#etymology

@ancientsounds@mastodonapp.uk · Dec 14, 2022

My audio etymology simulations are collected at http://ancientsounds.net I'm also compiling, correcting and extending past posts on 🐦 (I left there before X) and 🐘 about those audio etymologies into an alphabetically-ordered blog, so that we can look up examples: http://ancientsounds.net/blog.html #acoustics #phonetics #audio #etymology #philology #Proto-Indo-European #EnglishLanguage #linguistics

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Naomi P

@gannet@sunny.garden · May 01, 2026

I was discussing thimbles when I suddenly wondered about the word’s etymology. It’s clearly not the same as the German fingerhut (finger hat), and I guessed that it’s something to do with the thumb. So it is. It’s “thumb” plus an instrumental suffix, “-el”, which is added to a root to make a tool name. (I wish we still had -el as a productive morpheme in English.) https://www.etymonline.com/word/thimble 1/2 #etymology #tools #sewing

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𝔸𝕟𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕤 🔉

@ancientsounds@mastodonapp.uk · Apr 28, 2026

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 English "cow" comes from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeh₃-u-s [gwous], perhaps something like this (listen): 🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/cow-from-PIE-gwous.wav which also developed into Dari گاو [gau] and Persian گاو [gov]: 🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-gwous-to-Persian-gov.wav and very many other Indo-European languages, such as Ancient Greek βοῦς [bous]: 🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-gwous-to-Ancient-Greek-bous.wav Image source: https://faradeed.ir/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%88-35/186305-%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%AF%D8%A6%D9%88-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A2%D8%B0%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%86-%DA%86%DA%AF%D9%88%D9%86%D9%87-%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%B1-%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%88-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D9%BE%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AF%D9%86-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%BE%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%84-%D9%85%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D9%86%D9%86%D8%AF @linguistics #linguistics #etymology #EnglishLanguage #AcousticPhonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian #Dari #AncientGreek

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𝔸𝕟𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕤 🔉

@ancientsounds@mastodonapp.uk · Apr 17, 2026

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 English "bellows" and "belly" come via Anglo-Saxon beliġ and Proto-Germanic *balgi- from Proto-Indo-European *bʰólǵʰ- "bag", perhaps something like this (listen): 🔊 bellows-from-PIE-bholgh.wav This simulation of *bʰólǵʰ- has initial [b], not [bʱ], as it's computed from recordings of Irish bolg, "bag", also a cognate. The same PIE root developed into Persian بالش bālish "pillow", like this: 🔊 PIE-bholgh-to-Persian-balesh.wav Related words are found in other Iranian languages, e.g. Pashto بالښت balacht, Ossetian baʒ/baz, as well as in Slavic, e.g. Slovenian blazina. When I originally posted about this in November 2021, the linguist Magnus Pharao @magnuspharao.bsky.social pointed out that Danish bælg (seed pod of legumes and bellows) is also a cognate! @linguistics #linguistics #etymology #EnglishLanguage #AcousticPhonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian

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𝔸𝕟𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕤 🔉

@ancientsounds@mastodonapp.uk · Apr 14, 2026

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 The English word "ankle" comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eng-ul- [aŋgʊl], the stem *h₂eng- meaning perhaps "joint". Listen: 🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/ankle-from-PIE-h2eng.wav In Persian *h₂eng- developed into انگشت angusht, "digit" i.e. finger or toe: 🔊 https://www.ancientsounds.net/eastern-origins/PIE-h2eng-to-Persian-angusht.wav @linguistics #linguistics #etymology #englishlanguage #acousticphonetics #phonetics #ProtoIndoEuropean #Iranian #Persian

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Deborah Pickett

@futzle@old.mermaid.town · Feb 18, 2026

Today’s fun English suffix is “-age”, a very flexible nounifier. “-age” can be stuck on a verb to mean “the thing that is verbed”. Luggage, coverage, appendage, wreckage. It can be stuck on a verb to mean “the place where verb happens”. Storage, carriage, anchorage. It can be stuck on an adjective or even another noun to abstract the word’s core concept. Shortage, postage, percentage, roughage, leverage. It can go on a concrete noun to refer to the noun’s quality collectively. Peerage, sewerage (all the pipes), footage (length of film), mileage. Then there are words which look like they might have an “-age” suffix but it’s just a coincidence. Sausage, message, advantage. #etymology #english #language

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