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BAMBOO BONGS

4/5/2020

2 Comments

 
The word bong as meaning "device used for smoking substances" is relatively new to the English language. It was introduced in the early 1970s by Vietnam War veterans who borrowed it from the Thai noun baung, which referred to a type of bamboo instrument used for smoking hemp. Bongs were in use in South Asia for several centuries before that; it's thought that baung comes from an earlier word meaning "strip of wood". By the late 1970s, the term was in widespread usage. Bong also can denote a bell sound; that meaning traces to 1918 and is just onomatopoeic of the sound. Another definition that has recently emerged in the mountaineering world is "metal peg used for climbing", and that's also imitative, of the sound the spike makes when it's driven into stone.
2 Comments
Erika Paterson link
4/7/2020 11:23:35 am

I want to follow your blog but can't find a link? I love Etymology and just found by looking at etymologies of the word 'antidote' in context with Tump's 'antidotal evidence'. I once wrote a play on the etymology of the word 'cunt' - I called it 'The Happy Cunt' - but that was back in the days of radical feminism, and I was a lot younger. It was a dark comedy; toured across Canada and inspired a love of etymology amongst many younger cunts. Thanks Adam. Erika Ah, now I see the 'notify me' via email - but that is only for comments. Hmmmmmm ....

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Adam Aleksic link
4/8/2020 02:48:41 am

Hi Erika,

In my blog's sidebar, you can find a link to the RSS feed. You could subscribe there, or follow me on Twitter (@etymologynerd) for daily posts. Thanks for the support!

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    Hello! I'm Adam Aleksic, a senior studying government and linguistics at Harvard University, where I co-founded the Harvard Undergraduate Linguistics Society. In addition to etymology, I also really enjoy trivia, politics, vexillology, geography, board games, conlanging, art history, and law. 
      If I don't cover it soon, I probably already did it
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