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Raju, thanks for starting this thread. If you have a look at the etymology of chemise. http://www.bartleby.com/61/12/C0271200.htmlYou'll see that camisole, chemise, Spanish camisa, are all from Latin, though the Latin, or Greek, word may have been from Semitic. I think it'd be safe to say that it may have made its way into Urdu via Persian, but it could have made it into Hindi or another language via Portugese or French. Persian could've borrowed it from Arabic which in turn could've borrowed it from a Romance language in the Mediterranean. BTW, for the others in the thread who may not know: Urdu and Hindi are the same language (basically) written in different characters: devanagri for Hindi and Arabic letters for Urdu. They are mutually intelligible when spoken for most speakers of either. Sort of like the language formerly known as Serbo-Croatian, but now Serbian and Croatian.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Wow, really of Troy? I've never heard of that before. Is this just a memory statement or do you have a site I can go to, to read up about it. It sounds very interesting and I'd love to know the reason behind it.
well, its a memory statement.. and is there a site? might be one somewhere..
you can make a simple camera obscura, (a large box, lined with black cloth, (or matte black paper) and a small hole. opposite the hole, a sheet of white paper. you put your head in the box, with the pin hole over the back of your head, and the paper in front of your eyes.
then with an adult's help, you can put your back to the sun, and safely watch a solar eclipse.
the cloth helps seal out stray light round your neck (the bottom of the box can be sort of cut to fit).
there have been several solar eclipses in north america (NYC area) that i have seen using a camera obscura.
you look stupid (from the outside) but who cares? you get to see the eclipse, with out going blind!
as for why it works, the pinhole asks as lens (just as we sometimes squint to see better!) and it focuses the light.
One other reason for the cloth (in box camera obscura's) was you could open the box (we used "paper" -the kind that hold ten reams) boxes, with removeable lids.. the heavy cloth allowed you to move the lid (away) to get a better focus.
old black denim was a good choice, (or other semi heavy twill) it doesn't really have to be black, just heavy and dark (to keep the light out)
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>Thanks for starting this thread.
Well, unfortunately I'm not raju, but I hope you won't mind if I accept the thanks offered anyway.
As to the Hindi/Urdu similarities, my Dad enjoyed a trip down memory lane while perusing one of my Hindi textbooks. Urdu was compulsory at his boarding school, in what is now Pakistan, and the phrases he remembered from nearly 60 years ago were indeed aurally indistinguishable from their Hindi equivalents.
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THe aquarium in a city near here used to have a camera obscura which, conveniently enough, enabled those in it to check that their cars were safe in the carpark.
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I'm sorry I missed this thread. Everything I was gonna say got said already! Fascinating read. 
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Pooh-Bah
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There is a fine - and old - camera obscura in the Royal Mile in Edinburgh which, on a sunny day, gives you a most unusual view of the city.
If any of you ever visit that fine place, you must seek it out - it's well worth the climb up the stairs!
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Sorry, Max. Thank you! And welcome aboard, raju, and thanks for the input on this and the Sun names' thread.
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jheem, I wouldn't say that they are almost the same. The colloquial versions of both have borrowed extensively from the other and are therefore rather similar. Same process of interweaving colloquial versions of Hindi and Marathi, has led to an altogether unique tongue - Bombay's lingua franca, 'Bambayya'! Shanks will certianly know more. Urdu has a lot of Farsi in it and Hindi a lot of Sanskrit. I speak Hindi with some difficulty, but can comprehend it very well. I was listening the other day to a CD of ghazals (Urdu poetry set to music) of a famous poet, Mirza Ghalib and I can quite confidently say, I understood nary a thing! 
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In medicine, a chiasma is an intersection, usually with some exchange. The optic chiasmus for e.g., is a broadish structure in which nerve fibres cross from the right to the left and vice-versa, in an X pattern. Chiasma comes from cross shaped and is therefore used for intersections.
Pie: Has anyone heard the usage - You will not get another pie from me. Pie used to signify a small monetary amount - I now am thinking it is short for paise? I think it is a Hindi word that has been absorbed into English or maybe I am suffering from a surfeit of Rushdie and RK Narayan....
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re chiasmus, both from the shape and name of the Greek letter chi.
re pie: I hadn't heard it, but there:
http://www.bartleby.com/61/24/P0292400.html
pie < Hindi pai < Sanskrit padika 'quarter'. Similar origin for paisa < padamsha 'quarter part'.
thnaks, maahey
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