The Facts on File Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases (Writers Reference) (37 page)

hijab (hajab), hejab ARABIC [curtain
or veil] noun a headscarf that conceals the hair and neck, sometimes
with a face veil, worn by some Muslim women.

hijra See HEGIRA.

hinterland (hinterland, hinterland)
GERMAN [hinder land, the land
behind] noun an interior region or part of the countryside remote from
the city: "Few venture into the hinterland
for fear of wolves and roaming bands of
brigands."

hippodrome (hadrom) GREEK [hippos
horse and dromos racecourse] noun a
course for chariot or horse races and,
by extension, an arena or theater
used for a variety of entertainments:
"And Aladdin also took horse with his
Mamelukes, he mounting a stallion whose
like was not among the steeds of the Arab
al-Arba, and he showed his horsemanship in the hippodrome, and so played
with the jarid that none could withstand
him..." (Richard Burton, "Aladdin; or,
The Wonderful Lamp," Arabian Nights,
1885-88).

Hizbollah (hizbola), Hizbullah (hizbula), Hezbollah (hezbola) ARABIC
[party of god] noun a militant Shiite
Muslim organization.

H.J. See HIC IACET.

H.M.R See HOC MONUMENTUM
POSUIT.

hoc anno (hok ano) LATIN [in this
year] noun phrase in this year. ^ abbreviated form h.a.

hoc loco (hok lOko) LATIN [in this
place] adverb phrase in this place.

hoc monumentum posuit (hok monyoomcntam pozyooit) LATIN [he/

she erected this monument] noun
phrase he/she erected this monument. 'abbreviated form H.M.P.

hoc tempore (hok temporay, hok
temparay) LATIN [at this time] adverb
phrase at this time.

hoc titulo (hok tityoolo) LATIN
[with this title] adverb phrase under this title (used in bibliographical
references).

hoi polloi (hoi poloi) GREEK [the many]
noun phrase the common herd, the
ordinary people, the masses: "The cost
of the tickets for the concert was ridiculously high in an attempt to keep out the
hoi polloi."

Holi (holee) HINDI [after Holika, a
legendary female (lemon] noun a
Hindu spring festival in honor of
Krishna, celebrated with bonfires and
carnival-like merrymaking.

hollandaise (holanda),z) FRENCH [from
hollandais, Dutch] noun a rich sauce
made with butter, eggs, lemon juice
or vinegar, and white wine, often
served with fish. adjective of a dish
served with such a sauce: "Eggs Benedict consists of an English muffin halved
and topped with bacon, a poached egg, and
hollandaise sauce."

hombre (hombray, ombray) SPANISH
[man] noun informal term for a man,
an equivalent of "guy" or "fellow."

homme d'affaires (hom dafairz, om
dafairz) FRENCH [man of affairs] noun
phrase (plural hommes d'affaires) a
professional or business man: "This
promotion established his reputation as an
homme d'affaires with access to people of
influence throughout the banking world."

homme de lettres (hom da letra, om
da letra) FRENCH [man of letters]
noun (plural hommes de lettres) a
literary man: "There are plenty of men
of the world who ought to be aware, since
the knowledge of such subtle distinctions
is their province, that you cannot insult a
French writer more cruelly than by calling him un homme de lettres a literary
man" (Honore de Balzac, Le Cousin
Pons, 1847).

homme d'esprit (hom des ee, r om
des ee) r FRENCH [man of wit] noun
(plural hommes d'esprit) a witty
man or a man with a strong sense of
humor: "The passing of his legendary
homme d'esprit was greatly regretted by
many people, who missed his debonair
humor."

homme du monde (hom doo mond,
om doo mond) FRENCH [man of the
world] noun (plural hommes du
monde) a gentleman or man-abouttown, a man who moves in high society: "Her uncle was a suave homme du
monde who stayed up till dawn several times
a week gambling and drinking with the
cream of society."

homme du peuple (hom doo peepla,
om doo peepla) FRENCH [man of the
people] noun (plural hommes du
peuple) a man of humble origins,
or one who acts as though he comes
from the ranks of the ordinary people: As a candidate for governor, he
worked hard to retain his image as an
homme du peuple."

homme moyen sensuel (hom moiyen
sensyooel, om moiyen sensyooel)
FRENCH [average sensual man] noun
phrase an average man of normal
appetites and desires, the man in the
street.

homo (honno) LATIN [human being]
noun (plural homos) the genus to
which the human race belongs, or
an individual member of the human
race. Also used as a slang term for a
homosexual.

