Pronounced: GAR-boil, noun
Notes: I almost didn’t use this word; it’s not one I would encourage people to learn (more tomorrow)
Yesterday’s word
The word schmatte refers to
- a rag
- an old, ragged article of clothing
- Any garment
First usage
This word came into English in the 1970s
Background / Comments
Another word that came to us from the Yiddish word schmatte, which came from the Polish word szmata (rag). I assume that definition #1 is the original; since we call old clothes “rags”, that brought about definition #2. I assume definition #3 was just a broadening of the #2 definition. Likewise, I assume that the alternate spelling (shmatte) came about to more closely represent the pronunciation.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 