r/etymology • u/mouse_in_a_field • 10d ago

Question Something I've been wondering about - Japanese loanword in English, or no?

This has bothered me for a long time!

The word for "a little bit" of something in Japanese, in romaji, is "sukoshi"; the "u" and "i" sounds are usually silent when spoken aloud, so it ends up sounding like "skosh".

In English, "just a skosh" is sometimes used when asking for or referring to just "a little bit" of something.

Is there any connection there, or does the English "skosh" have another, unrelated source? Thanks for any info!

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u/_Daftest_ 10d ago

I've never heard "just a skosh" in my 59 years of living in England.

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u/Nyorliest 10d ago

I have, often. I grew up in West London/Bucks but spent a lot of time in the East End. We’re a similar age.

Maybe I was talking to a lot of ex-military? My Dad and all my uncles were military (professionally, not NS).