The word exotic comes from the Greek exotikos, literally from the outside. So if we had visited Ancient Greece, they may have described us as exotic, because they used it to mean foreign.
Exotic plants and birds come from another land, but exotic also means attractively strange, or maybe that should be strangely attractive. (Im not talking about exotic dancers, which is another thing altogether!)
Foreign words add a little spice to our language, and some of my favourite words have an exotic ring to them, such as alfresco, frangipani, or chiaroscuro.
Place names like Stromboli, Honiara and Avalon or just about any town in France or Italy seem to conjure up their own magic, especially when pronounced with the local accent. Fictitious places like Shangri La, Xanadu, El Dorado and Valhalla can also cast a spell.
The Polynesian languages are rich in vowels, which is why Fijian place names, like Malololailai or Savusavu, sound like music to the ear.
I love the sound of Japanese phrases, ever since I heard zaa zaa which means the sound of rain. The Japanese for butterfly is chouchou, which sounds delightful so I researched butterfly in other languages. They all merit repeating – mariposa in Spanish, papillon in French, farfalla in Italian, schmetterling in German and de vlinder in Dutch.
Some words are just fun to say, like vuvuzela, an African trumpet that sounds like an elephant roar.
Write in and tell me your favourite exotic words.
Meanwhile, Elysian Mystifying or
Happy Puzzling!
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