Lexitecture

About Lexitecture

A Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) talking about the words in the English language that fascinate them most at the moment, looking at their histories and origins and trying to piece together just how they got to where they are today. This is a podcast for anyone interested in etymology (the study of words and their origins/history). If you've ever found yourself happier after discovering some bizarre bit of trivia about a word that you hadn't even given a second thought to (such as how the word 'trivia' relates to its Latin components meaning "three roads"), this might just be the podcast for you.

Publisher

Ryan Paulsen and Amy Hanlon

Category

education · history

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

8 Apr 2019

Latest episode

13 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 108 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   13 Mar 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Episode 139: Salient Kaleidoscope

   Narrator voice: The 'monthly schedule' was not, in fact, a thing. Nevertheless, we're BACK (again). In this episode, Amy really jumps out at you with "salient", while Ryan observes beauty in a tube with "kaleidoscope (https://www.etymonline.com/word/kaleidoscope)". For those who like looking at amazing feats of music-video-ness, here's OK GO with "Love" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz9BRl7DVSM)! Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you!

2. 

   23 Oct 2025

   Episode 138: Balaclava Cardigan Sandwich Crapper

   It has been, decidedly, WAAYYYYY too long, but we're (well... more specifically I'm) back with a new episode! As you'll hear, we really do deeply appreciate those of you who are still subscribed to our show, and particularly our longsuffering and cherished Patreon supporters who are, quite literally, why this show is still able to keep going. THANK YOU!! In this episode, Ryan is taking a journey through a grab-bag of eponyms/toponyms/neither  with "Cardigan", "Balaclava",  "Sandwich" and "Crapper". Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music (https://play.google.com/music/m/Irnupzpsrwez4jksvxngihbp4ku?t=Lexitecture), Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts (http://pca.st/6VJ5) or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

3. 

   28 Apr 2025

   Episode 137: Blackmail Juggernaut

   We're back and it looks like 'monthly' is our new for-real schedule! WOO! In this episode, Amy pays the unscrupulous rent with "blackmail", while Ryan communes with a Hindu effigy known as "Juggernaut (https://www.etymonline.com/word/juggernaut)". Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music (https://play.google.com/music/m/Irnupzpsrwez4jksvxngihbp4ku?t=Lexitecture), Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts (http://pca.st/6VJ5) or wherever you get your podcasts! Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group! Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to. Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture Thanks!

Inside a recent episode

Episode 139: Salient Kaleidoscope

Published 13 Mar 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] On looking through the tube, numerous reflections of these are seen producing brightly colored symmetrical figures which may be constantly altered by rotation of the instrument. And kaleidoscopes are great. They're fun. They're just they're just nice. This was the invention of Dr. David Brewster, who was a Scottish scientist and inventor. And he did a lot of work. He seems like an interesting guy because in the... And we're in early 1800s is where we are chronologically. I sort of assumed we were around about that time. Yeah. So... It's interesting because a lot of people in the pantheon of physicists and early 17th, 18th, 19th century scientists, They're divided into two camps, and one of them is your mathematicians and the people who work out the theory of things and have all the formulas. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

49 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 64 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

90

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

92

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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