Sheesha

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of water pipe used for smoking flavored tobacco, where vapor passes through water for cooling
2. A cultural practice in various regions involving the use of a water pipe to enjoy aromatic tobacco
3. An instrument traditionally associated with social gatherings, allowing individuals to share and savor flavored smoke through a collaborative experience

Etymology: The surprising thing is that the pipe is named after glass. In Classical Persian, "šīša" meant "glass" or "mirror", and the word passed into Ottoman Turkish as "şişe", meaning a glass bottle. From there it reached Egyptian Arabic as "šīša", and the name came to be applied to the water pipe whose glass bowl or base gives it its character. The sense shifted from the material to the object built from it. A word for a glass vessel or reflective surface became the name for a smoking device that bubbles tobacco smoke through water, and the same word now travels across Arabic-speaking regions, Turkey and beyond, carrying its origin in the glass that once gave it its meaning.

Synonyms: hookah, waterpipe, shisha, narghile, hubble-bubble