Wednesday, May 23, 2007

I'm a word of the day

I get these emails because I am a nerd....

***
This week's theme: words borrowed from Spanish.

cabana (kuh-BAHN-uh) noun

1. A shelter on a beach or swimming pool.

2. A cabin or cottage.

[From Spanish cabaƱa, from Late Latin capanna (hut).]

Would it surprise you to know that cabin and cabinet are related? Or that
basin and basinet/bassinet are? The diminutive suffix -et doesn't only
convey the sense of smallness, it can change the whole meaning. Consider
table and tablet, for another example.

"Calvin Klein is redecorating the cabana area of the lounge with
furnishings like wall decorations featuring a new Klein logo and
photographs of models wearing Klein clothes."
Allison Fass; GQ Steps Out of Its Pages And Opens a Lounge;
The New York Times; Feb 15, 2002.
***

OK, well I have one little problemo with this! The pronunciation says
kuh-BAHN-uh and it makes me NUTS when people say my name
like this! It's kuh-BAN-uh!!!! Like banana! I had a teacher in high school
who said my name this way and I couldn't stand it! LOL!

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

LOL How cool! That's weird about the pronunciation. I'va always heard it said like banana!

May 23, 2007  
Blogger Unknown said...

This works for portuguese too. :)

June 15, 2007  

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