Word of the Day
Hobson-Jobson
noun
the alteration of a word or phrase borrowed from another language to accord more closely with the phonological and lexical patterns of the borrowing language.
More about Hobson-Jobson
Hobson-Jobson comes from the Arabic lament ḥasan ḥusayn. British soldiers stationed in South Asia mistakenly wrote the Arabic phrase down as Hossy Gossy or Hossein Jossen. Eventually, the spelling Hobson-Jobson won out, after Hobson and Jobson, two clown characters in Victorian literature. Henry Yule and Arthur Coke Burrell coined Hobson-Jobson for the name of their glossary of Anglo-Indian words in 1886.
EXAMPLE OF HOBSON-JOBSON USED IN A SENTENCE
English buckaroo and cockroach are the results of Hobson-Jobson, coming from Spanish vaquero and cucaracha.
coquettish
adjective
characteristically flirtatious, especially in a teasing, lighthearted manner.
More about coquettish
Coquettish comes from the French word coquette, a flirtatious woman, with a male equivalent, coquet. Formed from coq, “rooster,” and -et (feminine -ette), a suffix meaning “small, little,” coquettish is a relative of the Word of the Day cockade. Coquettish was first recorded in English around 1690.
EXAMPLE OF COQUETTISH USED IN A SENTENCE
She finished telling her riveting story with only a coquettish wink, leaving her audience begging to know the ending.
terricolous
adjective
living on or in the ground.
Why the Museum of Science chose terricolous
To find out, watch this video from science communicator Maynard Okereke, better known as the Hip Hop M.D.
Learn more at the Museum of Science.
More about terricolous
Terricolous is based on the Latin word terra, meaning “earth,” and the element -colous, meaning “inhabiting.” Terra is also the source of the Words of the Day terraqueous and terrene. Terricolous was first recorded in English around 1830.
EXAMPLE OF TERRICOLOUS USED IN A SENTENCE
A large patch of terricolous moss grew in the shade of the old shed.
