51吃瓜 of the Day
humuhumunukunukuapuaa
noun
either of two triggerfishes聽of Indo-Pacific coral reefs.
More about humuhumunukunukuapuaa
Humuhumunukunukuapuaa is from Hawaiian 丑耻尘耻丑耻尘耻-苍耻办耻苍耻办耻-腻-辫耻补鈥榓. The humuhumu element means 鈥渢riggerfish,鈥� while nukunuku translates as 鈥渟hort, blunt鈥� and 鈥渟mall snout,鈥� 腻 means 鈥渓ike,鈥� and 辫耻补鈥檃 means 鈥減ig.鈥� Both humuhumu and nukunuku are reduplicated forms, same as the English terms bye-bye, chitchat, and itsy-bitsy. Humuhumunukunukuapuaa was first recorded in English in the mid-1860s.
EXAMPLE OF HUMUHUMUNUKUNUKUAPUAA USED IN A SENTENCE
A school of brightly colored humuhumunukunukuapuaa drifted idly by the reef.
abat-jour
noun
a device, as a skylight or reflector, for diverting light into a building.
More about abat-jour
Abat-jour is from French, in which abat is a form of abattre, 鈥渢o beat down,鈥� ultimately from Latin battuere, 鈥渢o beat.鈥� Battuere is the source of numerous fighting-related words in English, including battle听补苍诲 debate, and French jour, 鈥渄ay, daylight,鈥� is the source of journal and journey. Abat-jour was first recorded in English in the 1820s.
EXAMPLE OF ABAT-JOUR USED IN A SENTENCE
Through an abat-jour in the ceiling, the sun cast a square of light onto the floor.
zabuton
noun
a large, flat cushion, used in Japan for sitting or kneeling on the floor.
More about zabuton
Zabuton is borrowed from Japanese and formed from za, 鈥渟eat,鈥� and -buton, a form related to futon. Za as well as both the fu and ton elements in futon are all derived from Middle Chinese. In modern Mandarin, za has the cognate 锄耻貌, 鈥渟eat,鈥� fu is related to 产霉, 鈥渃loth,鈥� and ton shares an origin with Mandarin 迟耻谩苍, 鈥渂all, circle, mass.鈥� Zabuton was first recorded in English in the late 1880s.
EXAMPLE OF ZABUTON USED IN A SENTENCE
The guests each picked up a zabuton upon entering the room so they could sit around the low table in comfort.