Filename: WordOrigin-Cowabunga.txt

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Word Origin - Cowabunga

cow-a-bun-ga
exclamation informal
exclamation: cowabunga

Used to express delight or satisfaction.
"Cowabunga! It's an actor's dream"

Origin
1950s: originally cowabonga, an exclamation frequently used by the character Chief Thunderthud on the Howdy Doody Show.

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Etymology

While initially believing Cowabunga held its origins in the nonsense word "kawabonga", modern linguists now believe it originated from the ancient Native American exclamation Kwa Bungu
Its more modern incarnation was invented by Edward Kean, writer of The Howdy Doody Show, a children's TV show that ran in the USA from 1947 until 1956.
Chief Thunderthud, a character on the show, started every sentence with the nonsense word "kawabonga" or with the syllable "kawa" followed by ordinary English words.
Other Indian characters of a different tribe, such as Chief Featherman or Princess Summerfall Winterspring, used "kawagoopa" similarly, as a greeting or to voice frustration or surprise.
The comic character Chief Thunderchicken exclaimed "Kawa Chicken!".
Chief Thunderthud was also occasionally heard to exclaim "Kowaraschi" to express extreme frustration, perhaps in reference to major league baseball player Vic Raschi, whose daughter occasionally appeared in the Peanut Gallery (studio audience).

During the 1950s and 1960s surfers adopted "kawabonga!" as a declaration of enthusiasm, changing the pronunciation slightly to "cowabunga!".
"Kupaianaha" is the Hawaiian word for surprising or wonderful and it may have influenced surfers who had grown up with Howdy Doody.

"Cowabunga" was reintroduced to the entertainment world via a 1965 Peanuts cartoon in which Snoopy uses the word whilst surfing, and surfer movies of the time.
It has since been used by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and as a tagline for the 2002 film Lilo & Stitch.
The Cookie Monster uses "Kowabunga" to illustrate the letter K on Sesame Street.

The word is used by Bart Simpson while skateboarding. While the show's creators subsequently believed "Cowabunga" was only used in the show after it was used as a slogan on the T-shirts, Bart did actually use the term in the Tracy Ullman Shorts and in the first season episode, "The Telltale Head".

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Cowabunga - Word Origin

Modern linguists believe it originated from the
ancient Native American exclamation "Kwa Bungu".

Its more modern incarnation was invented by Edward Kean, writer of
The Howdy Doody Show, a children's TV show that ran in the USA
from 1947 until 1956. "Cowabonga" was an exclamation frequently used
by the character Chief Thunderthud on the Howdy Doody Show.

During the 1950s and 1960s surfers adopted "Kawabonga!" as a declaration
of enthusiasm, changing the pronunciation slightly to "Cowabunga!".

"Kupaianaha" is the Hawaiian word for surprising or wonderful
and it may have influenced surfers who had grown up with Howdy Doody.

"Cowabunga" was reintroduced to the entertainment world via a
1965 Peanuts cartoon in which Snoopy uses the word whilst surfing.
Surfer movies of the time also popularized the term "Cowabunga!".

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It has since been used by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
and as a tagline for the 2002 film Lilo & Stitch.
The Cookie Monster uses "Kowabunga" to illustrate the letter K on Sesame Street.
The word is used by Bart Simpson while skateboarding.
While the show's creators subsequently believed "Cowabunga" was only used in the show after it was used as a slogan on the T-shirts, Bart did actually use the term in the Tracy Ullman Shorts and in the first season episode, "The Telltale Head".

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