“We don’t just borrow words; on occasion English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.” — Canadian blogger James Nicoll

I don’t usually reuse material but this opening quote is one of my favorites so I just have to trot it out again. Why? Simply because it’s so germane to today’s subject, which happens to be about loanwords, or words we’ve borrowed from other languages – in the case of today’s column, Japanese.

According to oed.com, the prestigious Oxford English Dictionary “lists 552 Japanese loanwords dating from as early as the 16th century.” Specifically, its list of loanwords begins with the 1577 entry “bonze,” which it defines as “Chiefly in China and Japan: a Buddhist priest or religious teacher.”

During the 1600s we English speakers started to use Japanese words including “bento” (a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal, often for lunch), “katana” (a long single-edge sword used by samurai), “sake” (rice wine) and “shogun” (a military ruler whose title translates to “barbarian-quelling generalissimo”).

By the 1700s people outside of Japan were becoming familiar with the “samurai” (warrior or knight), “tofu” (curd made from mashed soybeans) and small ponds stocked with “koi” (a large ornamental carp).

Around 1850 Japan opened itself up to the world. By then you could have eaten sushi — a combo of “su” (vinegar) and “meshi” (rice) — and read haiku (light verse) to a geisha (“art doer”), before retiring to your futon (which was originally a “meditation cushion”).

But we’re not the only ones doing the borrowing. It turns out that the Japanese borrow a lot more words from us than we do from them – and not all of them are literal translations either. They are what’s called Wasei Eigo or “Japanese-made English.” In other words, they are Japanese pseudo-loanwords or expressions that are based on English words or expressions but may not have the same pronunciations or meanings as they do in English.

For instance a “salaryman” (from the word “sarariman”) is a white-collar worker who is loyal to his employer. He probably wears a “waishatsu” (white shirt dress shirt) while working on his “note persocon,” which is a shortening of “notebook personal computer.”

As you’d expect, we’re also doing to some of their words what they’ve done to some of ours. For instance, our word “rickshaw” comes from the word “jinrikisha” (“jin” means “man,” “riki” is “strength” and “sha” is “carriage”) – but in our translation we’ve left out the man doing the pulling.

What if we borrowed back some of those words that the Japanese had borrowed from us? Well we have. And they’re known as “reborrowings” or “boomerang words.” “Anime,” which to us means animation produced in Japan, comes from “animēshon,” which, of course, was borrowed from our word “animation.”

And then there’s the circular evolution of our word “cosplay,” which we got from the Japanese term “kosuchūmu-purē.” The thing is, “kosuchūmu-purē” was borrowed from the English compound “costume play.”

But I digress, so let’s get back to the words we’ve rifled through the pockets of the Japanese language to get. If you feel the urge to belt out a tune after a few drinks, I hope you’re doing karaoke, which comes from “kara” (empty) and “oke” (orchestra) – even if you can’t carry a tune in a bucket.

The next time you want to add some color to that text or email you’re about to send and you add an emoji, remember that the word comes from “e,” which is based on the ancient Japanese “ye” (picture drawing) and “moji” (letter character).

And when you take on your next Sudoku puzzle, which involves strategically placing the numbers 1 through 9 in a grid pattern that bans repeating the same number in a line or block, remember that the name of the game is short for

or “the numerals must remain single.” A simple concept that I still can’t figure out.

Jim Witherell of Lewiston is a writer and lover of words whose work includes “L.L. Bean: The Man and His Company” and “Ed Muskie: Made in Maine.” He can be reached at jlwitherell19@gmail.com.

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