Etymoleon - Word History, the etymology podcast.

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 and redhibition. 

Hear a collection of strange moments from the past, from a deadly latrine collapse in Erfurt to a speculative frenzy over tulips, a mysterious dancing outbreak, and a city flooded with molasses. 

Sources:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/erfurt-latrine-disaster-what-happened/ 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20160419-tulip-mania-the-flowers-that-cost-more-than-houses 

https://www.britannica.com/event/dancing-plague-of-1518 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/molasses-flood-physics-science/ 

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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, fortuity, aleatory and serendipity. 

Plus, hear how some public offices in ancient Greece were filled by lottery rather than election, reflecting a belief that randomness could serve as a safeguard against corruption. 

Sources: 
https://ccel.org/ccel/gibbon/decline/decline.viii.xli.html 

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/9105/9105-h/9105-h.htm 

https://blog.oup.com/2016/03/sortition-ancient-greece-democracy 

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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. 

Hear how a wartime survey of buildings at risk of bombing led to Britain's listed building system, granting certain structures legal protection designed to secure their permanence.  

Sources: 
https://grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/09/crying-over-spilled-milk.html 

https://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/abeswlgbt.html 

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/targets-of-enemy-bombers-and-our-own-demolition-men-1598384.html 

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/about-the-list/ 

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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, obloquy and flagitious. 

Listen to the history of how a derailed train helped shape the beginnings of the modern public relations industry. 

Sources:  

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1857-08-18/debates/4642f51a-ffe6-4eee-a43e-9276e7fc81ac/CompensationForTheSufferersByTheIndianMutiny 

https://www.audible.com/blog/quotes-theodore-roosevelt 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qn-XatSQaA&t=404s 

https://www.irishlegal.com/articles/irish-legal-heritage-richard-pigott-and-the-forgeries-commission 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-history-spin-doctor 

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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. 

Discover the mistaken beliefs that gave us the names West Indies, malaria and platinum. 

Sources: 

https://www.rd.com/article/malapropism-examples/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOU0eA03S2c 

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/quarterly-bulletin/2015/desperate-adventures-and-men-of-straw-the-failure-of-city-of-glasgow.pdf 

https://www.taylor-rose.co.uk/posts/misfeasance 

https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/library-archive-open-research-services/archives/sir-ronald-ross-collections 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anJKMZCVjxs 

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