Where Words Come From
Linguist Adam Aleksic traces where words come from, from ancient roots to slang that appeared on social media last week.
What it is
@etymologynerd is linguist Adam Aleksic, a Harvard graduate who explains where English words come from in short, fast videos. Some clips dig up the ancient root inside an everyday word; others track slang that was born on social media days ago. Etymology Nerd started as an infographic blog in 2016, and Adam began posting videos during his final semester at Harvard.
Why we picked it
Word origins are a magnet for confident nonsense online. Adam is the antidote: careful, specific, and refreshingly free of snobbery about how people talk on the internet. He treats a Latin root and last week's meme as the same kind of thing, a language doing what language has always done, and he makes that case in under a minute.
His big subject is how algorithms reshape speech. That is the focus of his book Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language, a 2025 New York Times bestseller. He has lectured at Stanford, Yale and Georgetown and written for The Washington Post, and the videos distill all of that into bite-size explanations you will want to repeat at dinner.
Where to start
- The internet slang explainers: where words like "rizz" came from and why "-core" got attached to everything.
- His breakdowns of censorship workarounds creators use to dodge moderation, which is algospeak itself.
- Surprising origin stories behind common English words and surnames.
- The Etymology Nerd YouTube channel and his Substack newsletter for longer takes.
- The book Algospeak, if you want the full argument in one place.
Who it's for
Etymology fans, language teachers, English learners past the intermediate stage, and anyone who has wondered where the latest meme word came from. The videos are talk-driven and quick, so you will get the most out of them with solid English.
Quick answers
Who is Etymology Nerd? Adam Aleksic, an American linguist, Harvard graduate and author of Algospeak.
Can I watch without TikTok? Yes. The profile opens in a browser, and he posts on YouTube and Instagram too.
Is it only about English? Mostly, though he often traces words back through Latin, Greek and other languages.
