Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Marcie Sundaram

@alliterative.bsky.social

The surprisingly connected origins of "inept" and "couple".

youtube.com/shorts/4RR2F...

#etymology #wordnerd #linguistics #HistoricalLinguistics #language #words #lingcomm #inept #apt #couple

Inept/Couple #Etymology

YouTube video by Alliterative

youtube.com

November 27, 2025 at 12:08 AM

Reposted by Marcie Sundaram

The 37th Wombat 📚🐝

@wombat37.bsky.social

Here we go... Look out for the full video of me as my character, Cleaveskull, coming soon. Please repost this with wild abandon, and pre-order the book. Paperback pre-orders should be along before too long.

November 25, 2025 at 9:09 AM

Marcie Sundaram

@alliterative.bsky.social

The #ConnectedAtBirth #etymology of the week is THANK/THINK/THOUGHT #wotd #Thanksgiving #thank #think #thought #thankful #thoughtful

Thanksgiving is traditionally a time to be thankful, but it should also be a time to be thoughtful of the colonialist foundation of the holiday. The words thank, thanks, and thankful come from Old English þancian “to thank, reward”, þanc “thought, grateful though, gratitude”, and þancful “thoughtful, ingenious, clever; grateful, contented” respectively. So thank is basically the same as the word think, and thankful is basically the same as the word thoughtful, and all these words can all be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root *tong- “to think, feel”. The sense progression here is basically from “thinking, remembering” to “remembering fondly, thinking of with gratitude”, so maybe instead of focusing on thanksgiving we should be focusing on thoughtgiving.

November 24, 2025 at 8:59 PM

Marcie Sundaram

@alliterative.bsky.social

Check out my new single “If This Is Love”, a song I wrote when I was a teenager but recently recorded! Available on all the platforms: distrokid.com/hyperfollow/... #newsong #newsingle #music

November 22, 2025 at 11:38 PM

Marcie Sundaram

@alliterative.bsky.social

Now available on your favorite platform: “If This Is Love”. Check it out! distrokid.com/hyperfollow/...

November 22, 2025 at 3:45 AM

Marcie Sundaram

@alliterative.bsky.social

ICYMI

Marcie Sundaram @alliterative.bsky.social · 8d

The surprisingly connected origins of "wind" and "air". #etymology #wordnerd #linguistics #HistoricalLinguistics #language #words #lingcomm #wind #air

youtube.com/shorts/_4ttJ...

Wind/Air #Etymology

YouTube video by Alliterative

youtube.com

November 21, 2025 at 9:58 PM

Marcie Sundaram

@alliterative.bsky.social

ICYMI

Marcie Sundaram @alliterative.bsky.social · 10d

November 21st is #NationalCranberryDay so the #ConnectedAtBirth #etymology of the week is CRANBERRY/GERANIUM #wotd #cranberry #geranium #Thanksgiving #CranberryDay

The cranberry and geranium plants aren't related botanically, but etymologically they are! The cran in cranberry comes from low German kraan “crane” because of the resemblance of the flower’s stamen to the bird’s bill. The bird’s name comes from Proto-Indo-European *gere- “to cry hoarsely” because of its call. This led to the Greek name for the bird geranos “crane” and thence to geranium from the resemblance of the plant’s seed pod to the bird’s bill.

November 21, 2025 at 9:58 PM

Reposted by Marcie Sundaram

The 37th Wombat 📚🐝

@wombat37.bsky.social

And here it is! Book One of The Summer Realm Trilogy, a dark steampunk fantasy - Agents of Secrets and Lies.

I also have a pre-order link for you.

mybook.to/SRAgents

Discounted price for pre-orders & first 24hrs of release.

The paperback pre-order link will be here later. #SummerRealm

💙📚👀📢📚

Amazon.com

mybook.to

November 21, 2025 at 1:31 PM

Reposted by Marcie Sundaram

Marcie Sundaram

@alliterative.bsky.social

Check it out!

November 20, 2025 at 10:45 PM

Reposted by Marcie Sundaram

Marcie Sundaram

@alliterative.bsky.social

New song coming soon! My new single “If This Is Love”, written over three decades ago but newly recorded, is about to drop on all your favourite platforms! Watch this space: distrokid.com/hyperfollow/...

November 20, 2025 at 10:45 PM

Marcie Sundaram

@alliterative.bsky.social

New song coming soon! My new single “If This Is Love”, written over three decades ago but newly recorded, is about to drop on all your favourite platforms! Watch this space: distrokid.com/hyperfollow/...

November 20, 2025 at 10:45 PM