# Was there another word for "tsunami", in English and other languages, before 2004 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578 "2013-08-18T18:02:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/1 "2013-08-18T18:02:07Z")
I was watching a short documentary about the infamous 2004 tsunami, when I wondered about this. In France, before 2004, a tsunami was called “raz-de-marée” and this name was rarely mentioned. During the massive media coverage of the 2004 tsunami, the latter word was used almost all the time, and since then it seems tsunami completely displaced the French word “raz-de-marée”. I found on google that there used to be an English word too for Tsunami : “harbour wawe”. Was it commonly used before 2004 and was it replaced by “tsunami” after that year, as it happened in French? Did the same thing happen as well in other language? ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/2 "2013-08-18T18:09:41Z")
“Tsunamis” used to be called “Tidal Waves”, although both terms were in use long before 2004. As I recall it, “tsunami” was the preferred term in the 90s, with tidal wave being throught of as old-fashioned and not quite correct, since the waves are unrelated to the tides. I’ve never heard “Harbour Wave” used, except as a literal translation of “tsunami”. What happened in 2004 was the first really clear and widespread video of what a tsunami looked like, which did not match the popular imagination. [Etymology-Man](http://xkcd.com/1010/) has more on the topic. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/3 "2013-08-18T18:10:15Z")
The term “tidal wave” in English is still in common use. However it incorrectly implies that ocean tides have something to do with such an onrush of water. As such tsunami has become a preferred term. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/4 "2013-08-18T18:15:19Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > The term “tidal wave” in English is still in common use. However it incorrectly implies that ocean tides have something to do with such an onrush of water. As such tsunami has become a preferred term. True, although the phrase “tidal wave” is actually a perfect descriptor of what happens. i.e. that the wave mimics huge tidal swings over a short period of time. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/5 "2013-08-18T18:26:10Z")
I’ve always heard them called tsunamis. RAE defines tsunami as “a giant wave produced by a seaquake or an eruption at the bottom of the sea” without providing any alternate expressions, which leads me to believe that the term tsunami is what’s been used in Spanish for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/6 "2013-08-18T18:27:20Z")
Tidevannsbølge (lit. “tidal wave”) is still used in Norwegian for both tsunamis and tidal bores, but both tsunami and the Norwegian words were in use before 2004 and I don’t have the tools to properly analyse usage pattern changes. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/7 "2013-08-18T18:30:13Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > The term “tidal wave” in English is still in common use. However it incorrectly implies that ocean tides have something to do with such an onrush of water. As such tsunami has become a preferred term. However, the English word “tide” originates with a common Germanic term referring to time - it’s cognate in German is “Zeit”, which doesn’t have anything to do with waves or the sea specifically. Even in English, the term has not\* completely\* lost its old meaning, e.g. in “glad tidings” = “having a good time”, or Eastertide (i.e. the time period during which Easter takes place). ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/8 "2013-08-18T19:10:45Z")
“Tidal wave” is an English term but “tsunami” has been around a long time. I was in grade school in the early 80s, and we learned both the word “tsunami,” and that the term “tidal wave” was inaccurate and was disfavored. [The first usage in a general interest publication (National Geographic) was 1896](http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/03/18/how_tsunami_became_an_english_word/) ---
**Author:** ![sidecar\_jon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@sidecar\_jon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidecar_jon)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/9 "2013-08-18T19:58:39Z")
In Uk there is also the term Tidal surge usually referring to a higher than average tide/wave originating and funneled down the North Sea. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/10 "2013-08-18T20:04:14Z")
“Tidal wave” is no more incorrect than “tsunami” which means harbor wave. They have nothing to do with harbors either, it’s just that we recognize the meaning of the words in English and not in Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/11 "2013-08-18T20:46:31Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > “Tidal wave” is no more incorrect than “tsunami” which means harbor wave. They have nothing to do with harbors either… It’s so named because a tsunami can cause significant damage to ports and harbors, but has little or no effect on ships at sea. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/12 "2013-08-18T21:29:55Z")
We commonly used the word tsunami well before 2004. Tidal wave? Yes. Harbour wave? Not so much. Don’t forget that with French, you have an official body to determine language and it dislike foreign words whereas British adopts them freely. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/13 "2013-08-18T21:31:53Z")
“Tsunamis” isn’t really a word; the Japanese word is both singular and plural. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/14 "2013-08-18T21:40:26Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > “Tsunamis” isn’t really a word; the Japanese word is both singular and plural. In English, though, “tsunamis” is an accepted plural. Of course it’s “a word.” We do that with foreign words all the time. I’m blanking on a very good example, but “pierogi” is already plural, for instance, and in English it’s okay to say “I ate a pierogi” or “I ate five pierogis.” ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/15 "2013-08-18T21:48:24Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > In English, though, “tsunamis” is an accepted plural. Of course it’s “a word.” We do that with foreign words all the time. I’m blanking on a very good example, but “pierogi” is already plural, for instance, and in English it’s okay to say “I ate a pierogi” or “I ate five pierogis.” Pierogis, biscottis, canollis, _mama mia!_ ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/16 "2013-08-18T21:51:09Z")
I too was taught 20 or 30 years ago that “tsunami” is preferred and that “tidal wave” is inaccurate. However, it’s worth noting that English is full of words and phrases which are inaccurate in the sense that the meaning is different from what is literally implied by their root components. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/17 "2013-08-18T21:52:58Z")
From 1897 in the OED > [@OED](#): > > 1897 L. Hearn Gleanings in Buddha-Fields i. 24 ‘Tsunami!’ shrieked the people; and then all shrieks and all sounds and all power to hear sounds were annihilated by a nameless shock…as the colossal swell smote the shore with a weight that sent a shudder through the hills. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/18 "2013-08-18T21:59:11Z")
FWIW the Welsh band Manic Street Preachers had a song called Tsunami that was released as a single in 1999 and went to #11 in the UK Charts. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/19 "2013-08-18T21:59:32Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > However, the English word “tide” originates with a common Germanic term referring to time - it’s cognate in German is “Zeit”, which doesn’t have anything to do with waves or the sea specifically. Even in English, the term has not\* completely\* lost its old meaning, e.g. in “glad tidings” = “having a good time”, or Eastertide (i.e. the time period during which Easter takes place). “Glad tidings” does not _mean having a good time_, it means _good news_, and “tidings” in general can be used to mean an item of news. I do not knw if there is any etymological relationship between this use of “tidings” and other meanings of “tide”. I imagine the term “tidal wave” for a tsunami comes from the observable similarity between tsunamis and [tidal bores](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_bore). Tidal bores _are_ caused by tides, but are less interesting than tsunamis. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578/20 "2013-08-18T22:03:44Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > From 1897 in the OED > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by **OED** > > 1897 L. Hearn Gleanings in Buddha-Fields i. 24 ‘Tsunami!’ shrieked the people; and then all shrieks and all sounds and all power to hear sounds were annihilated by a nameless shock…as the colossal swell smote the shore with a weight that sent a shudder through the hills. I am not sure that that proves much, though, since the title _Buddha-Fields_ suggests this might be a novel with a Japanese setting or theme, and the shrieking people may even be Japanese. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-another-word-for-tsunami-in-english-and-other-languages-before-2004/666578.md?page=2)