Diachronica: Word Origins

Name: Diachronica: Word Origins
Rating: 5 (2 reviews)
Author: LanguageCraft

Every word is an immigrant

Free · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.

2 Ratings
Age Rating

4+
Years
Category

Reference
Developer

LanguageCraft
Language

EN
English
Size

4.7
MB

Every English word is an immigrant. Trace the languages it crossed, the relatives it kept, and the centuries it travelled to reach you. Every English word is an immigrant. Some arrived recently. Others crossed continents and centuries, changing shape and meaning along the way. Diachronica tells their stories. START WITH A WORD Choose the daily word, pick an example, or search for your own. Diachronica gathers the story, historical forms, pronunciation when a sourced recording exists, and the evidence behind the journey. FOLLOW THE JOURNEY Watch a word move toward modern English on a map. Read each form in order on the timeline. See how its use changed when the corpus data supports it. MEET THE RELATIVES Cognates carry family resemblances across languages. Every displayed cognate has a source mark, so the evidence is always within reach. READ IT YOUR WAY Choose Parchment by day, Scriptorium at night, or high contrast whenever you want it. Diachronica also includes screen-reader labels, keyboard controls, reduced motion, clear loading and error states, and a short guided tour. FOLLOW THE SOURCES Word histories combine Wiktionary-derived etymology with expert datasets including Lexibank, IE-CoR, and WOLD. ASJP and CLICS³ add cross-language context. COCA and Google Books Ngrams support usage views when available. The in-app source ledger explains the datasets and their licenses. English did not grow up alone. Open a word and meet everyone it travelled with.

Ratings & Reviews

5.0

out of 5

2 Ratings

Outstanding
Aug 30
TheDavernator
This app is something else. 5 stars. 10/10. As a writer, I’m always on the lookout for a new, unique word to avoid sounding stale and using the same terms over and over. I’ve always had a fascination with language and word origins. Not to mention that the app is free with zero ads. Thank you for making this. It is much appreciated!
Outstanding
Aug 30
TheDavernator

This app is something else. 5 stars. 10/10. As a writer, I’m always on the lookout for a new, unique word to avoid sounding stale and using the same terms over and over. I’ve always had a fascination with language and word origins. Not to mention that the app is free with zero ads. Thank you for making this. It is much appreciated!

Diachronica 1.2.4 gives appearance and guidance a permanent home in Settings. On iPhone and iPad, Settings also opens two wider views of language: the bundled Inner Dialogue globe and the World Languages family tree. They remain distinct from the word stories, keeping the main experience focused. Inner Dialogue now has larger controls, clearer phone instructions, and a direct way back to Diachronica. You can also send general feedback from Settings or report an issue with the story you are reading.

Version 1.2.4 Sep 3

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Supported Features
- VoiceOver
- Voice Control
- Larger Text
- Dark Interface
- Differentiate Without Color Alone
- Sufficient Contrast
- Reduced Motion

Information

Seller: Bridge City Lab LLC
Size: 4.7 MB
Category: Reference
Compatibility: Requires iOS 15.0 or later.

iPhone
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.

iPad
Requires iPadOS 15.0 or later.

iPod touch
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.

Mac
Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.

Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
Languages: English
Age Rating: 4+

4+

Learn More