In my previous post about this word, I described how the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba, originated in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European albho-, meaning “white”. In Proto-Celtic, this evolved into another word something like albiyu. This word seems to have meant something like “bright place” or “high place”, and in the later Celtic languages Brittonic and Goidelic (spoken on the islands of Britain and Ireland, respectively) it produced place-names that ended up as Alba, Albion and Albany. Likewise in the Germanic languages, albho- gave rise to a “high place” word that gives us the name of the Alps mountain range.

How did “Alba” come to be a name for Scotland?

ɪˈnɒkjʊleɪt inoculate: (horticulture) to insert a plant bud as a graft into another plant; (medicine) to insert a disease organism into the body by puncturing the skin, or into a culture medium using a needle; (medicine) to inject a vaccine In May 1796, Edward Jenner found a young dairymaid, Sarah Nelms, who had fresh cowpox … Continue reading Inoculate →

dɪˈmɒkrəsɪ Democracy: that form of government in which the sovereign power resides in the people as a whole […] we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall … Continue reading Democracy →

nəˈtɪvɪtɪ nativity: Birth, in particular the birth of Jesus Christ This is the month, and this the happy morn, Wherein the Son of Heav’n’s eternal King, Of wedded Maid, and Virgin Mother born, Our great redemption from above did bring; For so the holy sages once did sing, That he our deadly forfeit should release, … Continue reading Nativity →

ɪˈmjuːnɪtɪ Immunity: Exemption from a service, obligation, or duty; the condition of being insusceptible to the contagion of a specific disease Our aim is to try and reduce the peak, broaden the peak, not suppress it completely; also, because the vast majority of people get a mild illness, to build up some kind of herd … Continue reading Immunity →

ˈænθrɒpɔːz Anthropause: The period of reduced human mobility brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic Over the past few months, many countries around the world went into lockdown to control the spread of COVID-19. Brought about by the most tragic circumstances, this period of unusually reduced human mobility — which we suggest be coined ‘anthropause’ — … Continue reading Anthropause →

niː knee: The joint between the thigh and lower leg; an object or structure which resembles this joint I’ve got to say, on this “taking a knee” thing—I don’t know, maybe it’s got a broader history but it seems to be taken from The Game of Thrones—feels to me like a symbol of subjugation and … Continue reading Knee →