Word of the Week: losos – ‘salmon’

Word of the Week: losos – ‘salmon’

Author: Radio Prague International August 2, 2025 Duration: 0:00
Losos is the Czech name for the salmon fish, which, unhelpfully for learners, looks nothing like English salmon. The Czech word, however, is part of a big and ancient family of words, some members of which English speakers may know.  

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Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Radio Prague International - Topic «Czech language course»
Podcast Episodes
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Tariffs are a topical concept at the moment, and the Czech word clo is similar to the German over the border: Zoll . It was from medieval German that Czech took the word clo .
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The Romans called a mill a molīna , literally a ‘grinder’, as the root of the word is the Latin verb molere ‘to grind’ (see also: your molar teeth).
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The primary component of vinegar is acetic acid, both words of which derive from the Latin verb acēre ‘to be sour’.
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Sometimes, a language can get a word from another language, and preserve aspects of the word that are changed in the original source.
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Dvanáct is the number ‘twelve’ in Czech. The dva- bit of the word is the number ‘two’ on its own, while - náct is the part that it shares with the other ‘teen’ numbers: jedenáct (11), třináct (13), čtrnáct (14) and so on…
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Experts have argued over the exact origins of Czech’s distinctive word for ‘elephant’. It shares this word with other Slavic languages (for example, Polish słoń , Russian слон ), but where Slavic as a whole got it from i…
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The Czech word for the cherry tree or fruit ( třešeň ) may now begin with a T, but it can be reconstructed back to a prehistoric Slavic word like * čerša .
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This stubborn but useful animal was much liked by the Romans, who depended on donkeys for transporting goods around their empire.
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Easter is upon us, and with it comes a host of Czech traditions. Czechia is known internationally for its unique selection of Easter activities, some of which may raise a concerned eyebrow among foreigners. To help you u…