Appeals List: General 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.
Last updated on 18 May 2014
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Appeals List: General 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z. |
SIMON Winchester tells us in his fascinating book, The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003) that at the end of April 1879, Sir John Murray, the original editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, issued a four-page document entitled “An Appeal to the English-Speaking and English-Reading Public in Great Britain, America and the British Colonies to read books and make extracts for the Philological Society’s New English Dictionary”.
It was an appeal to the general public to help in the monumental task of compiling material for the Dictionary — to read published works and obtain documentary evidence of words which might be included. Murray had realized that he and his small team could not hope to finish compiling the OED within a reasonable time without some assistance.
The leaflet was distributed first to newspapers, then sent in bulk to bookshops and libraries in the United Kingdom, America, Australia and Canada. Anyone borrowing or buying books would likely find the leaflet tucked between the pages. As a result, more than 800 people responded, and within a year of Murray taking on the editor’s post the number of quotations submitted had increased by 361,670.
In August 1999, John Simpson, then Chief Editor of the Dictionary, renewed Murray’s appeal and asked people throughout the world to alert the publishers to new words and other new information not yet recorded in the OED.
In similar vein, it is impossible for a single person to plough through the wealth of published material in English that may contain unique Singlish words and phrases, or which have been used in senses different from standard English. Fortunately, in the Internet age that we live in, it is no longer absolutely necessary to issue a printed appeal to reach out to a worldwide audience.
You are therefore invited to help read books, magazines, newspapers and other published works, particularly those produced in Singapore or written by Singapore authors, and to suggest quotations from them for this on-line Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English.
Do note the following guidelines, some of which were adapted from Murray’s original appeal:
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Note down quotations for ordinary words and phrases, especially when they are used significantly and tend by the context to explain or suggest their own meaning, that do not appear in the Oxford English Dictionary or have a different meaning or sense therein. (For instance, in standard English the word bungalow means a one-storeyed house, but in Singapore English it means a detached house regardless of the number of storeys it has.) |
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Note down quotations for all words and phrases that strike you as rare, obsolete, old-fashioned, new, peculiar or used in a peculiar way. |
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Look out for quotations that are significantly older or newer than the ones that already appear in the Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English. Take special note of passages which show or imply that a word or phrase is either new and tentative, or needing explanation as obsolete and archaic, as such passages will help to fix the date of the word or phrase’s introduction or disuse. |
Your attention is also directed to the Appeals List below to see if you can provide answers to the queries indicated.
Please use the Contribution Form to submit your contributions.
Thank you very much for your help in making the Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English a true reflection of how our brand of English has evolved over the years and continues to develop today.
—
Jack Tsen-Ta Lee
Singapore, 1
May 2005
The assistance of the following persons would be most welcome:
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An etymologist or people familiar with local languages such as Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese dialects (Hokkien, Teochew, and so on), Hindi, Malay and Tamil to review the etymologies. |
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A grammarian or philologist to review the parts of speech specified in entries. |
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A phonetician to review the phonetic transcriptions. |
Updated on 23 August 2005
1.5 — the etymology of the term.
Updated on 6 July 2006
ah kor — whether the term means ‘a waiter’.
ah kua — the meaning of the Hokkien word kua and its Mandarin equivalent, if any.
ah long, ah long san — the meaning of the Hokkien words long and san and their Mandarin equivalents, if any.
ah-balling, arboling — the literal meaning of the Teochew words ah-balling and their Mandarin equivalents, if any.
alamak — the etymology of the word.
ardeh — the origin of the word.
Updated on 15 September 2006
babi pongteh — the meaning of the word pongteh and the language that it is derived from.
bag of balls — the etymology of the term.
bo hew — whether there is a Mandarin equivalent of the Hokkien word hew.
bo pian — whether there is a Mandarin equivalent of the Hokkien word pian.
buat bodoh suak — whether the word suak is Malay and means ‘indentation, slight hollow’ or Indonesian and means ‘postponement’, or whether it is some other word.
