Here’s a recording in a mystery language.
Do you know, or can you guess, the language?
If you need a clue, listen to or read the Omniglot News on Radio Omniglot, and there’s an extra clue on my Patreon page.
These quizzes are normally published every Sunday, and the answers are given the following Saturday here in the comments, and on the Omniglot News.
What connects pillows to dust? Let’s find out.
A pillow [ˈpɪ.ləʊ / ˈpɪ.loʊ] is a soft cushion used to support the head in bed, or any similar head support used for sleep, such as a neck pillow, and to pillow means to rest as on a pillow.
It comes from Middle English pilwe (a cushion, pillow, pad), from Old English pyle (pillow), from Proto-West Germanic *pulwī (pillow, cushion, bolster), from Latin pulvīnus (cusion, pillow, bolster, seat of honour) from pulvis (dust, powder, ashes, an arena, toil, effort), from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (flour, dust) or *pelh₁- (chaff, to swing) [source].
Words from the same Latin roots include polvere (dust, powder) in Italian, pulver (powder) and peluw (a long, narrow pillow) in Dutch, Pulver (powder, money) in German, pulveri (powder) in Finnish, pavesa (spark) in Spanish, pylor (dust, powder) in Welsh, and poussière (dust, speck of dust) in French [source].
Words from the PIE root *pel- (flour, dust) include puches (porridge) in Spanish, poltiglia (mush, pulp, slime, slush, mire) in Italian, pył (dust) in Polish, and poultice, polenta, pollen and possibly spelt in English [source].
Words from the PIE root *pelh₁- (chaff) include полова (polova – chaff) in Russian, pleva (chaff) in Czech, paille (straw) in French, paja (straw) in Spanish, pagliaio (haystack) in Italian, pallet in English [source].
To me, pillows are the rectangular cushioned things you have on your bed. However, it seems that some people also use pillows for the square cushioned things you might have on a chair or sofa / couch. To me , they are cushions. How about you?
Incidentally, the word cushion comes from Middle English quysshyn, from Old French coissin, from Vulgar Latin *coxīnus (seat pad), from Latin coxa (hip, thigh). The -īnus suffix on *coxīnus is possibly modelled on pulvīnus (pillow) [source].
Related words include coscia (thigh, leg) in Italian, cuisse (thigh, segment) in French, coxa (thigh) in Portuguese, coes (leg, shank) in Welsh, and cos (foot, leg) in Irish [source].
What links this bird with spells and charms? Let’s find out.
The bird pictured above is a jynx [dʒɪŋks], Eurasian wryneck or northern wryneck. It’s related to woodpeckers, and can be found across temperate regions of Europe and Asia during the summer, and in parts of tropical Africa and southern Asia in the winter.
It’s Latin name, Jynx torquilla comes from iynx (wryneck), from Ancient Greek ἴϋγξ (íünx – Eurasian wryneck, spell, charm, passionate yearing), and from Latin torqueō (to spin, whirl, twist, hurl, torment) [source].
It was once thought to be a bird of ill omen, perhaps because of how it twists its snake-like head and hisses as a threat display. As a result, it has sometimes been called the “snake-bird” [source].
Apparently wizards and witches used to tie wrynecks to a wheel and then whirl them round, believing that it would charm men into obedience and help to retreive unfaithful lovers [source].
The English word jinx [dʒɪŋks] comes from jynx the bird. As a noun, it means a hex, or an evil spell or a person or thing supposed to bring bad luck. As a verb, to jinx means to cast a spell on; to bring bad luck to; to cause something to happen by mentioning it, often used sarcastically; to cause a bad outcome through verbal expression of certainty about a good situation or result [source].
In order to mitigate the effects of a jinx, you might touch wood or knock on wood. This tradition apparently comes from ancient believes among Germanic peoples that trees influence fortune. Ancient Celtic peoples believed that touching wood would call on the spirits or gods of trees, and Christians connect(ed) the practise to the touching the wood of cross. There are similar traditions in many other places as well, apparently [source].
Do you ‘touch wood’ or ‘knock on wood’ to avoid ‘tempting fate’ after making a favourable prediction or boast, or to avoid jinxing something?
If not, do you have other traditions?
What does slow music have to do with being at ease? Let’s find out.
The word adagio [əˈdɑːdʒiəʊ / əˈdædʒiəʊ] is used in music to indicate that a passage is to be played rather slowly, leisurely and gracefully. It can also refer to a passage of music marked adagio, or to a type of ballet for two or three people that involves demanding balance, spins and/or lifts [source].
It comes from Italian adagio [aˈda.dʒo], which means slowly, and comes from ad (at, to) and agio (ease), so could be literally translated as meaning “at ease” [source].
