Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun The
Austronesian language of theMarshall Islands ; also calledMarshall and Ebon. - noun An inhabitant of the
Marshall Islands . - adjective Of or pertaining to the
Marshall Islands , its people, or its language.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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In the Marshallese language spoken by the Micronesians of Bikini Atoll, bikini is a compound word formed of pik, meaning “flat surface”—in reference to the low-lying form of the coral reef atoll, as opposed to the mountainous shapes of islands formed by volcanoes—and ni, “coconut.”
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
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Global English iIn a playful folk etymology, speakers of Marshallese have given new meaning as a compound word because it sounds like iia + kwe, “rainbow” and “you.”
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
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What about the inhabitants of Bikini Atoll, where some of the fewer than eighty thousand people speak varieties of Marshallese, languages of the Austronesian family?
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
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A more accurate transliteration of Marshallese might have forgone the b for a p, or spelled the word as the Marshallese do: Pikinni.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
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Global English iIn a playful folk etymology, speakers of Marshallese have given new meaning as a compound word because it sounds like iia + kwe, “rainbow” and “you.”
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
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In the Marshallese language of Bikini Atoll, iju means “star.”
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
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In the Marshallese language spoken by the Micronesians of Bikini Atoll, bikini is a compound word formed of pik, meaning “flat surface”—in reference to the low-lying form of the coral reef atoll, as opposed to the mountainous shapes of islands formed by volcanoes—and ni, “coconut.”
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
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In Marshallese, the language of Bikini Atoll, hello and bye alike are conveyed in the word kwe, which also means love.i In English, the expression bye was once similarly fulsome: God be with you.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
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A more accurate transliteration of Marshallese might have forgone the b for a p, or spelled the word as the Marshallese do: Pikinni.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
-
In Marshallese, the language of Bikini Atoll, hello and bye alike are conveyed in the word kwe, which also means love.i In English, the expression bye was once similarly fulsome: God be with you.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
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