Latin had six noun cases, but in all Romance languages except Romanian, nouns and adjectives only have one singular form and one plural form left. What happened? This extra large infographic tells you how the Latin case system collapsed – and why it's the accusative case that lives on in Romance.

Latin had six noun cases, but in all Romance languages except Romanian, nouns and adjectives only have one singular form and one plural form left. What happened? This extra large infographic tells you how the Latin case system collapsed – and why it's the accusative case that lives on in Romance.

Today, my etymological doublet series is coming to an end with an episode on German, on request of several people. The orange German words on the right have the same origin as the blue ones on the right, but they took a very different path. Many of the examples are courtesy of Matthieu Pierens.

Today, my etymological doublet series is coming to an end with an episode on German, on request of several people. The orange German words on the right have the same origin as the blue ones on the right, but they took a very different path. Many of the examples are courtesy of Matthieu Pierens.

The English word ‘shirt’ has the same origin as ‘skirt’. While ‘shirt’ directly stems from Proto-Germanic *skurtijōn, ‘skirt’ was borrowed from its Old Norse descendant. Here’s number 10 in my doublet series: English doublets with a Germanic origin. Tomorrow: German. I started this series ... 1/

The English word ‘shirt’ has the same origin as ‘skirt’. While ‘shirt’ directly stems from Proto-Germanic *skurtijōn, ‘skirt’ was borrowed from its Old Norse descendant. Here’s number 10 in my doublet series: English doublets with a Germanic origin. Tomorrow: German. I started this series ... 1/

The Dutch words ‘zolder’ (“attic”) and ‘solarium’ (“tanning salon”) are doublets: they both stem from Latin ‘sōlārium’ (“roof terrace”). Dutch ‘solarium’ is a late borrowing, while ‘zolder’ was borrowed into the Germanic ancestor of Dutch. Here’s number 9 in my series: Dutch doublets from Latin.

The Dutch words ‘zolder’ (“attic”) and ‘solarium’ (“tanning salon”) are doublets: they both stem from Latin ‘sōlārium’ (“roof terrace”). Dutch ‘solarium’ is a late borrowing, while ‘zolder’ was borrowed into the Germanic ancestor of Dutch. Here’s number 9 in my series: Dutch doublets from Latin.

The Galician words ‘palabra’ (“word”) and ‘parábola’ (“parable; parabola”) are so-called doublets: they stem from the same word, Latin ‘parabolam’. ‘Palabra’ was inherited from spoken Latin, while ‘parábola’ is a late borrowing from written Latin. Here’s episode 8 of my doublet series: Galician.

The Galician words ‘palabra’ (“word”) and ‘parábola’ (“parable; parabola”) are so-called doublets: they stem from the same word, Latin ‘parabolam’. ‘Palabra’ was inherited from spoken Latin, while ‘parábola’ is a late borrowing from written Latin. Here’s episode 8 of my doublet series: Galician.

The Catalan word ‘metzina’ means “poison”. It stems from the same Latin word as ‘medicina’, meaning “medicine”. ‘Metzina’ was inherited from spoken Latin, while ‘medicina’ is a late borrowing from written Latin. Pairs like this are called doublets. Episode 7 of my series: Catalan. Next: Galician.

The Catalan word ‘metzina’ means “poison”. It stems from the same Latin word as ‘medicina’, meaning “medicine”. ‘Metzina’ was inherited from spoken Latin, while ‘medicina’ is a late borrowing from written Latin. Pairs like this are called doublets. Episode 7 of my series: Catalan. Next: Galician.

38/40 Die goeie ouwe taal by @yvanspijk.bsky.social . Excellent book about the often surprising paths of etymology of every day words and expressions in Dutch. Highly recommended if you can read Dutch!

Romanian ‘femeie’ (woman) and ‘familie’ (family) are doublets: they both stem from Latin ‘familiam’. ‘Femeie’ was inherited from spoken Latin, undergoing the typically Romanian sound changes – and a pecular meaning shift! ‘Familie’ was borrowed from written Latin. Number 6 in my series: Romanian!

Romanian ‘femeie’ (woman) and ‘familie’ (family) are doublets: they both stem from Latin ‘familiam’. ‘Femeie’ was inherited from spoken Latin, undergoing the typically Romanian sound changes – and a pecular meaning shift! ‘Familie’ was borrowed from written Latin. Number 6 in my series: Romanian!

