[identity profile] theidolhands.livejournal.com
mo·to·re·la [ˈmōdərˈrɛlə]:
origin: [1964] Philippines; motor= motorcyle + rela= tricycle (may have 4 wheels); invented by Rafael Floirendo, Sr.

noun
We live in a world where alternate modes of transportation are regularly being explored...as well as making those machines smart enough to decide if they should break for us or not.

Anyway, in the Philippines, they have a device that looks like a bus had relations with a motorcycle, then gave birth to a motorized rickshaw. This contraption is known as a "Motorela"; it's like a motorcycle with a car shell built around it and can carry from 4-16 people (which is the point of turning a motorcycle into a bus). Not to be confused with Motorola = the phone company.

Motorelas can also carry goods inside or outside (including the roof) and just come really in handy. They are also known as "the mini jeepney" (a ramshackle minibus). Motorelas can also be fancifully decorated by the owner in a similar manner to jeepneys, though not necessarily.

So, why don't we make these things in the United States?


source

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[personal profile] med_cat
Boondocks (n.)

Language of Origin:

Tagalog

About the Word:

Boondocks (and boonies) both mean "a rural area," particularly one considered backward, dull, or unsophisticated.

In Tagalog, the language that is the base for Filipino, an official language of the Philippines, bundok means "mountains." Following the Philippine Revolution of 1898, the occupying American military forces adopted "boondocks" and broadened its meaning to refer to the wild and rural country they found there.

(Source: Merriam-Webster's Top Ten Favorite Words from Foreign Languages list)
[identity profile] theidolhands.livejournal.com
Fec·und or Fe·cund [ˈfiː.kənd/, ˈfɛ.kənd]:
origin: 15th century; Latin fecundus

adjective
To produce in abundance, wether that be offspring, vegetation, or ideas.



Gi·gil [gɪˈgɪl]:
origin: The Philippines

verb
An irresistible urge to do something, like pinch a cute baby's cheeks or grit teeth in anger.
“Ang cute! Nakakagigil!” = “So cute! Makes me gigil!” [more details here]

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[identity profile] nerdfury.livejournal.com
More Words Without An English Equivalent.
(utntil some smartass corrects me)


Shemomedjamo
(Georgian)
A word to describe when you're full, but the meal is so tasty that you can't stop eating it. This word translates as “I accidentally ate the whole thing.”

Pelinti
(Buli, Ghana)
You know when you take a bite of something, but it's too hot, so you kind roll it around your mouth and make noises of discontent until it's cool enough to keep vhewing and swallow? The Ghanaians have a word for that. More specifically, it means “to move hot food around in your mouth.”

Layogenic
(Tagalog)
Remember in Clueless when Cher describes someone as “a full-on Monet…from far away, it’s OK, but up close it’s a big old mess”? That’s exactly what this word means.

Rhwe
(Tsonga, South Africa)
THere's a word to describe the end result of too many tequila shots. This one means “to sleep on the floor without a mat, while drunk and naked.”

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