Updated on 18 May 2014
carafare — the meaning of the word, the language that it is derived from, and the literal meaning of the original word in that language.
chao kuan — whether the word kuan is derived from Hokkien, and if so, whether it means ‘kind, type’.
chapalang — the meaning of the word, the language that it is derived from, and the literal meaning of the original word in that language.
chaybah — the etymology of the term.
chee sin — whether the phrase has a literal Mandarin equivalent.
chin chai — whether the phrase is derived from Hokkien, and if so, the literal meaning of the words in Hokkien. Also, whether the phrase has a literal Mandarin equivalent.
choy — whether the word is derived from Hokkien, and if so, whether it has a literal Mandarin equivalent.
chum — whether the word is derived from Hokkien, and if so, whether it has a literal Mandarin equivalent.
cincaluk — the etymology of the word, particularly the –luk element.
coo coo cheow — whether the word is derived from Hokkien, and if so, its literal meaning in Hokkien.
Updated on 2 January 2006
deh — whether the word is derived from Hindi, Tamil or another Indian language, and its literal meaning in that language.
devil curry — a more accurate definition.
Updated on 15 September 2006
[Currently no entries requiring assistance]
Updated on 9 October 2006
feng — the etymology of the word.
fire-walking — is the definition accurate?
Foochow — is the word Foochow in the Foochow dialect, or some other dialect?
fu chok — why is this food item so called? What is the significance of the Cantonese word 竹 chok meaning ‘bamboo’?
Updated on 17 February 2006
gerek — an improved definition.
goreng — does the word mean “give a stern or prolonged scolding to”?
Updated on 28 May 2006
hah — the etymology of the word: is it derived from a particular Chinese dialect?
Hainanese — does the part of the word Hainan derive from Hainanese or Mandarin?
half past six — the etymology of the phrase.
haolian — whether the phrase is derived from Hokkien, and if so, the literal meaning of the words in Hokkien. Also, whether the phrase has a literal Mandarin equivalent.
Hari Raya Puasa — the Sanskrit root of the Malay word puasa.
hay cho — the etymology of the Hokkien cho, its literal meaning in Hokkien, and whether its Mandarin equivalent is 枣 zăo.
hell money — the etymology of the phrase.
hentam bola — is the present definition accurate?
hex — the etymology of the word.
Hinghwa — what are the meanings of the Hinghwa words hing and hwa, and their Mandarin equivalents xing and hua?
ho say — the literal meaning of the word say in Hokkien, and its Mandarin equivalent, if any.
hoi sin sauce — why is it so called? Did it used to be eaten with seafood?
hor — the etymology of the word and its Mandarin equivalent, if any.
hor fun — the etymology of the phrase and its Mandarin equivalent, if any.
Hungry Ghost Festival — whether the term yeow guai is in Hokkien or another Chinese dialect; the meaning of the Mandarin name for the festival, 中元节 Zhōngyuán Jié; and the Chinese characters representing the name Mu Lan and the Taoist term Putu.
Updated on 7 October 2005
idiappam — is the pronunciation of the word correctly indicated, with the primary and secondary stresses in the right places?
Updated on 28 September 2005
jube — is the present etymology of the word correct?
Updated on 28 September 2006
kang tao ― the etymology of the phrase.
kapuk ― is the current etymology of the word correct?
kaypoh ― the etymology of the word.
kaypoh chi ― the etymology of the phrase.
keoh teoh ― the etymology of the phrase.
kon lo meen ― is the definition correct?
kopi kah tai, kopi siew tai ― the meaning of the word tai.
kueh
kueh jongkong ― an improved definition.
peach kueh ― is this the correct name? What is the item called in Mandarin or other Chinese dialects?
kuti ― is the current etymology of the word correct?
Updated on 18 May 2014
laksa ― the etymology of the word: is it derived from Hindi and Persian as the authorities suggest?
lan-lan ― the etymology of the phrase, and an improved definition.
lau kwee ― the etymology of the phrase, and the Mandarin equivalent of the phrase, if any.
lelong ― is the definition correct?
lepak ― an improved definition.
like that – if you have a copy of Siva Choy’s album Why U So Like Dat?, please check if the 1991 quotation from the song of the same name is correct. (If the lyrics are printed in the sleeve notes, check also if the quotation is spelt and capitalized correctly.)
long chiam pas ― the etymology of the phrase, and an improved definition, if required.
love letter ― the etymology of the phrase.
lum pa ― the etymology of the phrase, and the Mandarin equivalent of the phrase, if any.
lum pa pa lan ― the Mandarin equivalent of pa lan.