Portuguese put the words it inherited from Latin through a lot of fascinating sound changes. This becomes extra clear when you compare them to later borrowings of the same Latin word: ‘chão’ and ‘plano’ both come from Latin ‘plānum’! Here’s episode 5 of my 10-part series. Tomorrow: Romanian.

Portuguese put the words it inherited from Latin through a lot of fascinating sound changes. This becomes extra clear when you compare them to later borrowings of the same Latin word: ‘chão’ and ‘plano’ both come from Latin ‘plānum’! Here’s episode 5 of my 10-part series. Tomorrow: Romanian.

'Toegepaste magie': anders dan de theoretische magie gaat dit om ervaringsleren voor praktisch geschoolden. Middelmatige hbo-magie met maatschappelijk nut. Maar: iedereen magisch opgeleid!

Tsja, rekenen ze voor mij ramen? Dat is de vraag. Ik denk dat ik niet voldoende interessen heb om whatsapp te sturen.

Poverty can be a headache. ‘Micragna’, the Italian descendant of Latin ‘hēmicrānia’ (migraine), evolved to to mean “poverty”. Later, ‘hēmicrānia’ was borrowed from Latin, becoming ‘emicrania’ - a doublet of ‘micragna’. Here’s episode 4 of my 10-part doublet series: Italian. Tomorrow: Portuguese.

Someone said that France was nestled in Europe. So I said "I believe it's Switzerland that's Nestléd in Europe".

Poverty can be a headache. ‘Micragna’, the Italian descendant of Latin ‘hēmicrānia’ (migraine), evolved to to mean “poverty”. Later, ‘hēmicrānia’ was borrowed from Latin, becoming ‘emicrania’ - a doublet of ‘micragna’. Here’s episode 4 of my 10-part doublet series: Italian. Tomorrow: Portuguese.

Most Spanish words come from Latin, but did you know there are 2 different types? Words inherited from spoken Latin vs. words borrowed from written Latin during the Middle Ages and after. Some words took both routes, creating doublets. Here’s episode 3 of my 10-part doublet series. Next: Italian.

The French word ‘employer’ (to emploi) has the same origin as ‘impliquer’ (to imply). The former was inherited from Latin, while the latter was borrowed from it later. They’re called doublets. Stay tuned for doublets in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, Galician, Dutch and English.

TU Delft maakt pijnbestrijding voor vrouwen wereldwijd simpeler en veel goedkoper, maar het demissionaire Kabinet heeft blijkbaar geen €100.000 meer liggen voor drie cruciale stappen en dus loopt er nu een crowdfunding Er is op dit moment nog maar € 3370 binnen! www.supporttudelft.nl/project/chloe

another good one i recently learned about via a Medieval Latin reading is "ransom", from Fr. rançon, < Latin redemptiō(nem), making it a doublet of "redemption"/rédemption

Plicare (“to fold”) and its compounds are some of the most common doublets and I teach my Latin students about them all the time! Sometimes they use different meanings of the prefix reply (re = back), replicate (re = again) sometimes different objects imply (ideas) implicate (people). Fascinating!

2/ Here's the second episode: bsky.app/profile/yvan...

The French word ‘employer’ (to emploi) has the same origin as ‘impliquer’ (to imply). The former was inherited from Latin, while the latter was borrowed from it later. They’re called doublets. Stay tuned for doublets in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, Galician, Dutch and English.

Many English words stem from Latin. But did you know there are Latin words that ended up in English two times - in two different forms? These are called doublets. Over the next days, you'll see doublets in French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, Galician, Dutch, and English again.

Many English words stem from Latin. But did you know there are Latin words that ended up in English two times - in two different forms? These are called doublets. Over the next days, you'll see doublets in French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, Galician, Dutch, and English again.

The word ‘whore’ is etymologically related to ‘charity’, ‘to caress’, ‘to cherish’, as well as Romance words such as French ‘cher’ and Spanish ‘caro’, which mean “dear”. They all stem from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning “desired; loved”. Zoom in on my new graphic to discover their stories:

The word ‘whore’ is etymologically related to ‘charity’, ‘to caress’, ‘to cherish’, as well as Romance words such as French ‘cher’ and Spanish ‘caro’, which mean “dear”. They all stem from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning “desired; loved”. Zoom in on my new graphic to discover their stories:

Huidverzorgingstaal: een vreemde mix van Nederlandse en Engelse kreten, spelfouten en onbestaande woorden. Verzorg jij ook zo graag je dermo?

