WORDS FROM AFAR.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2175, 19 December 1885, Page 3

WORDS FROM AFAR.

: ! ■ ,The following aro tho derivations of a. '' ; few words whicl} have been introduced into , ;■ tiio English language in comparatively '■•' rbcent tilno, owing to our commercial ,; intercourse with-foreign nations, or to the . spread of the aits arid science. As our langriage contains words drawn from nearly every ountrjvjn the world, wo confino ourselves to. those \vhieh aro tho. least common/ 'Thus,,',for instance, wo get from America ; maize, potatoes, and tobacco;frpmArabia, admiral, algebra, j coffee, : lake, ; cott6n, lemon, lime and sofa; i from China, mvnkeen, satin, and various '•' lahds of'tea/as congou, bohea, souchong, .• etc-; from France, bouquet, depot, and •'; soiree; from Hebrew,, amen; cherub, ; j jubilee, and sabbath; from Malay,bamboo, i bantam, chintz, sago, and!'curry; from India, calico, jungle, 'muslin, punch, rupee, and augar ; from Italy, bust, ; canto, folio, grotto, motto, umbrella, volcano, opera, piano, and various terms used in music; from Persia, chess, balconvibazaar,.orange, shawl, and turban; from amnesia, kangaroo, tattoo, etc;; from Turkey, sash and tulip; and Portugal and Spain, cash, cocoa, cargo, chocolate, cigar, negro, and sherry, These are only a very fow of the many words which may be mentioned, but they aresufficientto ihuw that when an article of commerce, a new kind of art, ora new branch of scionce was introduced into England for the first timo, it naturally brought with it the name by which it had been previously known in the country from which it had been borrowed. This word would, of course, undergo many changes in the pro- . cess of its adoption, but in the end it • would become an English word,