Welcome to another episode of something rhymes with purple. This is a podcast all about words

and language and etymology. Where words come from? Now they've evolved over the years.

And it's presented by me, jazz, brownruth, and by my friend and colleague, Susie Dent.

Susie, where are you today and how are you today?

Well, I am in my usual spot at home in my study looking at your gorgeous self on a screen.

I know you're somewhere more exciting, just quickly to answer how am I.

And I'm suffering a little bit, Giles, because I went for a lovely walk today, near me,

then stopped with a friend at a pub, lovely pub near me for lunch.

Oh, we sat outside. There was a wasp that was stuck in an empty bottle of coke on the other table.

And looked very sort of perplexed and worried and was desperate to get out.

So I tipped the bottle over, let it out, and guess what happened then?

It didn't sting you. It stung me. Oh, yes. So that's the last time I help out any wasp.

I have to say I've forgotten how extremely painful they are, because thankfully the wasp

didn't die. That's only bees. But it was, yeah, it was, it's still hurting, I have to say.

So if you see me scrunching my nose at any point or wind-sing, it's not because of what you're saying.

Just remind me wasp, W-A-S-P. I know that the French for this is the word GEP, G-U-E-W-P-E,

and they're connected in some way. Explain to me why that W becomes G-U in French or the other way around.

Yeah, but it does often do that. So for example, we have a warranty from English that went sort of

old English route, and then we have Garantille, which became Garantille in English. But ultimately,

this one didn't really come from French. It came from the old English. What we did is we swapped

the S and the P around. So in old English, it was weps, rather than wasp. And it goes back to the

Latin Vespa, which means a wasp, and those wonderful Vespas, which I've always wanted to ride,

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