Baboot

/bəˈbuːt/ noun

Definition

A variant spelling or form of babouche; a loose, backless slipper typically worn in Middle Eastern regions.

Etymology

Variant of babouche, from Turkish 'babuş.' This alternate spelling shows how words borrowed from Turkish have multiple English spellings as they entered the language through different routes and transliteration systems.

Kelly Says

English has about four different ways to spell this shoe (baboot, babouche, baboosh, babuche), which tells you something interesting: the word came in during an era when there was no standardized way to transliterate Turkish sounds into English letters.

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