The English word ‘sad’ is related to ‘to satisfy’, ‘to satiate’, ‘saturation’ and ‘asset’. They all come from a root meaning “to satiate”. ‘Sæd’, the Old English ancestor of ‘sad’, meant “sated; full; weary”. Only much later did it come to mean “sorrowful”. Zoom in to learn all about this family:

The English word ‘sad’ is related to ‘to satisfy’, ‘to satiate’, ‘saturation’ and ‘asset’. They all come from a root meaning “to satiate”. ‘Sæd’, the Old English ancestor of ‘sad’, meant “sated; full; weary”. Only much later did it come to mean “sorrowful”. Zoom in to learn all about this family:

One of my favourite examples is 'biceps', both in English and in Dutch. In Latin, 'biceps' consists of 'bi-' (two), 'cep-' (head), and '-s' (case ending): "two-headed". However, since the 1800s, 'biceps' has been reanalysed as a plural and given a new singular: 'bicep'. The Latin plural is ... 1/

One of my favourite examples is 'biceps', both in English and in Dutch. In Latin, 'biceps' consists of 'bi-' (two), 'cep-' (head), and '-s' (case ending): "two-headed". However, since the 1800s, 'biceps' has been reanalysed as a plural and given a new singular: 'bicep'. The Latin plural is ... 1/

Some people vocally oppose using ‘data’ and ‘panini’ as singular nouns, saying they come from plural nouns. That’s true, but that also goes for ‘marvel’ and ‘joy’: they used to be plural too. And ‘cherries’ and ‘peas’ used to be singular. Zoom in to learn all about this phenomenon: reanalysis.

Some people vocally oppose using ‘data’ and ‘panini’ as singular nouns, saying they come from plural nouns. That’s true, but that also goes for ‘marvel’ and ‘joy’: they used to be plural too. And ‘cherries’ and ‘peas’ used to be singular. Zoom in to learn all about this phenomenon: reanalysis.

Daar zijn wij het woord voor woord mee eens! :) Te bestellen via onzetaalwebwinkel.nl/boeken-24/wo... - of als je lid bent van Onze Taal: onzetaalwebwinkel.nl/ledenvoordee...

Niet om het een of ander, maar die @yvanspijk.bsky.social maakt mooie boekjes. Voor onder, in of desnoods in plaats van de kerstboom.

@yvanspijk.bsky.social kwam vandaag met het lezen van wat een woord dat ik niet kende "maint", uit de context was het wel duidelijk dat het "menig" betekende, maar ik vond het leuk dat het dus ook echt gewoon ontleent is uit menigte! Dat leek me er eentje voor jou :-) en.wiktionary.org/wiki/maint

The fact that the English city of Worcester is pronounced with only 2 syllables may seem odd, but what's really wild is that it comes from an Old English name that had 5 syllables and 15 letters. Watch my video to hear it evolve:

The fact that the English city of Worcester is pronounced with only 2 syllables may seem odd, but what's really wild is that it comes from an Old English name that had 5 syllables and 15 letters. Watch my video to hear it evolve:

Het woord 'wijn' vind je in Noord-Brabant in zeven gedaantes terug. In dit draadje vertel ik er alles over:

Het woord 'wijn' vind je in Noord-Brabant in zeven gedaantes terug. In dit draadje vertel ik er alles over:

Dutch has a fascinating word for "law": 'wet'. It comes from Proto-Germanic *witōþan. Its meaning is reconstructed as "that which is observed". Old High German had 'wiʒʒōd', Gothic 'witōþ'. They're related to *witanan, the ancestor of 'to wit', Dutch 'weten', and German 'wissen', all "to know".

Dutch has a fascinating word for "law": 'wet'. It comes from Proto-Germanic *witōþan. Its meaning is reconstructed as "that which is observed". Old High German had 'wiʒʒōd', Gothic 'witōþ'. They're related to *witanan, the ancestor of 'to wit', Dutch 'weten', and German 'wissen', all "to know".

The word ‘law’ is connected with ‘legal’, but etymologically they’re entirely unrelated. ‘Law’ is related to the verbs ‘to lie’ and ‘to lay’. It comes from a Germanic word meaning “things that are laid out”. ‘Legal’ is related to ‘loyal’. Both derive from Latin ‘lēx’ (law). Zoom in to learn more: