjoyed it quite a bit! Even the comments have a ton of information in it.

[@paiwanhan]

Well... the name Qiyiguo (Qiyi fruit) is just a reverse loanword from the commercial branding of the fruit to kiwi. Mihoutao (Macaques' peach) is the original name of the fruit. It's also called Maoli (furry pear), Tengli (Vine pear), Yangtao (Goat peach). Even the word salt has an odd etymology.

[@tulgeywood]

As a weird bit of history: Since sweetbread can mean thymus or pancreas, there was a mix-up in the early 1900's when the Banting team was trying to decoct insulin. They had to collect sweetbreads to extract the insulin and they ended up with a whole bunch of thymuses instead of pancreases from the butcher. Nomenclature can be important.

[@PabloSanchez-qu6ib]

That is why scientific jargon exists, it's not to sound important or confuse the layman (even if it is sometimes used that way)

[@jujutaylor2186]

The fish renaming makes sense. I applaud that

[@Rahru]

Portuguese as some of the craziest dish names. I love 'steak on horseback' (bife a cavalo) - which is just steak with a fried egg on top - and 'mired cow' (vaca atolada) - a sort of beef and yuca/cassava/manioc stew. There's even a pie dough type that's called 'rotten dough' (massa podre), which is obviously delicious (I believe it's the same dough used for quiches).

[@200Misaki002]

We actually have a "steak on horseback" in Colombia too. Which is just beef with caramelized onions and a fried egg on top. We call it "bistec a caballo". It makes me wonder where it comes from.

[@danidejaneiro8378]

Brat’s Foot (pé-de-moleque), Good Blackie (nego bom), Little Bumpkin (caipirinha), Little Stash (escondidinho), Jaw Break (quebra-queixo)

[@alexanderhay7358]

i love it when a video actually features a host with the appropriate doctorate...

[@julieblair7472]

Urchin is interesting also because it is an older term for hedgehog. "Street urchin" always confused me until I knew this, since a sea urchin being sneaky or mischievous makes no sense but a hedgehog definitely does.

[@michaelimhof4212]

Good to know! In German, sea urchins are called "Seeigel" (sea hedgehogs), and I've always been confused by the English word seemingly missing the obvious connection to hedgehogs. - Personally, I would favour "seahog" ;-).

[@RevelationsPrimo]

I'm gonna start saying "I'm a real street whore's eggs" instead of street urchin

[@eddierayvanlynch6133]

Hedgehogs - why can't they share? ... I'll see myself out...

[@Snake3yesEddie]

4:42 “The fruits took off”. Aww this was a missed opportunity to say “For the 1st time Kiwi’s flew off the shelves”.

[@rna8arnold]

As a Kiwi bloke that makes me 🤣

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Ngl I’d like to call a Pizza a ‘Freedom Frisbee’ 😂

[@AaaronI]

Freedom Frisbee all the way

[@HMJ66]

I don't think many Brits today would call maize anything other than "corn" or "sweetcorn". If you're just eating it as is (from the cob or from a can or something) then it's sweetcorn. If it's ground and used as an ingredient to make something else, it's sometimes "maize", but still mostly "corn" (cornflour, corn tortillas, "corn snacks", popcorn, corn nuts etc. etc.) It may possibly be a generational thing, but I'm in my mid-30s and I've never heard anyone call corn "maize" in actual conversation, nor have I heard anyone refer to any other grain as "corn".

[@charleighblue]

Thanks for this. I was so confused about that. Also from the UK, also mid 30's, also never heard someone refer to corn as maize. You're correct too that corn flour and meal can be called maize flour or meal - but it's not a particularly common ingredient for people to buy and is also quite often found labelled corn anyways.

