LOAN WORDS OF AMERICAN ENGLISH
American English has further changed due to the influx of non-English speakers whose words sometimes enter American vernacular. Many words have entered American English from Spanish, Native American languages, and so on. Examples of common American English loanwords, not common in British English (many, however, would be recognised due to Hollywood movies):
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gumbo |
okra, or a stew thickened with okra |
From Chinese
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gung ho |
eager or fervent |
From Dutch
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cookie |
baked sweet, never called a biscuit, digestive; sometimes called shortbread |
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kill |
creek |
From French (Some of these terms are exclusive to the state of Louisiana)
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banquette |
a raised sidewalk |
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beignet |
a square, holeless doughnut |
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boudin |
a spicy link sausage |
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café au lait |
a mixture of half milk and half coffee |
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chowder |
a thick seafood stew |
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étouffée |
a spicy stew of vegetables and seafood |
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jambalaya |
rice cooked with herbs, spices, and ham, chicken, or seafood |
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lagniappe |
an extra or unexpected gift |
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pain perdu |
New Orleans-style French toast |
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pirogue |
a canoe made from a hollowed tree trunk |
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praline |
a candy made of nuts suspended in a boiled sugar syrup |
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toboggan |
a sled |
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zydeco |
a native Louisiana style of music |
From Native American languages
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bayou |
a swampy, slow-moving stream or outlet |
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cape (kepan) |
a headland |
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chinook |
a strong wind blowing down off the mountains |
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hickory (pawcohiccora) |
a North American deciduous tree of the genus Carya |
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high muckamuck |
an important person |
|
mugwump |
a political independent |
|
that neck of the woods (naiack) |
an expression; from whence a person hails |
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powwow |
a gathering or meeting, esp. of Native Americans |
|
squash (askutasquash) |
|
|
succotash |
mixture of corn and other vegetables like peas, beans |
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tipi |
a pyramidal tent -- also tepee |
|
woodchuck (wuchak) |
a marmot-like mammal |
From Spanish
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adobe |
a mud-based construction material |
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arroyo |
gulch, often dry except when it has rained recently |
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barrio |
shantytown or historically poverty-afflicted area of a city |
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burro |
donkey |
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barbecue |
a grill |
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desperado |
criminal |
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fiesta |
party |
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frijoles |
beans |
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gringo |
a disparaging term for a foreigner, esp. English or American |
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hacienda |
particular style of house |
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hammock |
a bed |
|
hombre |
man |
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mesa |
flat topped mountain |
|
pronto |
immediately |
From Yiddish
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klutz |
a clumsy person |
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kvetch |
complain |
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lox |
cured salmon |
|
schlep |
to carry or to travel |
|
schmuck |
a fool, or the penis |
|
schmutz |
dirt |
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shlemiel |
a fool |
From Japanese
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tycoon |
successful business leader |
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honcho |
leader, ie: "The Head Honcho" |
From Tagalog
|
boondocks (bundok) |
rural area, backcountry |