Lexitecture

It has been, decidedly, WAAYYYYY too long, but we're (well... more specifically I'm) back with a new episode! As you'll hear, we really do deeply appreciate those of you who are still subscribed to our show, and particularly our longsuffering and cherished Patreon supporters who are, quite literally, why this show is still able to keep going. THANK YOU!! In this episode, Ryan is taking a journey through a grab-bag of eponyms/toponyms/neither with "Cardigan", "Balaclava", "Sandwich" and "Crapper". Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

We're back and it looks like 'monthly' is our new for-real schedule! WOO! In this episode, Amy pays the unscrupulous rent with "blackmail", while Ryan communes with a Hindu effigy known as "Juggernaut". Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

The sun may be setting on the third month of 2025, but it's not gone yet, and here we are with our third episode of the year! In this episode, Amy squares up against "carfax", while Ryan discovers a stowaway suffix in a pile of "wealth". Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

We're back!! In this episode, Amy looks loftiyl at "haughty", while Ryan ponders a sweet and colourful examply of 'chicken vs egg with "orange". For those curious about the colour "pewke", here is a list that features an example of the colour. Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

We're back!! In this episode, Amy looks at a sneaky compound with "destroy", while Ryan considers the nature of time and gifts with "present". Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

In this episode, Amy just throws around needless "n"s with impunity during a solid "scavenge", while Ryan goes from place to place, possibly with hostility, along the "road". Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

In this episode, Amy is elsewhere completely while Ryan is appreciating all over again the all-too-frequent cuteness of the "-le" suffix in English! Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

In this episode, Amy gets back to basics with "rudimentary", while Ryan swimming upstream, but along a bank, and always staring side-eyed across to his "rival". Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

In this episode, Amy explores the space "between", while Ryan is trying to figure out a connection between an "object" and the action itself. Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks! PS - a note from Ryan: apologies to our wonderful listeners this episode - I'd been battling a wicked cough and general illness for several weeks and was only just getting over it to the point where I could make it through an episode, but I was pretty much constantly struggling to tamp down coughing fits every few minutes, hence my quite short segment and also my probably very annoying-to-listen-to somewhat pause-ridden speech pattern. I'm getting better, though, so that's good!

In this episode, Amy keeps a thin lid on things with "film", while Ryan is trying to figure out why there are so many different ways to be "fine". For the record, the book is Synonyms Discriminated and it's by the Rev. Charles John Smith. It was written, like many other books, in 1871. Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

In this episode, Amy keeps everything on track as the "taskmaster", while Ryan is trying to weigh how much cheese a duck costs with "handicap". For those interested (which should be literally 100% of the listening audience), here is Carrot In A Box. For those interested (which should be literally 100% of the listening audience), here is where you can find Taskmaster on YouTube. Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

In this episode, Amy keeps it all together with "harmony", while Ryan is considering sticky angles with "pitch", that he never knew in the first place. Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

In this episode, Amy is joined by a very special guest for a live, in-person and totally Canadian-less episode, featuring long-time listener and avid academic Word Nerd, Erin Bell! Erin is currently pursuing a Masters degree in linguistics at Trinity College, Dublin, and just happened to be in bonnie Scotland, where schedules and stars aligned to have her and Amy meet up to record an episode where they got to talk about Erin's studies, focused on American English idioms, and in particular, the fantastical four opening words: Once Upon A Time! Huge thanks to Erin, not only for taking time out of her studies and schedule to share her knowledge and enthusiasm with our show, but also for her years of listening, Patreon patronage, and general showboostery! Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

In this episode, Amy rails against a Glastonbury tradition with "flag", while Ryan is remembering all kinds of things about "forget", that he never knew in the first place. Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

In this episode, Amy getting back to roots with "folk", while Ryan is stuffing "frequent" repeatedly. Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

In this episode, Amy is mixing things up with "cocktail", while Ryan is peeling back the many, many layers of "every". Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

In this episode, Amy is holding up the walls with a "dwang", while Ryan is trying to be as skillful and ingenious as possible with "quaint". Special and enormous thanks going out to our newest Patreon supporter: Fiona! Also, for anyone looking for the links promised about that obscure 13th century book we talk about in this episode, here is the website and here is the YouTube video. Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

In this episode, Amy is throwing shade at the world of the humble "shed", while, Ryan is falling down and opening the floodgates with "cataract". Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

In this episode, Ryan is exploring - at the behest of listener Liz - whether there's a connection between "align", "malign", and "benign". Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! If you're listening to this as soon as it comes out, do head over to check out all the wondrous stuff on offer at this years LingComm conference! Amy and Ryan will be on a panel for a session called Podcasting 101, scheduled for February 6 at 4pm EST (check out that second link to figure out what time it'll be wherever you are in the world!) so hopefully we may see/hear some of you there! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating on iTunes - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

In this episode, Amy delves into the cold and wet with "winter", and Ryan learns what happens when you combine a Greek letter with a sort of early missile with "Christmas". Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating on iTunes - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!