banana

en-noun

banana (countable and uncountable, plural bananas)

→ Japanese: バナナ

→ Korean: 바나나 (banana)

→ Maori: panana

→ Tok Pisin: banana

→ Zulu: úbhanána

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), possibly from Arabic بَنَان (banān, “fingertip, banana”). 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, but White (Westernized) on the inside”.

der

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.


bomb

From French bombe, from Italian bomba, from Latin bombus (“a booming sound”), from Ancient Greek βόμβος (bómbos, “booming, humming, buzzing”), imitative of the sound itself. Doublet of bombe. Compare boom.

onomatopoeic

imitative

make a bomb

cost a bomb

When Kiley presented Blackpool with the custom shotgun, he said, “This must′ve cost a bomb.”

2009, Matthew Vierling, The Blizzard, page 133:

'You′ve already spent a bomb!'
'Not on it, Sal — under it. Presents!' As we eventually staggered up to bed, Sally said to me, 'I hope to God he's not been spending a bomb on presents, too.[…]'

The kids cost a bomb to feed, they eat all the time.

2011, Michael R. Häack, Passport: A Novel of International Intrigue, page 47:

2011, Bibe, A Victim, page 38,
He had recently exchanged his old bike for a new, three speed racer, which cost a bomb and the weekly payment were becoming difficult, with the dangers of repossession.

(UK, Australia, slang) A large amount of money.

Our fabulous new crumpets have been selling like a bomb.

(social) Something highly effective or attractive.

(chiefly British, slang) A success; the bomb.

(chiefly British, India, slang) A very attractive woman.


pulpit

From Middle English pulpit, from Old French pulpite and Latin pulpitum (“platform”). Doublet of pulpitum.

In the slang of the Royal Air Force man, the cockpit of his plane is the ‘pulpit’ or ‘office’, the glass covering over it the ‘greenhouse’.

(UK military slang, dated) A plane's cockpit.


smalls

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

He's in the garden hanging his smalls on the washing line.

The smalls he was wearing were tight.

Unkempt, bearded to the eyes, there he stood clutching his shapeless old cabbage-tree, in mud-stained jumper and threadbare smalls—the very spit of the unsuccessful digger.

1917, Henry Handel Richardson, Australia Felix, Echo Library, published 2007, page 31:

[…]there are also some great B&Bs and guesthouses where you can unpack a toothbrush and fresh set of smalls for the morning.

2008, Donna Wheeler, Melbourne & Victoria City Guide, Lonely Planet, page 198:

They billowed in the sticky summer breeze, curved and enormous like the sails of the Sydney Opera House.
Just when did my smalls become so impossibly large?

2008, Shauna Reid, The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl, page 7:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) Underwear.


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.

That was a mental party last night.

(colloquial, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, comparable) Enjoyable or fun, especially in a frenetic way.


black

en-adj

black (comparative blacker or more black, superlative blackest or most black)

blacker (comparative)
more black (comparative)
blackest (superlative)
most black (superlative)
blacke (alternative obsolete)
Black (alternative)
blk (alternative)
blak (alternative)

Bislama: blak

Sranan Tongo: blaka

Aukan: baaka

→ Caribbean Hindustani: blaaka

Tok Pisin: blak

Torres Strait Creole: blaik

→ Dutch: black

→ French: black

→ Greek: μπλάκης (blákis)

From Middle English blak, black, blake, from Old English blæc (“black, dark", also "ink”), from Proto-West Germanic *blak, from Proto-Germanic *blakaz (“burnt”) (compare Dutch blaken (“to burn”), Low German blak, black (“blackness, black paint, (black) ink”), Old High German blah (“black”)), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleg- (“to burn, shine”) (compare Latin flagrāre (“to burn”), Ancient Greek φλόξ (phlóx, “flame”), Sanskrit भर्ग (bharga, “radiance”)).
Sense 20 is a semantic loan from Cantonese 黑面 (hak1 min6, “to pull a long face, to scowl”).

sort

of coffee or tea, without milk or other whitener

(sometimes capitalized) Belonging to or descended from any of various (African, Aboriginal, etc.) ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin. (See usage notes below.)

