szambo

Polish

szambo

Etymology

Allegedly named after a French person Chambeau, but no such person has been identified. Others suggest it may come from French chambre. Compare pot de chambre. Also found as Russian шамбо (šambo), Armenian շամփօ (šampʿō).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʂam.bɔ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ambɔ
• Syllabification: szam‧bo

Noun

szambo n (related adjective szambowy)

1. cesspit, septic tank (small-scale watertight treatment system for domestic sewage in which the flow is slowed to allow sedimentation and sludge digestion by bacteria to take place)

   Synonym: kloaka

2. (colloquial, figurative) dreck (morally ambiguous situation)

   Synonym: bagno

3. (derogatory, figurative) group of suspicious, deceitful people

Declension

Declension of szambo

	singular	plural
nominative	szambo	szamba
genitive	szamba	szamb
dative	szambu	szambom
accusative	szambo	szamba
instrumental	szambem	szambami
locative	szambie	szambach
vocative	szambo	szamba

Derived terms

nouns

• szambiarka
• szambiarz
• szambonurek
• szambowóz

 

Further reading

• szambo in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• szambo in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• szambo in PWN's encyclopedia