[@ILikedGooglePlus]

The Great Dorset Maize Maze (Its A-Maize-ing) begs to differ But yeah, on farms I've heard it called maize while growing, otherwise I mainly hear corn, especially as food I've only ever heard it called corn. Possible generational thing

[@MSilvaBarral]

It may be a thing among farmers? I was very confused when in Scotland they kept talking about growing corn (doesn't grow well at all that far north), only to learn they meant oats

[@varoonnone7159]

It's called maize in all former British colonies where English is still taught in its imperial standard form In Mauritius, we wouldn't even know what corn is so much so that most people ignore that widely used cornflour is from maize

[@Itsgay2read]

Reccao, an herb we use in Puerto Rican cooking, is believed to come for the word for runners who would get fresh herbs from the market.

[@FlyToTheRain]

I think this is one of my favorite shows in the PBS catalogue, every time I watch it I want to share it with my students because it answers so many language questions, which they have a lot of when I'm attempting to teach them reading and writing. plus history is inevitable sprinkled in with the answers too, a two for one deal!

[@alexwixom4599]

I know it's a Grapefruit, but every time I see the other word all I can think of is "What the hell is a Pamplemouse?!"

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Just looked it up. Turns out it's a corruption of the Dutch way of saying "swollen lemon" or "fat lemon."

[@LindaC616]

Has "company" been traced? In a Spanish linguistics class, we were taught that "compañero" came from "pan"(bread), as in "the person with whom you break bread"

[@danidejaneiro8378]

That would make sense as the word for bread and food were one and the same: *_company_*_ - mid-12c., "large group of people," from Old French compagnie "society, friendship, intimacy; body of soldiers" (12c.), from Late Latin companio, literally "bread fellow, messmate," from Latin com "with, together" (see com-) + panis "bread," from PIE root *pa- "to feed."_

[@LindaC616]

@@danidejaneiro8378 ah, thanks. Weird that bread and food were equated

[@danidejaneiro8378]

@@LindaC616 - not if you think about the history of human civilisation

[@rna8arnold]

That's what company means 'com' is Latin for 'with' then 'pan' means bread. Thus we have with bread = company. Then go further you have companions who are friends you eat bread with. 👍

[@ixtacayaotl1205]

Hi! Wixárika/P'urhépecha before I reconnected with my tribe I learned Nahuatl and just wanted to drop in to correct the way you said Nahuatl. It happens a lot, but the way one would say the name of our the name of the language is Nah what, the L is silent at the end unless you wish to add a classical touch to the way one says it, then it would be Na-Wha-tl the TL make a click when said together but most of us just say Nah what

[@haelotny6523]

Thank you for clarifying 😊

[@PokhrajRoy.]

2:49 OMG i remember learning this in my Linguistics class. It brings back happy memories.

[@alphanum001]

I read about the story of the kiwifruit in a Reader's Digest article when I was a kid, but I never got to eat one until decades later. That's why I still call it as kiwifruit, and just learned of the shortening to kiwi in this video.

[@acerimmer8338]

I love this host! She's full of dad jokes and delivers them w/ enthusiastic verve.

[@lostpiperschild]

The Indian corn fact is interesting, as its still informally called 'inja corn' in Welsh but I'd never really thought what it meant. In English I'd typically call it corn on the cob or Sweetcorn, depending on how it's served.

[@matthuck378]

"Freedom fries" was hilarious. It was like that Simpsons episode with the food truck. "Falafel?" no..."Crunch patties!"

[@85jacob85]

The name was not shortened to kiwi in most countries. Especially here in New Zealand. We say kiwi fruit every time.

[@nach1man]

Omg, the "totally cool dude" part cracked me 😂😂😂 up... As always, great stuff 👌👍💯

[@JennieKermode]

Fries being chips in the UK, of course, and what North Americans call chips being crisps. Although our chips are somewhat larger and less crispy, so the word 'fries' has gradually been adopted here to refer to their skinny cousins..

[@Nygaard2]

Freedom Frisbee would be an AWESOME name for a dish!

[@vasp99]

Your info on corn is fascinating but I have to wonder how " corned " came to refer to pickled beef brisket .

