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
Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences that are uniquely their own, from a point of view that is theirs and no one else’s. Plus, why do we say...
While compiling the Oxford English Dictionary, lexicographer James Murray exchanged hundreds of letters a week with authors, advisors, and volunteer researchers. A new collection online lets you eavesdrop on discussions about which words should be...