All over the world the advent of the festive season is eagerly awaited, whether for the singing of carols, the trimming of the tree or the cheering prospect of a white Christmas …

skábma (Sami, Northern Scandinavia) the darkest part of winter
tewtle (Yorkshire dialect) to snow just a few flakes
pitchen (Bristol dialect) settling snow
cloggins (Cumberland dialect) balls of snow on the feet
devil's blanket (Newfoundland) snowfall which hinders habitual work
sluppra (Shetland Isles dialect) half-melted snow
barvinter (Swedish) a snowless winter

Then comes the decking of the 'halls with boughs of holly' …

téliesít (Hungarian) to convert a house for winter use
trimens (Bristol dialect) Christmas decorations
hederated (UK 1661) adorned with ivy
beschneien (German) to cover with artificial snow

The wind-down from work starts in earnest with the annual office party: just beware of the Tantenverführer (German) a young man of suspiciously good manners you suspect of devious motives (literally, aunt seducer) and el pupo (Spanish), someone who likes to touch women inappropriately (literally, octopus) or worse still an okuri-okami (Japanese) a man who feigns thoughtfulness by offering to see a girl home only to try and molest her once he gets in the door (literally, a see-you-home wolf). Doubtless, they run the risk of dragging the pudding (UK c1870) or getting the sack just before Christmas.

In Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, your age is measured not in years but in how many Christmases you've lived through: you're not twenty, you're twenti krismas. Rather less charmingly, the Japanese expression to describe single women over 25 years old is kurisumasu keiki - leftover Christmas cake.

For some, it's the expectation of a good old get together …

pamamaskó (Tagalog, Philippines) the act of visiting during Christmas
gezellig (Dutch) an atmosphere of cosiness, of being with good friends, and spending time together laughing and having fun; the kind of moments that create memories

And the customary shopping sprees …

emax (Latin) fond of buying
ipatapata (Lozi, Niger-Congo) to try hard to find money with which to make an urgent purchase

All leading to present giving itself and the question of whether it's better to give …

cowichan (British Columbia, Canada) a vividly patterned striped jumper
tsutsumu (Japanese) the art of wrapping things up nicely in an attractive and appropriate way
crawmassing (Lincolnshire dialect) going round begging gifts at Christmas
square stocking (US slang) Christmas boxes dispatched to British troops on active service overseas
uunguta (Yamana, Chile) to give much more to one than to others
refiler (French) to give something you no longer want as a present
syentecezya (Mambwe, Zambia) to give somebody a gift and shortly afterwards to take it back

Or to receive …

wiin-gana (Yamana, Chile) to refuse a gift
arimuhunán (Tagalog, Philippines) something worth taking although unneeded
ta'arof (Persian) a situation when a person turns something down that they actually want, so as not to cause the offerer inconvenience
gift (Turkish) to go away
what else did you get for Christmas? (Australian slang) a derisory retort to a motorist sounding his horn at another (as though playing with a new toy)

For many it's one guaranteed occasion for a happy family get-together …

sitike (Apache, USA) in-laws who are formally committed to help during crises
biras (Malay) the relationship between two brothers' wives or two sisters' husbands
todamane (Tulu, India) entertaining a son-in-law or mother-in-law for the first time
bruja (Spanish, South America) a mother-in-law (literally, a witch)
bol (Mayan, Mexico) foolish in-laws

Though its dangers are all too common …

rikonmiminenzo (Japanese) the divorce-promotion generation
cintizi yantu (Mambwe, Zambia) a hard-hearted person who pretends not to know his relatives
kal (Chewa, SE Africa) the jealous strife between wives of a polygamous husband
kaelling (Danish) a woman who stands on the steps of her house yelling obscenities at her kids

At least there's the feted Christmas meal …

bubbly jock (Scottish dialect) a turkey
bonx (Essex dialect) to beat up batter for pudding
engastration (UK 1814) the act of stuffing one bird into another
beiriú spóla (Irish) the time required for boiling a Christmas joint or the time taken to singe a goose with a lighted straw
kavavangaheti (Tsonga, South Africa) a dead animal so large that people cannot finish its meat (such as a hippo, elephant or whale)