[@danic9304]

It's because the large grains of rock salt used to treat it were called 'corns'

[@allangibson8494]

@@danic9304 Corned beef is actually treated with Salt Peter (natron, sodium nitrate) not rock salt.

[@chrisbrathwaite9393]

My favorite little food thing is the tropical fruit that I grew up calling ackee, but is apparently ONLY called that in Barbados. Every other english speaking caribbean island calls them gineps (spanish speaking ones call them quinepa). Ackee is instead a whole other fruit in the same family on other islands

[@beetlesaretrying4621]

I need Other Words to write a book, every episode is gold and tickles that special part of my brain that desperately needed to know why kiwis are called kiwis!

[@rna8arnold]

Correction sir they are called kiwifruit - just kidding...

[@rachell1794]

I really like that the famous Italian rum cake is named "zuppa inglese," which translates to "English soup" because it has so much rum xD

[@deadtechzach3776]

"Join the Movement"...oh, man. That was perfect.

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

Between you and RobWords, I can get my language geek on quite nicely!

[@frankmenchaca9993]

As Arta Johnson used to say on the Laugh in show "ver-r-ry interesting". Keep up the good work, Dr. B!

[@emmajauernig2080]

My favorite unexpected food etymology is the word “ketchup” which likely comes from a Hokkien word for a sauce made of pickled fish brine. When the word first came into use in English, it usually referred to any sauce made by mixing spices with other ingredients, which often included mushrooms or soy sauce. Somewhere along the line tomatoes got mixed up in all this and we have ketchup as we know it today.

[@grf15]

I could listen to the Dr. all day long. She always makes the content fun and interesting.

[@rna8arnold]

and she is very expressive with her face and hands she would be a good ASL signer.... 👍

[@freddyabba]

Great episode! A bit surprising she didn't mention that the Chinese 'qiyiguo' is a loanword from the English 'kiwifruit'

[@lauraketteridge324]

In the UK, we normally call it 'corn on the cob' or 'sweetcorn'.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

I’m so intrigued by this episode. The Bengali word for ‘tea’ is ‘cha’ which is also the Mandarin word for it.

[@animitasaha2245]

Not just that I think tea is also called cha in Korean and Japanese. Also, 'chai' which is Hindi for tea is also chai in Russian. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Also used in Britain a lot. When there used to be someone in offices to make tea and bring it around to the office workers, she was called the "charlady."

[@pandoraeeris7860]

So three cups of tea is 'cha cha cha'?

[@aegresen]

That likely is due to the high amount of trade between the Chinese and Indian subcontinent population. Words have a way of entering the lexicon due to trade. Glass/Gilash[Hindi/Nepali] is another example of word transference due to trade.

[@filopat67]

People who got their tea via the Silk Road call it by variations of chai, people who got their tea by ships call it by variations of tea.

[@StCrimson667]

Oh, funny thing about food names in Canada! XD Canada actually have VERY stringent food standards and food advertising standards and that actually, of course, has caused some problems, especially with immigrant cuisine. Toronto in the 60s and 70s brought in a MASSIVE wave of immigration and transformed the city from what had once been a very white, WASPy city to the cultural mosaic that it is today and, of course, immigrants would often set up food shops and sell their native cuisine. One of the first communities to do this was Jamaican immigrants, selling patties. Well, the food safety board of Ontario decided in 1985 to crack down on these new businesses and told the patty sellers of Toronto that they had to change the name "patty" because, in Ontario food standards, a "patty" is made of meat, fat, and spices with nothing else added and, since Jamaican patties were wrapped in pastry, they couldn't sell them as "patties" so they had to either change the name or face fines for false advertising. This, of course, infuriated Toronto's Jamaican community, to the point of even contacting the Jamaican embassy to complain about it so much that the Jamaican embassy almost couldn't function from all the calls! XD This was especially bad because it just so happened that the Prime Minister at the time, Brian Mulroney, was due to have a diplomatic trip to Jamaica and this issue had even made it to the FRONT PAGE of Jamaican newspapers! Needless to say, a solution needed to be found before the trip so representatives from the food safety board and the Jamaican patty sellers sat down and the patty sellers eventually proposed a solution, they would specify that they were selling "Jamaican patties" and so would not be in violation of the food safety standards. The food safety board agreed and so hence Jamaican-style patties are known as "Jamaican patties" are here and have since become a beloved food all across the province. If you want to know how beloved, I grew up in a backwater, poverty-riddled city and my high school cafeteria sold Jamaican patties to the students, they were probably the third most popular food there after the pizza and french fries!

