Skip to main content

Up Next

The Most Extreme Place Names

The Most Extreme Place Names

Season 3 Episode 10
7:11
How Language Nerds Solve Crimes

How Language Nerds Solve Crimes

Season 4 Episode 1
8:59
Is the Southern Accent Disappearing?

Is the Southern Accent Disappearing?

Season 4 Episode 3
7:33
How Cult Leaders Use Language

How Cult Leaders Use Language

Season 4 Episode 6
10:58
Is Body Language Really A Language?

Is Body Language Really A Language?

Season 4 Episode 7
8:58
A Brief History of the Reading Wars?

A Brief History of the Reading Wars?

Season 4 Episode 9
8:35
Is English a Creole?

Is English a Creole?

Season 4 Episode 10
6:51
Back to Show
Otherwords

How the Colors Got Their Names

Season 3 Episode 9

In some ways, colors are the ultimate example of language's power. The earliest humans didn't have words for colors. They had words for objects and actions, and it took tens of thousands of years for those words to evolve into the names of the colors we use today. In this episode, we’ll answer that age-old question, which came first: orange the fruit or orange the color?

Support Provided By
Season
Why Does Texting Feel Different from Talking?
6:48
Why does switching from texting to talking feel like you’re trying to speak a different language?
What Brain Damage Reveals About Language
8:43
How do our brains process language?
How Queer Communities Created Secret Languages
6:38
What are "argots" or what some call "verbal jazz", and how is it used across the globe?
The Weird History of Invented Languages
10:07
Can you really invent a language? So how does one...do it?
How English Took Over the World
6:35
How did English become the most widely spoken language in the world?
Where Alcoholic Drinks Got Their Names
7:17
Let’s take a deep dive into the etymology of alcohol.
Is "R" a Vowel?
6:41
R is an incredibly weird letter; it's a wonder that we use one symbol to represent them.
How Brands Ruin Slang
8:01
What makes a word slang, and why does it sound so weird when companies use it?
Why Sign Language Was Banned in America
12:13
We take a deeper look as to why sign language was banned for decades.
Literally No One Likes a Grammar Cop
8:57
Besides being annoying, what if the grammar police are actually... wrong?
The Stories Behind Food Names
7:46
It shouldn't matter what a food is called as long as it tastes good, right? Well...
Is Bilingualism a Superpower?
9:41
Current studies with children show show new insight into bilingualism.
Active loading indicator