sherpa
/ˈʃɝpə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.79 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A member of a particular Himalayan ethnic group living in Nepal and Tibet, known especially as mountaineers.
noun
A high-ranking government official who works tirelessly in the background to conclude the text of an official communiqué, typically from a G7 or G20 summit.
name
The Southern Tibetan language of these people.
noun
A local mountain guide or porter, particularly a male of the Nepalese Sherpa people so employed.
Countable
Example Sentences
- "Sherpas from the European Union and 19 countries worked through the week to salvage a meaningful joint statement, culminating in an all-night session on Friday."
- "Climbers have warned of overcrowding on K2 — the world’s second highest mountain and one of its deadliest — after a sherpa took video of queues snaking towards the summit."
Etymology
From Tibetan ཤར་པ། (shar pa, literally “eastern people”), from ཤར (shar, “east”) + པ (pa, nominalizing suffix). The reason for this derivation is unclear, but a common explanation notes that the Sherpas originated in eastern Tibet. The community is based in the Nepalese highlands, however, which is south of Tibet.
Word Breakdown
- Root: ཤར་པ།
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈʃɝpə/