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.
Play the daily word game Derivety: https://derivety.com
Get in touch: https://etymoleon.com
Etymoleon - Word History, the etymology podcast.
118. Work | History Daily: Henry Ford's Five-Day Week
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
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
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https://www.historytoday.com/archive/horace-walpole-gothick-man-letters/1000
https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/know-the-ropes.html