Homo sapiens (homo saWi2nz) LATIN
[wise man, from homo human being
and sapiens wise, intelligent] noun
phrase the primate species to which
human beings belong, human beings
regarded as a species.

homo sui juris (homo sooiiooris,
homo sooi yDoris) LATIN [a human of
one's own law] noun phrase a person
who is deemed in law to be in full
control of his or her own affairs.

homunculus (homank)'alas) LATIN
[diminutive of homo human being] noun (plural homunculi, homankyalee) a little man or person of
diminutive proportions: "Then came a
yelling, a crashing among the branches,
and a little pink homunculus rushed by us
shrieking" (H. G. Wells, The Island of Dr.
Moreau, 1896).

honcho (honcho) JAPANESE [squad
leader, from han squad and cho head,
chief] noun (plural honchos) a person in charge, typically the boss or
head of a company or organization:
"Lucas has been the head honcho around
here since the death of the chairman."

honi soit qui mal y pense (onee swa
kee mal ee pons) FRENCH [shamed
be he who thinks bad of it] noun
phrase shame on him who thinks
evil of it, the motto of the Order of
the Garter: `And nightly, meadow fairies,
look you sing, / Like to the Garter's compass, in a ring: / The expressure that it
bears, green let it be, / More fertile fresh
than all the field to see; / And `Honi soit
qui maly pense' write / In emerald tufts,
flowers purple, blue and white ..." (William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives Of
Windsor, 1597).

honorarium (onaraireeam) LATIN [that
which is honorary] noun (plural honorariums or honoraria, onaraireea)
a gift or reward made to someone for
services rendered on an otherwise
unpaid, voluntary basis: "That his bill,
including the honorarium of the barristers,
would sooner or later be paid out of the

estate, he did not doubt but a compromise would make the settlement easy
and pleasant" (Anthony Trollope, Lady
Anna, 1873-4).

honoris causa (onoris cowza) LATIN [for
the sake of honor] adverb phrase as
a token of respect, usually applying
to degrees and other qualifications
awarded on an honorary basis. -abbreviated form H.C., h.c.

hookah (hooka), hooka ARABIC [from
huqqah bottle of a water pipe] noun a
variety of tobacco pipe with a long
flexible tube by means of which the
smoke of burning tobacco, marijuana,
or other substance is drawn through
a container of water and thus cooled:
"She stretched herself up on tiptoe, and
peeped over the edge of the mushroom,
and her eyes immediately met those of a
large caterpillar, that was sitting on the
top with its arms folded, quietly smoking a
long hookah, and taking not the smallest
notice of her or of anything else" (Lewis
Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,
1865).

hoop-la (hoplah), houp-la FRENCH
[hey there] interjection exclamation
to draw attention to some physical movement or trick: "The ringmaster shouted `hoop-la' every time the dog
jumped over the stool." noun a hullabaloo or commotion, or alternatively a
game in which participants attempt to
win prizes by tossing hoops over pegs
or other objects.

hors concours (or konkoor) FRENCH
[out of the competition] adverb phrase
in the manner of a person or thing
that cannot compete. -adjective not
competing for a prize, excluded from
competition; or without equal, beyond
comparison. abbreviated form H.C.

hors de combat (or dakomba) FRENCH
[out of combat] adverb phrase disabled, out of action, or unable to
participate further: "As there was no
time to be lost, the scout immediately set
about effecting so necessary a precaution;
and when he had gagged the Indian, his
enemy might safely have been considered as `hors de combat"' (James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans,
1826). '"adjective phrase of or relating
to someone or something in such a
condition.

hors de question (or da kest),on(g))
FRENCH [out of the question] adverb
phrase out of the question.

hors d'oeuvre (or dervra, or derv)
FRENCH [outside of the work] noun
(plural hors d'oeuvres or hors
d'oeuvre) a savory dish served as
an appetizer before the main course;
by extension, any preliminary event
or incident: "The guests will be offered
a choice of hors d'oeuvres made with the
freshest ingredients."

hosanna (hozana), hosannah GREEK
[from Hebrew hoshiahnna pray save
us] interjection praise the Lord: "At

Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem,
the crowds shouted, Hosanna to the Son
of David!"' -noun a shout of praise
addressed to God.

hospice (hospis, hoSpaS) FRENCH
[poorhouse, hospital] noun (plural
hospices, hospisiz, hospasiz) a hospital for patients close to death: "The
old woman was cared for in a hospice
during the final months of her life."
Alternatively, a lodging for travelers,
pilgrims, or the homeless, typically
run by a religious order.

