List of English words of Czech origin

This is a list of word coming to English from or via Czech, or originating in the Czech lands:

• Absurdistan (in Czech Absurdistán) - word created by Eastern Bloc dissidents, passed into English mainly through works of Václav Havel.
• Budweiser - after Budweis, the German name of Budějovice, a city in Southern Bohemia
• Cesky Fousek - from Český fousek (Czech fousek); word fousek is connected with the beard and moustache ("facial furnishings")
• Czechoslovakian vlčák (abbreviation CSV) - from vlk (wolf); vlčák meaning German Shepherd Dog and wolf hybrid
• dollar - from Tolar (German: Thaler), the Czech name for the silver coin mined in Bohemia in 16th century in Údolí Svatého Jáchyma
• háček - a diacritical mark, literally "little hook", e.g. č is letter c having háček. Also known as "caron".
• howitzer - from houfnice, a 15th century Hussite catapult; houf meaning crowd or band
• kolache – from koláč or koláček.
• koczwarism - Sexual asphyxiophilia in medical slang; after František Kočvara
• moldavite - from Moldau; Moldau is German version of Vltava.
• pils, pilsner, pilsener - after Pilsen, the German name of Plzeň, a Czech city. The name of the city is derived from Old Czech plz (damp, moist).
• pistol - from píšťala, an 15th century Hussite firearm (alternative sources have been suggested, see the article for details)
• polka - from Polák or polský, a Czech dance named in remembrance of the November Uprising of 1830; or from Půlka, in English half because of its tempo
• Prazsky krysarik - form Pražský krysařík (Prague Ratter)
• robot - from Czech robota (labour, drudgery), introduced in Karel Čapek's play R.U.R. from the 1920s.
• semtex - a plastic explosive named after Semtín, part of the city of Pardubice, Czech Republic, location of its manufacturer.
• tunnelling - a colloquial term for financial fraud committed by a company's own management or major shareholders. Widely used in the Czech Republic (and Slovakia) since the first half of 1990s to describe the massive asset stripping during transition from planned economy.

Sometimes it is mistakenly claimed hocus-pocus has Czech origin since pokus means trial (attempt).

See also

• Lists of English words of international origin