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“English; A language that lurks in dark alleys, beats up other languages, and rifles through their pockets for spare vocabulary.” (Bumper Sticker)A humorous quote that is quite accurate, actually. Of 80,000 English words, roughly 28% originate from Latin, 28% from French, and 25% from Germanic languages (Pie Chart: Wikipedia).
So, to honor those countries that have shared their vocabulary, by choice or by force, here is a list of ten words that native English speakers may not know as foreign. Granted, there are thousands of words to choose from, and to pick ten was difficult. After all, how many know that tycoon comes from the Japanese word “taikun” (great lord)? Or, that gung ho is Mandarin Chinese for “gongye hezhoushe” (work in harmony)?
Impress your friends with your new knowledge of the English language as you explain the interesting origin of words like robot (robota, Czech for “drudgery”), chic (originally schick, German for “elegance”), and kiosk (Turkish for “pavilion” or “palace”):
10. Poltergeist
As so vividly demonstrated in the numerous Poltergiest and Amityville Horror movies, a poltergeist is some sort of paranormal (and usually violent) activity taking place around those who are deeply troubled or have been traumatized. The word itself comes from the German words “poltern”, meaning to make noise, and “geist”, meaning ghost. Most of this activity has been attributed to various physical or electrical explanations by skeptics, but like with anything paranormal, there are cases that are too weird for explanation.
9. Placebo.
You’ve probably heard of the placebo effect, especially in drug testing. A placebo is “an innocuous or inert medication; given as a pacifier or to the control group in experiments on the efficacy of a drug” (wordnetweb.princeton). The noun placebo comes from a Latin verb, meaning “I shall please”, in reference to some participants’ belief that the “medication” had an effect. What is actually happening however is that the participant may be unwilling to say that they experienced nothing out of fear of failure or of disappointing the researcher.
8. LootLoot, swag, plunder.
No matter what word you use, you know that you’re talking about treasure. The word loot itself is an Anglo-Indian word with a root in the Hindi word “lut”. As a Hindi word, loot is an item stolen during war or riot. The word came into the English language during the British occupation of India during the eighteenth century.
7. Kudos
An ancient Greek word that means “glory” or “reknown”. In ancient Greek culture, glory was found on the battlefield, much like every other civilization. When a solider was refused his earned due, or kudos, it was considered a very serious insult. One of the most famous examples of kudos is in the Iliad when Agamemnon takes the maiden Briseis from the soldier Achilles as a gift of honor- kudos earned from his glory in battle.
6. Khaki.
If there is one thing that the British Army was known for up until the nineteenth century, it was their bright red uniforms, earning them the nickname “redcoats”. This made them an easy target no matter where they went, and in combination with their emphasis on holding their formation, they were sitting ducks especially during the American Revolution. However, if one looks at the British Army now, they wear a different and more sensible color: khaki. The British began using the cloth and color found in their colonization of India, hence the name khaki, which means “dusty” or “earth” in Hindi.
5. Juggernaut
While most people think of the X-Men villain when they hear this word, it actually dates back to pre-colonial times. Juggernaut is actually Sanskrit for “lord of the universe”, and is a form of the Hindu deity Krishna. The word came into the English language when British visitors to India witnessed a parade famous to the Jagannath Temple, in which statues of deities that were forty-five feet tall on platforms with wheels seven feet in diameter are rolled through the streets. Ironic, as Juggernaut himself is represented as a young boy, often playing a flute.
4. Glitch
A word for “slip up”, glitch is believed to be a conglomeration of two words, both that meant to slip or slide, around 1962: “glitshen” (Yiddish) and “glitschen” (German). It was first used in English by American astronauts when there was a spike in an electrical current, and then broadened to other technical mishaps. (Image: GLITCH – Designing Imperfection.)
3. Confetti
Traditionally, confetti is an Italian word to mean “candy”, specifically sugared almonds and other sweet confections eaten during special religious occasions like weddings, baptisms, and first communions. The custom of throwing confetti however, does not come from Italy. In times of antiquity, small food items such as rice, dates, or nuts were thrown during times of celebration to represent fertility and abundance.
2. Berserk
Berserk refers to an Old Norse word used to describe the Viking warriors. The word itself means “bear shirt” for the bearskins that the warriors used instead of armor. They believed that by wearing the skins and working themselves into their war frenzy, that they would be endowed with the bear’s energy. Sir Walter Scott began using the word in the 1822 in his book The Pirate, more than one thousand years after the Viking invasions.
1. Assassin
The origins of this Arabic word date back to the ninth century, when an Islamic sect was led to overthrow the Suni Muslims. Yemeni Shiite Hasan-I Sabbah was the founder of the group and set about his mission by targeting the enemies’ leaders. The group was given the name Hashshashin, meaning hashish-eaters, and was converted into English in 1603 as “assassin”.
