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Greek Roots, Shipwrecks, and Southern Modals: The Unexpected Journeys of English Words
Episode 125
Published 1 week, 4 days ago
Description
In this episode we follow how a Greek construction birthed the word ‘microscope’ and sparked a cascade of scientific terms; we examine how a 14th‑century maritime practice gave us the everyday noun and adjective ‘average’; and we uncover why Southern speakers still say ‘might could’. From Johannes van der Meer to William Labov, we see how law, science, and regional speech shape English.
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