terai (tuh-RAI) - n., a felt sunhat with a high crown and wide brim, worn especially in the subtropics.

Which is named after:

Terai (tuh-RAI) - n., belt of marshy land between the Himalaya foothills and the Ganges floodplain.

From Hindustani तराई ‎(tarāī) or ترائی ‎(tarāī), meaning wetland, from Persian تر (tar) ‎/ wet. More about the hat, ( Read more... )

Juggernaut (n.):
( Read more... )

Jungle wallah--"a jungle fellow", i.e., someone rude, uncivilized, lacking manners. Used in India; mixed Hindi and English, "wallah"--"fellow" in Hindi.
~~
Demiurge noun demi·urge \ˈde-mē-ˌərj ( Read more... )

pe·nu·ri·ous [pə-no͝or′ē-əs,]:
origin: [1590] Latin; pēnūria= "want"

adjective (penuriousness, nounIt sounds a little like "penniless" and that's pretty much what it means, for example you may have been forced into a penurious food budget due to your recently increased rent -- plus "penurious" sounds nicer than saying you're broke; scant. One ( Read more... )

Apologies for my absence these past weeks, was utterly swamped at work, but I'm back with extra words to make up the difference!

a·bu·gi·da [ˌɑːbuːˈɡiːdə]:
origin: (1864) Ethiopian; from Ge'ez (a-bu-gi-da), the first four structures in the language, borrowed from the Greek idea of alpha-beta for alphabet.

nounWe tend to think in terms of our own ( Read more... )

Apologies for my absence these past weeks, was utterly swamped at work, but I'm back with extra words to make up the difference!

alien·ist [ˈā-lē-ə-nəst]:
origin: (1864) French; aliéniste, from aliéné= "insane", based on Latin alienus= "of another"

noun
1. archaic term for psychiatrist, particularly one focused on legal aspects of the ( Read more... )

Although both of today's words come from the long-running television series, Poirot (based on the books by Agatha Christie), the first initially came to my attention via another British series, Two Fat Ladies -- blog dedication & recipe: here.

ked·ger·ee [ˌkɛdʒəˈriː]:
origin: (1600's) Hindi khicarī; Sanskrit khiccā= dish of rice.

nounA humble ( Read more... )

ragi, noun.  An Old World cereal grass, Eleusine coracana, also known as finger millet.

Ragi is traditionally grown in arid areas in India and Africa, and is adaptable to higher elevations.  The harvested seeds can be stored for a long time without being attacked by mold or insects.  Due to the growing popularity of Indian food, the flour can be ( Read more... )

A little late (and I may have missed last week - sorry! I've been suffering a never-ending cold).

Leep [leep]
verb

Definition
To wash with cow-dung and water.

Etymology
Anglo-Indian, from Urdu (Hindi) lipna.

First seen
1895 - Kipling, Second Jungle Book, page 80: The big wicker~chest, leeped with cow-dung.

Usage
When I first came across this word, I thought ( Read more... )

I apologize for last week, spring break and no internet connection didn't really work in my favor.

pukka \PUHK-uh\, adjective

Definition:
1. Authentic; genuine.
2. Good of its kind; first-class.

Example:
He talks like the quintessential pukka Australian, with every lingual quirk intact in his speech.

Origin:
Pukka comes from Hindi pakka, "cooked, ( Read more... )