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tarabish
DCHP-2 (Oct 2016)
Spelling variants:Tarabish
n. — Games, especially Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton Island
a card game reportedly of Middle Eastern origin.
Type: 4. Culturally Significant — The game is believed to be of Lebanese origin (see, e.g. the 1990 and 2000 quotations) and is specific to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia (see COD-2), where it has acquired status as a regional marker within the North American context (see the 1989 quotation). Internet domain searches indicate that the term is most prevalent in Canada (see Chart 1). Chart 2 shows a dominance in some Martimes contexts, with Central Canada and Saskatechewan following.
See also COD-2, s.v. "tarabish", which is marked "Cdn (Cape Breton)".
See also COD-2, s.v. "tarabish", which is marked "Cdn (Cape Breton)".
The second vowel is not pronounced. Barber (2007: 161) gives the pronunciation"TAR bish".
Quotations
1989
And friends can get together for an evening of Tarabish, a card game that folks around here say is typically Cape Breton because it's not played with a full deck.
1990
As far as he can figure, Tarabish (pronounced Tar-bish) has been Cape Breton's card game since the early 1930's when Lebanese and Syrian immigrants brought it from the Middle East.
2000
Some played tarabish, a Lebanese card game of bravado and careful strategy that was imported with waves of immigrants a century ago.
References
- COD-2
- Barber (2007)
Images
Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 12 Oct. 2012