Whatever you put on your table, you can be fairly sure that someone will hoover it up …

smell-feast (UK 1519) one who haunts good tables, a greedy sponger
cosherer (UK 1634) someone who feasts or lives upon the industry of others
slapsauce (UK 1573) a person who enjoys eating fine food, a glutton
hodger (US current slang) a guest who eats all of the host's food and drinks all of the host's drinks

Perhaps the best you can hope for is reasonable table manners …

dooadge (Yorkshire dialect) to handle food in a messy way (often said of children)
mimp (UK 1861) to play with one's food
pingle (Suffolk dialect) to move food about on the plate for want of an appetite
yaffle (UK 1788) to eat or drink especially noisily or greedily
snock (Newfoundland 1969) to make a snapping noise or biting movement especially with the jaws of a hobby-horse in Christmas mumming

Washed down with …

supernaculum (UK 1592) the finest wine, which is so good it is drunk to the last drop, referring to the custom of turning over a drained glass and letting the last drop of wine fall onto the thumbnail (from the Latin 'upon the nail')
vspryskivat' (Russian) to drink in celebration of the holiday (literally, to besprinkle)
to smash the teapot (UK late 19C) to abandon one's pledge of abstinence (the symbolic rejection of tea as one's sole liquid stimulant)
crambazzled (Yorkshire dialect) prematurely aged through drink and a dissolute life

Before the effects of too much good cheer …

dlanyaa (Tsonga, South Africa) to lie on one's back with one's legs apart gorged with food
parecer arena fumigada (El Salvador and Mexican Spanish) to be suffering from the effects of too much partying or drinking (literally, to seem like a fumigated spider)
natafelen (Dutch) staying seated at the dinner table when the meal is over to enjoy some conversation and other people's company
yule-hole (Scots dialect b1911) the last hole to which a man could stretch his belt at a Christmas feast
vomitarium (Latin) the room where a guest threw up in order to empty his stomach for more feasting

And an excuse for fun and games …

dynke (Norwegian) the act of dunking someone's face in snow
Handschuhschneeballwerfer (German) somebody who wears gloves to throw snow balls
kram snø (Norwegian) snow which is sticky (excellent for making snow-balls and snowmen)

All in preparation for further jollity …

garlic (UK 17C) a lively jig
buff-ball (UK 1880) a party where everyone dances naked
adam and eve ball (UK 1920s) an early dancing party to which the guests are invited until 12 o'clock only
scolion (UK 1603) a song sung in turn by the guests at a banquet
griddle (b1851) to sing in the streets

And it can only be hoped that conviviality doesn't lead to overindulgence …

hozzy nozzy (Rutland dialect) not quite drunk
as full as a fairy's phone book (Australian slang late 1900s) drunk
maudlinism (Dickens: Pickwick Papers 1837) the stage of drunkenness characterised by the shedding of tears and effusive displays of affection
vice admiral of the narrow seas (UK slang b1811) a drunken man that pisses under the table into his companions' shoes
admiral of the narrow seas (UK early 17C) a drunkard who vomits over his neighbour at table

Before struggling back home …

voiture-balai (French) the last train or bus (literally, 'broom vehicle' as it sweeps up the latecomers)
barrer (UK c1870) to convey a drunk home on a barrow
take a sheep-bed (Wiltshire dialect) to lie down like a sheep to sleep in a grass-field, till one is sober (of a labourer who has drunk too much)

To prepare for a repeat performance on New Year's Eve …

brocade (French) a firework star that burns long, so that it leaves down-drooping trails of light as it falls
giao-thua (Vietnamese) the transition hour between the old year and the new year on New Year's Eve
odjikdiwini-gijigad (Ojibway, North America) kissing-day, New Year's Day
Julgransplundring (Swedish) the removal of all the decorations from the Christmas tree

Adam Jacot de Boinod is the author of The Meaning of Tingo published by Penguin Press (£6.99). He was a researcher on the first series of the BBC television programme QI and, in looking for anything 'quite interesting', he stumbled across an Albanian-English dictionary only to find 27 ways both for describing moustaches and for eyebrows. His curiosity for vocabulary was lit! He spent five years rummaging through as many dictionaries of the world as he could find in an attempt to share all that raised his eyebrow be it amusing, telling, bizarre or culturally informative.

Winter 2011-12