Borrowed Words and Their Origins – Part Two

Borrowed Words and Their Origins – Part One

Spain

Cockroach- The term cockroach comes from the Spanish word cucuracha (cockroach). There was a Spanish song called La Cucuracha about a dancer with castanets, the wings of a cockroach make a similar clicking sound.

Other words from Spain: guitar, hammock, mosquito.

Portugal

Marmalade- In the sixteenth century marmalade was always made from quince. The name marmalade comes from the Portuguese word Marmelada (quince jam).

Other words from Portugal: dodo, albatross, cobra.

Iceland

Mumps – From the Icelandic word Mumpaskoelur (grimace with the mouth). In the sixteenth century the usual meaning of the word mump was sulk, however in certain English dialects it meant grimace. So it is easy to see how the term mumps came to be used to name an illness which causes a swollen face and neck.

Other words from Iceland: saga, geyser.

Russia

Bistro- From the Russian word Bystro (quick or rapid). After the Napoleonic wars in 1915 there were a lot of Russian soldiers in France. When they went into cafes they shouted bystro to hurry the waiters, in time the name bistro was applied to cafes where people were served quickly.

Other words from Russia: mammoth, glasnost, sputnik, intelligentsia,

Italy

Umbrella- From the Italian word Ombrella (little shadow). When the word came into English in the seventeenth century it meant a sunshade, but in England protection from rain was more necessary than a sunshade and the word took on its present meaning.

Other words from Italy: Piano, confetti, graffiti, ghetto, opera, spaghetti, traffic, studio.

Ireland

Brat- From the old Irish word Bratt (covering or shawl). When the word brat entered the English language it was used to describe ragged clothing of the type worn by street urchins so it was gradually used to describe the wearers of the clothes. It gradually took on its present meaning of a badly behaved child.

Hubbub- From Irish Gaelic Hooboobbes (a cry of victory). When it was first used in English in the sixteenth century it meant a war cry of a savage tribe. It took on its present meaning of a confused sound created by many voices in the seventeenth century.

Other words from Ireland: leprechaun, blarney, limerick, whiskey.

Scotland

Trousers- From the Scots trews (trousers) from Gaelic triubhas (close fitting shorts)

In the sixteenth century English borrowed the word as trouse, but by the seventeenth century it had become trousers.

Other words from Scotland: slogan, bog, clan, loch.

Wales

Penguin- meaning a black and white sea bird from Welsh Pen (head) and Gwyn (white). The word came into the English language about 400 years ago it is thought that it was first used to describe the great auk, but in time it was applied to the seabird from the Antarctic that we know as a penguin, oddly that bird has a black head.

Other words from Wales: corgi, eisteddfod, crag, flannel.