(US, UK, South Africa) Belonging to or descended from any of various sub-Saharan African ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin.


black

en-noun

black (countable and uncountable, plural blacks)

blacks (plural)
blacke (alternative obsolete)
Black (alternative)
blk (alternative)
blak (alternative)

→ Japanese: ブラック (burakku)

→ Volapük: bläg

(countable, British) A type of firecracker that is really more dark brown in colour.

(countable, informal) Ellipsis of blackcurrant.

(chiefly UK) Blackcurrant as syrup or crème de cassis used for cocktails.


black

en-verb

black (third-person singular simple present blacks, present participle blacking, simple past and past participle blacked)

blacks (present singular third-person)
blacking (participle present)
blacked (participle past)
blacked (past)
blacke (alternative obsolete)
Black (alternative)
blk (alternative)
blak (alternative)

The plants were blacked by the Transport and General Workers' Union and a consumer boycott was organised; both activities contributed to what the union saw as a victory.

2003, Alun Howkins, The Death of Rural England, page 175:

(British, transitive) To boycott, usually as part of an industrial dispute.


blue

en-noun

blue (countable and uncountable, plural blues)

blues (plural)
blew (alternative obsolete)
blewe (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English blewe, from Anglo-Norman blew (“blue”), from Middle French bleu, from Old French blöe, bleve, blef (“blue”), from Frankish *blāu (“blue”) (perhaps through a Late Latin blāvus, blāvius (“blue”) attested from Isidore of Seville), from Proto-Germanic *blēwaz (“blue, dark blue”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlēw- (“yellow, blond, grey”).
Cognate with dialectal English blow (“blue”), Scots blue, blew (“blue”), North Frisian bla, blö (“blue”), Saterland Frisian blau (“blue”), Dutch blauw (“blue”), German blau (“blue”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish blå (“blue”), Icelandic blár (“blue”), Latin flāvus (“yellow”), French bleu (“blue”), Middle Irish blá (“yellow”). Doublet of blow.
Possibly related also to English blee (“colour”), from Old English blēo (“colour”); but direct derivatives of Proto-Germanic *blēwaz (“blue, dark blue”) in Old English include: Old English blāw and blēo (“blue”), Old English blǣwen (“bluish, light-blue”), blǣhǣwen (“blue-coloured, bluish, violet or purple colour”, literally “blue-hued”). There seems to be a parallel connection in Germanic between words for blue and colour, dually exemplified by Proto-West Germanic *blīu (“colour, blee”) and *blāu (“blue”); and Proto-Germanic *hiwją (“colour, hue”) and *hēwijaz (“blue, purple”).
The sense "obscene, pornographic" is apparently from the colour; various theories exist as to how it arose, including that it is from the colour of the envelopes used to contain missives of the censors and managers to vaudevillian performers on objectionable material from their acts that needed to be excised.

m+

Lord Lyttelton's Life by Dr Johnson […] which a whole tribe of Blues, with Mrs Montagu at their Head, have Vowed to execrate and revenge […]

1781, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters, Penguin, published 2001, page 172:


green

en-noun

green (countable and uncountable, plural greens)

→⇒ Chinese: 果嶺 /果岭 (guǒlǐng)

→ Czech: green

→ Danish: green

→ Dutch: green

→ Finnish: griini

→ German: Green

→ Marshallese: kūriin

Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *grōniz
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂
Proto-Germanic *-į̄
Proto-West Germanic *-ī
Proto-West Germanic *grōnī
Old English grēne
Middle English grene
English green
From Middle English grene, from Old English grēne, from Proto-West Germanic *grōnī, from Proto-Germanic *grōniz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- (“to grow”). More at grow. Doublet of Gruen.
See also North Frisian green, West Frisian grien, Dutch groen, Low German grön, green, greun, German grün, Danish and Norwegian Nynorsk grøn, Swedish grön, Norwegian Bokmål grønn, Icelandic grænn.
The sense of obscene, pornographic, or sexual in the Philippines is from a calque of Spanish verde.

der

(British) A public patch of land in the middle of a settlement.


