mondo

¹

[mon-doh]

noun

Zen.

plural

mondos 

1. a question to a student for which an immediate answer is demanded, the spontaneity of which is often illuminating.

mondo

²

adverb

1. very; extremely.

   mondo cool.

adjective

1. large; big.

   a mondo history paper.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mondo¹

First recorded in 1925–30; from Japanese mondō, earlier mondau “rapid question and answer, catechesis between a rōshi (master) and student,” from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese wèn “inquire” + dá “reply”

Origin of mondo²

First recorded in 1965–70; from Italian mondo “world,” extracted from the film Mondo Cane ( “A Dog's World” ) (1962) and reinterpreted as an adverb in Italian or pseudo-Italian phrases such as mondo bizarro “very bizarre,” literally, “bizarre world”

Example Sentences

Duplantis, widely known by his nickname 'Mondo', made clear his intentions upon reaching the final.

From BBC

“Mondo always had insight into Andreas’ vaulting.

From BBC

“One memory is just jumping in the back yard after school and Mondo would coach me,” says Johanna.

From BBC

Mondo holds multiple international age-group records:

From BBC

Lane recalls people at athletics meets saying: “We’re only here to watch Mondo.”

From BBC

Related Words

• amazing 
• astounding 
• awesome 
• colossal 
• dreadful 
• enormous 
• excellent 
• exceptional 
• extraordinary 
• fabulous 
• fantastic 
• formidable 
• great 
• immense 
• incredible 
• marvelous 
• massive 
• monumental 
• prodigious 
• terrible