The Italian word adagio can also mean proverb, adage or saying in Italian, and was borrowed from Latin adāgiō, a form of adāgium (proveb, adage) [source].
The English word adage (an old saying, a cliché) comes from the same roots, as does adágio (adage, saying, proverb) in Portuguese, and adagiu (adage) in Romanian [source].
Agio means ease, comfort or luxury in Italian, and comes from Old Occitan aize (ease), from Vulgar Latin *adjace(m), from Latin adjacēns / adiacēns (adjacent, adjoining, neighbouring), from adiaceō (to lie beside, to be adjacent to, to adjoin), from ad (to, towards, at) and iaceō (to lie down, recline, to be sick), from iaciō (to throw, hurl, cast, fling) [source].
Words from the same roots include giacere (to lie, to be lying down, to find oneself) in Italian, jazer (to lie (down), sit, lay) in Portuguese, gîte (shelter, lodging, self-catering holiday home) in French, abject, deject, gist, inject, object, project, reject and trajectory in English [source]. The English word ease might come from the same roots as well [source].
The Latin verb iacio also features in the phrase ‘iacta ālea est’, which means ‘the die is cast’ and is supposedly what Julius Caesar said when crossed the Rubicon River in 49 BC(E) and began a civil war in the Roman Republic. However, the Latin phrase is apparently a mistranslation by the Roman historian Suetonius of the Ancient Greek phrase ἀνερρίφθω κύβος (anerrhíphthō kúbos), which is what Caesar actually said. He was quoting a line from a comedy by Menander, a Greek playwright, entitled Ἀρρηφόρῳ (Arrhēphórōi – The Bearer of Ritual Objects). The Greek version means “let the die be cast”, “let the game be played” or “let us proceed irreversibly” [source].
What links a New World monkey, a type of cloak, an order of friars and a type of coffee? Let’s find out.
The word capuchin [ˈkæp.ə.tʃɪn] can refer to:
It comes from French capuchin, from capucin (capuchin [monkey], Capuchin friar), from Italian cappuccino (Capuchin [friar], cappuccino [coffee]), from cappuccio (hood, cowl), a diminutive of cappuccio (hood, cowl, top, cabbage), a diminutive of cappa (coat, cloak, cowl, hood, cape, tarpaulin), from Late Latin cappa (cape, hooded cloak, cap), which possibly is related to caput (head) [source].
Related words include cap, cape, chapel, cope and escape in English, capa (clock, cape, cover) in Portuguese, cappello (hat) in Italian, czapka (cap) in Polish, and Kappe (cap, hood) in German [source].
The coffee gets its name from the friars, as it’s a similar shade of brown to their habits. The English word cappuccino comes from Italian cappuccino, which comes from Viennese German Kapuziner (Capuchin [friar]), an abbreviation of Kapuzinerkaffee / Capuzinerkaffee, a type of coffee that emerged in Vienna during the 18th century. The drink spread to northern Italy when it was under Austrian domination, and became known as cappuccino in Italian. The ingredients and the way the drink is made have changed over time [source].
The monkeys are also named after the friars, as the Portuguese explorers who encountered them in the 15th century thought the colours of their fur made them look like little Capuchin friars [source].
What links a type of pastry with lightning, flashes and sparkles? Let’s find out.
In English, and many other languages, an eclair / éclair is a small, chocolate-covered, creme-filled pastry puff in a general oblong shape [source].
The word comes from French éclair which can refer to the pastry, and also to lightning, a lightning bolt, a flash of lightning, a glint, flash, gleam or sparkle [source].
It is thought that the name of the pastry comes from the fact that it can be eaten quickly (in a flash), and/or because the glistening of the icing / frosting looks a bit like lightning. The éclair first appeared in Lyon in France in the 19th century, and was called pain à la Duchesse (“Duchess-style bread”) or petite duchesse (“little duchess”) until 1850. After that, the name éclair started to be used in French and in English [source].
The French word éclair comes from éclairer (to light up, brighten, shed light on enlighten, scout) from Old French esclairer (to light up), from Vulgar Latin *exclāriō, *exclāriāre, from Latin exclārāre, from ex- (out, away) and clārō (to brighten, lighten, illuminate, clarify) [source], from clārus (clear, bright, famous, upstanding, loud) from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (to call out to) [source].
Related words and expressions in French include:
Words from the PIE root *kelh₁- (to call out to) include acclaim, claim, clamour, clarify, clarinet, class, clear and council in English, klaar (ready, finished, done) in Dutch, exclamer (to exclaim, shout out) in French, coileach (cockerel, rooster) in Irish, hell (clear, bright, light, quick, clever) in German, and llamar (to summon, call, refer to, be called) in Spanish [source].