How much do you know about the origin of everyday words?
The English language has been hugely influenced over the centuries by other tongues from near and far.
Some are well-known and there’s a strong indication of their origin – such as Schadenfreude or Tsar.
But you might be surprised at how many everyday words come from other languages, says our sister paper CornwallLive.
The Romany language for instance has given us words from cushty to cosh and gavver to gibberish.
Sometimes spelled Romani, this is an unwritten language that is believed to have originated in northern India, particularly the Hindi, Sanskrit and Punjabi languages.
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Across the world there are just five or six million speakers – mainly in Europe and the USA with very few in the UK.
The largest concentrations of Roma people today live in Turkey, Spain and Romania.
In the UK they are commonly referred to as Gypsies. According to the 2011 census, there are around 500 Gypsy, traveller and Irish traveller people living in Warwickshire and around 150 in Coventry. However, the government says this may not reflect the true figure, as some may be scared to disclose their ethnicity.
So what words has the Romany language given us? We’ve taken a look…
Not a place we’ve had the opportunity to go into for a while thanks to coronavirus! The word originally comes from the word ‘stone’ in Romany, but actually means a pound coin or a pound note.
A slang term you’ll here often in cities, this is used to describe a young person often dressed in tracksuits. It comes from the word ‘chavi’, meaning child.
You’ll know this as a term for a weapon, often a heavy stick or bar. It’s derived from the Romany word ‘cosht’ meaning stick.
If you’re a fan of Only Fools and Horses you’ll be very familiar with this term. It comes from the word ‘kushtipen’ or ‘kushti’ meaning ‘very good’.
Less used in this sense nowadays, the word dick referred to a detective or private investigator in the 19th century. It comes from the Romany word ‘dik’ meaning to look and see.
A common insult in the playground, this means a stupid person and comes from ‘divvy’ meaning mad.
Another word to describe a police officer, deriving from the word ‘garav’, meaning hide.
A lovely word to describe nonsense, this is thought to come from the Romani word ‘jib’ which means tongue or language.
Derived from a term meaning red apple – loli phabai – which makes sense when you know what it was a Roma tradition to sell candied apples on a stick.
One of many, many words in the English language to describe someone who is very drunk, this derives from ‘muller’ which means dead or killed.
Slang term for a police informer, this derives from the word ‘nāk’ meaning nose.
One of the most common terms for a friend, this comes from ‘phral’ meaning brother.
Familiar if you’re from the north of England or Scotland this word for food comes from the Romany word ‘satan’ meaning to eat.
The word used to describe a container on a building site is derived from the word ‘skip’ meaning basket.
This is a Romany word meaning clothes and commonly used in modern English to describe your swimwear.
Popularised by the former payday loan provider, this comes from the word ‘vonga’ which can mean coal or money.