different between taboo vs catchphrase

English

Alternative forms

• tabu, tapu

Etymology

Borrowing from Tongan tapu (“prohibited, sacred”), from Proto-Polynesian *tapu, from Proto-Oceanic *tabu, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *tambu. Doublet of kapu. The word entered English around 1777.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t??bu?/, /tæ?bu?/

Noun

taboo (countable and uncountable, plural taboos)

1. An inhibition or ban that results from social custom or emotional aversion.
   • 1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber 1992, p. 213:

     The sharp differentiation of the sexes in our culture was shaped most probably by monogamy and monosexuality and their tabus.

2. (in Polynesia) Something which may not be used, approached or mentioned because it is sacred.

Translations

Adjective

taboo (comparative more taboo, superlative most taboo)

1. Excluded or forbidden from use, approach or mention.

   Incest is a taboo subject in most soap operas.

2. Culturally forbidden.

Translations

Verb

taboo (third-person singular simple present taboos, present participle tabooing, simple past and past participle tabooed)

1. To mark as taboo.
2. To ban.
3. To avoid.

Translations

Anagrams

• aboot

English

Alternative forms

• catch phrase, catch-phrase

Etymology

From catch +? phrase, from the notion that the phrase will catch in the mind of the user.

Noun

catchphrase (plural catchphrases)

1. A group of words, often originating in popular culture that is spontaneously popularized after widespread repeated use.
   • 2005, BBC News website, Disney's Tigger voice dies at 82 read at [1] on 14 May 2006 – Crediting his British wife with Tigger's "TTFN" catchphrase – "ta-ta for now".
2. A signature phrase of a particular person or group.

Synonyms

• signature phrase
• catchword

Translations

Trivia

This is one of the few common words in English with six consonant letters in a row. Others include latchstring and watchstrap.