Sep 7, 2022 • 4M

Sullen, Secure & Sober

A root meaning "separate or apart" unites words across English and other languages.

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John McWhorter
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Miles Davis plays a trumpet solo during New York City’s Schaefer Music Festival in 1969.

Self, solo and even those idio- words — like idiosyncratic and idiolect — all derive from the same ancient root. Oh, and words like ethnic and ethic too. How can that be? John explains.

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