purple

From Middle English purple, purpel, from Old English purpul (“purple”, adjective), taken from Old English purpure (“purple colour”, noun), from Latin purpura (“purple dye, shellfish”), from Ancient Greek πορφύρα (porphúra, “purple-fish”), perhaps of Semitic origin. Doublet of purpura and purpure.
The sense of "imperial power" is from the wearing of the color purple by emperors and kings.

der

snakebite and black
snakebite and black#English

(UK, slang) Synonym of snakebite and black.


red

en-noun

red (countable and uncountable, plural reds)

From Middle English red, from Old English rēad, from Proto-West Germanic *raud, from Proto-Germanic *raudaz from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rowdʰós, from the root *h₁rewdʰ-.
Cognates
See also West Frisian read, Low German root, rood, rot, rod, Dutch rood, German rot, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål rød, Norwegian Nynorsk raud; also Welsh rhudd, Latin ruber, rufus, Tocharian A rtär, Tocharian B ratre, Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός (eruthrós), Albanian pruth (“redhead”), Russian ру́дый (rúdyj) ("red", "redhaired"). Czech rudý, Lithuanian raúdas, Finnish rauta, Estonian raud, Serbo-Croatian riđ ("reddish", "red"), Avestan 𐬭𐬀𐬊𐬌𐬛𐬌𐬙𐬀 (raoidita), Sanskrit रुधिर (rudhirá, “red, bloody”).

sekobarbitaali

slang: secobarbital — see also secobarbital

(countable, informal, UK, birdwatching) A redshank.

(Ireland, UK, beverages, informal) Red lemonade


violet

→ Tokelauan: vaioleti, vaiolē, violē

Etymology tree
Latin viola
Old French -ette
Old French violettebor.
Middle English violet
English violet
Inherited from Middle English violet, vyolet, vyolette, from Old French violette, from Latin viola (“violet”). Cognate with Lithuanian violetinė (“purple, violet”) and Spanish violeta (“purple, violet”).

etymon

(UK dialect) Synonym of onion (“vegetable”).


white

en-noun

white (countable and uncountable, plural whites)

whites (plural)
whight (alternative obsolete)
whyte (alternative obsolete)
whyght (alternative obsolete)
White (alternative)

Inherited from Middle English whit, hwit, from Old English hwīt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīt, from Proto-Germanic *hwītaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweydós, a byform of *ḱweytós (“bright; shine”).
Cognates
* West Frisian wyt
*Dutch wit
* German weiß
* German weiss
* Norwegian Bokmål hvit
* Norwegian Nynorsk kvit
* Lithuanian šviẽsti (“to gleam”), šviesa (“light”)
* Old Church Slavonic свѣтъ (světŭ, “light”), свѣтьлъ (světĭlŭ, “clear, bright”)
* Persian سفید (sefid, “white”), Persian سپید (sepid, “white”)
* Avestan 𐬯𐬞𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀 (spaēta, “white”)
* Sanskrit श्वेत (śvetá, “white, bright”).

bělásek

common name for butterflies in the subfamily Pierinae

I've got to hit the streets; I've got to move this white.

2004, “On The Run”, Kanye West (music), performed by Bump J ft. Rick James, Atlantic:

Ten grand a week we were clearing: base, white, meth, weed, anything. I can get you anything to get you high.

2019 January 20, Ann Cleeves, Paul Matthew Thompson, “Cuckoo” (1:26:51 from the start), in Lawrence Gough, director, Vera, season 9, episode 2 (TV series), spoken by Tyler Lennon (Louis Healy):

We was flyin' up O with white, we was buildin' lines, now it's clothing lines

2024, “Entrapreneur”, performed by Central Cee:

(countable) Any object or substance that is of the color white.


Chinese

en-noun

Chinese (countable and uncountable, plural Chinese or Chineses)

/ˌt͡ʃʌɪˈniz/

/ˈt͡ʃʌɪˌniz/

[ˈt͡ʃəɪˌniːz]

From China + -ese under influence of Portuguese chinês, replacing older Chinish. Doublet of chinois. In its orientalist sense of "generically exotic, backwards, or poorly organized", sometimes a deliberate marketing strategy to increase sales, as with the German Chinese checkers. In its sense related to the orientation of stage lighting's barn doors, a reference to a supposed resemblance to East Asian eyes.

