Monday

From Middle English Monday, Monenday, from Old English mōnandæġ (“day of the moon”), from Proto-West Germanic *mānini dag, a translation (interpretātiō germānica) of Latin diēs Lūnae, equivalent to Moon + day. Compare Saterland Frisian Moundai (“Monday”), West Frisian moandei (“Monday”), German Low German Maandag, Moondag, Maondag (“Monday”), Dutch maandag (“Monday”), German Montag (“Monday”), Pennsylvania German Mundaag (“Monday”), Danish mandag (“Monday”), Swedish måndag (“Monday”), Norwegian Bokmål mandag (“Monday”), Norwegian Nynorsk måndag (“Monday”), Icelandic mánudagur (“Monday”), Finnish maanantai (“Monday”).
Compare Japanese 月曜日.

inh

We've worked out the schedule for Easter week: We'll be shopping Monday […]

Sunday · Monday · Tuesday · Wednesday · Thursday · Friday · Saturday [edit]


Tuesday

/ˈt͡ʃʉːzdæe/

From Middle English Tewesday, from Old English tīwesdæġ (“Tuesday”), from Proto-West Germanic *Tīwas dag (“Tuesday”, literally “Tiw's Day”).
This was a Germanic interpretation of Latin diēs Mārtis, itself a translation of Ancient Greek Ἄρεως ἡμέρα (Áreōs hēméra) (interpretatio romana). Cognate with Scots Tysday (“Tuesday”), Saterland Frisian Täisdai (“Tuesday”), West Frisian tiisdei (“Tuesday”), dialectal German Ziestag (“Tuesday”), Danish tirsdag (“Tuesday”), Swedish tisdag (“Tuesday”), Finnish tiistai (“Tuesday”). More at Tyr, day.

cog

(US, Canada, informal in UK) On Tuesday.


Wednesday

From Middle English Wednesday, Wednesdai, from unattested Old English *wēdnesdæġ (“Wednesday”), synchronically an i-mutated form of attested wōdnesdæġ (itself from Proto-West Germanic *Wōdanas dag, its reflex Middle English Wodnesdei falling into disuse), from Proto-West Germanic *Wōdinas dag also attested in Old Frisian wednesdei and Middle Dutch wenesdach. In any case, a calque (interpretātiō germānica) of Latin diēs Mercuriī (“day of Mercury”) and Koine Ancient Greek ἡμέρα (hēméra, “day”) Ἑρμοῦ (Hermoû, “of Hermes”), via an association of the god Odin (“Woden”) with Mercury and Hermes.
Cognate with West Frisian woansdei (“Wednesday”), Afrikaans Woensdag (“Wednesday”), Dutch woensdag (“Wednesday”), Limburgish woonsdig (“Wednesday”), Dutch Low Saxon woonsdag (“Wednesday”), German Low German Woonsdag (“Wednesday”), dialectal German Wodenstag (“Wednesday”), Danish onsdag (“Wednesday”), Norwegian Bokmål onsdag (“Wednesday”), Norwegian Nynorsk onsdag (“Wednesday”), Swedish onsdag (“Wednesday”).
See also Japanese 水曜日 (Mercury's day).

(US, Canada, informal in UK) On Wednesday.


Thursday

From Middle English Thursday, Thuresday, from Old English þursdæġ, þurresdæġ (“Thursday”), possibly from a contraction of þunresdæġ (“Thursday”, literally “Thor's day”), but more likely of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse þórsdagr; all from Proto-West Germanic *Þunras dag (“day of the thunder god”). Compare West Frisian tongersdei, German Low German Dunnersdag, Dutch donderdag, German Donnerstag, Danish torsdag. More at thunder, day.
A calque of Latin diēs Iovis (diēs Jovis), via an association (interpretātiō germānica) of the god Thor with the Roman god of thunder Jove (Jupiter).

der

(US, Canada, informal in UK) On Thursday.


Friday

From Middle English Friday, from Old English frīġedæġ. Compound of Frīġ and dæġ (“day”), from Proto-West Germanic *Frījā dag, a calque of Latin diēs Veneris, via an association (interpretātiō germānica) of the goddess Frigg with the Roman goddess of love Venus.
Compare West Frisian freed, German Low German Freedag, Friedag, Dutch vrijdag, German Freitag, Danish fredag.
Old Norse Frigg (genitive Friggjar), Old Saxon Fri, and Old English Frīġ are derived from Proto-Germanic *Frijjō. Frigg is cognate with Sanskrit प्रिया (priyā́, “wife”). The root also appears in Old Saxon fri (“beloved lady”); in Swedish fria, in Danish and Norwegian as fri (“to propose for marriage”); a related meaning exists in Icelandic as frjá (“to love”) and similarly in Dutch vrijen (“to make love (to have sex)”).
Compare Japanese 金曜日.


Saturday

From Middle English Saterday, from Old English sæterdæġ, earlier sæternesdæġ (“Saterday”, literally “Saturn's day”), from Proto-West Germanic *Sāturnas dag; a translation of Latin diēs Saturnī. Compare West Frisian saterdei (“Saturday”), Dutch zaterdag (“Saturday”), German Low German Saterdag (“Saturday”).

Saturday (disambiguation)
Week-day names

(US, Canada, informal in UK) On Saturday.


Sunday

From Middle English Sonday, from Old English sunnandæġ (“day of the sun”), from sunne (“sun”), + dæġ (“day”), from Proto-West Germanic *sunnōn dag, as a translation (interpretātiō germānica) of Latin diēs Sōlis; declared the "venerable day of the sun" by Roman Emperor Constantine on March 7, 321 C.E..
Compare Saterland Frisian Sundai (“Sunday”), German Low German Sünndag, Dutch zondag, West Frisian snein, German Sonntag, Danish søndag.


minute

Tok Pisin: minit

→ Baluchi: منٹ (minaṭṭ)

→ Bengali: মিনিট (miniṭ)

→ Burmese: မိနစ် (mi.nac)

→ Central Dusun: minit

→ Chichewa: miniti

→ Fiji Hindi: minit

→ Fijian: miniti

→ Gujarati: મિનિટ (miniṭ)

→ Hausa: minti

→ Hindi: मिनट (minaṭ)

→ Indonesian: menit

→ Malay: minit

→ Malayalam: മിനിറ്റ് (miniṟṟŭ)

→ Maori: miniti

→ Marathi: मिनिट (miniṭ)

→ Nepali: मिनेट (mineṭ)

→ Odia: ମିନଟ (minaṭa)

→ Pashto: منټ (minëṭ)

→ Punjabi: ਮਿਨਟ (minaṭ)

→ Sinhalese: මිනිත්තුව (minittuwa)

→ Urdu: مِنَٹ (minaṭ)

From Middle English mynute, minute, mynet, from Old French minute, from Medieval Latin minūta (“60th of an hour; note”). Doublet of menu and menudo.

der

Oh, I ain't heard that song in a minute!

“Man, I haven’t seen you in a minute,” he says, smiling still. “Maybe like two, three years ago?”

2010, Kenneth Ring, Letters from Palestine, page 18:

I seen Too$hort up there. Me and $hort ain't talked in a minute.

RON:I remember my first. I was a minute younger than you. […]I remember thinking, saying to myself..."This is the first time I'm eating as a person who killed someone."

2016 November 8, Ben Katai, Josh Corbin, Sharon Lennon, directed by Ben Katai, StartUp(Recapitalization) (StartUp (TV series)), season 1, episode 10 (TV), spoken by Ronald Dacey (Edi Gathegi):

(slang, US, Canada, dialectal) A while or a long unspecified period of time.


abalone

en-noun

abalone (usually uncountable, plural abalones)

From American Spanish abulón, from an indigenous language of the Monterey Bay area such as Rumsen/Southern Ohlone aūlun (“red abalone”)

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles

Oxford University Press
w:Oxford University Press

(Canada, US, Australia, Hong Kong) An edible univalve mollusc of the genus Haliotis, having a shell lined with mother-of-pearl.

(Canada, US, Australia, Hong Kong) The meat of the aforementioned mollusc.


aboriginally

1987, Kate Irving, What Government Does in the Western Northwest Territories, Yellowknife: Western Constitutional Forum,
All land subject to the claim becomes either Crown land or aboriginally-owned land.

1991, Jim Harding, An Annotated Bibliography of Aboriginal-controlled Justice Programs in Canada, Prairie Justice Research, School of Human Justice, University of Regina, p. 80,
It appears that lack of funding and control led to the demise of this program, but that with further refinement the idea has merit especially within an Aboriginally-controlled justice system.

2002, Bradford W. Morse and Robert K. Groves, “Métis and Non-status Indians and Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867 in Paul L.A.H. Chartrand (ed.), Who Are Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples? Saskatoon: Purich Publishing, pp. 209-210,
These areas […] relate to the identity of Aboriginally predominant communities.

(Canada) By indigenous Canadians (often capitalized in this sense).


English

English (countable and uncountable, plural English or Englishes)

or Englishes (English plural)
Inglish (alternative)
Englishe (alternative)
english (alternative)
english (alternative)

From Middle English Englisch, English, Inglis, from Old English Englisċ (“of the Angles; English”), from Engle (“the Angles”), a Germanic tribe + -isċ; equivalent to Engle + -ish. Compare West Frisian Ingelsk, Scots Inglis (older ynglis), Dutch Engels, Danish engelsk, Old French Englesche (whence French anglais), German englisch, Spanish inglés, all ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- (“narrow”) (compare Sanskrit अंहु (áṃhu, “narrow”), अंहस् (áṃhas, “anxiety, sin”), Latin angustus (“narrow”), Old Church Slavonic ѫзъкъ (ǫzŭkŭ, “narrow”)).

cog

You are putting too much English on the ball.

(uncountable, Canada, US) Alternative form of english.


Acadian

First attested in 1705. From Acadia + -n (“one that is”).

(Canada) A descendant of the settlers of the French colony of Acadia in current eastern Canada. More specifically a speaker of Acadian French.


season

→ Japanese: シーズン (shīzun)

From Middle English sesoun, seson (“time of the year”), from Old French seson, saison (“time of sowing, seeding”), from Latin satiō (“act of sowing, planting”) from satum, past participle of serō (“to sow, plant”) from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- (“to sow, plant”). Akin to Old English sāwan (“to sow”), sǣd (“seed”). Doublet of saison. Displaced native Middle English sele (“season”) (from Old English sǣl (“season, time, occasion”)), Middle English tide (“season, time of year”) (from Old English tīd (“time, period, yeartide, season”)).

temps

(obsolete) an extended, undefined period of time

The third season of Friends aired from 1996 to 1997.

Or - is she Erin Gray in the second season of Buck Rogers beautiful?

1998 February 11, “Tom's Rhinoplasty”, in South Park, season 1, episode 11:

(Canada, US, Australia, broadcasting) A group of episodes of a television or radio program broadcast in regular intervals with a long break between each group, usually with one year between the beginning of each.


your mileage may vary

The United States Environmental Protection Agency requires all new vehicles to undergo a set of standard emissions tests which simulate city and highway driving. Part of the test measures estimated city and highway gas (petrol) mileage estimates. Since no test can exactly simulate all driving habits and conditions, the actual gas mileage of each vehicle will vary. As a result, when these estimated mileage claims from automobile manufacturers appear in advertisements, they are almost always accompanied with the standard disclaimer “your mileage may vary”.

The battery lasts a day in my phone, but your mileage may vary.

When that definition is executed, the metadata for the temporary table is put into your schema (most likely—your mileage may vary), but no space is allocated to hold data.

1993, Jim Melton, Alan R. Simon, “Basic Data Definition Language (DDL)”, in Understanding the New SQL: A Complete Guide, San Francisco, Calif.: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, →ISBN, section 4.3.4 (Temporary Tables), page 74:

In other words, your mileage may vary and my disk-size figures are just estimates provided for your convenience.

1994, Bob LeVitus, Macintosh System 7.5 for Dummies (For Dummies), San Mateo, Calif.: IDG Books, →ISBN, page 328:

We pause here to emphasize that with animals, there are no absolutes. […] We like to say that with any given wolf or dog, "your mileage may vary."

