Gathering of Etymological Data

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines etymology as:

“the history of a linguistic form (such as a word) shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language where it is found, by tracing its transmission from one language to another, by analyzing it into its component parts, by identifying its cognates in other languages, or by tracing it and its cognates to a common ancestral form in an ancestral language”

Extensive primary, as well as secondary research was done, through native speaker surveys, online dictionaries, language blogs, etc. to get to the roots of the selected words.

The results of the research culminated in the final list of 15 words, and the linguistic data associated with each of them-

1. Komorebi
/ˈko̞mo̞ɾe̞bʲi/
Japanese, Japan
noun.
The interplay of light caused by sunlight passing through the leaves, creating a pattern of light
and shade.
Written forms:
木漏れ日 or こもれ び (hiragana script)
Komorebi is a compound word consisting of the following kanji/symbols
i. 木 (“ki”: tree, which had an ancient compound form “ko”)
ii. 漏れ (“mo-re” : leaking, coming through, where the first character is the root kanji “ 漏
/mo”,leak/come through, and “ れ /re” is added to make it the continuative form), and
iii. 日 (“hi”: sun, day, which is compounded to “bi”).

2. Cafuné
/ˌka.fu.ˈnɛ/
Portuguese, Brazil
noun.
The act of fondling someone’s hair or scalp.
The word possibly originates from kifumate , a word from the Kimbundu language of Angola.

3. Gumusservi
/ɟy.ˈmyʃ.sɛɾ.ˈvi/
Turkish, Turkey
noun.
The long reflecting pattern created by the moon shining on water.
Written forms:
Gümüşservi (Modern Turkish) or گوموش سلوی (Ottoman Turkish)
This word is made up of two words:
i. Gümüş : Silver, and
ii. Servi (or selvi ) : cypress tree
It literally translates to “silver cypress”, relating to the long shining reflection cast by the moon on water.

4. Sobremesa
/so.βɾeˈme.sa/
Spanish, Spain
noun.
The time spent chatting at the table after a hearty meal, usually while dessert is being served.
The word is made up of two partsi.
Sobre (from Latin “super” ): over, above
ii. mesa (from Latin “mensa” ): table

5. Obhimaan
/o.bʱi.ˈman/
Bengali, West Bengal, India
noun.
A soft feeling of hurt pride. It is often experienced due to the actions of a loved one, or a humbling outcome of a situation that one is attached to (like not winning a prize one thinks one deserves).

Written form:
অিভমান
This word has a Sanskrit root word “अभिमान'' (Abhimana), which remains unchanged in Bengali, meaning pride and a sense of self, which is a compound of-
i. Abhi- (“अभि- / অিভ-): a prefix that can mean "towards; to, against; over; for, for the sake of; with regard to"
ii. Maan (मान / মান): pride

6. Uitwaaien
/oey̯tˈʋaːi̯.ə(n)/
Dutch, the Netherlands
verb.
To take a refreshing walk outdoors in windy or breezy weather to clear one’s head.
This is a compound word, consisting of:
i. Uit: out (which originates from Middle Dutch “uut”, “ute”, from Old Dutch “ūt” )
ii. Waaien: to blow (associated with wind)

7. Atvasara
/atvasaɾa/
Latvian, Latvia
noun.
The last days in a year when it feels warm like summer, before winter starts, usually around
September and October.
The word has two parts:
i. At- : A prefix (from Middle English at-, et-, æt-, from Old English æt- ) meaning “at, near,
toward, beyond, away”
ii. Vasara: (from Proto-Balto-Slavic wasr, from Proto-Indo-European wósr̥. ) meaning summer.

8. Meraki
/meˈɾaci/
Greek, Greece
noun.
The act of being intensely interested in something, especially an activity, so that one almost
leaves a part of oneself in the work.
Written form:
μεράκι
Meraki is speculated to have originated from the Turkish word “merak”, meaning passion, curiosity, wonder or even worry, depending on which Arabic root word it comes from. The evolution from Ottoman root مراق (maraq) which means an object of passion or a hobby, results in the meaning of merak which means interest or passion.
However in Turkish, merak can also mean extreme worry or melancholy, due to a different Arabic root word مرقّ with a similar pronunciation that got clubbed together into the same word, merak, because Modern Turkish uses the Latin Script.

9. Tretår
/treːˌtoːr/
Swedish, Sweden
noun.
A second refill of coffee after one has already taken one refill, more popularly known as a
“threefill”.
The word is made up of two parts
i. Tre: three
ii. Tår: drop,
which literally translates to “three drops”, used mostly in the context of coffee.

10. Geborgenheit
/ɡəˈbɔʁɡn̩ˌhaɪ̯t/
German, Germany
noun.
An undeniable feeling of coziness, snugness, safety, and contentment.

Geborgenheit is derived from bergen, which means to “store up” or “stash away” in German.
Geborgen is bergen’s past participle and heit makes it a noun so literally, geborgenheit is the noun form of “to have saved.”

11. Lletraferit
/ʎə.tɾə.fəˈɾit/ or /ʎe.tɾa.feˈɾit/
Catalan, Catalonia, Spain
adjective. masculine.
Someone who is so passionate about literature that it seems that they are in love with it.
The word is made up of two units:
i. Lletra: letter
ii. Ferit: smitten/hurt,
literally translating the word to “smitten by the letter” or “hurt by the letter”.

12. Mamihlapinatapai
/ mə.mi. ˈ ɬ a.pi. ˈ na.tə. ˈ pai/
Yaghan, Tierra del Fuego, Chile
noun.
The silent look shared by two people who want to initiate something, but neither of them do. It indicates a private moment shared by two people who both understand and are in agreement with something, but are unwilling to act on it, often used in context with professing love where both people want to do so, but neither initiates.
Interestingly, this word is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "most succinct word".

The word is a derived form of the verb ihlvpi /iɬəpi/, meaning "to feel awkward" or "to be at a
loss for what to do" and is constructed as:
Ma[m] (dual) + ihlvpi + :n[a] (stative) + -at[a] (causative) + -a:pai (reflexive/reciprocal).
Its literal meaning is therefore roughly "to make each other feel awkward".

13. Goyaa
/ˈɣo.ja/
Urdu, Pakistan
adverb.
This word refers to the temporary suspension of disbelief employed in storytelling, loosely translating to a meaning similar to “as if” or “as though”.

Written form:
گویا
This word originates from Persian.

14. Hiraeth
/hiraɪ̯θ/
Welsh, Wales
noun.
A feeling of wistfulness or longing for a place, time or person, that may or may not really exist.

The word originates from Proto-Brythonic hiraɨθ, from Proto-Celtic sīr-axto- , similar to Gaulish siraxta, meaning “longing”.

15. Toska
/ˈtō-skə/
Russian, Russia
noun.
A feeling of emotional weariness, depression, boredom or melancholy. This word can be used to describe the entire spectrum of emotions encompassing these moods.

Written form: тоска́
The word possibly originates from Proto-Slavic tъska: tightness, grief.