Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Indigenous languages ·1920s
Anorak
from annoraaq
- Meaning
- A hooded waterproof jacket.
- Source word
- annoraaq
- Route into English
- Kalaallisut (Greenlandic Inuit) *annoraaq* → Danish → English. Adopted by Arctic explorers in the late 19th century; British slang later extended the word to mean an obsessive hobbyist, from the stereotype of bird-watchers in heavy coats.
- Arrived
- 1920s
From Indigenous languages
A loose group: Nahuatl, Taino, Algonquian, Guugu Yimithirr, and others. Colonial contact produced many loans; the speakers were often systematically dispossessed of the land the loanwords described.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.