Word of the Week
Danny Bate, our resident linguist, offers a selection of everyday Czech words, to discuss their history and show how interconnected and familiar the Czech language can be.
latest articles
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Word of the Week
Word of the Week: kost – ‘bone’
Kost is the Czech word for ‘bone’, a word with an unclear prehistory, but it offers us a couple of avenues for doing linguistic archaeology.
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Word of the Week
Word of the Week: teplý – ‘warm’
As the summer sun finally begins to shine over Czechia, a useful word to know is teplý, an Czech adjective meaning ‘warm’.
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Word of the Week
Word of the Week: losos – ‘salmon’
The Czech word 'losos' is part of a big and ancient family of words, some members of which English speakers may know.
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Word of the Week
Word of the Week: páteř – ‘spine’
What have prayers got to do with the human backbone? There’s a connection, at least in the mind of Czech speakers!
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Word of the Week
Word of the Week: skříň – ‘cupboard’
A skříň in Czech is a cupboard or a cabinet, like the type you find in a kitchen. Yet this ordinary Czech word has an English cousin that’s had a religious conversion.
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Word of the Week
Word of the Week: tajemník – ‘secretary’
English secretary comes from Medieval Latin secrētārius, the assistant or clerk entrusted with your sēcrēta – that is, your secrets.
