Hobson-Jobson
[ hob-suhn-job-suhn ]
noun
the alteration of a word or phrase borrowed from a foreign language to accord more closely with the phonological and lexical patterns of the borrowing language, as in English hoosegow from Spanish juzgado.
Origin of Hobson-Jobson
11625–35; Indian English rendering of Arabic yā Ḥasan, yā Husayn lament uttered during taʿziyah; an example of such an alteration
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British Dictionary definitions for hobson-jobson
hobson-jobson
/ (ˌhɒbsənˈdʒɒbsən) /
noun
another word for folk etymology
Origin of hobson-jobson
1C19: Anglo-Indian folk-etymological variant of Arabic yā Hasan! yā Husayn! O Hasan! O Husain! (ritual lament for the grandsons of Mohammed); influenced by the surnames Hobson and Jobson
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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