Yakhchāl - noun.

A yakhchāl is a rather ingenious and curious structure first used in ancient Persia. They are a type of evaporative cooler used for making ice, chilling food and general food storage. They are made out of heat resistant materials and as a result, many are still standing today ( Read more... )

perse (PURS) - n., a dark grayish indigo ( Read more... )

attar (AT-er) - n., essential oils distilled from flowers or petals ( Read more... )

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... )

In honor of the famous Chinese New Year parade -- bringing in the Year of the Ram -- taking place in San Francisco this weekend, let us learn words pertaining to that celebration & culture.

ni·an gao [nyan-gow]:
origin: [722-481 BC] Chinese; "nin gou" in Cantonese; similar sound= "year high" (年高), symbolizing higher income/position/success/health. ( Read more... )

sum·to·la [səm/tō-lah]:
origin: [1800s] Latin; sum "equally" + tola= "weight; unit"

noun
I dare say that unless you're an East Indian weight-lifter, you may fall into "girly-man" status!

Indian barbells or sumtola are serious business, the height in resistance training -- no need for fancy metal benches or designer Nike™ threads to get this ( Read more... )

Li·on Dance (ˈlaɪən dɑːns):
origin: unknown; T'ang Dynasty (618-906 A.D.), Chinese word for lion: shi resembles Persian: shir

noun舞狮; wǔshī; Traditional Chinese dance with costumed performers made to look like fanciful lions -- used to ward off evil spirits as well as bring good luck, especially at Chinese New Year. The origin is mysterious, as ( Read more... )

phthalate (FTHAY-layt, THAY-layt) - n., a salt or ester of phthalic acid, commonly used as a plasticizer.

That is, added to plastics (especially PVC) to make them more flexible. It's of some controversy because of health effects, especially on prenatal development; Wikipedia has a brief summary and oodles of further reading. Phthalic acid, fwiw, ( Read more... )