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Dr Danny Bate

@dannybate.bsky.social

5.3K followers 890 following 1.5K posts

"That etymology guy". Linguist, broadcaster (formerly on Czech Radio), writer, researcher, language fanatic. Get 'Why Q Needs U' here: https://geni.us/WhyQNeedsU. Host of ALILI podcast. Website: https://dannybate.com/. Inquiries: [email protected]

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · Aug 3

I've strayed into another language family, and made Finnish the subject of this month's post. Under the surface though, it's a piece about prehistoric languages, and how millennia-long linguistic contact can make foreign languages seem more familiar.
dannybate.com/2025/08/03/y...

You Know More Finnish Than You Think

Linguistics illuminates the linguistically obscure – or so I’ve always thought. It’s a common theme of my online output that a little bit of historical linguistics goes a long way, maki…

dannybate.com

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 50m

Yes, and thank you for considering it! US availability is being worked on, but in the meantime, UK retailers will ship it with acceptable costs. Blackwell's apparently will get it over the Atlantic for $18
blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...

Why Q Needs U

The English alphabet is a tool that we've inherited down the centuries from ancient creators around the world. The alphabet hasn't always had its present form,

blackwells.co.uk

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 2h

Plus, that illustration, which is delightful!

Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

Hildur Knútsdóttir @hildur.bsky.social · 1d

Back home in the mossy lava fog

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 2h

The Times, specifically @jamesmcconnachie.bsky.social, has in this joyful review kindly bestowed on my book Britain's highest description: "lovely"
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...

Why does Q always need a U? A quirky guide to the alphabet

The letter A was once an ox’s head and O was an eye — you’ll never look at a keyboard the same way after reading Danny Bate’s fascinating linguistic history

www.thetimes.com

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Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

Thomas Wier @trwier.bsky.social · 5h

Weekly Georgian Etymology: ნისლი nisli 'fog, mist', from Old Georgian ႬႨႱႪႨ nisli, from Georgian-Zan *nisɬ- fog, metathesis of Akkadian 𒈾𒀊𒋗 nalšum dew, deverbal noun of 𒈾𒆷𒀀𒋗 nalāšum fall as dew. Across languages, 'fog' words are often related to other weather phenomena.

Gergeti Monastery in Stepantsminda, Georgia, shrouded in fog and clouds

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Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

Jo Kershaw @mthrjo.bsky.social · 6h

In general I love this kind of thing with borders, but a definite cause for concern at the moment...

Rev Peter W Nimmo @peternimmo.bsky.social · 6h

A weird situation. An Estonian country road which passes into Russia twice (in one case, just for a few metres). You can use it as long as you're in a vehicle and don't stop. The problem goes back to Stalin. Estonia wants to build a bypass, but will likely have to scrap environmental rules

Map from https://news.err.ee/1609828299/government-may-waive-bureaucracy-to-speed-up-saatse-boot-bypass-minister-says

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 2d

My friends are unfailing sources of support for me.

Screenshot of two messages that read "saw your book in blackwell's" then "nerd"

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 2d

It doesn't have the vowel we'd expect (generally Ā became O as Old English turned into Middle), so, despite the match in meaning, I'd guess 'sally' came from Latin salīre 'to jump' instead

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 2d

Sāl is an Old English word for 'rope', which hasn't left an impression on the modern language beyond the rare farming term 'sole'.

Its German cognate, Seil, is more vibrant though, and has passed into English in a verb for a downward descent by rope – 'abseil'.

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 3d

The kind of single syllable that Georgian speakers manage daily

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 3d

I'll suggest 'bjd' to the Council of Linguists

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Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

donaldé @donalde.bsky.social · 3d

Rather annoyed to discover the term for a writing system that has no vowels is 'abjad' a word that is solidly 40% vowel. Linguists, please try harder.
@dannybate.bsky.social

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Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

Ola Wikander @olawikander.bsky.social · 3d

Ok, so my guess for the (an?) early pronunciation of Egyptian /ꜣ/ is that it was some kind of retroflex or perhaps even bunched approximant (in the vicinity of [ɻ] or [ɹ̈]). [...]

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 3d

Dough thyself

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 4d

'Car' isn't an abbreviation of 'carriage', but the two words do share a root.

Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

Peter Sokolowski @petersokolowski.bsky.social · 4d

spidermanicule

Steven Van Impe @svanimpe.bsky.social · 8d

#EarlyModern meme! #BookHistory

The bottom of a page of printed text, showing three hands (or printers' fists) pointing at each other.

The spiderman meme: three spidermen pointing at each other.

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Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

Daniel Kennedy @fliglman.bsky.social · 4d

That's why i keep all my documents (my metaphorical cattle) inside my Google Drove

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 4d

The verb 'drive' was applied to animals long before cars, and a herd of livestock being made to move somewhere is a 'drove' – nowadays common as plural 'droves'.

The root behind 'drive' and 'drove' is also behind 'drift', originally an act of driving or making something (like snow) move.

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 4d

It's not the complete set like 'sit' seems to have, but I think it's still nice that 'drive/drove/drift' come from the three ablaut grades of the same Germanic root:

- 'drive' from e-grade *drīb-
- 'drove' from o-grade *draib-
- 'drift' from zero grade *drib-
bsky.app/profile/theo...

Theo Nash @theonash.bsky.social · 23d

'sit' is, I believe, the only English word to preserve all of its original IE ablaut grades:

0: nest
e: set
long e: seat
o: sat
long o: soot

Yoïn van Spijk @yvanspijk.bsky.social · 24d

Historically, the word 'nest' consists of two parts.

The part 'ne-' is related to 'nether', while '-st' is related to 'sit'.

The distant ancestor of 'nest' meant "place to sit down".

'Nest' is also related to Spanish 'nido' and its Romance relatives.

Click my new graphic to learn more:

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 4d

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 4d

You've made my morning! This is very good of you to say and to do

Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

donaldé @donalde.bsky.social · 4d

Pretty excited to get stuck into this. @dannybate.bsky.social is one of the people on socials who I’ve had the most joy from following.

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 5d

I am rather proud of that one, and the chapter does work out as a paying of respects to F (the Greek version)

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 5d

❤️❤️❤️

Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

Sophie Koonin @localghost.dev · 5d

I'm about halfway through this brilliant book and thoroughly recommend it for any fellow etymology nerds (or anyone who's ever attempted to teach English as a foreign language and come up against some seriously difficult questions about why we spell stuff like we do!)

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 14d

I now believe it's real.

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Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

👻madeline boOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 5d

Had a great time catching up with @dannybate.bsky.social today, and super excited to get my hands on a copy of his new book!! I love learning about new topics and Why Q Needs U is a deep dive into the history of the nuts and bolts of written language- letters.

A man and woman smile at the camera. The woman is holding a book.

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