2012, Jessica Addams, Andrew Miller, “Modern Wolf Mythology: The Things that ‘Everyone Knows’”, in Between Dog and Wolf: Understanding the Connection and the Confusion, Wenatchee, Wash.: Dogwise Publishing, →ISBN:

Mallory Ortberg: […] The advice game is the ultimate your-mileage-may-vary exercise—do you have a feeling for when someone is looking for (or needs) a gentle smack to return them to their senses, a bit of empathy, a dose of humor? It’s a tricky balance, I think, between writing something entertaining for your many readers and trying to be genuinely helpful to the original writer.

2015 November 12, Daniel Mallory Ortberg, Emily Yoffe, “Dear Prudie, from Prudie: Emily Yoffe’s advice to her successor, Mallory Ortberg”, in Slate, archived from the original on 2018-02-07:

(Canada, US, idiomatic, often computing) It may work differently in your situation, or be different in your experience.

možná to máte jinak

it may work differently in your situation

ez mindenkinél másként/máshogy/máshogyan van/működik (persze)

э́то мо́жет срабо́тать у тебя́ по-друго́му

I think that red dress looks really good on you, but your mileage may vary, of course.

Your mileage may vary when it comes to the over-the-top carnage and in-your-face machismo, but it’s impressive just how bonkers Fate [The Fate of the Furious] is, like a litter of kittens hopped up on grade-A catnip.

2017 April 12, Brian Truitt, “Review: ‘Fate’ is furious enough to excite the faithful”, in USA Today, archived from the original on 2018-09-06:

The privatization of luxury space in planes, trains and automobiles have certainly enhanced our ability to keep to ourselves on the road (see the rise of personal pods at airports for a recent example of the lengths people will go to for solitude). And as those spaces get increasingly automated, human interaction is becoming increasingly limited (although your mileage may vary as to how much you really enjoy that interaction with customs or gate agents).

2018 August 31, Leslie Wu, “Mobile Hotel Rooms are the New Home away from Home”, in Forbes, archived from the original on 2018-09-01:

(Canada, US, idiomatic) Used to express a possible difference in taste: this is just my opinion, your opinion may be different.

és només la meva opinió

this is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste

des goûts et des couleurs, on ne discute pas


can

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-can.wav

From Middle English canne, from Old English canne (“glass, container, cup, can”), from Proto-Germanic *kannǭ (“can, tankard, mug, cup”).

kanaçe

a more or less cylindrical vessel for liquids

(vulgar, slang, Canada, US) The breasts of a woman.


quarter

en-noun

quarter (countable and uncountable, plural quarters)

From Middle English quarter, from Anglo-Norman quarter, from Latin quartarius, from quartus. Compare Spanish cuarto (“room, quarters; quarter”). Doublet of quartier.

cog

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-quarter.wav

çerek

one of four equal parts — see also one-fourth

(Canada, US) A quarter-dollar, divided into 25 cents; the coin of that value minted in the United States or Canada.


letter

From Middle English letter, lettre, from Old French letre, from Latin littera (“letter of the alphabet"; in plural, "epistle”). Displaced Old English bōcstæf (literally “book staff”) in sense 1 and ǣrendġewrit (literally “message writing”) in sense 2.

displaced

(Canada, uncountable) A size of paper, 215 mm × 280 mm.


bit

From Middle English bitte, bite, from Old English bita (“bit; fragment; morsel”) and bite (“a bite; cut”), from Proto-Germanic *bitô and *bitiz; both from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”). More at bite.
Cognates
Cognate with West Frisian bit, Saterland Frisian Bit, Dutch bit, German Low German Beet, Biet, German Biss and Bissen, Danish bid, Swedish bit, Icelandic biti.

der

A quarter is two bits.

He left after shaking her down for four bits for carrying the bags.

1966 March, Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, published November 1976, →ISBN, page 16:

Applied to a various small units of currency and coins.

(historical, US and Canada) A unit of currency worth one eighth of a dollar, originally of a Spanish dollar but later also US or Canadian; also, a coin with this value, in particular the silver Spanish real.

The smallest coin we had in Canada in early days was a dime, worth ten cents. The Indians called this coin “a Bit”. Our next coin, double in buying power and in size, was a twenty-five cent piece and this the Indians called “Two Bits”.

1941, Emily Carr, chapter 10, in Klee Wyck:

(obsolete, US and Canada) A coin of a value similar but not equal to this, in particular the ‘short bit’, i.e. the ten-cent piece or dime.


dick

en-noun

dick (countable and uncountable, plural dicks)

→ Finnish: dikki (colloquial, humorous)

Ultimately from Dick, pet form of the name Richard. The name Dick came to mean "everyman", whence the word acquired its other meanings.

Last weekend I did dick.

Cool, whatever you say, slick, but I need to tell you something about all your skills. As of right now, they mean precisely… dick.

1997, Ed Solomon, Men in Black, spoken by Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones):

(uncountable, US, Canada, vulgar, slang, uncommon) Absolutely nothing.


pissed

en-adj

pissed (comparative more pissed, superlative most pissed)

more pissed (comparative)
most pissed (superlative)

From Middle English pissed, pissede, pyssyd, pisside, equivalent to piss + -ed.

That one looks pissed, Ms. Gennero...

1987, Jeb Stuart, Steven E. DeSouza, Die Hard, scene 287:

Some women were physically incapable, and the guys would say, “See, I told you women can′t hack it.” The more I saw of that, the more pissed I got, and the more determined I got to stick it out.

1989, Judith Stiehm, Arms And The Enlisted Woman, page 255:

So I was already pissed at Bill to begin with, for what happened with the O′Donnell disaster the year before, and now I was even more pissed at the fuckin′ guy.

2009, Steve Serby, No Substitute for Sundays: Brett Favre and His Year in the Huddle with the New York Jets, page xv:

(chiefly US, Canada, Australia, mildly vulgar, colloquial) Annoyed, angry.


BM

en-noun

BM (countable and uncountable, plural BMs)

Frequent involuntary urination. Frequent desire for B.M. but no result.

1911, Journal of the National Medical Association:

Mr. Jansen stated that he had a medium-sized, soft, formed, brown BM after breakfast today.

2017, Sheila A. Sorrentino, Leighann N. Remmert, Mosby’s Textbook for Nursing Assistants, 9th edition, St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier, →ISBN, page 424:

(Canada, US, euphemistic) Initialism of bowel movement.


AL

(US, Canada, baseball) Initialism of American League.


Asian

From Latin āsiānus. The popular American definition referring to East and Southeast Asians collectively seems to be a shortened form of "Asian American", a term whose origins activists and academics trace back to 1968 and University of California, Berkeley (UCLA) students Yuji Ichioka and Emma Gee, who, inspired by the Black Power Movement and the protests against the Vietnam War, founded the "Asian American Political Alliance" as a way to unite Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino American students on campus. It replaced the term "Mongoloid", but still continued the racial grouping of "Mongoloid". South Asians are also sometimes called "Asian" in the English settler colonies (US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) but rarely (if ever) Near Easterners and Central Asians. The British term exclusively referring to South Asians was due to South Asians forming a majority of immigrants from the continent of Asia in the United Kingdom.

Asiër

person from or descended from people from the Indian sub-continent

One of a supernational region within Asia

One of a transcontinental nation partially within Asia

One of a partially-recognized or unrecognized country or nation within Asia

One of a former country or nation within Asia

A person from the continent of Asia, or a descendant thereof - especially:

(US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) A person from or with ancestry in East or Southeast Asia, occasionally South Asia.

東亞裔 /东亚裔

person from or descended from people from east Asia


gas

gas (countable and uncountable, plural gases or gasses)

New York City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Baltimore

(uncountable, Canada, US, New Zealand) Gasoline, a light derivative of petroleum used as fuel.


french fries

french fries pl (normally plural, singular french fry)

french fry (singular)
French fries (alternative)

Clipping of earlier French fried potatoes (1856) and French-fried potatoes, potatoes supposedly prepared in the French style.

French fries are our specialty.

“What's the matter?” she asked quickly. “Haven't we had all the things before? Soup, chops, peas, French fries, and the fruit pudding–there wasn't a thing new.”

1903, Lillian Pettengill, Toilers of the Home, New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, page 292:

His first official act was to order dinner. “A nice, juicy steak,” he is said to have called for, “French fries, apple pie and a cup of coffee.” It is probable that he really said “a coff of cuppee,” however, as he was a wag of the first water and loved a joke as well as the next king.

1922, Robert C. Benchley, chapter XXII, in Love Conquers All, Henry Holt & Company, page 111:

(chiefly Canada, US, Philippines) Strips of deep-fried potatoes that have been frenched (cut into strips).

nímasii ádaałtsʼóózígo niheeshgizhgo akʼah bee shibézhígíí


Spanish

From Middle English Spainish, Spanish, equivalent to Spain + -ish.

(US, Canada, informal, nonstandard) Of or pertaining to Hispanic people or their culture.


acclaim

en-verb

acclaim (third-person singular simple present acclaims, present participle acclaiming, simple past and past participle acclaimed)

acclaims (present singular third-person)
acclaiming (participle present)
acclaimed (participle past)
acclaimed (past)

* First attested in the early 14th century.
* (to applaud): First attested in the 1630s.
* Borrowed from Latin acclāmō (“raise a cry at; applaud”), formed from ad- + clāmō (“cry out, shout”).

bor

(Canada, politics) To elect (a politician, etc.) to an office automatically because no other candidates run; elect by acclamation.


burp

Originally from American English, of imitative origin.

onom

imitative

Lennon let out a burp after downing the beer.

Sylvanshine would burp and it would seem like more than a burp; it would taste like he'd almost thrown up a little.

2011, David Foster Wallace, The Pale King, page 9:

When they approached, he turned from them and made swallowing noises indispersed with burps.

2016, Thomas Corfield, The World Is Badly Made:


inc

(chiefly Canada, US) Alternative spelling of Inc


storm

→ Esperanto: ŝtormo

→ Irish: stoirm

→ Scottish Gaelic: stoirm

From Middle English storm (“disturbed state of the atmosphere; heavy precipitation; battle, conflict; attack”) [and other forms], from Old English storm (“tempest, storm; attack; storm of arrows; disquiet, disturbance, tumult, uproar; onrush, rush”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *sturm (“storm”), from Proto-Germanic *sturmaz (“storm”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)twerH- (“to agitate, stir up; to propel; to urge on”). Related to stir.
Cognates
* Danish storm (“storm”)
* Dutch storm (“storm”)
* German Sturm (“storm”)
* Icelandic stormur (“storm”)
* Low German storm (“storm”)
* Norwegian Bokmål storm (“storm”)
* Norwegian Nynorsk storm (“storm”)
* Scots storm (“storm”)
* Swedish storm (“storm”)
* West Frisian stoarm (“storm”)

nb...

starme, steorm, storem, storme, stourme, strom

storm

Any disturbed state of the atmosphere causing destructive or unpleasant weather, especially one affecting the earth's surface involving strong winds (leading to high waves at sea) and usually lightning, thunder, and precipitation; a tempest.

(by extension, Canada, Scotland, US, dated) A period of frosty and/or snowy weather.

(Canada, US, chiefly in the plural) Ellipsis of storm window (“a second window (originally detachable) attached on the exterior side of a window in climates with harsh winters, to add an insulating layer of still air between the outside and inside”).


Indian

en-adj

Indian (comparative more Indian, superlative most Indian)

more Indian (comparative)
most Indian (superlative)

From Anglo-Norman indien, Middle French indien, corresponding to Ind + -ian. Applied to inhabitants of the Americas due to an early misconception that the Americas were the eastern end of Asia / the Indies (hence also the designation of Caribbean islands as the West Indies).

Indian bread

Indian meal

(Canada, US, of foods) Made with Indian corn or maize.

