For weekly "Inspiration" by email send 
Brouhahaha!
Guest Article by Paula Guran (paula@writers.com) who produces the Writers on the Net newsletter of the writers.com website.
ROOTS
"brouhaha"
A "brouhaha" is an uproar, a hubbub, a confusion. There's also a connotation of more fuss and noise about a matter than it merits.
One theory of its origins is that the word entered English directly from French sometime during the late nineteenth century. It is said that in sixteenth-century French drama, characters portraying the devil disguised as clergy cried "Brou-ha-ha!" (Rather, one gathers, as evil villains might say, "Mwahahaha!") It may have begun as an "imitative" word describing the sound of a noisy squabble.
Another linguistic theory is that "brouhaha" come from the common Hebrew phrase "barukh habba" -- "blessed be the one who comes" -- used in prayer and to welcome people to weddings and other public ceremonies. The leap from "welcome" to a word meaning "noisy uproar" comes from the sound of a crowd's festive commotion on such an occasion. (In dialectical Italian, "barruccaba" also means "confusion" and it is definitely derived from of "barukh habba.") And, going back to the French theatrical connection, if one considers medieval anti-Semitism (many Christians believed that Jews possessed magical powers gained from making a deal with the devil), the connection of "barukh habba" to a dramatic demonic exclamation makes historic sense.
ROOTS
"brouhaha"
A "brouhaha" is an uproar, a hubbub, a confusion. There's also a connotation of more fuss and noise about a matter than it merits.
One theory of its origins is that the word entered English directly from French sometime during the late nineteenth century. It is said that in sixteenth-century French drama, characters portraying the devil disguised as clergy cried "Brou-ha-ha!" (Rather, one gathers, as evil villains might say, "Mwahahaha!") It may have begun as an "imitative" word describing the sound of a noisy squabble.
Another linguistic theory is that "brouhaha" come from the common Hebrew phrase "barukh habba" -- "blessed be the one who comes" -- used in prayer and to welcome people to weddings and other public ceremonies. The leap from "welcome" to a word meaning "noisy uproar" comes from the sound of a crowd's festive commotion on such an occasion. (In dialectical Italian, "barruccaba" also means "confusion" and it is definitely derived from of "barukh habba.") And, going back to the French theatrical connection, if one considers medieval anti-Semitism (many Christians believed that Jews possessed magical powers gained from making a deal with the devil), the connection of "barukh habba" to a dramatic demonic exclamation makes historic sense.
[words]
Listen to this article
posted by Georganna Hancock M.S. | 8:21 AM
2 Comments:
you gotta love that word! i learned it in 2nd grade and i think it is hilarious. it is just so fun to say.
www.wahaooiee.blogspot.com
I think Nicole meant:
http://wahaooiee.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the visit, Nicole. I, too, like to say "brouhaha", but I'm getting old and tired now, so I often limit it just to "brouha". Got a little carried away with the title.
Post a Comment
<< Home