zalimet

Mauritian Creole

Etymology

From French allumette.

In French, the plural word allumettes is commonly preceded by a word, such as aux, les or mes, whose final s or x is not pronounced except in front of vowels, where it is pronounced /z/. As a result, allumettes was reanalyzed as having /z/ at the beginning.

Noun

zalimet

1. matchstick

References

• Baker, Philip & Hookoomsing, Vinesh Y. 1987. Dictionnaire de créole mauricien. Morisyen – English – Français

Seychellois Creole

Etymology

From French allumette. In French, the plural word allumettes is commonly preceded by a word, such as aux, les or mes, whose final s or x is not pronounced except in front of vowels, where it is pronounced /z/. As a result, allumettes was reanalyzed in Seychellois Creole as beginning with /z/.

Noun

zalimet

1. matchstick

References

• Danielle D’Offay et Guy Lionnet, Diksyonner Kreol - Franse / Dictionnaire Créole Seychellois - Français