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n. See Bislama. [From the commercial importance of BêCHE-DE-MER, or trepang, in the areas of Melanesia where Bislama and related pidgins and creoles developed.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
[French, alteration (influenced by bêche, grub) of biche-de-mer, from Portuguese bicho do mar : bicho, worm (from Late Latin bēstulus, diminutive of Latin bēstia, beast) + do, of the + mar, sea (from Latin mare; see mori- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
