Origin: Japanese; Meaning: 津(harbor) 波(wave)
English Meaning: Gigantic wave originating from a volcano or oceanic earthquake. (Incorrectly translated as 'tidal wave'.)
According to scientists, tsunamis have everything to do with plates and nothing to do with tides. English speakers used to use the term 'tidal wave' for such waves but tsunami is now used instead as it properly describes the geologic event English speakers were trying to describe. This term came into popular daily spoken and written English after the tsunami in 2004 in Indonesia.
This illustrates how languages are living breathing cultural entities. Languages will adapt and incorporate terms from other languages if the new term can describe something more precisely than what was used in the original language. (Thus tsunami replaced 'tidal wave'.)Now that people can watch a tsunami live on television no matter where they are in the world, whether in a desert or in a rainforest or in a tundra, this word in here to stay as part of this eras modern English language vocabulary.
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