Updated on 12 April 2007
manja — is the definition correct? Can it be improved?
mati — is the Malay word derived from the Arabic word māta or maut?
mee
mah mee — is the definition accurate?
mee kia — an improved definition.
mee pok tah — the meaning of the Hokkien word tah, its literal equivalent in Mandarin, if any, and an improved definition of the phrase.
Mid-Autumn Festival — the Chinese characters for the following names: Houyi, Liu Powen, Chu Yuanchang.
Minah — the name Aminah in Arabic script.
murtabak — the etymology of the word.
Updated on 12 April 2013
nasi briyani — the etymology of the word briyani.
Updated on 5 April 2006
obiang — the etymology of the word.
or jian — the etymology of the term: is it the Hokkien equivalent of the Mandarin words 蚝 háo, meaning ‘oyster’, and 卵 luăn, meaning ‘egg’?
or-bi-good — the etymology of the term.
orluak — the etymology of the word.
otak-otak — the etymology of the term.
owa peya som — the etymology of the term, and whether the definition is accurate.
Updated on 7 July 2006
pasal — the etymology of the word.
Peranakan — the etymology of the word.
play punk — the etymology of the term.
pom pom — the etymology of the term.
pong kan — the etymology of the term.
prata bomb — the etymology of the term.
Updated on 5 August 2005
Qing Ming Festival — (1) whether the festival happens around the third or the tenth day of the third lunar month; (2) whether the festival falls on 4 April in leap years or 5 April in other years of the Gregorian calendar; (3) the Chinese characters for the following names: Jie Zitui, Ji Zhong’er, Duke Xian, Duke Wen.
Updated on 17 February 2006
roti
roti canai — the etymology of the word canai.
rugi — whether it is derived from the Sanskrit rugṇa.
Updated on 6 July 2006
sakar — the etymology of the word.
sambal — is the definition accurate?
samseng — whether the word is derived from Hokkien, and its literal equivalent in Mandarin, if any.
sang meen — is the definition accurate?
sarabat stall — is the definition accurate? What is the etymology of the term?
satay — the etymology of the word, especially (1) whether the word is derived from Tamil, and if so, the word in Tamil script; and (2) whether the word is ultimately derived from a term in a Chinese dialect, and if so, what term and which dialect.
see peh kiam — the literal equivalent in Mandarin of the Hokkien word kiam.
see peh siong and siong — the meaning of the Hokkien word siong, and its literal equivalent in Mandarin.
sei — the literal meaning of the word in Hokkien and its equivalent in Mandarin.
sia, siak — the etymology of the word.
sinseh — the etymology of the word.
steam siak — the meaning of the Malay word siak.
suan — the etymology of the word.
suay — the literal equivalent of the word in Mandarin, if any.
Updated on 10 September 2006
tair — the etymology of the word: whether it is derived from Hokkien, and if so, its meaning in Hokkien and its literal translation in Mandarin, if any.
tak jalan — the meaning of the Malay word tak.
talc — the etymology of the word.
tang kee — the etymology of the word.
tau
tau gon — is the definition correct?
tau kua — the meaning of the Hokkien word kua, and its literal equivalent in Mandarin, if any.
teh kah tai, teh siew tai ― the meaning of the word tai.
tim chok — why is this food item so called? What is the significance of the Cantonese word 竹 chok meaning ‘bamboo’?
toh hay — the etymology of the term, and its literal equivalent in Mandarin, if any.
tok kong — the etymology of the term, and its literal equivalent in Mandarin, if any.
toot — the etymology of the word.
towkay — the meaning of the Hokkien word kay, and its literal equivalent in Mandarin, if any.
tu lan — the etymology of the word.
Updated on 5 April 2006
wa lan — the Mandarin equivalent of the Hokkien word lan, if any.
wa piang — the meaning of the Hokkien word piang and its Mandarin equivalent, if any.
Updated on 7 July 2006
yeh yeh — the etymology of the term.
Updated on 20 August 2005
zai — the meaning of the Hokkien word and its Mandarin equivalent, if any.
zero point — the etymology of the term.