ramdam

French

Etymology

Eventually probably from Arabic رَمَضان (ramaḍān). However, it does not seem entirely certain that it was borrowed by French colonial soldiers from Maghrebi Arabic, as some sources say. Instead compare Italian Rabadan (“carnival in Bellinzona, Switzerland”), which connects the two meanings or even Italian ambaradan. Further also German Remmidemmi (“fuss, racket”), though the latter is attested late and could be influenced by the French. In regards to the general semantic evolution from "holy month" to "noisy meeting" compare also with brouhaha, sabbat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁam.dam/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

ramdam m (plural ramdams)

1. fuss, racket

   Synonyms: boucan, tapage

   faire du ramdam ― to make a fuss

   • 1959, Raymond Queneau, Zazie dans le métro:

     Vous faites pourtant un de ces ramdams, dit le flicard.

     "But you are making an awful racket," said the cop.

Further reading

• “ramdam”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ɾamˈdam/ [ɾɐmˈd̪am]
• Rhymes: -am
• Syllabification: ram‧dam

Noun

ramdám (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜋ᜔ᜇᜋ᜔)

1. Alternative form of damdam