Karaoke- Japanese

Karaoke, the beloved/hated entertainment that involves non-professional singers performing without live bands, has a poetic-sounding origin: “empty orchestra.”

It comes from the Japanese kara (“empty”) + ōke, short forōkesutora (“orchestra”).

That same kara also appears in karate: “empty” + te (“hand”).

Karaoke became popular in Japan among businessmen in the late 1970s, and gained widespread popularity in the U.S. in the late 1980s.

Kerfuffle- Scottish Gaelic

Kerfuffle means “disturbance or fuss,” often describing a situation that’s received more attention than it deserves.

“Fuffle” was first used in Scottish English, as early as the 16th century, as a verb meaning “to dishevel.” The addition of the prefix “car-” (possibly derived from a Scottish Gaelic word meaning “wrong” or “awkward”) barely changed the word’s meaning. In the 19th century “carfuffle” became a noun, and in the mid-20th century it was embraced by a broader population of English speakers and standardized to “kerfuffle.”

Chutzpah- Yiddish

Chutzpah comes from the Yiddish khutspe, meaning “impudence.”

In American English, chutzpah describes a particular kind of nerve, or gall. It refers to the supreme self-confidence that allows a person to do or say things that may seem shocking to others.

Kowtow- Chinese

To “kowtow” is to agree too easily or eagerly to do what someone else wants you to do, or to obey someone with power in a way that seems weak.

It comes from the Chinesekòutóu – kòu (“to knock”) plus tóu (“head”) – and originally referred to kneeling and touching one’s head to the ground as a salute or act of worship to a revered authority.

In traditional China, this ritual was performed by commoners making requests to the local magistrate, by the emperor to the shrine of Confucius, or by foreign representatives appearing before the emperor to establish trade relations.

In the late 18th century, some Western nations resisted performing the ritual, which acknowledged the Chinese emperor as the “son of heaven.”

The noun arrived in English in the early 1800s, and within a few decades had taken on the “fawn” or “suck up” verb meaning we use today.

Schadenfreude- German

The German Schaden means “damage”; Freude means “joy”; the English Schadenfreude means “enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others.”

As the Schadenfreude song from Avenue Q puts it: “And when I see how sad you are / It sort of makes me… / Happy!”

Apparatchik- Russian

Nowadays, apparatchik is generally used as a mild insult for a blindly devoted official, follower, or member of an organization, such as a corporation or political party.

Originally the word referred specifically to a Communist official or agent. It comes from the Russian apparat meaning “party machine” – and for much of the 20th century specifically “the political machine of the Communist party” – + -chik, an agent suffix.

Boondocks- Tagalog

Boondocks (and boonies) both mean “a rural area,” particularly one considered backward, dull, or unsophisticated.

In Tagalog, the language that is the base for Filipino, an official language of the Philippines, bundok means “mountains.” Following the Philippine Revolution of 1898, the occupying American military forces adopted “boondocks” and broadened its meaning to refer to the wild and rural country they found there.

Ketchup- Malay

This all-American condiment started out as a spicy, fermented fish sauce in Malaysia.

That version, known askěchap, made its way first to Europe and then to the New World, where tomatoes eventually became the defining ingredient.

Elsewhere, ketchup retains an earlier identity. Traditional English ketchup, for example, is a pureed seasoning based on mushrooms, unripe walnuts, or oysters.

Juggernaut- Hindi

A juggernaut is something (such as a force, campaign, or movement) that is huge and powerful and can’t be stopped.

The word rolled into English from Hindi with a fairly terrifying image.

It comes from Jagannāth (Hindi for “Lord of the World”), the title of the Hindu god Vishnu. According to some exaggerated but widespread reports dating back to the 14th century, during parades in India, devotees of Vishnu would sacrifice themselves by being crushed beneath the wheels of carriages carrying images of Vishnu.

Hazard- Arabic

Hazard dates to the time of the Crusaders and involves a game of chance.

According to the most likely theory, the original hazard(“al-zahr,” in Arabic) was a die. Players would roll the dice and bet on the outcome.

English got the word from French. In English, hazard eventually came to name any chance, risk, or source of danger.

source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/top-ten-lists/top-10-favorite-words-from-foreign-languages/karaoke.html

Mike Kinde of Ideas Illustrated color-coded paragraphs of text to create little portraits of where our language comes from.

This semi-precious stone was originally mined in Persia, but got its name from the French word for the Turkish merchants who first sold it in Europe. Turkeys (the birds) originated in America but get their name for the same reason.

Read the full text here:

From Cheddar Cheese to Lyme Disease: 26 Things Named After Places

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/122385#ixzz1rFHYZGFj 

—brought to you by mental_floss! 

The term “tabloid” was the name created and trademarked in 1844 by Burroughs, Wellcome & Company for a small pill containing a concentration of different ingredients. The term was soon being applied to anything in compressed form, and eventually became associated with newspapers with short condensed articles.

1. Vermillion- vivid reddish orange
2. Verdigris green- yellowish green
3. Titian- brownish orange
4. Bisque-light grayish brown
5. Puce- dark red
6. Cattleya- medium purple
7. Smalt- medium blue
8. Damask- grayish red
9. Jasper- blackish green
10. Bittersweet- deep reddish orange

Hobson-jobson [HOB-suhn-JOB-suhn]: A word or phrase borrowed by one language from another and modified in pronunciation to fit the set of sounds the borrowing language typically uses.

The English word compound is a hobson-jobson, derived from the Malay word kampkong. The term hobson-jobson is itself a hobson-jobson, an alteration of the Arabic ritual cry of mourning for Husan and Husein, Muhammed’s grandsons who were killed in battle. 

Intransigent [in-tran-si-juh nt]: Unwilling or refusing to change one’s views or to agree about something

She was afraid to approach her intransigent boss with her creative new ideas. 

The pretzel was invented by an Italian monk as a reward to children who said their prayers.  He called the strips of baked dough, folded to resemble arms crossing the chest, ‘pretiola’ (‘little rewards’).