Han

ethnic Chinese regardless of the residence

Chinaman

properly of a man only, now usually considered an offensive slur

We're going out tonight for a Chinese.

(UK, countable, colloquial) Ellipsis of Chinese meal (“meal consisting of Chinese cuisine”).

Want to go to the Chinese after work?

(UK, countable, colloquial) Ellipsis of Chinese restaurant (“restaurant serving Chinese cuisine”).


cane

en-verb

cane (third-person singular simple present canes, present participle caning, simple past and past participle caned)

canes (present singular third-person)
caning (participle present)
caned (participle past)
caned (past)

From Middle English cane, canne, from Old French cane (“sugar cane”), from Latin canna (“reed”), from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na). Doublet of canna and kaneh. Related to channel and canal.

Mudchester Rovers were caned 10-0.

(UK, New Zealand, slang) To destroy; to comprehensively defeat.

(UK, New Zealand, slang) To do something well, in a competent fashion.

Don’t hit me with that. It really canes!

Mate, my legs cane!

(UK, Australia, slang, intransitive) To produce extreme pain.


tenth

From Middle English tenth, tenthe. Old English had tēoþa (origin of Modern English tithe), but the force of analogy to the cardinal number "ten" caused Middle English speakers to recreate the regular ordinal and re-insert the nasal consonant. Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *tehundô. Equivalent to ten (numeral) + -th (suffix forming ordinals).

af

(UK, law, historical, in the plural) A temporary aid issuing out of personal property, and granted to the king by Parliament; formerly, the real tenth part of all the movables belonging to the subject.


football

en-noun

football (countable and uncountable, plural footballs)

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

⇒ 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)

→ Maori: whutupōro

→ 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"

Each team scored three goals when they played football.

Association football
association football

(UK, Africa, Caribbean, South Asia, uncountable) Association football, also called soccer: a game in which two teams each contend to get a round ball into the other team's goal primarily by kicking the ball.


wring

en-verb

wring (third-person singular simple present wrings, present participle wringing, simple past wrung or (archaic or dialectal) wrang or (rare) wringed, past participle wrung or (rare) wringed)

wrings (present singular third-person)
wringing (participle present)
wrung (past)
wrang (archaic dialectal past)
wringed (past rare)
wrung (participle past)
wringed (participle past rare)
wring (infinitive)
wring (first-person present singular)
wringed (first-person past singular)
wring (present second-person singular)
wringest (archaic present second-person singular)
wringed (past second-person singular)
wringedst (archaic past second-person singular)
wrings (present singular third-person)
wringeth (archaic present singular third-person)
wringed (past singular third-person)
wring (plural present)
wringed (past plural)
wring (present subjunctive)
wringed (past subjunctive)
wring (imperative present)
wringing (participle present)
wringed (participle past)

From Middle English wringen, wryngen from Old English wringan (“to wring”), from Proto-Germanic *wringaną (“to squeeze, twist, wring”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *wrenǵʰ-.
Cognates
* Ancient Greek ῥίμφα (rhímpha, “fast”)
* Dutch wringen
* Lithuanian reñgtis (“to bend down”)
* Middle Low German wringen (Low German wringen)
* Old Frisian *wringa (West Frisian wringe)
* Old High German rinkan, ringan, ringan (Middle High German ringen, modern German wringen, German ringen (“to wrestle”))

քամել

to squeeze or twist (something moist) tightly so that liquid is forced out

стискам

to hold (someone or something) tightly and press or twist

A Lorde God, howe the gowte wryngeth me by the too!

a. 1530 (date written), John Skelton, “Magnyfycence, a Goodly Interlude and a Mery, […]”, in Alexander Dyce, editor, The Poetical Works of John Skelton: […], volume I, London: Thomas Rodd, […], published 1843, →OCLC, page 292, line 2073:

I preethe Tom beat Cuts ſaddle; put a fevv flockes in the point, poor iade is vvroong in the vvithers, out of all ceſſe.