[@eddierayvanlynch6133]

Jerk chicken patties are awesome 👍😎

[@CaineDM1955]

I'd heard long ago that "PUMPERNICKEL" had a Germanic origin. According to this story, 'pumper' was an old-fashioned word for "breaking wind", & one of many euphemisms for the Devil was "Old Nick", so from this, we conclude that this member of the Rye family of bread-grains was so VERY coarse that it could cause even "Old Nick" himself to fart!

[@moonhunter9993]

good story!

[@tehguitarque]

6:04 suddenly it's the 90s and my bowels are moving quickly to the beat as I contemplate the uni I am about to eat.

[@adrianblake8876]

5:50 In hebrew prunes (and plums in general) always had their moment in the sun, as the words for plum and the sun's gaze have the same root. (And the Hebrew Language Academy uses the same image of a plum sunbathing due to this on its webpage...)

[@matthewjkhill6657]

Hey Dr. B, when are we going to get another Otherwords video? They're great!

[@sukabanfoxes]

One of my favorite series on KZbin 🥺

[@MrGotropic]

BC Canadian "Dog Fish" (a small Brown Shark) Their bellies meat were cut out and smoked and sold in the UK as "Rock Salmon".

[@kaushalsuvarna5156]

I love this host, and the title track, very addictive

[@davidpumpkinsjr.5108]

I mess with people by telling them that burritos got their name because they originally contained donkey meat. They typically respond with skepticism, but there's always that little hint of belief because it sounds just true enough to be real. The Danish name for Danishes is "wienerbrød" which literally means "Viennese bread" because they originated in Austria.

[@geo1729]

That’s hilarious 😂

[@austingreen1274]

Just discovered your channel. Verrrry informative!

[@edwardrhoades6957]

5:40 "Prune juice, chilled. A warrior's drink."

[@AnotherGradus]

lol the 6:04 Eric Andre "Ranch it up!!!" moment

[@Anaguma79]

3:47 The Welsh are British. You're looking for "the English."

[@ldbarthel]

You did NOT just say that. Just because Britain annexed Wales does not make the Welsh "British". (Says the man who's in-laws are Welsh...)

[@WanderTheNomad]

@@ldbarthel What's the difference between the English and the British then?

[@Anaguma79]

@@ldbarthel kzbin.info/www/bejne/qH_YaYt6d7ihZ5I

[@Lucius1958]

@@WanderTheNomad 'British': essentially Celtic peoples, who inhabited the British isles before the Roman occupation. That makes the Welsh, imho, British: Old Welsh is a Celtic language, closely akin to Old British. 'English': Germanic peoples, who immigrated and occupied Britain after the Romans left.

[@eddierayvanlynch6133]

This thread was (pun intended) excellent food for thought Thanks for posting

[@whilykitt]

This show is hilarious! I'm dyslexic so I usually just skip these ones but like absolutely checking out your other videos, this is so cool!

