History Of Tsunami, The Word And The Wave, Runs Long In Japan : NPR
source: http://www.npr.org/2011/03/18/134600508/history-of-tsunami-the-word-and-the-wave
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The word "tsunami" is originally a Japanese word, but today it's commonly used in English. And it's been all over the news since a powerful earthquake sent a wall of water into northeastern Japan on March 11.
The first English use of the word happened more than 100 years ago, says linguist Ben Zimmer, of the Visual Thesaurus. That's when an earthquake struck off the east coast of Japan, very close to where the recent tsunami hit.
"There was reporting in the National Geographic Magazine, and it said, 'On the evening of June 15, 1896, the northeast coast of Hondo, the main island of Japan, was struck by a great earthquake wave,' " Zimmer says, "and then it explained that the Japanese term for this was 'tsunami.' "
From that first mention, the term became more widespread — especially after the disaster that devastated Indonesia in 2004.
The first English use of the word happened more than 100 years ago, says linguist Ben Zimmer, of the Visual Thesaurus. That's when an earthquake struck off the east coast of Japan, very close to where the recent tsunami hit.
"There was reporting in the National Geographic Magazine, and it said, 'On the evening of June 15, 1896, the northeast coast of Hondo, the main island of Japan, was struck by a great earthquake wave,' " Zimmer says, "and then it explained that the Japanese term for this was 'tsunami.' "
From that first mention, the term became more widespread — especially after the disaster that devastated Indonesia in 2004.