c. 1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The History of Henrie the Fourth; […], quarto edition, London: […] P[eter] S[hort] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1598, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

Then good Euphues wring not a horſe on the withers, with a falſe ſaddle, neither imagin what I am by thy thoughts, but mine own doings: […]

1578–1580, Iohn Lyly [i.e., John Lyly], Euphues, London: […] [Thomas East] for Gabriell Cawood, […]:

All breathing Death, around their Chief [Achilles] they ſtand, / A grim, terrific, formidable Band [the Myrmidons]: / Grim as voracious VVolves that ſeek the Springs / VVhen ſcalding Thirſt their burning Bovvels vvrings.

1718, Homer, translated by Alexander Pope, “Book XVI”, in The Iliad of Homer, volume IV, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 240, lines 192–195:

(archaic or British, dialectal, also figuratively) To cause (someone or something) physical harm, injury, or pain; specifically, by applying pressure or by twisting; to harm, to hurt, to injure.


laugh

laughs (plural)
laff (alternative)
laughe (alternative)
larf (alternative)

From Middle English laughen, laghen, from (Anglian) Old English hlæhhan, hlehhan, (West Saxon) hliehhan, from Proto-West Germanic *hlahhjan, from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną.
Cognates
Germanic: (with j-present) Scots lauch, Icelandic hlæja, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish le; (without) Low German lachen, Dutch lachen, German lachen.
Indo-European: Russian клекота́ть (klekotátʹ), клокота́ть (klokotátʹ), клохта́ть (kloxtátʹ) ‘to cluck, cackle’, Ancient Greek κλώζω (klṓzō), κλώσσω (klṓssō) ‘to cackle, clack’, Welsh cloch ‘bell’, possibly Latin glōcīre ‘to cluck’.

2010, The Times, March 14, 2010, Tamzin Outhwaite, the unlikely musical star
Outhwaite is a good laugh, yes, she knows how to smile: but deep down, she really is strong and stern.


king

kings (plural)
kyng (alternative archaic)
kynge (alternative archaic)
kinge (alternative obsolete)

Tok Pisin: king

desc

⇒ American Sign Language: K@Shoulder K@Abdomen

→ Burmese: ကင် (kang)

→ Isubu: kinge

→ Japanese: キング (kingu)

→ Korean: 킹 (king)

→ Maori: kīngi

→ Marshallese: kiin̄

→ Thai: คิง (king)

From Middle English king, kyng, from Old English cyng, cyning (“king”), from Proto-West Germanic *kuning, from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz, *kunungaz (“king”), equivalent to kin + -ing. Doublet of cyning and knez.
Cognate with Scots keeng (“king”), North Frisian köning (“king”), West Frisian kening (“king”), Dutch koning (“king”), Low German Koning, Köning (“king”), German König (“king”), Danish konge (“king”), Norwegian konge, Swedish konung, kung (“king”), Icelandic konungur, kóngur (“king”), Polish ksiądz (“priest”), Russian князь (knjazʹ, “prince”), Old Church Slavonic кънѧѕь (kŭnędzĭ), Romanian chinez, Finnish kuningas (“king”), Estonian kuningas, Ingrian kunigas, Karelian kuninkas, Livvi kuńingas, Ludian kuńingas, Veps kuningaz, Võro kuning and Votic kunikaz. Eclipsed non-native Middle English roy (“king”) (Early Modern English roy), borrowed from Old French roi, rei, rai (“king”).
The verb is inherited from Middle English kyngen, *kingen (“To perform the duties of a king”), itself from the noun king, kyng.

