Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Japanese ·1900s
Haiku
from haiku
- Meaning
- A 17-syllable Japanese poem in three lines.
- Source word
- haiku
- Route into English
- Japanese *haiku* (shortened from *haikai no ku*) → English via 20th-century poetry (Ezra Pound, the Imagists). English haiku count syllables; Japanese haiku count *on*, a different unit — the forms are only approximate cousins.
- Arrived
- 1900s
From Japanese
Two waves — Meiji-era diplomatic contact (1850s–1900s) and post-war US military presence (1945–) account for almost all Japanese loans in general English.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.