“英语就像是潜伏在小巷中的一种事物，它攻击其他语言后，将其他语言占为己有。” (Bumper Sticker)
这确实是相当准确而幽默的一句话。在8万英语单词中，大约有28%来自拉丁语，28％来自法语，还有25%来自日尔曼语系。因此，可以说是为了纪念这些国家分享他们语言的行为，无论是被选中还是强制性的，下列是10个可能英语母语国家的人都不知道是外来语的单词。从成千上万个单词中选出10个真的很困难，有多少人知道TYCOON来自日文 “TAIKUN” (大亨)呢？又有多数人知道GUNG HO是中文中工业合作社的意思呢？
給你的朋友解释单词来源来增强他们对你的印象吧——ROBOT来自捷克语，本意是苦工；CHIC是希克语，在德文中意为优雅的；还有KIOSK是土耳其语中建筑物或宫殿的意思。下面是我们选出的10个：
10. Poltergeist（喜欢恶作剧的鬼）
喜欢恶作剧的鬼在鬼屋等恐怖片给了我们很生动的形象，它是一种发生在受过巨大创伤人周围的超常现象（通常是暴力的）。单词来源于德文“POLTERN”和“GEIST”, , 意为制造噪音和鬼。无神论者认为这些幽灵的大多数行为是可以通过物理或电的原理来解释的，但就和其他超常的事物一样，有些发生了的事情实在古怪到无法解释。
9. Placebo（安慰剂）
你可能听说过安慰剂效应，尤其在药品测试期间。安慰剂是“一种无害而缓慢的药物，通常给予药品测试的样本人员”。安慰剂这个名词来自于拉丁语的一个动词，本意为“我应该高兴”。有些样本人员认为药物总是会有负效应的，然而事实上，他们无需恐惧和害怕实验失败，也不用担心研究结果会让研究者失望。
8. Loot（战利品）Loot, swag, plunder（意思均为战利品或赃物）
无论你用哪个单词，你都知道你在讨论的是一种宝物。LOOT这个单词本身是英印语，其中包含了北印度语的词根 “lut”. 在北印度语中，LOOT指在战争或暴乱中失窃的物品。在英军占领印度The word came into the English language during the British occupation of India during the eighteenth century.
7. Kudos（荣誉）
这是个古老的希腊单词，意为光荣或声誉。在古希腊文化中，和其他古文明一样，认为光荣来自战场。如果一个士兵拒绝接受他应得的报酬或荣誉，那可以说是一种很严重的侮辱。关于荣誉，一个最为著名的例子是在《伊利亚特》中，阿伽门农将布里塞伊斯从阿喀琉斯的军队中带回本阵，因为战场上的这一表现，他赢得了荣誉。
6. Khaki（卡其布的）
说到对19世纪英军的印象，那应该就是他们亮红的军服，这也让给了他们“红衣军”的名号。无论他们走到哪里，这个颜色使得他们很容易被敌人发现。外加上他们对维持阵形的坚持，他们在战争中简直就是活靶子，尤其在独立战争中。然而，如果你看看现在的英军，他们现在穿的和以前不同了，是种更合理的颜色：卡其色。英国人在殖民印度期间开始使用卡其布和卡其色，因此KHAKI来自北印度语，本意为满是灰尘的或泥土。
5. Juggernaut（重型卡车）
听到这个单词时可能大多数人会想到X战警是恶棍，但这个词的来源要追溯到前殖民时期。Juggernaut在梵文中意为“宇宙之王”，在北印度语中意为女神讫哩什那神。当英国人在印度看到一场到Jagannath Temple的阅兵式，在那场仪式中有数尊高约45英尺，底下装有直径达7英尺轮子的雕像，他们靠轮子一路滚过大街。讽刺的是，Juggernaut本意是吹奏长笛的男孩。
4. Glitch（小失误）
GLITCH意为小失误， 被认为是意第绪语中“glitshen” 和德语中“glitschen”的合体词。该词首先由美国宇航员使用，当时是为了说明电流中有尖刺的状况，尔后扩展到了其他技术问题的范畴。
3. Confetti（糖果）
传统上该词来源于意大利语，意为糖果，尤其指在诸如婚礼、洗礼或圣餐仪式等特定宗教场合所食用的杏仁或其他甜品。但是扔糖果的风俗并不来自意大利。久远的过去，在庆祝会上扔掷像大米、枣子或干果等小食物来代表丰收和富饶的愿望。
2. Berserk（狂暴）
该词来源于古代斯堪的纳维亚语，本意用来指代维京战士。该词本意是指战士代替盔甲穿在身上的熊皮，他们相信穿着熊皮可以借助熊的力量让他们在战斗中更疯狂。1822年，在维京人入侵1000年后，Walter Scott爵士第一次在他的著作《海盗》使用该词。
1. Assassin（刺客）
该阿拉伯单词的来源要追溯到19世纪，那时伊斯兰教的一个教派要去推翻Suni穆斯林（另一个伊斯兰教教派）。当时Yemeni Shiite Hasan-I Sabbah是那个教派的创建者，他定下了擒贼先擒王的战略目标。他领导的队伍被成为HASHSHASHIN，意为吸食大麻者。1603年以ASSASSIN的形式成为英语单词。
评论
学习了...
评论
就喜欢这样的东西，似是而非...
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嗯嗯 很喜欢这样的英文，有点偏偏的感觉。
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