Advertise on podcast: Etymoleon - Word History, the etymology podcast.

Three years and over 120 episodes in, this podcast will be taking an extended break until the end of the year.  Please leave a rating or review in your podcast app and stay subscribed for future episodes.  Get in touch: https://etymoleon.com.

An Italian folk dance has origins in medieval beliefs about a spider bite. Japanese folklore has a shapeshifting spider that lures young men. An 18th century illustration is behind the name of one of the world's largest spiders.   Alongside these histories, this episode uncovers the origins of words such as cobweb, Anansi, matriphagy, tarantula, Jorogumo, arachnomelia, chelated and autotomy.   Transition sound by https://audionautix.com    -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCsHkU-TH3Y  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nWba9Ii5Lo  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvUHcsZOhJ8  https://www.bbcearth.com/factfiles/animals/insects-arachnids/black-widow  https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/maria-sibylla-merian-metamorphosis-art-and-science.html  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3unTLVQvTjM

A 13th century city restricted the movements of glassmakers to protect valuable production secrets. For much of history, reading aloud was more common than reading silently in the mind. An early music player without a volume control may have inspired a popular phrase.  Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as divulge, recite, endophasia, expose, radio silence and schtum.  Transition sound by https://audionautix.com  - https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/47746/save-libraries-by-changing-them  https://qz.com/quartzy/1118580/the-beginning-of-silent-reading-was-also-the-beginning-of-an-interior-life  https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/why-do-we-say-mums-the-word/  https://uk.pcmag.com/operating-systems/135023/the-rise-of-dos-how-microsoft-got-the-ibm-pc-os-contract  https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jul/07/marketingandpr.drink  https://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/brief-history-murano-glass-told-expert

A 4,000-year-old carving may be one of the oldest maps in Europe. A west coast American state appeared as an island on maps for centuries. An African territory remains unclaimed because colonial boundary agreements make ownership disadvantageous for both neighbouring countries.  Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as atlas, treaty, latitude, California, occident, plagiarism and condominium.  Transition sound by https://audionautix.com  - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56648055  https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/world-book  https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/departures/california-calafia-khalif-the-origin-of-the-name-california  https://blogs.loc.gov/maps/2020/06/hy-brasil-the-supernatural-island/  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/03/welcome-to-the-land-that-no-country-wants-bir-tawil  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1203480.stm  https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/stories/design/mapping-london-iconic-tube-map  https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tutorials/what-are-charles-booths-poverty-maps

This podcast returns on July 12th 2026. A 19th century decision involving 24 rabbits reshaped an entire continent. The inventor of an explosive became synonymous with peace. A president's speech turned a game into a metaphor for consequence.  Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as sequela, corollary, irruption, repercussion and domino.  Transition sound by https://audionautix.com   - https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/rabbits-introduced  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/23/australias-rabbit-invasion-traced-back-to-single-importation-of-24-animals-in-1859-study-finds  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSCeqt5im-A  https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/history/how-dynamite-spawned-nobel-prizes

This podcast returns on June 28th 2026. An experiment suggests most people would rather give themselves an electric shock than sit alone with boredom. Excavations reveal students were being punished with the monotony of writing lines thousands of years ago. The computer game millions of office workers have used to kill time was created by an intern. Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as monotony, ennui, onychophagy, ad nauseam, flâneur, meander and cliché. Transition sound by https://audionautix.com   - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orQKfIXMiA8 https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/60360466 https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/a-noble-experiment-how-solitary-came-to-america/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/travel/article/20191027-the-word-that-encapsulates-frenchness https://finance.yahoo.com/news/guy-wrote-windows-solitaire-did-231250280.html

A Hollywood actress's workout helped drive sales of VCRs. A video rental chain laughed at the chance to buy a future streaming giant. Video replay transformed how NFL referees judged the game. Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as betamax, footage, record, kinescope, bootleg, blockbuster and leotard. Transition sound by https://audionautix.com   - https://www.wipo.int/en/web/wipo-magazine/articles/50-years-of-the-video-cassette-recorder-35495 https://janefonda.com/the-workout/ https://www.oed.com/discover/revision-bootleg https://time.com/5776406/blockbuster-meaning/ https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/sep/14/netflix-marc-randolph-founder-blockbuster https://operations.nfl.com/officiating/instant-replay/history-of-instant-replay

A queen travelled with her dead husband's corpse, reportedly opening the coffin along the journey to kiss his feet. The rejection of repeated marriage proposals may have helped shape some of a poet's best work. Studies suggest pheromones can influence how discerning people are when judging the attractiveness of others. Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as callipygian, panache, olfactophilia, limerence, pulchritude, uxorious and sillage. Transition sound by https://audionautix.com   - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3oCuFRk09w https://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligo/lifestyle/yeats-and-gonne-a-love-story/40066934.html https://www.tutor2u.net/psychology/reference/relationships-physical-attractiveness

