chambray

Pronounced: SHAM-bray, noun

Notes: This word is one of those that I’ve seen and heard, but really could not properly define

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Yesterday’s word

The word Barbados (the verb) means “to forcibly ship someone to another place to work”

First usage

Our word goes back to the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Yes, this word comes from the island in the Caribbean. In the 1600s, when it was a British colony, many Irish people were sent there by the British (they were also sent to other British colones in the Caribbean) as indentured servants. The Errol Flynn film Captain Blood has people being Barbadosed (although that word is not used in the film – at least as far as I know). The name Barbados is from the Spanish/Portuguese word barbados (bearded ones). It is not clear if the dense vegetation made the island appear to be bearded (and thus the name), or if the word referred to the bearded men living there.