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Apr 15, 2003

This week's theme
Words derived from many different languages

This week's words
sangfroid
dragoman
hinterland
apparat
blighty

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dragoman

(DRAG-uh-man) noun, plural dragomans or dragomen

An interpreter or guide.

[The word took a scenic route to its present form via French, Italian, and medieval Latin/Greek, from Arabic tarjuman, from Aramaic turgemana, from Akkadian targumanu (interpreter).]

"Soon, (Art) Buchwald set himself up as the laughing dragoman to American celebrities. The foster home boy became Our Man in Paris. He took Elvis Presley to the Lido."
Lance Morrow; Franglais Spoken Here; Time (New York); Sep 30, 1996.

"Born in Jerusalem, he (Wadie Said) went from being a dragoman to a salesman in the United States and thence to a hugely successful businessman in Egypt, running a stationery importing firm."
Penelope Lively; Books: Out of Place: State of Confusion; The Guardian (London, UK); Oct 9, 1999.

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