hookah
UK[ˈhʊkə]US[ˈhʊkə]
n
A pipe for smoking tobacco, with a long tube that passes through a container of water which cools the smoke.
Etymology
The word 'hookah' entered English in the mid-18th century from the Urdu and Persian 'huqqa', meaning 'casket' or 'small box'. This Persian term itself is derived from the Arabic 'ḥuqqa', which refers to a 'jar' or 'vessel'. The semantic journey is direct and material: the name of the water container at the base of the pipe was extended by metonymy to refer to the entire smoking apparatus. It is a prime example of a cultural loanword, preserving its form and core meaning as it traveled from Arabic and Persian cultures into European languages.
Analysis
This word is a loanword adopted as a single, unsegmentable unit into English.
Examples
The guests relaxed on cushions, passing the hookah around the circle.
The traditional coffee shop was filled with the sweet aroma of tobacco from numerous hookahs.
She ordered mint-flavored tobacco for the hookah.