Many books on the English language point out that "ylang-ylang" is a Tagalog word. But I can't help asking: What exactly is a ylang-ylang? How is the word properly pronounced? And most importantly, when was the last time you actually heard anyone use the word in polite conversation?

lanfranco

It's a flower used in many perfumes, soaps, and other scented items. And, in fact, the only time I ever heard anyone mention it was in a commercial for Cacharel's Anais Anais perfume. I remember the commercial because it was particularly annoying: http://www.answers.com/topic/ylang-ylang Nov 03 05, 10:01 AM

base_hex

Last time I heard it was on a commercial in the UK for 'Herbal Essences' shampoo. Nov 03 05, 11:46 AM

satguru

Just spend half an hour in a new age shop, you'll hear every weird and wonderful potion be mentioned, and many smell very nice. Nov 03 05, 12:23 PM

gmackematix

I don't know about polite conversation but I'm sure I've heard "ylang-ylang" in at least one doo-wop song. Nov 03 05, 5:42 PM

Flynn_17

It comes from the tagalog 'álang-ilang', but it isn't pronounced how most adverts pronounce it - it should be "i-lan i-lan", even though people on the adverts insist on called it "yu-lang yu-lang". Nov 04 05, 5:56 AM

Flynn_17

I forgot to mention that it's not only a flower, but the extremely large blooms come from a tree rather than a plant. The species name is "Cananga odorata", and the flowers are h-u-g-e. Nov 04 05, 5:58 AM