hotel de ville (otel da vil) FRENCH
[town hall] noun phrase (plural hotels
de ville) a town hall in a Frenchspeaking country: "Saint Antoine's blood
was up, and the blood of tyranny and domination by the iron hand was down down
on the steps of the Hotel de Ville where the
governor's body lay down on the sole of
the shoe of Madame Defarge where she
had trodden on the body to steady it for
mutilation" (Charles Dickens, A Tale of
Two Cities, 1859).

hotelier (hotel),er, otely) hotelier
FRENCH [hotelkeeper] noun the
owner or manager of a hotel: "She
quickly recognized the new arrival as an
internationally famous businessman and
hotelier."

houp-la See HOOP-LA.

houri (hooree, heree), huri PERSIAN
[huri, from Arabic ahwar, having black eyes] noun one of the lovely
young virgins who according to Muslim mythology attend upon devout
believers in paradise; by extension,
any beautiful young woman: "Grandfather Smallweed has been gradually
sliding down in his chair since his last
adjustment and is now a bundle of clothes
with a voice in it calling for Judy. That
houri, appearing, shakes him up in the
usual manner and is charged by the old
gentleman to remain near him." (Charles
Dickens, Bleak House, 1852-53).

howdah (howda) URDU [from Arabic
hawdaj] noun a covered seat or litter
mounted on the back of an elephant
or camel: "When thou art old, Kala Nag,
there will come some rich rajah, and he
will buy thee from the Government, on
account of thy size and thy manners, and
then thou wilt have nothing to do but
to carry gold earrings in thy ears, and a
gold howdah on thy back, and a red cloth
covered with gold on thy sides, and walk
at the head of the processions of the King"
(Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book,
1894-95).

howitzer (howitsar) DUTCH [from
Czech houfnice ballista, catapult]
noun a short-barreled cannon used
to fire shells at a steep angle: "The
barbers snatched steaming towels from a
machine like a howitzer of polished nickel
and disdainfully flung them away after a
second's use" (Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt,
1922).

H.S. See HIC 5EPULTUS.

hubris (hyoobris), hybris GREEK [from
hybris violence provoked by insolence]
noun arrogant pride or excessive selfconfidence: "His critics were apt to accuse
him of excessive hubris, but he remained
popular among other writers of his generation."

hula (hoola), hula-hula (hoola-hoola)
HAWAIIAN noun a Polynesian dance
featuring rhythmic gyrations of the hips
and fluid arm movements.

humanum est errare (hoomahnam
est erahree) LATIN [to err is human]
noun to make a mistake is a human
characteristic: "Prince, humanum est
errare, but. . .' replied the doctor, swallowing
his r's, and pronouncing the Latin words
with a French accent" (Leo Tolstoy, War
and Peace, 1863-69).

humerus (hkIUmaras) LATIN [shoulder] noun (plural humeri, Human) h
the bone of the upper arm, from the
shoulder to the elbow: `7 bumped my
humerus on the edge of the table."

hummus (hamas, hoomds) ARABIC
[chickpeas] noun ground mixture of
chickpeas, sesame paste, and seasonings
of Middle Eastern origin, commonly
used as a dip or sandwich spread.

hurl See HOURI.

husky (haskee) INUIT [abbreviation
of Huskemaw or Uskemaw Eskimo]
noun (plural huskies) a breed of
heavy-coated working dog of Arctic
regions.

hussar (hhhah) HUNGARIAN [highway
robber, from Serbo-Croat husar pirate]
noun a light cavalryman, after the
light cavalry units that formed part of
the Hungarian armed forces from the
15th century: "If you d been a cadet in the
army, or a young hussar, you wouldn't have
talked like that, but would have drawn
your sabre to defend all Russia" (Fyodor
Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov,
1880).

hutzpah See CHUTZPAH.

hybris See HUBRIS.

Hydra (hidra), hydra GREEK [hudra
water serpent] noun (plural hydras)
in Greek and Roman mythology, a
nine-headed monster killed by Hercules that had the power to replace
each severed head with two new ones
unless the wound was cauterized; also
used of any situation that gets yet more
complicated each time action is taken
to resolve a particular aspect of it:
"Before the passage, horrid Hydra stands, /
And Briareus with all his hundred hands;
/ Gorgons, Geryon with his triple frame;
/ And vain Chimaera vomits empty flame"
(Virgil, Aeneid, c. 19 B.C.).