anorak

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a word of Greenland Eskimo origin, has taken on a new meaning from its association with people waiting around in cold weather (in anoraks, supposedly) to watch trains and aeroplanes or do other things the rest of the world can sneer at. Hence an anorak is 'a boring, studious, or socially inept person with unfashionable and solitary interests'. Its most common application is in the field of computing, as one might expect:

'Cyberspace' is no longer the preserve of techno-nerds and anoraks—Guardian, 1994.

Derivatives such as anorakish and anoraksia so far have little currency.

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noun
noun, derog Brit

Someone obsessively involved with something (e.g. a hobby) that is generally regarded as boring or unfashionable. (1991 —) .
Empire Any schoolboy or classics anorak will tell you that the old sheet-wearer was around a good 400 years before boring old monotheism (1993). Hence anoraky adjective derog Brit (1992 —) .

[From the stereotypical wearing of anoraks by certain types of hobbyist (e.g. train-spotters).]

Previous:	ankle-biter, ankle, animal
Next:	ant, antsy, any

For a list of words related to anorak, see:

• Overcoats and Cloaks - anorak: parka, often hooded (Eskimo)

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See words rhyming with "anorak."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Anorak.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - anorak

Nederlands (Dutch)
gevoerde regenjas, saai/teruggetrokken individu

Français (French)
n. - anorak

Deutsch (German)
n. - Anorak

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - άνορακ, πανωφόρι με κουκούλα

Italiano (Italian)
anorak, piumino, giacca a vento

Português (Portuguese)
n. - anoraque (m)

Русский (Russian)
теплая куртка на молнии с капюшоном

Español (Spanish)
n. - anorak, chaqueta de los esquimales

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - anorak

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
带风帽的粗呢大衣, 带兜帽的夹克

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 帶風帽的粗呢大衣, 帶兜帽的夾克

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 아노락(스키 탈 때 입는 방한용 자켓)

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - アノラック

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) متنزه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מעיל רוח, אדם משעמם למדן ולא-חברתי עם תחומי התעניינות לא-מקובלים ומיוחדים‬

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