East Indian

of, or related to, the people of the Indian subcontinent

West Indian

of, or related to, the people of the Caribbean islands


drug

From Middle English drogge (“medicine”), from Old French drogue, drocque (“tincture, pharmaceutical product”), from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German droge, as in droge vate (“dry vats, dry barrels”), mistaking droge for the contents, which were usually dried herbs, plants or wares. Droge comes from Middle Dutch drōghe (“dry”), from Old Dutch drōgi (“dry”), from Proto-Germanic *draugiz (“dry, hard”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- (“to strengthen; become hard or solid”), from *dʰer- (“to hold, hold fast, support”). Cognate with English dry, Dutch droog (“dry”), German trocken (“dry”).

der

“I’ll go this far,” I answered him. “We’ll try going over to the drug. You, me, Ollie if he wants to go, one or two others. Then we’ll talk it over again.”

(Canada, US, informal) Short for drugstore.


banana

en-noun

banana (countable and uncountable, plural bananas)

Borrowed from Portuguese banana or Spanish banana, derived from a Niger-Congo language spoken in the Guinea region. Specific derivation is unclear. Possible ancestor or cognate languages include Wolof banaana, Eastern Maninkakan banana, and Vai ꕒꘌꕯ (ɓaana) or ꕒꕌꕯ (ɓaana). However, Ay Baati Wolof (Munro & Gaye, 1997) posits that Wolof banaana is itself derived from Portuguese banana.
The racial slur derives from the notion that they are "Yellow (East-Asian) on the outside, White (Westernized) on the inside".

banánový (corresponding to English attributive use)

(corresponding to English attributive use) banánový

An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin.

(Canada, US, UK, Ireland) In particular, the sweet, yellow fruit of the Cavendish banana cultivar, which may be eaten raw, as distinct from e.g. a plantain for cooking.


mental

en-adj

mental (comparative more mental, superlative most mental)

more mental (comparative)
most mental (superlative)

Borrowing from Middle French mental, from Late Latin mentālis, from mēns (“mind, disposition; heart, soul”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix).

af

Audio (US)

He is the most mental freshman I've seen yet.

He went mental on us.

Of, relating to, or affected by a psychiatric disorder.

(colloquial, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, dated in the US, Canada, comparable) Mentally disordered; insane, mad, crazy.


football

en-noun

football (countable and uncountable, plural footballs)

footballs (plural)
foot-ball (alternative)
foot ball (alternative)

⇒ Azerbaijani: futbol

desc

→ Bengali: ফুটবল (phuṭbol) (transliteration)

→ Bulgarian: фу́тбол (fútbol)

→ Czech: fotbal

desctree

→ Dutch: voetbal (calque)
→ Caribbean Hindustani: futbál khele

→ French: football

desc

→ Georgian: ფეხბურთი (pexburti) (calque)

→ German: Football

desctree

→ German: Fußball, Fussball (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, sometimes Luxembourg, South Tyrol) (calque)
→ English: foosball
⇒? Luxembourgish: Foussball

desc

→ Greek: ποδόσφαιρο (podósfairo) (calque)

→ Hebrew: כדורגל (calque)

→ Hindustani:

Hindi: फ़ुटबॉल (fuṭbŏl)

→ Hungarian: futball

→ Japanese: フットボール (futtobōru)

→ Korean: 풋볼 (putbol)

→ Latvian: futbols

→ Latvian: kājbumba (calque)

→ Lithuanian: fùtbolas

→ Macedonian: фу́дбал (fúdbal)

→ Maltese: futbol

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: fotball (calque)

desctree

→ Ottoman Turkish: فوتبول
Turkish: futbol

→ Polish: futbol

→ Polish: piłka nożna (calque)

→ Portuguese: futebol

→ Romanian: fotbal

→ Russian: футбо́л (futból)
→ Armenian: ֆուտբոլ (futbol)
→ Kazakh: футбол (futbol)

⇒ Serbo-Croatian:

Cyrillic script: фу̏дба̄л

Latin script: fȕdbāl

→ Spanish: balompié (calque)

→ Spanish: fútbol, futbol (Mexico), fúbol
→ Guaraní: húvol
→? Tagalog: putbol

→ Swedish: fotboll (calque)
⇒ Finnish: futis

→ Thai: ฟุตบอล (fút-bɔn)

⇒ Tok Pisin: soka

⇒ Ukrainian: футбо́л (futból)

[ˈfʊʔt̚bɔːl]

[ˈfʊʔtʰbɔːl]

[ˈfʷʊʔt̚bɑɫ]

From Middle English fotbal, footbal, equivalent to foot + ball, which may refer to the act of kicking a ball with the feet or to the fact the game was played on foot (as opposed to on horseback or with players in fixed positions). The name for the briefcase is a play on “dropkick”, the code name of an early version of the nuclear war plan.

ավստրալական ֆուտբոլ

game in Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

ball

in all varieties of English and in all games called "football"

They played football in the snow.

(Canada, uncountable) Canadian football: a game played on a field 110 yards long and 65 yards wide in which two teams of 12 players attempt to get an ovoid ball to the end of each other's territory.


write

en-verb

write (third-person singular simple present writes, present participle writing, simple past wrote or (archaic) writ, past participle written or (archaic) writ or (obsolete) ywriten)

writes (present singular third-person)
writing (participle present)
wrote (past)
writ (archaic past)
or (archaic) writ (literary participle past)
ywriten (literary obsolete participle past)
write (infinitive)

From Middle English writen, from Old English wrītan, from Proto-West Germanic *wrītan, from Proto-Germanic *wrītaną (“to carve, write”), from Proto-Indo-European *wrey- (“to rip, tear”).
Cognate with West Frisian write (“to wear by rubbing, rip, tear”), Dutch wrijten (“to argue, quarrel”), Middle Low German wrîten (“to scratch, draw, write”) (> Low German wrieten, rieten (“to tear, split”)), German reißen (“to tear, rip”), Norwegian rita (“to rough-sketch, carve, write”), Swedish rita (“to draw, design, delineate, model”), Icelandic rita (“to cut, scratch, write”), German ritzen (“to carve, scratch”), Proto-Slavic *ryti (“to carve, engrave, dig”), Polish ryć (“to engrave, dig”), Czech rýt (“to engrave, dig”). See also rit and rat.

cog

I was very anxious to know my score after I wrote the test.

Kúnlé had failed biology and chemistry, key requirements for admission into any medical school in the country. Kúnlé’s father wanted him to write the exams again.

2023, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, A Spell of Good Things, Canongate Books, page 132:

(transitive, South Africa, Canada, of an exam, a document, etc.) To fill in, to complete using words.


queen

queens (plural)
queene (alternative)
quene (alternative)
queyne (alternative)

Tok Pisin: kwin

desc

⇒ American Sign Language: G@Shoulder-PalmDown G@Abdomen-PalmDown

→ Burmese: ကွင်း (kwang:)

→ German: Queen

→ Japanese: クイーン (kuīn), クィーン (kwīn)

→ Korean: 퀸 (kwin)

→ Marshallese: kwiin

→ Sikaiana: kuini

→ Spanish: cuina

→ Thai: ควีน (kwiin)

From Middle English quene, queen, cwen, from Old English cwēn (“queen”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwāni, from Proto-Germanic *kwēniz (“woman”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷénh₂s (“woman”).
Cognate with Scots queen, wheen (“queen”), Old Saxon quān ("wife"; > Middle Low German quene (“elderly woman”)), Dutch kween (“woman past child-bearing age”), Swedish kvinna (“woman”), Norwegian kvinne (“woman”), Danish kvinde (“woman”), Icelandic kvon (“wife”), Gothic 𐌵𐌴𐌽𐍃 (qēns, “wife”), Norwegian dialectal kvån (“wife”). Related to and possibly merged with and/or absorbed some senses of English quean, from Middle English quene, from Old English cwene (“woman; female serf, quean”), see quean. Generally eclipsed non-native Middle English regina (“queen”), borrowed from Latin rēgīna (“queen”) (see Modern English regina). Doublet of quean and gyne.

gloss

"wife"; > Middle Low German <i class="Latn mention" lang="gml">quene</i> (“elderly woman”)

cog

Ad Hoc Softwares has bright hand-blocked floral cotton bed linens from India, including flat full/queen sheets, were $85, now $51; standard pillowcases, were $18 each, now $10.80 […]

1994 March 21, Leonore Fleischer, “Sales & Bargains”, in New York, volume 27, number 12, →ISSN, page 73:

(attributive, originally Canada, US) Pertaining to a queen-size bed or queen-size bedding.


nickel

en-noun

nickel (countable and uncountable, plural nickels)

Borrowed from German Nickel, first used in a text by the Swedish mineralogist Axel F. Cronstedt as an abbreviation of Kupfernickel (“a mineral containing copper and nickel”), from Kupfer (“copper”) + Nickel (“insignificant person, goblin”), originally nickname of Nikolaus (“Nicholas”), due to the deceptive silver colour of the relatively valueless ore. Compare cobalt as related to kobolds.

that and a nickel will buy you a cup of coffee

that and a nickel will get you on the subway

you pays your nickel and you takes your chances

you pays your nickel and you takes your choice

That is just objectively terrifying regardless of contexts! He looks like if a nickel did cocaine!

2017 October 8, “Confederacy”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 4, episode 26, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:

(US, Canada, countable) A coin worth 5 cents.


triangle

/ˈtɹaɪəŋɡəl/

/ˈtɹaɪˌæŋɡəl/

/ˈtɹaɪˌæŋɡəl/

PIE word
 *tréyes
From Middle English triangle, from Old French triangle, from Latin triangulum, noun use of adjective triangulus (“three-cornered, having three angles”), from trēs (“three”) + angulus (“corner, angle”), equivalent to tri- + angle.


square

→ Welsh: sgwâr

From Middle English square, sqware, squyre; from Old French esquarre, esquerre, (modern French équerre), from Vulgar Latin *exquadra, from Latin ex- + quadro, from quadrus (compare English quad and quadra). Doublet of squad and squadra.
Displaced Old English fēowerecge (fēower nominative + ecg accusative, as in "four-edged").

Something characterized by a square, or nearly square, form.

(Canada, US) A dessert cut into rectangular pieces, or a piece of such a dessert.


trapezoid

/ˈtɹæpəzɔɪd/

From Ancient Greek τραπέζιον (trapézion, “irregular quadrilateral”, literally “a little table”) + -oid (“resembling”).

der

There was a trapezoid of light on his shoulder, some bright fragment torn from a greater plane.

2023, Brandon Taylor, The Late Americans, Jonathan Cape, page 178:

(geometry, US, Canada) A (convex) quadrilateral with two (non-adjacent) parallel sides.

trapezium

convex quadrilateral with two non-adjacent parallel sides


jack

→ Brazilian Portuguese: jegue

→ European Portuguese: jaque

Transferred use of the personal name Jack.
(cricket: eleventh batsman): An allusion to the jack in playing cards, which follows the 10.

náłbiil bijaadbee dahnádidlohí

device for raising and supporting a heavy object

jekker

military: coarse medieval coat of defense

A man.
(Canada, US, colloquial) A lumberjack.

[A] quart of raisin jack was divided between us with the result that tha day proper (after the night before) was spent very quietly, watered and Bromo-Seltzered, with amusing anecdotes occasionally sprouting from towelled head to towelled head.

(Canada, US) A strong alcoholic liquor, especially home-distilled or illicit.


deuce

From Middle English dewes (“two”), from Anglo-Norman, from Old French deus, from Latin duo. The word was used by Ford to describe a model of car they made in 1932 due to it being a two-seater.

(Canada, US, slang) A piece of excrement; number two.

The number two.
A piece of excrement; number two.

Bisexual male, 28, doing a deuce in a segregated housing unit due to positive HIV test result, seeks correspondence from both genders.

1988 December 25, Eric Peterson, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 24, page 14:

(Canada, slang) A two-year prison sentence.

