"canoe made from the trunk of a hollowed-out tree," 1660s, from French pirogue, from a West Indian language, probably from Galibi (a Carib language) piragua "a dug-out." Compare Spanish piragua (1530s), which might be the intermediate form for the French word. The word was extended to all type of native open boats.
in Indian music, a melodic framework for improvised melodies, 1788, from Sanskrit raga-s "harmony, melody, mode in music," literally "color, mood," related to rajyati "it is dyed," from PIE *reg- (3) "to dye" (source also of Greek rhegos "blanket, rug").
"Englishman who exemplifies the coarse, burly form and bluff nature of the national character," 1772, from name of a character representing the English nation in Arbuthnot's satirical "History of John Bull" (1712). Via a slurred pronunciation of it comes jumble (n.), London West Indian and African slang word for "a white man," attested from 1957.
exclamation of greeting, 1862, American English (first recorded reference is to speech of a Kansas Indian), originally to attract attention (15c.), probably a variant of Middle English hy, hey (late 15c.) which also was an exclamation to call attention. The only definition in the "Century Dictionary" [1902] is "An exclamation of surprise, admiration, etc.: often used ironically and in derision," suggesting the development as a greeting-word mostly took place early 20c.
Even more informal is the widely used 'Hi.' A friendly greeting for people who already know each other, it should never be said in answer to a formal introduction, but it is universally used, and accepted, by the young. ["The New Emily Post's Etiquette," 1922]
Extended form hiya attested from 1940.
"male Latin-American inhabitant of the United States" (fem. Latina), 1946, American English, from American Spanish, a shortening of Latinoamericano "Latin-American" (see Latin America). As an adjective, attested from 1974.
"febrile epidemic disease of the tropics," 1828, from West Indian Spanish dengue, from an African source, perhaps Swahili dinga "seizure, cramp," with form influenced by Spanish dengue "prudery" (perhaps because sufferers walk stiffly and erect due to the painful joints which characterize the disease). The disease is from East Africa and was introduced into the West Indies in 1827.
sea nymph in the "Odyssey," literally "hidden, hider" (perhaps originally a death goddess) from Greek kalyptein "to cover, conceal," from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save," which also is the source of English Hell. The type of West Indian song is so called from 1934, but the origin of the name is obscure.
named 1890 when it was an Italian colony, ultimately from Mare Erythreum, Roman name of the Red Sea, from Greek Erythre Thalassa, literally "Red Sea" (which to the Greeks also included the Gulf of Arabia and the Indian Ocean), from erythros "red" (from PIE root *reudh- "red, ruddy").
Middle English sone, from Old English sona "at once, immediately, directly, forthwith," from Proto-Germanic *sæno (source also of Old Frisian son, Old Saxon sana, Old High German san, Gothic suns "soon"). The sense relaxed early Middle English to "within a short time" (compare anon, just (adv.)).
Sooner or later "at some undetermined future time but inevitably" is by 1570s. American English Sooner for "Oklahoma native" is 1930 (earlier "one who acts prematurely," 1889), in reference to the 1889 opening to Americans of what was then part of Indian Territory, when many would-be settlers sneaked onto public land and staked their claims "sooner" than the legal date and time.
