Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Welcome aboard flight WU321 bound for Etymology Island. In this episode, Rob and Jess take to the skies and soar through the word origins of a multitude of aviation terms.

✈️ Is it an 'airplane' or an 'aeroplane'?
🐓 Why do pilots sit in a 'cockpit'?
🛩️ Why is English the language of aviation?
🔠 How did the NATO alphabet come to be?

These questions answered – and many more – in a high-flying episode of Words Unravelled charting the etymology of flight.

👕 OUR MERCH 👚
US SHOP: wordsunravelledshop.myspreadshop.com
EU/UK SHOP: wordsunravelledshop.myspreadshop.net

👂LISTEN: podfollow.com/words-unravelled-with-robwords-and-jess-zafarris
or search for "Words Unravelled" wherever you get your podcasts.

==LINKS==
Rob's YouTube channel: youtube.com/robwords
Jess' Useless Etymology blog: uselessetymology.com
Rob on X: x.com/robwordsyt
Jess on TikTok: tiktok.com/@jesszafarris

#etymology #wordfacts #English