Brouhaha

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A brouhaha is a noisy clamourous response to a stimulus, produced by a crowd. It can also refer to the reaction expressed over a period of time to an event. It usually carries negative connotations, the uproar being an utterance of discontent, however it has taken on a milder nuance and a 'brouhaha' may be used to describe a clamour arising for no good reason. Often used erroneously by sportscasters.

It originates from the French word of the same spelling.

[edit] Origins

The word 'brouhaha' appeared in the English language at the end of the 19th century, borrowed from French.

Some linguists argue that the word is an onomatopœia, simply imitating the sound it describes; others present different theories on its origin. Walther von Wartburg, a German linguist, put forth a theory that the word was based on the Hebrew greeting barukh habba, an equivalent of 'welcome' meaning “blessed be the one who comes”.

John Peter Maher, another linguist who has studied the roots of the word, believes the word could have originated in bull rings, from the Spanish word bravo.

Another theory suggests origin from the italian word "barruccaba", meaning confusion.