Exercise
Words Borrowed from Asian Languages
Examine English words borrowed from various Asian languages. Trace the origins of these terms and see how they entered modern vocabulary.
Questions
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MultiChoice
The word 'avatar' came into English from Sanskrit 'avatāra'. What did it mean in ancient Hinduism?
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MultiChoice
The word 'typhoon' comes from Chinese 'tái fēng'. What does 'tái fēng' literally mean?
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MultiChoice
The word 'shampoo' entered English from the Hindi word 'chāmpo'. What was its original verb meaning?
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MultiChoice
The word 'pajamas' was brought from India, originating from Persian/Hindi 'pāy-jāma'. What did it mean?
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MultiChoice
The word 'origami' comes from Japanese 'ori' and 'kami'. What do these two words mean?
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MultiChoice
The word 'tsunami' comes from Japanese 'tsu' and 'nami'. What do 'tsu' and 'nami' mean?
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MultiChoice
The word 'karate' comes from Japanese words 'kara' and 'te'. What do 'kara' and 'te' mean?
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MultiChoice
The word 'ketchup' traces back to a Hokkien Chinese word 'kê-tsiap'. What was 'kê-tsiap' originally?
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MultiChoice
The word 'tea' came into English from Hokkien Chinese 'tê'. Which language gave us 'chai'?
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MultiChoice
The word 'jungle' entered English from Sanskrit 'jaṅgala'. What did 'jaṅgala' originally mean?
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MultiChoice
The word 'mogul' (a powerful person) comes from 'Mughal'. Who were the Mughals?
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MultiChoice
The word 'zen' comes from Japanese Zen, derived from Sanskrit 'dhyana', meaning what?