I Never Knew There Was a Word for It - Adam Jacot De Boinod [90]
Sun’s up
In the Dakota language of the USA, the moon is hangyetuwi, the night-sun. Come dawn it can no longer compete with anpetuwi, the day-sun:
glukocharazo (Greek) to glow in the dawn light
tavanam (Tamil) the heat of the sun
amaśtenaptapta (Dakota, USA) the glimmering of vapour in the sun’s heat
greigh (Gaelic) the uncommon heat of the sun after bursting out from behind a cloud
Weather report
Ah, that famous topic, food for hundreds of thousands of conversations every day. And we are not alone in observing and describing its many moods:
pestpokkenweer (Dutch) dirty rotten weather
dul’avā (Virdainas, Baltics) fog with drizzle
cilala (Bemba, Zambia) the dry spell in a rainy season
boule (Scots) a gap, break; an opening in the clouds betokening fine weather
Postkartenwetter (German) the kind of weather that is too wonderful to be real (literally, postcard weather)
Heat haze
The secondary meanings of weather terms are often very evocative of the climate they describe. For instance, the Scots description of heat haze – summer-flaws – is also used for a swarm of gnats dancing in the air; while the Yamana of Chile unda-tu also describes the wavy appearance of the air seen over a fire.
The wind of change
Beautifully still conditions never last for long, certainly not in this country:
pew (Scots) the least breath of wind or smoke; the least ripple on the sea
sivisivivi (Mailu, Papua New Guinea) marks on water of a coming wind
kacee (Tsonga, South Africa) to feel a breeze or smell coming towards one
fuaradh-froik (Gaelic) the breeze preceding a shower
False friends
dim (Bosnian) smoke
estate (Italian) summer
lung (Sherpa, Nepal) air
santa (Bosnian) iceberg
tall (Arabic) hill, elevation
Storm warning
We can always sense that moment when things are on the turn:
oi (Vietnamese) to be sultry, muggy, hot and sticky
tvankas (Virdainas, Baltics) stuffy air
bingo (Chewa, South East Africa) the distant roll of thunder
gwangalakwahla (Tsonga, South Africa) a thunderclap is very near
kixansiksuya (Dakota, USA) to know by one’s feelings that unpleasant weather is due
Sunshine shower
After the storm, the rain is lighter, subtler; indeed, it may not be clear quite what’s going on:
tmoq yungay (Aboriginal Tayal, Taiwan) a light rain (literally, monkey piss)
fa-fa-fa (Tsonga, South Africa) to fall in a shower of drops
mvula-tshikole (Venda, South Africa) rain with sunshine
ördög veri a feleségét (Hungarian) the devil is hitting his wife (usually said when the sun is shining but rain is falling at the same time)
bijregenboog (Dutch) a secondary rainbow
In a flood
Down on the ground, everything changes:
douh (Somali) a dry watercourse which turns into a fast-moving stream after every downpour
calalalala (Tsonga, South Africa) to come down, as a river in a flood; a glitter (of a large expanse of water or an army with polished weapons)
túvánam (Tamil) rain driven by the wind through the doors or windows
zolilinga (Luvale, Zambia) the watermark made by rain (as on a wooden door)
Soaking up the weather
And all kinds of fun can be had:
edtimbulan (Maguindanaon, Philippines) to walk in the rain
wadlopen (Dutch) to walk sloshing through seamud
chokok (Malay) to splash water in fun
dynke (Norwegian) the act of dunking somebody’s face in snow
kram snø (Norwegian) snow which is sticky (excellent for making snowballs and snowmen)
On reflection
You fish on your side…
Several places in Norway and Sweden are simply called Å. It means river in various Scandanavian languages, but that’s all the name tells us about them. But if you go for something rather longer, an awful lot of information can be contained in a name. For instance, Webster Lake in Massachussetts, USA, is also known as
Chargoggagoggmanchauggauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
which was a native word for a neutral fishing place near a boundary, a meeting and fishing spot shared by several tribes. A popular interpretation is: ‘You fish on your side, I fish on my side, nobody fishes