Adam Jacot de Boinod (born 1960) is a British

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, notable for his works about unusual

word A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no conse ...

s, such as his last name. Usually known as Jacot, he has written three books, the first two (''The Meaning of Tingo'' and ''Toujours Tingo'') looking at words which have no equivalent in the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

, and his third book (''The Wonder of Whiffling'') which reveals unusual words in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Early life

Jacot was educated at Harrow School, before obtaining a degree from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

( MA).

Career

Jacot worked on the first series of the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

panel game A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on ''The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as on ' ...

'' QI''. His research on the show involved him reading an entire

Albanian language Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...

dictionary and noting down any words which he found interesting. He noted that there are 27 different words for

moustache A moustache (; en-US, mustache, ) is a strip of facial hair grown above the upper lip. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history. Etymology The word "moustache" is French, and is derived from the Italian ''mustaccio'' ...

s and 27 words for

eyebrow An eyebrow is an area of short hairs above each eye that follows the shape of the lower margin of the brow ridges of some mammals. In humans, eyebrows serve two main functions: first, communication through facial expression, and second, preven ...

s in Albanian, including, "vetullan" ("very bushy eyebrows"), "vetullor" ("slightly arched eyebrows") and "vetullosh" ("very thick eyebrows"). There was also a question asking the meaning of the word "vetullushe", which was claimed to be "a

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

with brown eyebrows". After leaving ''QI'', Jacot began an investigation into other languages, examining 280 dictionaries and 140 websites. This led to the creation of his first book in 2005, ''The Meaning of Tingo'', a book featuring words which have no equivalent in the

, " tingo" being a word from the Pascuense language of

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its ne ...

meaning, "to borrow things from a friend's house, one by one, until there's nothing left". He then wrote a sequel entitled ''Toujours Tingo'' in 2007. In 2009, Jacot wrote ''The Wonder of Whiffling'', a book about unusual words in English, the word "whiffling" having several meanings, including "one who examined candidates for degrees… an officer who cleared the way for a procession, as well as being the name of the man with the whip in

Morris dancing Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may ...

." He co-writes a daily trivia column for the Daily Mail with Etan Smallman. Adam is also occasionally involved with "The Inflectionist" (magazine), and became a guest writer in early 2013.

References

External links

''Weird Words from Around the World'', ABC News''The Inflectionist''
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Boinod, Adam Jacot 1960 births Living people Writers from London People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Middlesex University British writers British non-fiction writers British lexicographers British people of Swiss descent British male writers Male non-fiction writers

Early life

Career

See also

References

External links