
- Playing
- bombast - word of the day
- From
- Charles Hodgson
Charles Hodgson's "Etymology Moment" is a series of two to three minute pieces exploring the history of common English words. Intended to be played as a series, either daily or less frequently, each episode talks about a single word, the different meanings it might have had through history and related trivia such as an interesting historical character who used the word early on. The series already has hundreds of episodes to choose from and more are being added each week.
Listener endorsements for Charles Hodgson's work include:
"A staple of my daily listening, always interesting, kind of relaxing and educational to boot! I love it." (Russell Jenkins)
"Mr Hodgson's dry wit and gentle delivery entertain, inform, and calm me down a bit after a hard day's work. A treasure I found months ago and it keeps on giving." (Hamilton UCI)
"This is a daily must-listen." (Laurence Simon)
"We love this program. It is a great way of learning, one word at a time. Charles has a unique way of pronouncing and interpreting the words. And we love his soothing voice." (Roland Popp)
In addition to his "Etymology Moment" Charles Hodgson has written a book (publication August 2007) entitled CARNAL KNOWLEDGE - A Navel Gazer's Dictionary of Anatomy, Etymology, and Trivia.
Richard Lederer, host of NPR's A Way With Words says of the book: "Master etymologist Charles Hodgson offers a passionate lesson...illuminates how just about every part of the amazing human chassis got its name."
Lynne Truss, author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves says: "Delight your friends (or lose them rapidly) with this fabulous new knowledge presented with deftness and wit."
More from Charles Hodgson
Piece Description
Charles Hodgson's "Etymology Moment" is a series of two to three minute pieces exploring the history of common English words. Intended to be played as a series, either daily or less frequently, each episode talks about a single word, the different meanings it might have had through history and related trivia such as an interesting historical character who used the word early on. The series already has hundreds of episodes to choose from and more are being added each week. Listener endorsements for Charles Hodgson's work include: "A staple of my daily listening, always interesting, kind of relaxing and educational to boot! I love it." (Russell Jenkins) "Mr Hodgson's dry wit and gentle delivery entertain, inform, and calm me down a bit after a hard day's work. A treasure I found months ago and it keeps on giving." (Hamilton UCI) "This is a daily must-listen." (Laurence Simon) "We love this program. It is a great way of learning, one word at a time. Charles has a unique way of pronouncing and interpreting the words. And we love his soothing voice." (Roland Popp) In addition to his "Etymology Moment" Charles Hodgson has written a book (publication August 2007) entitled CARNAL KNOWLEDGE - A Navel Gazer's Dictionary of Anatomy, Etymology, and Trivia. Richard Lederer, host of NPR's A Way With Words says of the book: "Master etymologist Charles Hodgson offers a passionate lesson...illuminates how just about every part of the amazing human chassis got its name." Lynne Truss, author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves says: "Delight your friends (or lose them rapidly) with this fabulous new knowledge presented with deftness and wit."
Broadcast History
content posted in different format as a podcast
Transcript
This is the etymology moment, and I'm Charles Hodgson. Today we'll hear the story behind the word bombast.
To be bombastic is to speak or write in a high flown, overdone and especially pompous tone. But the origin of the word comes down to us from the most modest of sources; a worm. Specifically a silk worm. The ancient Greek word for a silk worm was bombux which was absorbed into Latin as bombyx and survives today as the scientific name of silkworms and silkworm moths Bombyx mori. But like certain words in English that are shared between related things?for example a letter is a thing you write, and the symbol you use to do the writing?bombux and bombyx came to mean not only silk worms but silk itself. They didn't appear in English as words meaning silk, but instead, when some newfangled substance started to be imported into England some time in the decades before Shakespeare, it...
Read the full transcript

