TED-ED: Mysteries of vernacular: Odd - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel

The video explores the word 'odd', tracing its origins from the Indo-European root 'uzdho', meaning 'pointing upwards'. It discusses how Old Norse speakers adapted this root into 'oddi', referring to a triangle, and how this concept evolved to describe things that are unmatched or unpaired. The term 'odd' was later used in mathematics to describe numbers indivisible by two and in voting to describe the unpaired man who could break a tie. The English language adopted these meanings, and by the 16th century, 'odd' also came to mean 'peculiar'.

What is the Indo-European root of the word 'odd' and what does it mean?

• Uzdho, meaning pointing upwards

• Oddi, meaning triangle

• Mathr, meaning unpaired

• Peculiar, meaning different

In Old Norse, what did the word 'oddi' come to represent?

• A paired object

• A number divisible by two

• A common man

• An unmatched or unpaired item

What was the role of 'odda mathr' in Old Norse society?

• A man who was a leader

• A man who was a warrior

• A man who was always paired

• A man who could break a tie with his vote

Which concept did the English language adopt from Old Norse that relates to 'odd'?

• Odd arrowhead

• Odd land

• Odd number and odd man

• Odd triangle

In which century did the notion of 'odd man out' lead to the modern meaning of 'peculiar'?

• 15th century

• 16th century

• 14th century

• 17th century