secret life of words
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Avatar No 1 on the Net: Indian words in English
Viagra sounds like the Sanskrit word for tiger — “vyaghra”. Henry Hitchens points that out in his delightful book, The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) notes the similarity but doubts any connection between the two words. The “vi” of Viagra possibly comes from virile and virility, it… Read more
arthur burnell, avatar, bangle, bazaar, bollywood, bungalow, catamaran, cheroot, cot, curry, dinghy, dungaree, english, guru, henry hitchens, henry yule, hobson-jobson, indian, internet, karma, mogul, OED, oxford english dictionary, pariah, pundit, raja, richard hakluyt, sanskrit, secret life of words, thug, viagra, vyaghra, william jones
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