Hobson Jobson

Hobson Jobson \HOB-suhn-JOB-suhn\ , noun;
1. The alteration of a word borrowed from a foreign language to accord more closely with the linguistic patterns of the borrowing language.

This word dates to the 1690's and is a hobson jobson itself. It is supposed to be a mangled Anglicization of an Arabic cry heard by British soldiers in India. Ya Hasan! Ya Hasayn! was mourning cry for two grandsons of the Prophet who died fighting for their faith.

Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Tuesday, August 23
Etymologies come from the Oxford English Dictionary and/or Etymonline.com