The number two.
A two-year prison sentence.


fall

en-noun

fall (countable and uncountable, plural falls)

ascent

antonym(s) of “act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity”

ascent

antonym(s) of “loss of greatness or status”

Fall Classic
Fall of Baghdad
Fall of Constantinople
Fall of Rome
Fall of Saigon
Falls-to-Falls Corridor
fall

Verb from Middle English fallen, from Old English feallan (“to fall, fail, decay, die, attack”), from Proto-West Germanic *fallan (“to fall”), from Proto-Germanic *fallaną (“to fall”).
Cognate with West Frisian falle (“to fall”), Low German fallen (“to fall”), Dutch vallen (“to fall”), German fallen (“to fall”), Danish falde (“to fall”), Norwegian Bokmål falle (“to fall”), Norwegian Nynorsk falla (“to fall”), Icelandic falla (“to fall”), Lithuanian pùlti (“to attack, rush”).
Noun from Middle English fal, fall, falle, from Old English feall, ġefeall (“a falling, fall”) and Old English fealle (“trap, snare”), from Proto-Germanic *fallą, *fallaz (“a fall, trap”). Cognate with Dutch val, German Fall (“fall”) and German Falle (“trap, snare”), Danish fald, Swedish fall, Icelandic fall.
Sense of "autumn" is attested by the 1660s in England as a shortening of fall of the leaf (1540s), from the falling of leaves during this season. Along with autumn, it mostly replaced the older name harvest as that name began to be associated strictly with the act of harvesting. Compare spring, which began as a shortening of “spring of the leaf”.

inh

A friend has pointed out to me the following remark on this word: "In North America the season in which this [the fall of the leaf] takes place, derives its name from that circumstance, and instead of autumn is universally called the fall." [brackets in original]

1816, John Pickering, A Vocabulary, or Collection of Words Which Have Been Supposed to Be Peculiar to the United States of America:

(chiefly Canada, US, archaic in Britain) The time of the year when the leaves typically fall from the trees; autumn; the season of the year between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.


elk

→ German: Elk (obsolete)

→ Korean: 엘크 (elkeu)

→ Malayalam: എൽക്ക് (elkkŭ)

→ Welsh: elc

From Middle English elk, from Old English eolc, eolh (“elk”), from Proto-Germanic *elhaz, *algiz (“elk”) (compare Low German Elk, German Elch, Danish elg, Norwegian elg, Swedish älg), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁élḱis, *h₁ólḱis (compare Polish łoś, Russian лось (losʹ), Vedic Sanskrit ऋश्य (ṛ́śya, “antelope”), variant of *h₁elh₁én (compare German Elen, Tocharian A yäl, Tocharian B ylem (“gazelle”), Lithuanian élnis (“stag”), Armenian եղնիկ (eġnik, “doe, hind”)), from *h₁el- (“deer”). Doublet of Elhaz.

Cervus canadensis
Cervus canadensis#Translingual

Any of various large species of deer such as the red deer, moose or wapiti (see usage notes).

(Canada, US) Common wapiti (Cervus canadensis), the second largest member of the deer family, once thought to be a subspecies of red deer.


kangaroo

kangaroos (plural)
kangooroo (alternative)
kanguroo (alternative)
kanguru (alternative)

desc

→ Arabic: كَنْغَر (kanḡar), كنقر (kangar, kanqar), قنغر (qangar), كنجر (kangar), قنقر (qanqar)

→ Bengali: ক্যাঙ্গারু (kêṅgaru)

desctree

→ Dutch: kangoeroe
→ Indonesian: kanguru

→ Danish: kænguru

→ Estonian: känguru

→ French: kangourou (see there for further descendants)

→ Finnish: kenguru

→ Georgian: კენგურუ (ḳenguru)

→ German: Känguru, Känguruh (superseded)
→ Luxembourgish: Känguru
→ Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic script: кенгур
Latin script: kengur

→ Greek: καγκουρό (kagkouró)

→ Hebrew: קֶנְגּוּרוּ (kénguru)

→ Hindi: कंगारू (kaṅgārū)

→ Hungarian: kenguru

→ Italian: canguro

→ Japanese: カンガルー (kangarū)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: kenguru

desc

→ Malayalam: കാംഗരു (kāṅgaru), കംഗാരു (kaṅgāru), കങ്കാരു (kaṅkāru)

→ Manx: kangaroo

→ Niuean: kāgalū

→ Portuguese: canguru

→ Russian: кенгуру́ (kengurú) (see there for further descendants)

→ Slovene: kenguru

desctree

→ Spanish: canguro
→ Tetelcingo Nahuatl: canguro

→ Swedish: känguru

→ Tokelauan: kāgalū

→ Ukrainian: кенгуру́ (kenhurú)

→ Welsh: cangarŵ

→ Yiddish: קאַנגגערוּ (kanggeru)

/ˌkæŋ.ɡəˈɹuː/

Borrowed from Guugu Yimidhirr gangurru (“eastern grey kangaroo”).

bor+

(Canada, attributive) A hooded jacket with a front pocket, usually of fleece material, a kangaroo jacket.


to

From Middle English to, from Old English tō, from Proto-Germanic *tō ~ *ta, from Proto-Indo-European *de ~ *do (“to”). Cognate with Scots tae, to (“to”), North Frisian to, tö, tu (“to”), Saterland Frisian tou (“to”), Low German to (“to”), Dutch toe, te (“to”), German zu (“to”), West Frisian ta (“to”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian ndaj (“towards”), Irish do (“to, for”), Breton da (“to, for”), Welsh i (“to, for”), Russian до (do, “to”). Doublet of too.

uses the dative case or նկատմամբ (nkatmamb)

(first number in genitive case) suhde (second number in illative case) (e.g. yhden suhde yhteen ~ one to one)

(ordinal number of the exponent in illative case)

ב־

written together with the following word

(ordinal number of the exponent in superessive case)

Stay where you're to and I'll come find you, b'y.

Where are you to?

"What's that to you?" said Trevool, rather sharply, "worn't I to a berrin? […]

1867, Cornish Tales, in prose and verse by various authors, page 33:

(Canada, Cornwall (UK), Newfoundland, Wales, West Midlands (UK)) At.

Cornwall (UK); West Midlands (UK); Cornwall (UK); West Midlands (UK)


regular

/ˈɹɛɡ.jʊ.lə/

/ˈɹɛɡ.jə.lɚ/

[ˈɹɛɡ.jɪ̈.lɚ]

From Middle English reguler, from Anglo-Norman reguler, Middle French reguler, regulier, and their source, Latin rēgulāris (“continuing rules for guidance”), from rēgula (“rule”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *reg- (“move in a straight line”).

der

(Canada) A coffee with one cream and one sugar.


g'day

Golf Golf Whiskey Golf, cleared the ILS approach runway one two, contact Sault Tower one one eight decimal eight, g'day.

(Canada, US, air traffic control, informal) Denotes the end of a radio transmission.


bird

→ Esperanto: birdo

From Middle English bird, brid, from Old English bridd (“chick, fledgling, chicken”), of uncertain origin (see Old English bridd for more). Originally from a term used of birds that could not fly (chicks, fledglings, chickens) as opposed to the general Old English term for flying birds, fugol (modern fowl). Gradually replaced fowl as the most common term starting in the 14th century.
The "booing/jeering" and "vulgar hand gesture" senses derived from the expression “to give the big bird”, as in “to hiss someone like a goose”, dated in the mid‐18th century.

inh

a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

it's an ill bird that fouls its own nest

BUBBLES: One time I was making a model and I glued the wing to a B17 bomber to my bird by accident.

2004 May 9, Mike Clattenburg, Mike Smith (actor), 05:29 from the start, in Trailer Park Boys(Conky), season 4, episode 5 (TV series), spoken by Bubbles (Mike Smith):


bird

en-adj

bird (comparative birdier, superlative birdiest)

birdier (comparative)
birdiest (superlative)

SOC100 isn’t bird at all lol. But ANT101 is super easy & the prof (Dr. Sherry Fukuzawa) is amazing.

2020 October 16, illegalsalt, “Thoughts on these bird courses”, in Reddit, r/UTM:

but admittedly, all the hours spent creating excel sheets optimizing my course plan, all the research finding the absolutely best professors, all the smart friends i made, all the alumni i contacted to collect crowdmarks of past exams, all the research i did finding the birdiest courses of all...... all of it was wayyyyyy more fun to me than just sitting down and studying like a normal kid. it was kind of just like playing a video game.

2022 June 17, ConradIsMyDaddy, “How to Graduate from the University of Waterloo's Computer Science Program with the Least Amount of Effort”, in Reddit, r/uwaterloo:

(Canada, colloquial, of a school or university course) Able to be passed with very little work; having the nature of a bird course.


beeswax

en-noun

beeswax (usually uncountable, plural beeswaxes)

mind your own beeswax
mind your own beeswax#English

none of your beeswax
none of your beeswax#English

(informal, Canada, US, humorous) “Business”, as in such phrases as mind your own beeswax and none of your beeswax.


bathroom

bathrooms (plural)
bath room (alternative)
bath-room (alternative)

→ Hindi: बाथरूम (bāthrūm)

→ Urdu: باتھ روم (bāth-rūm)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₁-
Proto-Germanic *baþą
Proto-West Germanic *baþ
Old English bæþ
Middle English bath
English bath
Proto-West Germanic *rūm
Old English rūm
Middle English roum
English room
English bathroom
From bath + room. Compare Dutch badkamer (“bathroom”), German Badezimmer (“bathroom”), Swedish badrum (“bathroom”), Faroese baðrúm (“bathroom”).

etymon

A public bathroom reserved for use by men

A public bathroom reserved for use by women

A secondary bathroom containing only a toilet and sink

A temporary structure used as a bathroom

Most Americans don't know 'WC' and many Brits mock 'bathroom' but almost everyone understands 'toilet' or 'lavatory'.

(chiefly US, South Africa, Canada, Philippines, Australia, euphemistic) A lavatory (area where one washes or bathes): a room containing a toilet and (typically but not necessarily) a bathtub.


car

→ French: car

→ Russian: кар (kar)

⇒ Sanskrit: कारयान (kārayāna)

→ Japanese: カー (kā)

→ Hindi: कार (kār)

→ Urdu: کار (kār)

Inherited from Middle English carre, borrowed from Anglo-Norman carre, from Old Northern French (compare Old French char), from Latin carrus (“two-wheeled baggage wagon”), from Gaulish *karros, from Proto-Celtic *karros (“wagon”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós (“vehicle”). Doublet of horse.

der

The conductor coupled the cars to the locomotive.

Any vehicle designed to run on rails, especially an unpowered one towed by being connected to others.

(rail transport, chiefly Canada, US) An unpowered unit in a railroad train, used to hold either passengers or cargo.


xerox

Genericized trademark from Xerox (“a photocopier”), from xerography, from Ancient Greek ξηρός (xērós, “dry”) and γραφή (graphḗ, “writing”).

Hand me that xerox, would you?

There were twenty pictures in the envelope, xeroxes but clear enough. They documented the scene pretty much as I imagined it.

2009, David Ebershoff, The 19th Wife, Random House, →ISBN, page 142:

(Philippines, India, dated in Canada, US, colloquial, informal) A photocopy.

The xerox broke down yesterday.

(dated, Canada, US, colloquial, informal) A photocopier.


xerox

en-verb

xerox (third-person singular simple present xeroxes, present participle xeroxing, simple past and past participle xeroxed)

xeroxes (present singular third-person)
xeroxing (participle present)
xeroxed (participle past)
xeroxed (past)
Xerox (alternative)

I xeroxed the report for all the people at the meeting.

(Philippines, India, dated in Canada, US, colloquial, informal) To make a paper copy or copies by means of a photocopier.


pinky

From Dutch pinkje, diminutive of Dutch pink (“little finger”). Cognate with West Frisian pinke (“pinky”), dialectal English pink (“something small or tiny”), and perhaps to Old English pinca (“a point”). Compare also German Low German Pink (“penis”), English pintle (“penis”).

cog

Everyday ^([sic]) as he passes them, the hookers wave at him with their pinkies and say, “Hi there, little boy!”

