Posted on 12/15/2025 6:55:00 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Some of the most ordinary words in English have origins that no one can explain. Among them: "dog", "big", "bird", "donkey", "boy", "girl" and "puzzle". In this episode, let's trace their earliest appearances, explore the theories behind them, and unravel why these everyday words became some of our language's greatest mysteries.
The English words nobody can explain | 23:24
RobWords | 887K subscribers | 478,352 views | December 6, 2025
YouTube transcript (below) reformatted at textformatter.ai
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
I was going to say that one, too!
“Very unique”, “quite unique”, but that’s not about pronounciation or spelling.
Mine is "usually always."
-PJ
I wondered if it came from Sarmatian, since after they were defeated by the Romans, their horsemen were deployed as auxiliary cavalry in Britain. But the Brave AI sez that word is “spaka”. Gaelic is no help either:
https://search.brave.com/search?q=gaelic+word+for+dog&summary=1
https://search.brave.com/search?q=brithonic+word+for+dog&summary=1
Same place that "i before e except after c" rule originated: A humorless old bitty who insists people do stupid stuff with spelling.
😊 “Almost perfect” response. 😁
Don’t mention this to the cats.
Cat spelled backwards is tac, which stands for terrible atrocious creatures.
What about all the important people who could really do something dangerous who say nucular. Don’t they know there is clear in nuclear?
There’s a reference to that in a Woody Allen movie.
“New-clee-er”.
Around here, there used to be a number of people who said “korters” instead of “quarters”. Guess they’ve died out.
English surnames are incredibly colourful and surprising. With over 40,000 different surnames in England, learning them all individually would be impossible -- ' but in this video, you'll learn how to identify the origins of English surnames through just a few simple patterns.
After the Norman Conquest, surnames became a way for William the Conqueror to know who his subjects were -- ' and what they owned, for taxation. To tell people apart, descriptions were added to first names, giving rise to the surnames we still use today.
In England, all surnames fall into four main categories:
1️⃣ Patronymic – taken from a parent's first name (e.g. Johnson, Elliott, Thomas)
2️⃣ Occupational – based on a job or trade (e.g. Smith, Thatcher, Wright)
3️⃣ Descriptive – based on appearance or personality (e.g. Brown, Armstrong, Goodfellow)
4️⃣ Locational / Toponymic – based on where someone lived (e.g. York, Hill, Wheatley)
We'll also look at the five most common English surnames -- ' Smith, Taylor, Wilson, Brown, and Wright -- ' and learn what each one really means.The Origin AND Meaning of English Surnames | 4:45
Past and Curious | 15.9K subscribers | 127,594 views | October 15, 2025
And Liam, short for William,spelled backwards is mail.
Everytime I see that, I think "well, that's weird." 😁
I can’t post the transcript of this one, so, no separate topic.
RobWords: The world’s silliest place names
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkEdkCdu004
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