myloon
n.— «The word he used in Parsee Gujarati which I have rendered as “chicks” was “Mylaaon.” It’s a word which has come to mean in the demotic argot ‘girls’, ‘chicks’, ‘totty’ etc.…”I think it comes from an imitation and simple corruption of the phrase ‘my love’ which the Parsees heard the sahibs use when addressing the memsahibs.” Whereupon ‘my love’ became ‘myla’ and was made more endearing by being turned into the diminutive as ‘myloon’, the single, sweet thing.» —“Budding language” by Farrukh Dhondy Mid Day (Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) May 8, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
Eric from West Lafayette, Indiana, wonders which phrase is correct when referring to “making the grade” or “meeting expectations”: Is it cut the mustard or cut the muster? It’s the former, a reference to the strong...