2003, Billoo Badhshah, The Unofficial Joke Book of Australia, page 126:

(US, Canada, Scotland, Australia, informal) The smallest finger or toe of a hand or foot.


hack

Abbreviation of hackney (“an ordinary horse”), probably from place name Hackney.

On horse, on foot, in hacks and gilded chariots.

1728, [Alexander Pope], “(please specify the page)”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin, London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC:

The interurban wasn't running because of the holiday, and the hacks, if there were any, would have been clustered round the Post Tavern at the other end of town.

1993, TC Boyle, The Road to Wellville, Penguin, published 1994, page 227:

(now chiefly Canada, US, colloquial) A vehicle let for hire; originally, a hackney cab, now typically a taxicab.


hole

→ Japanese: ホール (hōru)

→ Korean: 홀 (hol)

Sranan Tongo: olo

Inherited from Middle English hole, hol, from Old English hol (“orifice, hollow place, cavity”), from Proto-West Germanic *hol, from Proto-Germanic *hulą (“hollow space, cavity”), noun derivative of Proto-Germanic *hulaz (“hollow”), which is of uncertain ultimate origin. Related to hollow.

отвор

orifice (see anus etc. for specific body cavities)

know one's ass from a hole in the ground

know one's head from a hole in the ground

know the difference between one's ass and a hole in the ground

Jackson Hole

(Canada, US, historical) A mountain valley.


skim milk

en-noun

skim milk (countable and uncountable, plural skim milks)

skim milks (plural)
skimmed milk (alternative)

We like to drink skim milk instead so as to consume fewer calories.

(Canada, US, Australia) Non-fat milk; milk that has had the cream removed.


turtle

Modification of Middle English tortou, tortu, from Old French tortüe (under the influence of Middle English turtel, turtur (“turtledove”), see Etymology 2 below), from Medieval Latin tortuca (compare Spanish tortuga), the same source of tortoise (see there for more). Displaced native Old English byrdling.

(zoology, US, Canada) Any land or marine reptile of the order Testudines, characterised by a protective shell enclosing its body. See also tortoise.


tortoise

From Middle English tortuse, tortuce, tortuge, from Medieval Latin tortuca, of uncertain origin. May be from Late Latin tartarūcha, from tartarūchus, from Ancient Greek ταρταροῦχος (tartaroûkhos, “holder of Tartaros, Tartarus, the land of the dead in ancient stories”), because it used to be thought that tortoises and turtles came from the underworld and they were commonly paired with such infernal beasts; see Τάρταρος (Tártaros). Or, from Latin tortus (“twisted”). The French-looking Modern English spelling tortoise may be influenced by porpoise. Displaced native Old English byrdling.

der

Any of various land-dwelling reptiles, of the family Testudinidae (chiefly Canada, US) or the order Testudines (chiefly UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, India), whose body is enclosed in a shell (carapace plus plastron). The animal can withdraw its head and four legs partially into the shell, providing some protection from predators.


boss

en-adj

boss (comparative bosser, superlative bossest)

bosser (comparative)
bossest (superlative)

From Dutch baas, from Middle Dutch baes (“master of a household, friend”), from Old Dutch *baso (“uncle, kinsman”), from Proto-West Germanic *baswō, from Proto-Germanic *baswô (“uncle”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *ba-, *bō- (“father, older male relative”), source also of the English terms babe, boy, bub, bully. Cognate with Middle Low German bās (“supervisor, foreman”), Old Frisian bas (“master”), hence Saterland Frisian Boas (“boss”), Old High German basa (“father's sister, cousin”), hence German Base (“aunt, cousin”). Originally a term of respect used to address an older relative. Later, in New Amsterdam, it began to mean a person in charge who is not a master. The representation of Dutch -aa- by English -o- is due to the older unrounded pronunciation of this letter, which is still used in North America and parts of Ireland, but was formerly found in some British accents as well. The video game sense is borrowed from Japanese ボス (bosu), in turn from English boss.

cog

That is a boss Zefron poster.

(slang, US, Canada, Liverpool) Of excellent quality, first-rate.


handicapper

Most handicappers, young and old, face formidable economic obstacles which limittheir ability to satisfy their housing needs.

1990, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs. Subcommittee on Housing and Community Development, Manufactured housing construction and safety standards:


plaza

→ Thai: พลาซ่า (plaa-sâa)

Borrowed from Spanish plaza (“town-square or central place of gathering”), from Latin platea, from Ancient Greek πλατεῖα (plateîa), clipping of πλατεῖα ὁδός (plateîa hodós, “broad way”). Doublet of piatza, piazza, and place.


NB

(Canada) Initialism of New Brunswick, a Canadian province.


NF

Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador#English

(Canada) Initialism of Newfoundland and Labrador, a Canadian province.


QC

Qc (alternative)
Qc. (alternative)
Q.C. (alternative)
Q. C. (alternative)

→ Tagalog: Kyusi

(Canada) Abbreviation of Quebec, a province of Canada.

(Canada) Abbreviation of Quebec City, capital of the province of Quebec, Canada.


QC

en-noun

QC (countable and uncountable, plural QCs)

QCs (plural)
Q.C. (alternative)
Q. C. (alternative)

(UK, Canada, New Zealand, occasionally Australia) Initialism of Queen's Counsel. and postnominal.


SK

(Canada) Initialism of senior kindergarten.


BS

BS (countable and uncountable, plural BSs)

BSs (plural)
B.S. (alternative)
B. S. (alternative)

Alternative form: B.S.

Still, he said, “I’m so tired of all this political correctness. It’s such B.S.”

2021 July 17, Jacob Bernstein, “Keith McNally Stirs the Pot”, in The New York Times:

(slang, euphemistic, chiefly Canada, US) Abbreviation of bullshit.


CH

(Canada) the Montreal Canadiens hockey club


CM

CM (countable and uncountable, plural CMs)

Sense "commercial" is a borrowing from Japanese CM (CM, “commercial video ad”), from English commercial + message.

(Canada) A member of the Order of Canada.


NL

(US, Canada, baseball) Initialism of National League.


QE

(Canada, informal) Alternative form of QEW


SI

SI (countable and uncountable, plural SIs)

The scope of SIs varies greatly, from the technical (e.g. to set or vary the dates on which different provisions of an Act will come into force, to change the levels of fines or penalties for offences or to make consequential and transitional provisions) to the much wider-ranging, such as filling out the broad provisions in Acts.

2016 December 15, Richard Kelly, Statutory Instruments, House of Commons Library Briefing Paper 6509, archived from the original on 2022-01-07, page 1:

statutory instrument
statutory instrument#English

(UK, Canada, Australia, law) Initialism of statutory instrument.


CA

CA (countable and uncountable, plural CAs)

chartered accountant
chartered accountant#English

(Scotland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, accounting) Initialism of chartered accountant.


piece

Belizean Creole: pees

Sranan Tongo: pisi

→ Finnish: biisi

→ Irish: píosa

→ Japanese: ピース (pīsu)

→ Scottish Gaelic: pìos

From Middle English pece, peece, peice, from Old French piece, from Late Latin petia, pettia, possibly from Gaulish *pettyā, from Proto-Celtic *kʷezdis (“piece, portion, quota”); doublet of English fit, fytte, fytt (“musical piece, chapter”), Icelandic fit (“web”), German Fitze (“skein”), from Old High German *fitjâ. Compare Welsh peth, Breton pez (“thing”), Irish cuid. Compare French pièce, Portuguese peça, Spanish pieza, Italian pezza, Italian pezzo.

der

The announcer is wearing a new piece.

(US, Canada, colloquial, short for hairpiece) A toupee or wig, especially when worn by a man.


gaffer

Likely a contraction of godfather, but with the vowels influenced by grandfather. Compare French compère, German Gevatter.


pants

en-noun

pants pl (plural only, attributive pant)

desctree

→ Japanese: パンツ (pantsu)
→ English: pantsu
→ Mandarin: 胖次 (pàngcì)
→ Korean: 빤스 (ppanseu)

Etymology tree
Ancient Greek πᾶς (pâs)
Ancient Greek ἔλεος (éleos)
Proto-Indo-European *-eti
Proto-Indo-European *-eyéti
Proto-Indo-European *-esyéti
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti
Ancient Greek -έω (-éō)
Ancient Greek ἐλεέω (eleéō)
Proto-Indo-European *-mṓ
Ancient Greek -μων (-mōn)
Ancient Greek ἐλεήμων (eleḗmōn)
Ancient Greek Παντελεήμων (Panteleḗmōn)bor.
Spanish Pantaleónder.
Italian Pantaloneder.
French pantalonbor.
English pantaloon
English pantaloons
English pants
Shortened from pantaloons (“trousers”): borrowed from French pantalon, itself derived from Italian Pantalone, one of the principal characters found in commedia dell'arte, who wore tight trousers. Doublet of pantsu. The verb is from the noun.

etymon

get glad in the same pants one got mad in

by the seat of one's pants

drive by the seat of one’s pants, fly by the seat of one’s pants

“But they cover the legs,” Joseph explained. “That is the only reason my people wear pants: to cover the legs in the winter, or when traveling through rough country, full of thorns. In warm weather, or in open country, pants are unnecessary, uncomfortable, and foolish.”

1933, Kenneth Roberts, Rabble in Arms, published 1996, page 220:

It's in the evening after dark when the blackleg miner creeps to work. With his moleskin pants and his dirty shirt, there goes the blackleg miner.

1970 June 27, traditional (lyrics and music), “The Blackleg Miner” (track 4), in Hark! The Village Wait, performed by Steeleye Span:

Then he gave me a last desperate push and I tripped over the shorts caught around my ankles and fell down. I tried to pull my pants up with my boxing gloves but without success.[…]In those days nobody wore underpants and I was bare-arsed and fancy free in front of everyone.

1989, Bryce Courtenay, The Power of One, Penguin, published 2006, page 427:

Look for pants with reinforced seats and knees and full-length side zippers that make it possible to put the pants on while you are wearing boots, crampons, skis, or snowshoes.

2010, Ronald C. Eng, editor, Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, 8th edition, US: The Mountaineers Books, page 24:

I rolled up the legs of the pants, then I went back into the trees.

2005, Octavia E. Butler, Fledgling, page 12:

The episode also opens with an inspired bit of business for Homer, who blithely refuses to acquiesce to an elderly neighbor’s utterly reasonable request that he help make the process of selling her house easier by wearing pants when he gallivants about in front of windows, throw out his impressive collection of rotting Jack-O-Lanterns from previous Halloweens and take out his garbage, as it’s attracting wildlife (cue moose and Northern Exposure theme song).

2012 May 27, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club:

Taylor was seen nearby and had a three foot machete down his pants.

2014 January 13, “Blackburn man hid machete down his trousers”, in The Lancashire Telegraph:

(chiefly Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Philippines, Singapore, Northern England) An outer garment that covers the body from the waist downwards, covering each leg separately, usually as far as the ankles; trousers.

broek

garment covering the body from the waist downwards


road

From Middle English rode, rade (“ride, journey”), from Old English rād (“riding, hostile incursion”), from Proto-West Germanic *raidu, from Proto-Germanic *raidō (“a ride”), from Proto-Indo-European *reydʰ- (“to ride”). Doublet of raid, acquired from Scots. Cognates include West Frisian reed (paved trail/road, driveway).
The current primary meaning of "street, way for traveling" originated relatively late—Shakespeare seemed to expect his audiences to find it unfamiliar—and probably arose through reinterpretation of roadway "a way for riding on" as saying "way" twice, in other words as a tautological compound.

inh

(US, Canada, sports, chiefly attributive) At the venue of the opposing team or competitor; on the road.

away

at the venue of the opposing team or competitor


expressway

(Canada, parts of the US, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Philippines) Synonym of freeway


freeway

Contrary to what one might expect of an essay on freeways, this one is neither a diatribe nor a paean.

1983, David Brodsly, L. A. Freeway: An Appreciative Essay, page 1:

A 106-kilometer section of this 117-kilometer new freeway (between Hsinchu and Hsichih 汐止) was opened to traffic in 1997, and the entire line will be finished in December 1999.