Audio — the king

акрал

a male of a royal family who is the supreme ruler of his nation

in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king

Oi mate, have you got kings?


queen

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

Tok Pisin: kwin

⇒ 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

→ Maori: kuīni

→ 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

αδερφή f (aderfí, literally “Sister, From the same uterus”)


dollar

→ Burmese: ဒေါ်လာ (daula)

→ Catalan: dòlar

→ Chinese: 刀 (dāo) (colloquial)

→ Czech: dolar

→ Danish: dollar

desctree

→ Dutch: dollar
→ Indonesian: dolar
→ Japanese: ドル (doru)

→ Faroese: dollari

→ French: dollar
→ Romanian: dolar (along with English dollar)

→ German: Dollar

→ Greek: δολάριο (dolário)

→ Hausa: dala

→ Hawaiian: kālā

→ Hebrew: דולר (dolar)

→ Irish: dollar

→ Italian: dollaro

→ Khmer: ដុល្លារ (dŏlléar)

→ Korean: 달러 (dalleo)

→ Latvian: dolārs

→ Lithuanian: doleris

→ Macedonian: долар (dolar)

→ Maori: tāra

→ Nepali: डलर (ḍalar)

→ Norwegian: dollar

→ Papiamentu: dòlò

→ Persian: دلار (dolâr)

→ Polish: dolar
→ Kashubian: dolar

→ Portuguese: dólar

→ Romanian: dolar (along with French dollar)

→ Russian: доллар (dollar)

→ Samoan: tālā
→ English: tala

→ Spanish: dólar

→ Sranan Tongo: dala

→ Swahili: dola

→ Swedish: dollar

→ Thai: ดอลลาร์ (dɔn-lâa)

→ Tokelauan: tālā

→ Ukrainian: долар (dolar)

→ Welsh: doler

→ Yiddish: דאָלאַר (dolar)

→ Yoruba: dọ́là

Attested since the mid-16th century, from early Dutch daler, daalder, from German Taler, Thaler (“dollar”), earlier Joachimsthaler, literally “of Joachimstal”, the town where the original dollars were minted. The name means “(Saint) Joachim's valley”, from Joachim + Tal. Possibly reinforced by the Dutch leeuwendaalder, which was also used in the American colonies. Doublet of taler.

that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee

We like to go down to restaurant row / Spend those euro-dollars / All the way from Washington to Tokyo

1990 October 28, Paul Simon, “Born at the Right Time”, in The Rhythm of the Saints, Warner Bros.:

But poverty’s scourge is fiercest below $1.25 (the average of the 15 poorest countries’ own poverty lines, measured in 2005 dollars and adjusted for differences in purchasing power): people below that level live lives that are poor, nasty, brutish and short.

2013 June 1, “Towards the end of poverty”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 11:

(UK, colloquial, historical) A quarter of a pound or one crown, historically minted as a coin of approximately the same size and composition as a then-contemporary dollar coin of the United States, and worth slightly more.


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

Colonel Hazeltine still had trouble persuading air commanders to drop the nickels. Pilots profanely protested against risking their necks on such foolishness. But in the end 15,000,000 leaflets a week were being dropped on Sicily and Italy.

1945, The Saturday Evening Post, volume 217, Curtis Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 79:

Many types of nickels were used in psychological warfare. Classified according to general purpose, there were strategic and tactical leaflets.

1948, The Army Air Forces in World War II, volume 3, Office of Air Force History, →ISBN, page 495:

Nickels, the code-name for propaganda leaflets, were ordinary 8-1/2×11" sheets of paper either printed on both sides or folded in half and printed on all four sides. […] On most of our flights, after leaving the DZ or landing strip we distributed 150 to 450 pounds of nickels over designated areas, and a few of our missions were nickel runs only.

2010, Richard H. Kraemer, The Secret War in the Balkans, Author House, →ISBN, page 136:

(UK, World War II) An airborne propaganda leaflet.


nickel

en-verb

nickel (third-person singular simple present nickels, present participle nickeling or nickelling, simple past and past participle nickeled or nickelled)

nickels (present singular third-person)
nickeling (participle present)
nickelling (participle present)
nickeled (participle past)
nickeled (past)
nickelled (participle past)
nickelled (past)

The 422d Bombardment Squadron extended the scope of its operations considerably in April and "attacked" Norwegian targets with the leaflet bomb. The number of cities nickeled per mission also increased until it was common for fifteen to twenty-five to be scheduled as targets for a five-plane mission.

1948, The Army Air Forces in World War II, volume 3, Office of Air Force History, →ISBN, pages 496–497:

We flew numerous nickeling missions over the population centers of Southern France, dropping thousands of pounds of leaflets.

