Etymoleon - Word History, the etymology podcast.
Word History is a podcast for people who enjoy words and history.
Each episode takes a small set of words linked to a theme. You'll hear what they mean, where they come from and which familiar words share the same linguistic roots, along with stories from the past related to their use.
Listen for words that sharpen expression, and brief histories that show how ideas and practices, as well as language, took shape. Across an archive of more than a hundred episodes, you'll find explanations of word, name and phrase origins.
The majority of etymologies featured return to Old English, Ancient Greek, Latin and Old French, providing a look into languages of the past that underpin English.
New episodes on Sundays.
Get in touch: https://etymoleon.com
Etymoleon is produced by Leon Bailey-Green.
Episodes
126 episodes
126. Silence
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 in...
125. Maps
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 disadvantageou...
124. Consequences
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.&nb...
123. Boredom
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 ...
122. VCR
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 trac...
121. Attraction
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 in...
120. Mythology II: Controversy
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.
119. Nursing
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 ...
118. Work | History Daily: Henry Ford's Five-Day Week
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 occupation...
117. Murder
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 pe...
116. Bizarre
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 a...
115. Chance
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, fortuit...
114. Fixity
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. He...
113. Reputation
This episode explores lesser known words that are useful in conversations about reputation, considering their origins and recognisable words from the same root. Words highlighted include perfidious, calumny, susurration, ignominy, opprobrium, o...
112. Error
This episode investigates obscure words for discussions about error, tracing their origins and familiar words from the same root. Words examined include solecism, lapsus calami, amphibology, defalcation, misfeasance and mea culpa. ...
111. Happiness
This episode considers unusual words for conversations about happiness, examining their origins and recognisable words from the same root. Words featured include gaiety, delectation, sangfroid, equanimity, ananda and rapturous.
110. Eating
This episode gets into unusual words for conversations about eating, exploring their origins and familiar words from the same root. Words discussed include voracious, pantagruelian, temulent, alimentation, deglutition and abstemious. <...
109. Precision
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, fa...
108. Power
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 ...
107. Time
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...
106. Christmas Songs
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...
105. Etiquette
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 ...
104. Scotland
This episode marks St Andrew's Day by looking at the origins of terms linked to Scottish dialects. It begins with the etymologies of Scotland and other historical names for the region, including Caledonia and Alba. The episode also examines the...
103. Names: Cross Cultural
This episode looks at names that work across cultures, names that sound alike but emerge from entirely different linguistic roots. It opens with demographic data from the USA and from England and Wales that helps explain why many parents now se...