Origins in Five
Origins in Five is a short podcast for curious minds. Each episode explores the origin of a single word — where it came from, how its meaning evolved, and what history it carries today. These five-minute stories reveal the hidden history of everyday language.
Origins in Five
Latest Episodes
Influenza and the Flu: How the Stars Named a Disease
Why do we call it influenza—and how did the flu get a name connected to the stars? In this episode of Origins in Five, we trace the word from medieval Latin and Italian belief in celestial “influence” to the modern illness we know today.
Sabotage: The Wooden Shoe Myth
Did sabotage really come from French workers throwing wooden shoes into factory machines? In this episode of Origins in Five, we unpack the famous story, why it’s probably a myth, and the more revealing origin behind a word that began with clum...
From Reverence to Insult: The Story of Awful
In this episode of Origins in Five, we trace the surprising history of the word awful. Once a word of reverence and fear—closely related to awesome—it slowly drifted from sacred praise to everyday insult.