1999 June, “Transportation”, in A Brief Introduction to the Republic of China, Government Information Office, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 110:

In the late 1950s and 1960s most large cities started planning freeway systems, acknowledging the incredible growth in car ownership.

2008, Derek Hayes, Canada: An Illustrated History, page 257:

The Australian freeway story of the late twentieth century, like many planning stories, can be told as one of high technical expectations dashed by political controversy.

2010, Robert Freestone, Urban Nation: Australia′s Planning Heritage, page 161:

motorway

Chiefly in Europe, Australia and New Zealand

expressway

In Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and some parts of North America

interstate

If part of the [[:w:Interstate Highway System|Interstate Highway System]]

(US, Parts of Canada and Australia) A highway with grade-separated crossings (rather than level crossings) and designed (and only permitted) for high-speed motor-traffic running in two directions on one separate carriageway each


pavement

en-noun

pavement (usually uncountable, plural pavements)

From Middle English pament, from Anglo-Norman pavement and reinforced by Middle French pavement; both from Latin pavīmentum (“paved surface or floor”), from pavīre (“to beat, to ram, to tread down”). Morphologically pave + -ment.

der

[H]e attempted to recover his importance, by haranguing upon the Roman highways, when Mr. Jolter desired the company to take notice of the fine pavement upon which they travelled from Paris into Flanders […].

1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:

The antirunway munitions are specifically designed to cause maximum destruction to airfield pavements.

(now chiefly Canada, US) A paving (paved part) of a road or other thoroughfare; the roadway or road surface.

(now chiefly Canada, US) The paved part of an area other than a road or sidewalk, such as a cobblestone plaza, asphalt schoolyard or playground, or parking lot.


down

en-adj

down (comparative more down, superlative most down)

tlb

(chiefly predicative, but see usage notes)

more down (comparative)
most down (superlative)

From Middle English doun, from Old English dūne, aphetic form of adūne, from ofdūne (“off the hill”). For the development from directional phrases to prepositions, compare Middle Low German dāle (“(in/to the) valley”), i.e. "down(wards)".

noncog

He's chill enough; he'd probably be totally down with it.

Asker: Are you down to hang out at the mall? / Answerer: Yeah, as long as you're down with helping me pick a phone.

Asker: You down? Yes or no? / Answerer: You know I'm down for whatever.

Then again, with your name being Juanita Perez, I wasn't sure if you were more down with the Latinos or something.

2001, Omar Tyree, For the Love of Money, page 121:

He said Lunceford's band was smoother and had more musical variety and great show-band novelties, but that there was something about the way we did our things that made us sound more down with it.

2002, Count Basie, Albert Murray, Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography Of Count Basie, page 194:

And we could then feel more "down" with more unconscious guilt.

2007, David W. Shave, Small Talk--big Cure!: Talking Your Way to a Better Life, page 58:

I thought, Oh, Sarah must be one of these super gentle, herbal-tea-drinking, crystal-having kind of people. And she was just super down. She belched like a sailor.

2019 September 30, Jessica Hopper, Sasha Geffen, Jenn Pelly, “Building a Mystery: An Oral History of Lilith Fair”, in Vanity Fair:

(Canada, US, slang) Comfortable [with]; accepting [of]; okay [with].


mama

mamas (plural)
mamma (alternative)
momma (alternative)

Originally from baby talk. Possibly influenced by Middle English mome (“mother, aunt”), from Old English *mōme, from Proto-West Germanic *mōmā, from Proto-Germanic *mōmǭ (“mother, aunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂-méh₂, reduplication of *méh₂- (“mother”), related to German Muhme (“aunt”), Latin mamma (“mother, nurse”), Irish mam (“mother”), Lithuanian mama, moma (“mother”).

onomatopoeic

baby talk

All the flowers that you planted, mama, in the backyard / All died when you went away

1990, Prince (lyrics and music), “Nothing Compares 2 U”, performed by Sinéad O’Connor:

(hypocoristic, usually childish, Canada, US) Mother, female parent.


pretzel

en-verb

pretzel (third-person singular simple present pretzels, present participle pretzelling or (US) pretzeling, simple past and past participle pretzelled or (US) pretzeled)

pretzels (present singular third-person)
pretzelling (participle present)
pretzeling (US participle present)
pretzelled (participle past)
pretzelled (past)
pretzeled (US participle past)
pretzeled (US past)
bretzel (alternative)
brezel (alternative)

[ˈpʰɹɛʔt͡sɫ̩]

From dialectal German Pretzel, a variant of standard Brezel, from Old High German brēzitella, from Vulgar Latin *brāchiātellus, diminutive of Latin brāchium, bracchium (“arm”); named for the appearance of folded arms.

They discovered a snake pretzelled into knots.

(transitive, Canada, US, informal) To bend, twist, or contort.


jerk

Probably from Middle English yerk (“sudden motion”) and Middle English yerkid (“tightly pulled”), from Old English ġearc (“ready, active, quick”) and Old English ġearcian (“to prepare, make ready, procure, furnish, supply”). Cognate with Scots yerk (“to jerk”). Related also to English yare (“ready”).

inh

Because oral sex deprecation and anti-gay bias both have long histories among humans

many of the words for "contemptible person" come from literal terms for anyone who performs oral sex or performs anal sex; see overlap at Thesaurus:gay man

Oh, Raymond―don't be such a jerk. Go and get yourself a drink or a tranquilizer or something.

1962, George Axelrod, 1:23:39 from the start, in The Manchurian Candidate, spoken by Eleanor Iselin (Angela Lansbury):

And [Albert Fish] was dizzyingly happy about it, smiled as described the grizzly details of the tortures and the murders, appearing to the detectives and one of the detectives said "he appeared as the Devil himself." I mean this Albert F-, I mean this guy was a real jerk!

2013, Norm Macdonald Live, season 1, episode 3, spoken by Norm Macdonald:

I finally fired him, because he was being a real jerk to his customers, even to some of the staff.

You really are a jerk sometimes.

(originally Canada, US, slang, derogatory) A person with unlikable or obnoxious qualities and behavior, typically mean, self-centered, or disagreeable; an asshole.


bet

en-verb

bet (third-person singular simple present bets, present participle betting, simple past and past participle bet or betted)

bets (present singular third-person)
betting (participle present)
bet (participle past)
bet (past)
betted (participle past)
betted (past)

From 16th-century criminal slang, perhaps from Middle English bet (“something better, advantage, luck”); or from abet, from Middle English abet, abette, from Old French abet (“incitement to evil”), from Old French abeter (“to entice”), from a- (“to”) + beter (“hound on, urge, to bait”); ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *baitijan (“to bait, entice”), related to Old English bǣtan (“to bait”). More at abet.

der

(poker) To place money into the pot in order to require others do the same, usually only used for the first person to place money in the pot on each round.


done

en-adj

done (comparative more done, superlative most done)

more done (comparative)
most done (superlative)

From Middle English don, idon, ydon, ȝedon, gedon, from Old English dōn, ġedōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dān, from Proto-Germanic *dēnaz (past participle of *dōną (“to do”)). Equivalent to do + -en (past participle ending). Cognate with Scots dune, deen, dene, dane (“done”), Saterland Frisian däin (“done”), West Frisian dien (“done”), Dutch gedaan (“done”), German Low German daan (“done”), German getan (“done”). More at do.

suffix

en<id:past participle><pos:past participle ending>

I'm done with my homework.

(Canada, Philadelphia, predicative, Scotland) Finished with (something).


fed

Salmon were becoming scarce in the river until the feds stepped in.

(Canada, in the plural) The Canadian federal government.


dart

From Middle English dart, from Old French dart, dard (“dart”), from Medieval Latin dardus, from Frankish *darōþu (“dart, spear”), from Proto-Germanic *darōþuz (“dart, spear”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerh₃- (“to leap, spring”).
Compare Old High German tart (“javelin, dart”), Old English daroþ, dearod (“javelin, spear, dart”), Swedish dart (“dart, dagger”), Icelandic darraður, darr, dör (“dart, spear”).

der

2017, April 18, Craig Little, The Guardian, Hawthorn are not the only ones finding that things can get worse
The Tigers will also face Jesse Hogan, still smarting from missing a couple of games but not life inside the AFL bubble, where you can’t even light up a dart at a music festival without someone filming it and sending it to the six o’clock news.

(Australia, Canada, colloquial) A cigarette.


tuition

en-noun

tuition (countable and uncountable, plural tuitions)

/t͡ʃʉːˈɪʃən/

From Old French [Term?], from Latin tuitiō (“guard, protection, defense”), from tuēri (“to watch, guard, see, observe”). Compare intuition, tutor.

обучение

training or instruction provided by a teacher or tutor

These rosemaling workshops are no place for anyone who wants to pester me or the students with the "white privilege" card, inter alia. Therefore, I reserve the right to refund the tuition of such men and women, kick them out the door, and bar them from at least two of my future events.

(Canada, US) A sum of money paid for instruction (such as in a high school, boarding school, university, or college); tuition fees.


graduate

student

antonym(s) of “person recognized for having finished studies”

/ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuət/

/ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuɪt/

From Latin graduātus (“graduated”), from gradus (“step”). Sense 10 of the verb, relating to Japanese entertainment, is a semantic loan from Japanese 卒業 (sotsugyō).

sl

(US, Canada) A person who is recognized by a high school as having completed the requirements of a course of study at the school.


sandbox

sandboxes (plural)
sand box (alternative)
sand-box (alternative)

→ Chinese: 沙盒 (shāhé) (calque)

(US, Canada) A children's play area consisting of a box filled with sand.


pigeon

en-noun

pigeon (countable and uncountable, plural pigeons)

Inherited from Middle English pygeoun, borrowed from Old French pyjon, inherited from Late Latin pīpiōnem (“chirping bird”), derived from Latin pīpiāre (“chirp”), of imitative origin.

domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica or

Comoros green pigeon

Treron comorensis or Treron australis griveaudi

Madeiran wood pigeon †Columba palumbus maderensis

wood pigeon

Columba palumbus or Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae

(Canada, US, informal) A person who is a target or victim of a confidence game.


legal

en-adj

legal (comparative more legal, superlative most legal)

more legal (comparative)
most legal (superlative)

Borrowed from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”). Doublet of loyal and leal.

(US, Canada) (of paper or document layouts) Measuring 8½ in × 14 in (215.9 mm × 355.6 mm) (also legal-size).


legal

en-noun

legal (countable and uncountable, plural legals)

(uncountable, US, Canada) Paper in sheets 8½ in × 14 in (215.9 mm × 355.6 mm).


tenderfoot

tenderfoot (plural tenderfeet or tenderfoots)

tenderfeet (plural)
tenderfoots (plural)

From tender + foot. Refers to the delicate feet of newcomers to ranching or mining areas. First attested 1866.

(chiefly Canada, US) An inexperienced person; a novice.


boot

en-verb

boot (third-person singular simple present boots, present participle booting, simple past and past participle booted)

boots (present singular third-person)
booting (participle present)
booted (participle past)
booted (past)

From Middle English boote, bote (“shoe”), from Old French bote (“a high, thick shoe”). Of obscure origin, but probably related to Old French bot (“club-foot”), bot (“fat, short, blunt”), from Old Frankish *butt, from Proto-Germanic *buttaz, *butaz (“cut off, short, numb, blunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewt-, *bʰewd- (“to strike, push, shock”); if so, a doublet of butt. Compare Old Norse butt (“stump”), Low German butt (“blunt, plump”), Old English bytt (“small piece of land”), buttuc (“end”). More at buttock and debut.

eruitgooien

computing: to eject from an online service

The storm is coming fast! Boot it!

We had to boot it all the way there to get to our flight on time.

