Words for Granted - An etymology and linguistics podcast

What makes your parents' parents so ... grand? In today's episode, we trace the etymology and emergence of the French-influenced kinship prefix 'grand.' We also look at Old English words for 'grandparents' and 'grandchildren' before the 'grand' prefix became conventional. Just for good measure, we also take a look at the kinship prefix 'great.' To claim your 1-month free trial of the Great Courses Plus, click here.

Today, 'sibling' is one of the most basic kinship terms. However, it wasn't introduced into English until 1903 by a pair of scientists working on genetics. More accurately, 'sibling' was reintroduced into the language after 1,000 years of dormancy. In this episode, we look at 'sibling' in its Old English context and explore its Indo-European roots. Furthermore, we look into the etymology of 'brother' and 'sister.' For your free 1-month trial of The Great Courses Plus, click here.

In today's episode, we explore the origins of some of the universal characteristics of nursery father terms in languages from around the world, most of which include initial /p/, /d/, or /b/ sounds. For a 1-month free trial of the Great Courses Plus, click here.

'Mama' is a mysterious word. In the vast majority of languages around the world, the word for 'mama' sounds something like ... 'mama.' In today's episode, we uncover the reason for this peculiar universality. For a free 1-month trial of The Great Course plus, click here.

Noah Webster is best known as the father of the first truly American dictionary. However, Webster's dictionary faced an uphill struggle for recognition during his lifetime. In today's episode, we examine some of these struggles in addition to the things that made Webster's dictionary so different from the English dictionaries that preceded it. Click here to sign up for you free one-month trial of The Great Courses Plus.

Noah Webster is best known for his 'all-American' dictionary, but in today's episode, we take a look at Webster's earlier works including The Grammatical Institute of the English Language and Dissertations on the English Language. In these works, Webster lays the groundwork for his future dictionary, revealing his political motivations for his spelling reforms and advocation of American English. Be sure to go to www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/words to get a one-month free subscription to The Great Courses Plus!

'OK' is the most spoken and most written word in the entire world. It's such a fundamental part of modern communication that it's hard to imagine the world without it. But in spite of its ubiquity and compact versatility, 'OK' is under two hundred years old. Today's episode tells the story of the word's origins in 19th century America. If the leading theory is correct, then OK might just be the most successful inside joke of all time.

Today, the most relevant usage of the word 'Yankee' is probably in the name of the baseball team, but etymologically, 'Yankee' has nothing to do with baseball. 'Yankee' is an elusive word whose ultimate etymology is unknown and whose connotations may change depending on who's using it.

One of the most defining characteristics of the Standard American English accent is its 'rhoticity,' or the pronunciation of the letter R. Unlike Standard British English, Standard American English always pronounces the letter R regardless of its position within a word. In today's episode, we trace the origins and evolutions of this feature of Standard American English. (Spoiler alert: The prevalence of rhoticity in American English has ebbed and flowed over time.)

The English spoken in America began to diverge from the English spoken in Britain shortly after British settlers arrived in the New World. In today's episode, we look at several ways how 'Americanisms' began to form and how English speakers on the other side of the pond reacted to them.