1966, Monro MacCloskey, Secret Air Missions, R. Rosen Press, →OCLC, page 36:

From southern Greece to northern Italy, nickeling supplied both occupied peoples and their occupiers with fairly frequent and generally accurate reports of the war — in many cases, their only authoritative source of information.

(UK, World War II) To distribute airborne leaflet propaganda.


pip

Apparently representing a shortened form of pippin, from Middle English pipin, from Old French pepin (“a seed”) (French pépin).

Apple pips are edible, but don't have a pleasant taste.

On most of the shores of the ancient Mediterranean, before any historical record, the cultivated grape vine, Vitis vinifera Linn., was grown. Its relationship to the wild vine of Eurasia, Vitis silvestris Gmel., is uncertain. Its pips can mostly be distinguished from those of the wild vine, and have been found in Egypt and Syrian Hama from the fourth millennium BC, at Lachish and Jericho in the early Bronze, at Troy II during the Bronze, in the Peloponnesus from Early Helladic, in Crete from the Early Minoan.

1995, John Pairman Brown, Israel and Hellas (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft; 231), volume 1, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 134:

(UK) A seed inside certain fleshy fruits, such as the stone (pit) of a stonefruit or the smaller seeds of an orange or apple.

(British, dated, World War I, signalese) P in RAF phonetic alphabet.


pit

From Middle English pit, pet, püt, from Old English pytt, from Proto-West Germanic *puti, from Latin puteus (“trench, pit, well”), although there are phonetic difficulties.

he who digs a pit for others falls in himself

Many Bacardi & Cokes later I climbed up into my pit and fell into a deep sleep, and woke up at one thirty in the morning and threw up my tea.

2009, Julian Beirne, Diary of a Sapper, page 55:

(Antarctica and UK, military, slang) A bed.


nature

en-noun

nature (countable and uncountable, plural natures)

natures (plural)
natuer (alternative obsolete)

/ˈneɪ̯.t͡ʃəɹ/

From Middle English nature, natur, from Old French nature, from Latin nātūra (“birth, origin, natural constitution or quality”), future participle from perfect passive participle (g)natus (“born”), from deponent verb (g)nasci (“to be born, originate”) + future participle suffix -urus.
Displaced native Middle English erd (“character, nature, disposition”) from Old English eard (compare German Art (“nature, character, kind, type”)); and Middle English kinde, ikinde (“character, disposition, nature”) from Old English ġecynd. More at kind.

ncog

the wolf may lose his teeth but never his nature

...One Hundred of each Nature of Case-Shot...

1828, James Morton Spearman, The British Gunner, page 130:

B.L. cartridges have lubricators choked inside the cartridges of 40-pr. and lower natures.

1879, War Office, Manual of Siege and Garrison Artillery Exercises, page 37:

The particular way someone or something is, especially

(UK military, obsolete) Synonym of caliber: the class of a gun.

Lady. ... Come you Spirits,
That tend on mortall thoughts, vnsex me here,
...make thick my blood,
Stop vp th'accesse, and passage to Remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of Nature
Shake my fell purpose...

c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v]:

Have we not seen (the blood of Laius shed)
The murd'ring son ascend his parent's bed,
Thro' violated Nature force his way,
And stain the sacred womb where once he lay?

1712, Alexander Pope, “The First Book of Statius's Thebais”, in Miscellaneous Poems and Translations, page 25:

She had no nature, nor indeed any passion but that of money.

1749, John Cleland, Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, volume I, page 136:

...I could bear much. I'd not move nor scream
While you wrote the red stripes:
But there's no nature in you...

