holluschick / holluschickie
Nov. 21st, 2014 07:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prettygoodwordholluschick(ie) (HOL-uhs-chik-(ee)) - n., a young male fur seal.
A "bachelor" seal who hasn't mated -- generally three to six years old, after which they become large enough to form their own harem. There is disagreement in usage over whether the singular form is holluschick or holluschickie, which is compounded by the plural form of holluschick being holluschickie (the plural of the singular holluschickie is holluschickies). In its source language, Russian, холостяки́ (xolostjakí) is the plural of холостя́к (xolostják), bachelor, so you would think that holluschick would be the more common form, but no, singular holluschickie is. Just because we steal a word doesn't mean we get it right, sometimes.
---L.
A "bachelor" seal who hasn't mated -- generally three to six years old, after which they become large enough to form their own harem. There is disagreement in usage over whether the singular form is holluschick or holluschickie, which is compounded by the plural form of holluschick being holluschickie (the plural of the singular holluschickie is holluschickies). In its source language, Russian, холостяки́ (xolostjakí) is the plural of холостя́к (xolostják), bachelor, so you would think that holluschick would be the more common form, but no, singular holluschickie is. Just because we steal a word doesn't mean we get it right, sometimes.
---L.