This podcast returns on May 31st 2026. A rejected advance gives rise to a false accusation. Twins are born, each to a different father. A king kills his nephews and serves them at a feast. Greek mythology is full of controversial tales.  Alongside these mythological stories, this episode traces the origins of words such as oppugn, vitriol, infandous, cannibal, inveigh, lurid and obscene.  Transition sound by https://audionautix.com  - https://www.greekmythology.com/  https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2018/dec/11/one-set-twins-two-fathers-how-common-is-superfecundation  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHY1HxWadeo

Morphine was first drawn out of opium in 1806 and is named after a god of dreams. Egyptian remedies recorded ingredients that seem hard to take seriously, though some echo ideas later seen in aspirin and penicillin. A gunshot wound would go on to help a 19th century surgeon understand how the body digests food.  Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as analgesic, febrifuge, hospital, accoucheur, PRN and clinic.  Transition sound by https://audionautix.com  - https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/41595/pg41595-images.html https://www.geriwalton.com/bonesetters-joint-manipulators-and-musculoskeletal-fixers/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-19012179 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/21/magazine/the-lives-they-lived-dana-raphael.html https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772609624000261 https://becker.wustl.edu/news/william-beaumonts-momentous-and-unethical-experiments/

This podcast returns on May 10th 2026. A musician discovered Uranus, a Hollywood actress developed military technology, and a statesman invented bifocal glasses. Names such as Spencer, Marshall and Stewart trace their origins back to occupations. The son of Britain's first prime minister held a series of sinecures, roles that offered status and income for little or no work.  Alongside these histories, this episode traces the origins of words such as dilettante, empleomania, gaffer, thrasonical, lucubrate and ambition.  History Daily - https://www.historydaily.com  Transition sound by https://audionautix.com  - https://www.historytoday.com/archive/horace-walpole-gothick-man-letters/1000  https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/know-the-ropes.html

To burke is to kill by strangulation, a word taken from the name of a 19th century murderer. In Anglo-Saxon England, a killing could be settled with payment through the wergild, a sum paid by the offender to the victim's family. In France, a petty criminal would go on to become one of the first figures to resemble a modern detective.  Alongside these histories, this episode explores the origins of words such as assassin, scelerate, culprit, trucidate and lucre.  Transition sound by https://audionautix.com  -  https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zvrsydm#zhxbcmn  https://biomedical-sciences.ed.ac.uk/anatomy/anatomical-museum/collection/people/burke  https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/eugene-francois-vidocq-and-the-birth-of-the-detective/  https://blog.oup.com/2015/08/word-etymology-culprit/  https://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/content/articles/2006/04/11/local_heroes_doctor_william_palmer_feature.shtml

This episode investigates obscure words for conversations about bizarre histories, considering their origins and familiar words from the same root. Words explored include diluvial, nundination, expetible, tripudiate, mucilaginous, delitescent and redhibition.  Hear a collection of strange moments from the past, from a deadly latrine collapse in Erfurt to a speculative frenzy over tulips, a mysterious dancing outbreak, and a city flooded with molasses.  Sources: https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/erfurt-latrine-disaster-what-happened/  https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20160419-tulip-mania-the-flowers-that-cost-more-than-houses  https://www.britannica.com/event/dancing-plague-of-1518  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/molasses-flood-physics-science/  Transition sound by https://audionautix.com

This podcast returns on April 12th 2026. This episode explores unusual words for conversations about chance, examining their origins and recognisable words from the same root. Words covered include incertitude, vicissitude, pari-mutuel, fortuity, aleatory and serendipity.  Plus, hear how some public offices in ancient Greece were filled by lottery rather than election, reflecting a belief that randomness could serve as a safeguard against corruption.  Sources:  https://ccel.org/ccel/gibbon/decline/decline.viii.xli.html  https://www.gutenberg.org/files/9105/9105-h/9105-h.htm  https://blog.oup.com/2016/03/sortition-ancient-greece-democracy  Transition sound by https://audionautix.com

This episode examines uncommon words for conversations about fixity, exploring their origins and familiar words from the same root. Words featured include intransigent, obdurate, adamantine, indelible, obstinate and irrevocable.  Hear how a wartime survey of buildings at risk of bombing led to Britain's listed building system, granting certain structures legal protection designed to secure their permanence.   Sources:  https://grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/09/crying-over-spilled-milk.html  https://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/abeswlgbt.html  https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/targets-of-enemy-bombers-and-our-own-demolition-men-1598384.html  https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/about-the-list/  Transition sound by https://audionautix.com