[@Sgt-Gravy]

This was fun! I'm just wishing there was more definitive answers to the story bits. I always hated cliffhangers. 🙃

[@berserkirclaws107]

Aren't we easy to manipulate 🤣🤣🤣 Another great video from PBS 👍

[@reichen666]

oh I just love this channel ! And Dr. Erica is such a cool & amazing educator ! And she looks like a Filipina ! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤍💖

[@squeaknsqurriel7060]

When it comes to shortening the name to kiwis, that isn't something we do in New Zealand. Probably because a kiwi is what we call ourselves and our bird, so when an American says that they are eating a kiwi it sounds really weird

[@beeveearr]

Horrifying if you consider it sounds like they're eating an endangered flightless bird or a human

[@ILikedGooglePlus]

In the UK, to keep it straight, we call the fruits "kiwis", the birds "Flying Kiwis", and the people "Australians"

[@eileenbutterfly7856]

@@ILikedGooglePlus But they're not Australian.

[@allanrichardson3135]

Like reading the label on a bottle of “baby oil?”

[@mamingakuri2436]

@@ILikedGooglePlus and also kiwis don’t fly

[@meteorplum]

An American friend who grew up in Buenos Aires before coming back to the US to go to college tells the story of meeting her new roommates during freshman orientation week, and them suggesting that they go out for tacos. My friend was very confused about why they should go eat shoe heels.

[@ericktellez7632]

The shoes specifically used for sports mostly soccer have spikes in the heels those heels are called tacos or taquetes

[@purplealice]

Worf: "Prune juice.... a warrior's drink."

[@JeighNeither]

You just know Dr. Brozovsky would be a blast to have around at parties... as long as they're not Scrabble parties.

[@jasonwhite3101]

The Welsh Rabbit my Father made always contained Worcestershire Sauce also. Great episode as always Thanks ✌

[@luisespineira9882]

Interesting as always Erica. Great job. 👏👏👏

[@markredacted8547]

I absolutely love this Erica, I feel like you would be super interesting to have a cuppa with and talk all things linguistics. Your episodes always leave me wanting to know more great job 😁

[@crushivintage]

Wonderful hostess and lessons. Great content! I love it.

[@michaelkawano1951]

Love the episode, love the channel, and love you!

[@Taricus]

6:00 You made me choke on my drink LOL!

[@jasonhorn901]

Let's 'dig in.' I see what you did there. LOVE IT!!!

[@gostovahs8121]

This show is my legit favorite thing on youtube!! lol, it's funny as a kid I hated PBS and wanted to just consume commercial garbage, now as a middle-aged man I'm all about these kinds of things :P

[@pookalobster3]

This is awesome!! As a chef and aspiring linguist this checks all my boxes!!!!

[@RenatoTartuce]

I love this show so much! Very helpful to use in class!

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Linguistics and Material Anthropology and it pertains to food? You have my attention.

[@moonhunter9993]

Absolutely hilarious and great information!

[@dalekman8945]

This channel rocks. great ep!

[@rachelk4805]

"Totally regular" "Join the movement" is not what I expected from PBS 🤣

[@drzecelectric4302]

Love this. Thanks!

[@therealelement75]

0:34 freedom frisbee is honestly something someone would only say just to make people annoyed, like calling GIF "Golf India Foxtrot"

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Omg this was so much fun. A great video 👏🏽

[@NZDLo]

Kiwi fruit are not called “kiwis” in all Western countries - NZ calls them kiwifruit. Primarily because “kiwi” refers to either the bird or the people here.

[@allangibson8494]

Ditto in Australia. Probably because half the New Zealand population lives there (at least periodically).

[@hailstorm2026]

Very cool. I learned so much!

[@MrKlonam]

Funny how what Americans call Peppers and called Chillis/Capsicum in other English dialects. Same with the Aubergine/Eggplant split or Cilantro/Coriander

[@flashrogue4376]

I get so excited everytime your videos pop up in my feed.. I wish I had more like buttons to smash

[@jonathanwilliams6913]

I actually lol'd at "Freedom Frisbee". 🤣

[@user-kk4zw5jo4t]

Fantastic video, I thoroughly enjoyed that 👍