Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

lobbygow

/ˈlɒbiɡaʊ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
lob-by-gow
IPA
/ˈlɒbiɡaʊ/
19
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An errand boy, especially in Chinatown.

American usage; Informal

Etymology

Probably from Cantonese, but of unclear derivation. The first element is either English lobby or modified after that word from an obscured Chinese source; the second element may be English gow (“opium”), or may be Cantonese 狗 (gau², “dog”).

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

lobbygows (plural)

Questions

How do you pronounce lobbygow?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈlɒbiɡaʊ/.
What does lobbygow mean?
An errand boy, especially in Chinatown.
Where does lobbygow come from?
Probably from Cantonese, but of unclear derivation. The first element is either English lobby or modified after that word from an obscured Chinese source; the second element may be English gow (“opium”), or may be Cantonese 狗 (gau², “dog”).

How to pronounce lobbygow

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “lobbygow”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈlɒbiɡaʊ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “lobbygow”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “lobbygow” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.