Birch in the Steppe
When I first laid eyes on this artifact in the Central Museum of Kazakhstan, I…
Proto-Indo-European
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La La… Pasha
Since we are on the subject of the Ottomans in Erzurum, it would be remiss…
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The Straw That Learned to Write
There was in Proto-Indo-European a word *ḱolh₂mos, “straw, stalk.” From it descend Latin culmus, German…
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Pontificating on a Mountain Pass
Today we found ourselves in the Pontic Mountains—the ones above the Black Sea, which the…
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Wire, Enamel, and Cauldron
In the museum today I came upon the term for the eastern Turkish jeweller’s craft…
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Hippo, Cheese, and Kvass
Good day to you. Missed us? Here is another etymological conjuring trick. Have you had…
