Around the World in 15 Words

Scrabble is played globally, so here are some of the new words that originate from countries and regions around the world.

TANAISTE
(Irish) in Irish politcs, the vice-Taoiseach or deputy prime minister of the Republic of Ireland

HAUN
(Scots) a hand

MARRA
(Northern English) mate

SICARIO
(Spanish) a hired gunman or assassin especially in Latin America

BIGUINE
(French) a dance of French West Indian origin

OPA
(Germanic regions) a grandfather

SEGUGIO
(Italian) an Italian breed of dog

HOPAK
(Ukrainian) a Ukrainian dance

TAKKY
(South African) a tennis shoe or plimsoll

HUMOUSES
(Middle Eastern) pl HUMOUS, a Middle Eastern hors d’oeuvre of pureed chickpea and sesame oil

SUMI
(Japanese) a type of black Japanese ink

CLUEY
(Australian slang) well-informed and adroit

BEERSIES
(New Zealand slang) beers

TURR
(Canadian) a Newfoundland name for the guillemot

KAPU
(Hawaiian) a Hawaiian set of rules for daily life

All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company, HarperCollins.

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