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. I...
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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. I...
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 seek names that fit multiple cultural contexts. In England and Wales, 37% of newborns have a parent born abroad, and in the USA approval of mixed marriage has risen from 4% in 1958 to 94% today. The name Maya or Maia can mean beloved, magic, brave, prince...
Etymoleon - Word History, the etymology podcast.
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. I...
