Word of the Day

: July 2, 2011

brouhaha

noun BROO-hah-hah

What It Means

: a state of commotion or excitement : hubbub, uproar

brouhaha in Context

There was much brouhaha in the tabloids over the young actress’s sudden marriage to the much older entertainment mogul.

"Maybe, like Columbus, we'll find that the world of demand for Warhol is bigger than we thought it was. Meanwhile, the sums traded for these top lots are staggering, and the brouhaha surrounding them adds to the conviction of some that regulation lurks just around the corner." -- From an article by Adam Lindemann in the New York Observer, May 10, 2011

Did You Know?

There is a bit of a brouhaha over the etymology of "brouhaha." Some etymologists think the word is onomatopoeic in origin, but others believe it comes from the Hebrew phrase "bārŪkh habbā’," meaning "blessed be he who enters" (Psalms 118:26). Although we borrowed our spelling and meaning of "brouhaha" directly from French in the late 19th century, etymologists have connected the French derivation to that frequently recited Hebrew phrase, distorted to something like "brouhaha" by worshippers whose knowledge of Hebrew was limited. Thus, once out of the synagogue, the word first meant "a noisy confusion of sound" -- a sense that was later extended to refer to any tumultuous and confused situation.