(colloquial, Canada, US, usually with it) To step on the accelerator of a vehicle for faster acceleration than usual or to drive faster than usual.


rise

From Middle English risen, from Old English rīsan, from Proto-West Germanic *rīsan, from Proto-Germanic *rīsaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rey- (“to rise, arise”). According to Kroonen (2013), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to stir, rise”). See also raise.
Cognates
Cognate with West Frisian rize, Saterland Frisian riese (“to arise”), Dutch rijzen (“to rise, ascend, lift”), German Low German riesen (“to rise; arise”), German dialectal reisen (“to fall”), Norwegian Nynorsk risa (“to rise”), Icelandic rísa (“to rise”). Related also to German reisen (“to travel, fare”), Dutch reizen (“to travel”), Danish rejse (“to travel”), Swedish resa (“to travel”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian rris (“I raise, grow”) and Russian рост (rost, “growth”).

cog

(chiefly UK, also Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa) An increase in a quantity, price, etc.

The governor just gave me a rise of two pound six.

(UK, Ireland, Australia, rest of Commonwealth, sometimes Canada) Ellipsis of pay rise: an increase in wage or salary.


shot

en-noun

shot (countable and uncountable, plural shots)

→ Dutch: shot

→ French: shot

→ Macedonian: шот (šot)

→ Malay: syot

→ Polish: shot

→ Portuguese: shot

→ Russian: шот (šot)

→ Spanish: shot

→ Swedish: shot

→ Ukrainian: шот (šot)

From Old English sceot, from Proto-Germanic *skutą; compare the doublet scot.

you miss 100% of the shots you don't take

I went to the doctor to get a shot for malaria.

(US, Canada, Australia, medicine) A vaccination or injection.


stick

stick (countable and uncountable, plural sticks)

→ Catalan: estic

→ Italian: stick

→ Korean: 스틱 (seutik)

→ Portuguese: stique, estique

→ Sranan Tongo: tiki

From Middle English stikke (“stick, rod, twig”), from Old English sticca (“rod, twig”), from Proto-West Germanic *stikkō, from Proto-Germanic *stikkô, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to pierce, prick, be sharp”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Stikke (“stick”), West Flemish stik (“stick”). Related to stigma.

der

better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick

better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick

better than a poke in the eye with a shitty stick

it is easy to find a stick to beat a dog

The recipe calls for half a stick of butter.

Any roughly cylindrical (or rectangular) unit of a substance.

(chiefly Canada, US) A small rectangular block, with a length several times its width, which contains by volume one half of a cup of shortening (butter, margarine or lard).


stiff

en-noun

stiff (countable and uncountable, plural stiffs)

From Middle English stiff, stiffe, stif, from Old English stīf, from Proto-West Germanic *stīf, from Proto-Germanic *stīfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *steypós.
See also West Frisian stiif, Dutch stijf, Norwegian Bokmål stiv, German steif; also Latin stīpes, stīpō, from which English stevedore.
The expected Modern English form would be /staɪf/; /stɪf/ is probably originally from compounds such as stiffly, where the vowel was shortened before a consonant cluster.

working stiff

The clerk shrugged: “That's the boss's little girl.” “Why, the lucky stiff!” said Keating. “He's been holding out on me.” “You misunderstood me,” the clerk said coldly. “It's his daughter. It's Dominique Francon.”

1943, Ayn Rand, chapter IX, in The Fountainhead:

(slang, chiefly Canada, US) An average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education.


swell

en-adj

swell (not generally comparable, comparative sweller, superlative swellest)

sweller (comparative)
swellest (superlative)

From the noun "swell" (a person dressed in an elegant manner).

...you are my devoted friend too. You do more and work harder and oh shit I'd get maudlin about how damned swell you are. My god I'd like to see you... You're a hell of a good guy.

1927 Mar. 31, Ernest Hemingway, letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald

Jeff swaggered over to Ned Beaumont, threw his left arm roughly around his shoulders, seized Ned Beaumont’s right hand with his right hand, and addressed the company jovially: “This is the swellest guy I ever skinned a knuckle on and I’ve skinned them on plenty.”

1931, Dashiell Hammett, The Glass Key, page 176:

He was telling us all about what a swell guy he was, what a hot-shot and all, […]

1951, J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 23:

[…] we’re league champions in basketball and our square-dance team is state runner-up and we have a swell sock hop every Wednesday.

1958, Robert A. Heinlein, Have Space Suit—Will Travel, page 8:

Orgasms are swell, but they are not the remedy to every injustice.

2012 September 10, Ariel Levy, “The Space In Between”, in The New Yorker:


swell

“That lousy ring wasn’t worth no grand. I did swell to get two centuries for it.”

1929, Dashiell Hammett, chapter 12, in Red Harvest:

“[…] Last August, when I left The Walls, I figured I had every chance to start new. I got a job in Olathe, lived with my family, and stayed home nights. I was doing swell—”

1966, Truman Capote, In Cold Blood, New York: Modern Library, published 2013, Part 3, p. 251:


buzzard

From Middle English bosart, from Anglo-Norman buisart, from Old French busart, busard, a derivative ( + -ard) of Old French buison, buson (French buse), possibly from Latin būteō (“hawk”).

American black vulture
American black vulture

Coragyps atratus
Coragyps atratus#Translingual

Cathartes aura
Cathartes aura#Translingual

(Canada, US) Any scavenging bird, such as the American black vulture (Coragyps atratus) or the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura).


rooster

From roost + -er. In the regions where it is used, displaced cock through taboo avoidance.

Their other dish […] contain'd a number of roast fowls—half a dozen, we suppose, & all roosters at this season no doubt.

The produce of two hens and a cock, or rooster, as the Yankees term that bird.

1836, Catharine Parr Traill, The Backwoods of Canada, page 308:

Chalk a circle for a rooster.

1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 16]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part III [Nostos], page 616:

(Canada, US, Kent, Australia, New Zealand) A male domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) or other gallinaceous bird.


rumour

en-noun

rumour (countable and uncountable, plural rumours)

From Middle English rumour, from Old French rumour, rumor, from Latin rūmor (“common talk”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *rewH- (“to shout, roar”).

der

Rumour had it (though not proved) that she descended from the house of the lords Talbot de Malahide

1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 16]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

There were rumours, new rumours every morning, delightful and outrageous rumours, so that the lumps in the porridge were swallowed without comment and the fish-cakes were eaten without contumely.

1922, Michael Arlen, “1/1/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

"Keep off Conductor Rails" said red-painted notices at the platform ends, for third-rails were laid in many places even where electric trains never normally ran, and there had been many rumours of impending electrification of the Wirral, as a natural extension of the Mersey system, a quarter of a century before the change was actually made.

1954 March, W. A. Tuplin, “Recollections of the Wirral Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 167:

I myself gave support to the summoning of the Estates General ... as merely mistaken . Similarly it might be held that Paradise originated in a rumour invented in hell to make society the more interesting . ' ' We need a saviour .

1969, Peter Vansittart, Pastimes of a Red Summer: A Novel, Owen, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 140:

Dame Rumour outstrides me yet again.

1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 1, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section I, page 18:

British, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland spelling of rumor


beaver

en-noun

beaver (countable and uncountable, plural beavers or (senses 1 and 4) beaver)

beavers (plural)
beaver (plural)
Beaver (alternative)

From Middle English bever, from Old English befer, from Proto-West Germanic *bebru, from Proto-Germanic *bebruz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰébʰrus (“beaver”).
Cognate with West Frisian bever, Dutch bever, French bièvre, German Biber, dialectal Swedish bjur. Non-Germanic cognates include Welsh befer, Latin fiber, Lithuanian bẽbras, Russian бобр (bobr), Avestan 𐬠𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬭𐬀 (bauura), and Sanskrit बभ्रु (bábhru, “mongoose; ichneumon”).
Slang use to refer to a woman evolved from use to refer to pubic hair, which evolved from use to refer to beards, which evolved from use to refer to the furry animal or its fur.

cog

(Canada, US) Beaver pelts as an article of exchange or as a standard of value.

Finally it came on. It was a beauty, a beaver flick made in the late 1970s. It was called Big Black Leather Splits.

1969, Harlan Ellison, “A Boy and His Dog”, in The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World, New York: Open Road Media, published 2014, →ISBN:

Between you and me, uh, she might have been fifteen, but when you get that little red beaver right up there in front of you, I don’t think it's crazy at all and I don’t think you do either.

1975, Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldman, directed by Miloš Forman, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (motion picture), spoken by Randle McMurphy (Jack Nicholson):

Let’s get some of that Saturday night beaver.

1997, Paul Thomas Anderson, Boogie Nights (motion picture), spoken by Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly):

The store sold beaver books, fuck-suck books, homo books, novels, films, slides, playing cards, dildoes, cock rings, S&M gear, and French ticklers.

2004, James Ellroy, Destination: Morgue! L.A. Tales, New York: Vintage Books, →ISBN, pages 127–128:

[…] once she wore none at all, swears to this day that he saw her beaver that fateful Friday night.

2010, Dennis McFadden, Hart’s Grove: Stories:

(chiefly Canada, US, slang, countable) The pubic hair near a vulva or a vulva itself; (attributively) denoting films or literature featuring nude women.


house

en-verb

house (third-person singular simple present houses, present participle housing, simple past and past participle housed)

houses (present singular third-person)
housing (participle present)
housed (participle past)
housed (past)

From Middle English housen, from Old English hūsian, from Proto-Germanic *hūsōną (“to house, live, dwell”), from the noun (see above). Compare Dutch huizen (“to live, dwell, reside”), German Low German husen (“to live, dwell, reside”), German hausen (“to live, dwell, reside”), Norwegian Nynorsk husa (“to house”), Faroese húsa (“to house”), Icelandic húsa (“to shelter, house”).

cog

All you wanna do is drink a fifth, house a lasagna, and hide in a dumpster until that baby stops crying.

2019, Joe Lawson, Shameless (series 10, episode 4, "A Little Gallagher Goes a Long Way")

(Canada, US, slang, transitive) To eat; especially, to scarf down.


sugar

en-verb

sugar (third-person singular simple present sugars, present participle sugaring, simple past and past participle sugared)

sugars (present singular third-person)
sugaring (participle present)
sugared (participle past)
sugared (past)
shugar (alternative)

Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch
sugar

From Middle English sugre, sucre, from Middle French sucre, from Old French çucre (circa 13th century), from Old Italian zucchero (or another vernacular of Italy), from Arabic سُكَّر (sukkar), from Persian شکر (šakar), from Middle Persian [script needed] (škl), 𐫢𐫞𐫡 (šqr /šakar/), from Sanskrit शर्करा (śárkarā, “ground or candied sugar", originally "grit, gravel”). Akin to Ancient Greek κρόκη (krókē, “pebble”). Doublet of jaggery and sucro-.

der

To sugar off, I prefer using a kettle that will hold about half a. barrel; and boil over a brisk, steady fire, till on dropping some of the syrup into cold water it will break like glass, then dip it into wooden trays to cool, and when it is grained stir it briskly.

1851, J. D. H., “On Making Maple Syrup”, in The Ohio Cultivator, volume 7, page 91:

A long time ago my grandmother and I used to boil maple sap. When she sugared off, I stood there.

1994, “Sugaring Off”, in Nindinawemaagan Giwitaa'ayeyii, volume 6, page 55:

During the spring in Quebec and Ontario, maple syrup is harvested, or "sugared off," a process which is usually celebrated as a social event.

2004, Lois Sakany, Canada: A Primary Source Cultural Guide:

(US, Canada, regional) In making maple sugar, to complete the process of boiling down the syrup till it is thick enough to crystallize; to approach or reach the state of granulation; with the preposition off.


suck

en-noun

suck (countable and uncountable, plural sucks)

From Middle English souken, suken, from Old English sūcan (“to suck”), from Proto-West Germanic *sūkan, from Proto-Germanic *sūkaną (“to suck, suckle”), from Proto-Indo-European *sewg-, *sewk- (“to suck”). Cognate with Scots souke (“to suck”), obsolete Dutch zuiken (“to suck”), Limburgish zuken, zoeken (“to suck”). Akin also to Old English sūgan (“to suck”), West Frisian sûge, sûge (“to suck”), Dutch zuigen (“to suck”), German saugen (“to suck”), Swedish suga (“to suck”), Icelandic sjúga (“to suck”), Latin sūgō (“suck”), Welsh sugno (“suck”). Related to soak.

der

“Why're you bothering to take her anywhere? I can't stand traveling with her. You're such a suck,” her sister said. Waved her smoke. “No fucking way I'm going.”

