Dobe

/ˈdoʊb/ noun

Definition

Short for adobe; an unburned brick made of clay and straw, or a building made from adobe bricks.

Etymology

Shortened form of 'adobe,' which comes from Spanish 'adobe,' from Arabic 'al-tub' meaning 'the brick.' Used casually in American Southwest English to refer to adobe structures.

Kelly Says

Adobe buildings in the American Southwest stay cool in desert heat through pure physics — the thick clay walls absorb heat slowly during the day and release it at night, meaning pre-industrial people accidentally invented thermal mass engineering.

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