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A.Word.A.Day--cabana

Pronunciation Sound Clip RealAudio

This week's theme: words borrowed from Spanish.

cabana (kuh-BAHN-uh) noun

1. A shelter on a beach or swimming pool.

2. A cabin or cottage.

[From Spanish cabaña, from Late Latin capanna (hut).]

Would it surprise you to know that cabin and cabinet are related? Or that basin and basinet/bassinet are? The diminutive suffix -et doesn't only convey the sense of smallness, it can change the whole meaning. Consider table and tablet, for another example.

See more usage examples of cabana in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)

"Calvin Klein is redecorating the cabana area of the lounge with furnishings like wall decorations featuring a new Klein logo and photographs of models wearing Klein clothes." Allison Fass; GQ Steps Out of Its Pages And Opens a Lounge; The New York Times; Feb 15, 2002.

X-Bonus

What religion a man shall have is a historical accident, quite as much as what language he shall speak. -George Santayana, philosopher (1863-1952)

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