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Day: May 20, 2017

Does your language have a word for “hoick”, the noisy action of clearing phlegm from your throat to spit it out?

By: | Post date: 2017-05-20 | Comments: No Comments
Posted in categories: Linguistics, Modern Greek

Yes, Modern Greek has the noun ρόχαλο or ροχάλα. Etymologically, the word ultimately derives from the Ancient verb ῥέγχω ‘to snore; to snort’. In fact, the corresponding verb in Modern Greek, ροχαλίζω, only means ‘snore’ and not ‘hawk and spit’. ρόχαλο, ροχάλα are a back-formation from ροχαλίζω, just like donate in English is a back-formation […]