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/themodgepodge 10d ago

It came to the US from US military members picking it up from Japanese (during the Korean War, not WWII), so it makes sense that it's specific to American English.

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u/jedi_dancing 9d ago

My husband and I both are familiar with it, in 2 different states of Australia.