1999, Hiromi Goto, “Drift”, in Ms., volume 9, number 3, pages 82–6:

I used to think she was such a suck! She'd cry when I took to the ice, whether I skated well or badly. She'd cry when I left the house.

2008, Beth Hitchcock, “Parenting Pair”, in Today's Parent, volume 25, number 5, page 64:

(Canada) A weak, self-pitying person; a person who refuses to go along with others, especially out of spite; a crybaby or sore loser.


suck

en-verb

suck (third-person singular simple present sucks, present participle sucking, simple past and past participle sucked)

sucks (present singular third-person)
sucking (participle present)
sucked (participle past)
sucked (past)

→⇒ Vietnamese: sục

don't try to teach grandma how to suck eggs

Schumacher recalls Bucher had also written 'Communism sucks' on the underside of his table

1969 November 2, Sid Moody with Jules Loh and Richard Meyer, “The USS Pueblo: 22: Panmunjom: General Pak Had One Last Trump”, in Charlotte Observer, page H-25:

it has a few very high points . . . but as a novel, it sucks

1970 January 8, Hunter S. Thompson, “[letter to Steve Geller]”, in Fear and Loathing in America, New York: Simon & Schuster, published 2000, →ISBN, page 251:

Garfield: Well, another year is almost under the belt / And I've had 313 pretty good days / The Mondays sucked.

1990 December 31, Jim Davis, Garfield Takes Up Space (Garfield) (comic):

(chiefly Canada, US, intransitive, stative, colloquial, sometimes vulgar) To be inferior or objectionable: a general term of disparagement, sometimes used with at to indicate a particular area of deficiency.

духам

colloquial: term of general disparagement


North America

/ˌnɔː(ɹ)θ əˈmɛɹɪkə/

(US, Canada) Canada and the United States as a unit to the exclusion of Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean nations, and Greenland; roughly equivalent to Northern America. Often used to describe things in a context that includes only the US and Canada.


clutch

en-adj

clutch (comparative more clutch, superlative most clutch)

more clutch (comparative)
most clutch (superlative)
cletch (alternative)
clitch (alternative)
cleach (alternative)
cleak (alternative)
cleek (alternative)
cleik (alternative)
click (alternative)
clouch (alternative)

From Middle English clucchen, clicchen, cluchen, clechen, cleken, from Old English clyċċan (“to clutch, clench”), from Proto-West Germanic *klukkjan, from Proto-Germanic *klukjaną, from Proto-Germanic *klu- (“to ball up, conglomerate, amass”), from Proto-Indo-European *glew- (“to ball up; lump, mass”).
Cognate with Swedish klyka (“clamp, fork, branch”). The noun is from Middle English cleche, cloche, cloke ("claw, talon, hand"; compare Scots cleuk, cluke, cluik (“claw, talon”)), of uncertain origin, with the form probably assimilated to the verb.
Alternative etymology derives Old English clyċċan from Proto-Germanic *klēk- (“claw, hand”), from Proto-Indo-European *glēk-, *ǵlēḱ- (“claw, hand; to clutch, snatch”). If so, then cognate with Irish glac (“hand”).

gloss

NC State made the most of their overtime possession scoring a touchdown on some very clutch plays.

2006, Bryan Hogan, Three Days for Goodbye, page 19:

I start with his most obvious characteristic: he was clutch. He is Mr. Clutch. In the last chapter I mentioned that Bernie Williams was clutch, which was a valid assessment, but nobody on the Yankees was as clutch as Jeter was.

2009, Scott Trocchia, The 2006 Yankees: The Frustration of a Nation, A Fan's Perspective, page 21:

It doesn't get more clutch than that!

2009, Mark Stewart, Clutch Performers, →ISBN, page 34:

(US, Canada) Performing or tending to perform well in difficult, high-pressure situations.


femme

Borrowed from French femme (“woman”). Doublet of feme, femina, and hembra.

Then I turned to him and said, "O my lord, I have that to propose to thee wherein thou must not cross me; and this it is that, when we reach Baghdad, my native city, I offer thee my life as thy handmaiden in holy matrimony, and thou shalt be to me baron and I will be femme to thee."

1885, Richard Francis Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 18:

Theodore J. Flicker and George Kirgo have penned a good script in which Elvis is played off against four femmes […].

1983, Variety's Film Reviews: 1964–1967:

A woman, a wife; (now chiefly Canada, US) a young woman or girl.


femme

en-adj

femme (comparative more femme, superlative most femme)

more femme (comparative)
most femme (superlative)

Admittedly, Kiedis was concerned about the lack of femme rockers on the bill: the only women featured were in British band Lush, who would open each day's festivities before a few hundred curious onlookers.

2009, Jeff Apter, Fornication: The Red Hot Chili Peppers Story:

High heels are something like neckties for women, in that it can be harder to look both formal and femme without them.

2019 March 20, Summer Brennan, “Sex, power, oppression: why women wear high heels”, in The Guardian:

(chiefly Canada, US, journalism, entertainment) Pertaining to a femme; feminine, female.


dingus

Probably of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Dutch dinges (“thingamajig, thingy; whatshisname, whatshername”), ding (“thing”). Probably also partly a borrowing from Afrikaans in view of its South African occurrence. The spelling dingus is remodeled to look like a Latin word ending in -us.

bor

I just lost my keys again. Now I feel like a dingus.

(informal, Canada, US, derogatory, sometimes affectionately humorous) A foolish, incompetent, or silly person.


band

Cantonese: band

→ German: Band (colloquial)

→ Japanese: バンド (bando)

→ Korean: 밴드 (baendeu)

Derived from Middle English band, from Old French bande, from Old Occitan banda (“regiment of troops”), perhaps from Frankish *bend, from Proto-Germanic *bandiz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie; bond, band”). Compare German Bande (“band”).

der

(Canada) A group of aboriginals that has official recognition as an organized unit by the federal government of Canada.


mark

en-verb

mark (third-person singular simple present marks, present participle marking, simple past and past participle marked)

marks (present singular third-person)
marking (participle present)
marked (participle past)
marked (past)
marke (alternative)
merk (alternative)
marc (alternative)

From Middle English mark, merk, merke, from Old English mearc (“mark, sign, line of division; standard; boundary, limit, term, border; defined area, district, province”), from Proto-West Germanic *marku, from Proto-Germanic *markō (“boundary; boundary marker”), from Proto-Indo-European *marǵ- (“edge, boundary, border”).
Compare march.
Cognates
* Dutch mark, merk (“mark, brand”)
* German Mark (“mark; borderland”), Marke (“brand”)
* Swedish mark (“mark, land, territory”)
* Icelandic mark (“mark, sign”)
* Latin margo (“edge, margin”)
* Persian مرز (marz, “limit, boundary”)
* Sanskrit मर्या (maryā, “limit, mark, boundary”), मार्ग (mārga, “mark, section”).

cog

The teacher had to spend her weekend marking all the tests.

Under the proposals, an assurance is given that GBR (in the words of the plan) will not be marking its own homework.

2024 May 15, 'Industry Insider', “Labour's plan for the railway”, in RAIL, number 1009, page 68:

(Canada, UK) To indicate the correctness of and give a score to (a school assignment, exam answers, etc.).


dump

From Middle English dumpen, dompen, probably from Old Norse dumpa (“to thump”) (whence Danish dumpe (“to fall suddenly”)), of uncertain origin, possibly imitative of falling, similar to thump.

onomatopoeic

imitative

Basically, to overcome an acute shortage of money in 1813, Governor Lachlan Macquarie bought silver dollars from Spain and then punched the centres out, thereby producing two coins - the ‘holey dollar’ (worth five shillings) and the ‘dump’ (worth one shilling and threepence). Talk about creating money out of nothing—the original silver dollar only cost five shillings! The holey dollar and the dump have been adopted as the symbol for the Macquarie Bank in Australia.

2002, Paul Swan, Maths Investigations, page 66:

(historical, Australia, Canada) A small coin made by punching a hole in a larger coin (called a holey dollar).


pipe

→ Bengali: পাইপ (paip)

desc

→ Gulf Arabic: پيپ (pēp, bēb, “smoking pipe”), پايپ (pāyp, bāyb, “medium of transportation (sense 2.1)”)

→ Hindi: पाइप (pāip)

→ Japanese: パイプ (paipu)

→ Korean: 파이프 (paipeu)

→ Malay: paip

→ Maori: paipa

→ Russian: пайп (pajp)

→ Urak Lawoi': ปาเฮะ (pahëq)

From Middle English pīpe, pype (“hollow cylinder or tube used as a conduit or container; duct or vessel of the body; musical instrument; financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, pipe roll”), from Old English pīpe (“pipe (musical instrument); the channel of a small stream”), from Proto-West Germanic *pīpā. Reinforced by Vulgar Latin *pīpa, from Latin pipire, pipiare, pipare, from pīpiō (“to chirp, peep”), of imitative origin. Doublet of fife.
The “storage container” and “liquid measure” senses are derived from Middle English pīpe (“large storage receptacle, particularly for wine; cask, vat; measure of volume”), from pīpe (above) and Old French pipe (“liquid measure”). In specific contexts, calques similar units of measure such as Portuguese pipa.
The verb is from Middle English pīpen, pypyn (“to play a pipe; to make a shrill sound; to speak with a high-pitched tone”), from Old English pīpian (“to pipe”).

onomatopoeic

imitative

inh

Meanings relating to a smoking implement.

(Canada, US, colloquial, historical) The distance travelled between two rest periods during which one could smoke a pipe.


masher

Either by analogy with masher (“one who presses, softens”), or more likely from Romani masha (“a fascinator, an enticer”), mashdva (“fascination, enticement”). Originally used in theater, and recorded in US in 1870s.
Either originally borrowed as masher, from masha, or from mash + -er.

bor

"Oh, gee!" remarked the Girl from Sieber-Mason's, glancing up with the most capable coolness. "Ain't there any way to ever get rid of you mashers? I've tried everything from eating onions to using hatpins. Be on your way, Freddie."

c. 1900, O. Henry, The Ferry of Unfulfilment:

"Mama! Do you think that I'd allow a common masher-- Now, really Mama! I have my standards where men are concerned..."

(Australia, Canada, US, dated) A man who makes often unwelcome advances to women, as in a subway.


feces

From Latin faecēs, nominative plural of faex (“residue, dregs”), further origin unknown; possibly borrowed from a substrate language.

faeces (alternative)
fæces (alternative)

We are also extracting DNA, both from blood collected during immobilizations and from hyena feces.

2011 June 21, Kay E. Holekamp, “Why Study Hyenas?”, in The New York Times:

Digested waste material (typically solid or semi-solid) discharged from a human or other mammal's stomach to the intestines; excrement.


garden

en-verb

garden (third-person singular simple present gardens, present participle gardening, simple past and past participle gardened)

gardens (present singular third-person)
gardening (participle present)
gardened (participle past)
gardened (past)

From Middle English gardyn, garden, from Anglo-Norman gardin, from Frankish *gardin-, oblique stem of *gardō (“enclosure, yard”), from Proto-Germanic *gardô (“enclosure, garden, house”), whence also inherited English yard. (compare Old French jart alongside jardin, Medieval Latin gardīnus). Doublet of jardin. Displaced Old English wyrttūn.
Cognates
Cognate with West Frisian gard, Low German Goorn, Dutch gaard, gaarde, German Garten, Icelandic garður, French jardin, Spanish jardín, Italian giardino, Sicilian jardinu.

der

I love to garden—this year I'm going to plant some daffodils.

(intransitive, chiefly Canada, US) To grow plants in a garden; to create or maintain a garden.

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