Word of the Day
humuhumunukunukuapuaa
noun
either of two triggerfishes of Indo-Pacific coral reefs.
More about humuhumunukunukuapuaa
Humuhumunukunukuapuaa is from Hawaiian humuhumu-nukunuku-ā-pua‘a. The humuhumu element means “triggerfish,” while nukunuku translates as “short, blunt” and “small snout,” ā means “like,” and pua’a means “pig.” Both humuhumu and nukunuku are reduplicated forms, same as the English terms bye-bye, chitchat, and itsy-bitsy. Humuhumunukunukuapuaa was first recorded in English in the mid-1860s.
EXAMPLE OF HUMUHUMUNUKUNUKUAPUAA USED IN A SENTENCE
A school of brightly colored humuhumunukunukuapuaa drifted idly by the reef.
abat-jour
noun
a device, as a skylight or reflector, for diverting light into a building.
More about abat-jour
Abat-jour is from French, in which abat is a form of abattre, “to beat down,” ultimately from Latin battuere, “to beat.” Battuere is the source of numerous fighting-related words in English, including battle and debate, and French jour, “day, daylight,” is the source of journal and journey. Abat-jour was first recorded in English in the 1820s.
EXAMPLE OF ABAT-JOUR USED IN A SENTENCE
Through an abat-jour in the ceiling, the sun cast a square of light onto the floor.
zabuton
noun
a large, flat cushion, used in Japan for sitting or kneeling on the floor.
More about zabuton
Zabuton is borrowed from Japanese and formed from za, “seat,” and -buton, a form related to futon. Za as well as both the fu and ton elements in futon are all derived from Middle Chinese. In modern Mandarin, za has the cognate zuò, “seat,” fu is related to bù, “cloth,” and ton shares an origin with Mandarin tuán, “ball, circle, mass.” Zabuton was first recorded in English in the late 1880s.
EXAMPLE OF ZABUTON USED IN A SENTENCE
The guests each picked up a zabuton upon entering the room so they could sit around the low table in comfort.