Etymoleon - Word History, the etymology podcast.

This podcast returns on February 22nd 2026. This episode examines lesser-known words for discussions about Precision, looking at their origins and familiar words from the same root. Words explored include punctilious, ad litteram, cavilling, facsimile, pettifogging and fastidious.

Find out when systems of measurement moved from regional variation to global uniformity.

Sources:
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/20686987-candelabra-selected-essays-and-addresses 

https://wordhistories.net/2018/02/04/scruple-origin/ 

https://kmbs.konicaminolta.us/blog/new-facts-about-fax-in-healthcare/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bUVjJWA6Vw 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-51198666 

Transition sound by https://audionautix.com

This episode explores uncommon words for discussions about Power, examining their origins and familiar words from the same root. Words highlighted include recrudescence, lese-majeste, contumacious, de facto, seditious and arrogate.

Hear how the transfer of royal power was not always determined by birth.

Sources:
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/King-Stephen-Anarchy/
https://debretts.com/royal-family/the-royal-succession/ 
https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199791279/obo-9780199791279-0046.xml 
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73906.txt.utf-8 
https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2009-07-09/debates/09070996000389/CoronersAndJusticeBill 
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/biog207883 
https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/john-gaunt-duke-lancaster-who-facts-family-children-legacy/ 

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This episode covers rare words for conversations about Time, exploring their origins and recognisable words from the same root. Words featured include desultory, ephemeral, dilatory, tarry, exigent and evitable.

Listen for the history of how time, once determined locally, became standardised across Britain with the emergence of the railway.

Sources:
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/387/294/ 
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/1/1/ 
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/give-us-ballot-address-delivered-prayer-pilgrimage-freedom 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TbLTpR0njo 

Transition sound by https://audionautix.com

This podcast returns late January 2026. This episode begins with why Christmas carols were banned in the 17th century, and how the word carol comes from a French term for a dance performed by singers. Words like ditty, jingle and number are all used to describe Christmas songs, with number tracing back to theatre running orders. The episode also examines the etymologies of words found in carol lyrics, including gaily, orient, stranger and abhor, which shares a root with horrible and horrid. Instruments associated with Christmas sounds feature too, from bells and organs to the lesser known shawm, carillon and celeste, whose name comes from the French word for heavenly.

This time we're getting into terms of etiquette and the origins of certain expected behaviours, starting with the word etiquette itself, which shares a root with ticket because rules of behaviour were once written on small tabs. There are many theories about why placing your elbows on the table is considered rude, with one explanation linked to the need for stability. Forks were originally viewed as pretentious tools before becoming symbols of proper dining. In this context protocol refers to the formal rules that govern conduct, and its etymology goes back to the 'first page' of a document, from ancient Greek roots meaning first and glue. The episode also uncovers the origins of terms describing poor behaviour, including crude, vulgar, uncouth and boorish, the last of which is linked to the Dutch, along with expressions such as hoity-toity, toffee-nosed and la-di-da.