The Facts on File Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases (Writers Reference) (78 page)

yashmak (yhmak), yasmak, yashmac ARABIC [from Turkish ya;mak to
hide oneself] noun a veil of the type
worn by Muslim women in public to
conceal all of the face except the eyes:
"Why do they hide their ears with seaweed
hair? And Turks their mouth, why? Her eyes
over the sheet, ayashmak" (James Joyce,
Ulysses, 1922).

yenta (eta), yente YIDDISH [after
the personal name Yente] noun a
gossip, a busybody, a person who
meddles in the affairs of others.

yeshiva (yasheeva), yeshivah HEBREW
[from yashab to sit] noun (plural yeshivas or yeshivot, yasheevot) a
Jewish college or seminary where
students are offered instruction, especially in sacred texts.

yeti (tee) TIBETAN [from yeh-teb
little manlike creature] noun abominable snowman (a legendary apelike
creature supposed to live in remote
parts of the Himalayas): `Numerous
magazines published the photographs,
which purported to show the footprints of
a yeti.

YHWH (hway), YHVH (hvay)
HEBREW noun the transliteration of
letters of the tetragrammaton, used to
represent the name of God. See also
TETRAGRAMMATON; YAHWEH.

yin (yin) CHINESE [moon, femininity] noun (in Chinese philosophy)
the feminine principle in nature,
associated with cold, dampness, or
dark.

ylang-ylang (eelan(g)-eelan s) TAGALOG [from ilang-ilang] noun a tree of
tropical Asia, Cananga odorata, prized
for a perfume obtainable from its
greenish-yellow leaves.

yoga (ga.) SANSKRIT [from yogah
union, yoking, from yunakti he yokes]
noun a Hindu philosophy, the aim of
which is the attainment of peace and
understanding through suppression of

physical and mental activity; can also
refer to a system of exercises designed
to increase physical self-control and
spiritual well-being: "Classes in yoga are
available at several local venues."

yogi (ogee) SANSKRIT [from yogah
union, yoking] noun a person who
practices yoga; also used to refer more
generally to any person noted for his
or her wise, mystical, or contemplative character: "Beggars a plenty have I
met, and holy men to boot, but never such
a yogi nor such a disciple,'said the woman"
(Rudyard Kipling, Kim, 1901).

Yom Kippur (yom kir, yom kir,
yom War) HEBREW [day of atonement] noun the holiest Jewish holiday marked by fasting and prayer:
"Business was suspended for the feast of
Yom Kippur."

yoni (nee) SANSKRIT [vulva] noun
Hindu symbol based on a stylized representation of the female genitalia and
used to identify the female principle
in nature.

yurt (yert), yourt RUSSIAN [from
yurta, itself from Turkic jurt] noun a
type of circular tent made from skins
or felt stretched over a lattice framework (as used by nomads in central
Asia); sometimes also applied to a
hut partly sunk into the surrounding
earth and covered with soil and turf.

zabaglione (zahbalnee) ITALIAN
[possibly ultimately from Latin sabaia
an Illyrian drink] noun (in Italian
cuisine) a whipped dessert made
with egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala
wine.

zaftig (zaftig, zoftig), zoftig YIDDISH
[from zaftik juicy, succulent, itself
from German saftig juicy] adjective plump, well-rounded (usually
referring to a woman's figure).

zeitgeist (zitgist), Zeitgeist GERMAN
[time spirit, from Zeit time and Geist
spirit] noun the prevailing spirit of
the time (variously taking in the morals, culture, and intellectual fashions
of a particular era): "Often have I fancied
how, in thy hard life-battle, thou wert shot
at, and slung at, wounded, hand fettered,
hamstrung, browbeaten and bedevilled
by the Time-Spirit (Zeitgeist) in thyself
and others..." (Thomas Carlyle, Sartor
Resartus, 1833-34).

Zen (zen) JAPANESE [religious meditation, from Chinese chan meditation]
noun a form of Buddhism in which devotees aspire toward enlightenment through meditation and selfcontemplation: "She took up Zen during
her 50s and still enjoys meditation, even
though she has long since lost interest in
Eastern mysticism."

zenana (zanahna) HINDI [ultimately
from Persian zan woman] noun in
India and neighboring countries, the
part of a house where women live in
seclusion; a harem.

zephyr (zefar) GREEK [after Zephyrus,
god of the west wind in Greek mythology] noun a light breeze (especially
one blowing from the west): He felt a
zephyr curling about his cheek, and turned.
It was Bathsheba's breath she had followed him, and was looking into the same
chink" (Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd, 1874).

zeugma (ZOOgmd) GREEK [yoking] a
figure of speech in which a word modifies or governs two or more words
when it applies to only one of them
or is appropriate to each one but in a different way: "Charles Dickens's sentence
Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave' is
an example of zeugma."

zither (zither), zithern GREEK [from
Greek kithara stringed musical instrument] noun a string instrument with
a flat body and 30 to 40 strings: "The
plangent strumming of a zither filled the
evening quiet."

zoftig See ZAFTIG.

zoliverein (zolvarin), Zollverein GERMAN [customs union, from Zoll toll
and Verein union] noun a tariff
union, a trading arrangement under
which participating states abandon
customs duties between themselves,
while maintaining them with regard
to states outside the union (referring
originally to the tariff union that was

set up between German states in the
19th century).

zombie (zombee) BANTU [ghost] noun
one of the undead (a person raised from
the dead by voodoo or other supernatural power and obliged to wander
the earth as a menacing automaton);
may also refer more generally to any
person who seems to have lost all selfwill or otherwise acts in an apathetic,
unresponsive manner: "The news of his
mother's death seemed to have reduced him
to little more than a zombie."

zucchini (zookeenee) ITALIAN [small
gourds, from zucca gourd or head]
noun (plural zucchini or zucchinis)
a summer squash with an elongated
cylindrical shape and smooth, dark
green skin: "Zucchini is one of the main
ingredients in ratatouille."