brouhaha

English

WOTD – 19 February 2011

Etymology

Borrowing from French brouhaha, but disputed as to where from before that. Possibly from Hebrew בָּרוּךְ הַבָּא ‎(barúkh habá, “welcome”, literally “blessed is he who comes”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹuː.hɑː.hɑː/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

brouhaha ‎(plural brouhahas)

1. A stir; a fuss or uproar.

   It caused quite a brouhaha when the school suspended one of its top students for refusing to adhere to the dress code.

Synonyms

• (fuss, uproar): commotion, hubbub, kerfuffle, ruckus,hoo-ha

Translations

fuss, uproar

• Catalan: gatzara (ca) f, aldarull m, cridòria f, rebombori m, brogit m, avalot (ca) m
• Finnish: kohu (fi)
• French: brouhaha (fr) m

• German: Aufruhr (de) m
• Persian: همهمه، غوغا
• Portuguese: bafafá m
• Russian: шуми́ха (ru) f ‎(šumíxa), сенса́ция (ru) f ‎(sensácija)

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French

Etymology

Disputed. Possibly from an onomatopoeic assimilation from Hebrew בָּרוּךְ הַבָּא ‎(barúkh habá, “welcome”, literally “blessed is he who comes”)

In regards to the semantic evolution to "noisy meeting" compare with ramdam, sabbat

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʁu.a.a/

• Audio (FR)

  (file)

Noun

brouhaha m ‎(plural brouhahas)

1. brouhaha
   • 1865, Jules Verne, De la Terre à la Lune:

     Un brouhaha, une tempête d’exclamations accueillit ces paroles.

     A brouhaha, a gale of exclamations welcomed those words.

References

• “brouhaha” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
• "Brouhaha" in Michael Quinion, Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds, 2004.

External links

• “brouhaha” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).