Fact-based Word Journeys
Shampoo Began as a Hindi Word for a Good, Firm Massage
Shampoo, the Spanish champú and the Russian shampun all go back to a Hindi word meaning to press, and in English it first meant a massage, not a wash.
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Fact-based Word Journeys
Ketchup Was a Fish Sauce Long Before It Met a Tomato
Ketchup, the Spanish kétchup and the Russian ketchup all go back to a word from the coast of southern China that meant the juice of pickled fish, with no tomato anywhere in it.
Fact-based Word Journeys
Kiosk Was a Persian Garden Pavilion Before It Sold Newspapers
Kiosk, the Spanish quiosco and the Russian kiosk all come from a Persian word for a palace or garden pavilion, which shrank on its way west into a booth on the pavement.
Fact-based Word Journeys
Hammock Was a Caribbean Word Long Before It Meant a Lazy Afternoon
Hammock, the Spanish hamaca and the Russian gamak all swing from one word of the Taino people of the Caribbean, which reached Europe in the 1490s and was later mistaken for a hanging mat.
Fact-based Word Journeys
Kangaroo Is a Real Word, Not a Polite Shrug
A popular story says kangaroo means I don't understand, but the word was a real name for a big grey kangaroo, written down beside a river in 1770.
Fact-based Word Journeys
Pyjamas Began as Persian Leg Clothes Worn in Broad Daylight
Pyjamas, pijama and pizhama all come from a Persian phrase for leg clothing, and the loose trousers it named were worn in the daytime long before anyone went to bed in them.
Fact-based Word Journeys
The Word Sugar Began as an Ancient Word for Gravel
Sugar in English, sakhar in Russian and azúcar in Spanish all grew from one Sanskrit word for grit and gravel, which travelled west with the sweet crystals themselves.
Fact-based Word Journeys
A Magazine and a Russian Shop Are the Same Arabic Word
Magazine, the Spanish almacén and the Russian magazin all grew out of one Arabic word for a back room full of sacks, and only one of them ended up made of paper.
Fiction Made-Up Words
Echowish
(n.) The reflex that fires a good wish straight back at the person who offered it, so that a waiter setting down your dinner is warmly told to enjoy his meal too.
Fact-based Word Journeys
The Word Coffee Took the Long Way Round
Before it reached your cup, the word coffee travelled from Arabic into Turkish and then all over Europe, picking up a new spelling in almost every language.