1937, Robinson Jeffers, “Thurso's Landing”, in Selected Poetry, page 312:

A requirement or powerful impulse of the body's physical form, especially

(now chiefly UK regional and African-American Vernacular) Spontaneous love, affection, or reverence, especially between parent and child.


of

Etymology tree
Proto-West Germanic *ab
Old English æf
Old English of
Middle English of
English of
From Middle English of, from Old English of (“from, out of, off”), an unstressed form of æf, from Proto-West Germanic *ab, from Proto-Germanic *ab (“away; away from”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“away”). Doublet of off, which is the stressed descendant of the same Old English word. More at off.

etymon

ov (alternative)
o (alternative)
o' (alternative)
a (alternative)

genitive construction (إِضَافَة (ʔiḍāfa)) is used – i.e. the thing owned is followed by the owner in the genitive case

...之

in classical Chinese and in set expressions

possessive construction (a son of a teacher = mab dyskador; the son of a/the teacher = mab a dhyskador; a/the son of the teacher = mab an dyskador)

-ja/-je (attached to property instead of owner, e.g. Péter autója)

-nak/-nek (dative) (used together with -ja/-je, e.g. Péternek az autója)

rumah Andi

possessor is simply placed after the possession

izāfa

اِضافَہ (izāfa)

de

connecting numeral or quantifier with quantified

de (not used with quantifiers like todo, nem todo, para todo)

subjective genitive: connecting action noun with subject

genitive construction is used - the verbal noun is followed by the subject in the genitive case

van

objective genitive: connecting action noun with object

genitive construction used - a verbal noun is modified by the object in the genitive

a verbal noun is modified by the object in the genitive case

i

(to tell the time) before, to, e.g. a quarter of three (2:45)

он минут ж.б.с.> қалды/бар

-ğa/ge <ширек, он минут ж.б.с.> qaldy/bar

туларга <(унбиш минут һ.б.ш.)>

I’ve not taken her out of a goodly long while.

(UK, dialectal, chiefly in the negative) For (a given length of time).

Expressing a point in time.
For (a given length of time).


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").

Enter your account number followed by a square.

(British) The symbol # on a telephone; hash.


trapezoid

/ˈtɹæpəzɔɪd/

/ˈtɹæpəzɔɪd/

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

der

(geometry, British, Australia, New Zealand) A convex quadrilateral with no sides parallel.

irregular quadrilateral

convex quadrilateral with no parallel sides


twenty

From Middle English twenty, twenti, from Old English twēntiġ (“twenty”, literally “two tens”), from Proto-Germanic *twaintigiwiz, *twai tigiwiz, an old compound of *twain- (“two”) + *-tigaz (“group of ten”), equivalent to two + -ty, or twain + -ty. Cognate with Scots twenty, tuenty (“twenty”), West Frisian tweintich (“twenty”), Dutch twintig (“twenty”), German zwanzig (“twenty”), Danish tyve.

compound

(UK, historical, military) An old English division of infantry.


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

To a pound of sugar put a jack of water.

1747, Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy:

(UK, regional, now rare, historical) A measure of liquid corresponding to a quarter of a pint.


X

(British film certificate, dated) Suitable only for those aged sixteen or (later) eighteen years and over.


thee

en-verb

thee (third-person singular simple present thees, present participle theeing, simple past and past participle theed)

thees (present singular third-person)
theeing (participle present)
theed (participle past)
theed (past)
the (alternative)

From Middle English theen (“to increase, prosper, flourish”), from Old English þēon (“to thrive, prosper, flourish, grow”), from Proto-Germanic *þinhaną (“to thrive, succeed”), from Proto-Indo-European *tenk- (“to succeed, turn out well”). Cognate with Dutch gedijen (“to flourish, thrive, prosper, succeed”), German gedeihen (“to thrive”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌸𐌴𐌹𐌷𐌰𐌽 (gaþeihan, “to increase, thrive”).

cog

Well mote thee, as well can wish your thought.

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 33:

(intransitive, UK, obsolete) To thrive; prosper.


league

From Middle English liege, ligg, lige (“a pact between governments, an agreement, alliance”), from Middle French ligue, from Italian lega, from the verb legare, from Latin ligō (“I tie”).

(British, soccer) Playing in the The Football League or the Premier League, the top four divisions of English football


cock

en-noun

cock (countable and uncountable, plural cocks)

Sranan Tongo: kaka

Tok Pisin: kok

→ Thai: ก๊อก (gɔ́k, “tap”)

From Middle English cok, from Old English coc, cocc (“cock, male bird”), from Proto-West Germanic *kokk, from Proto-Germanic *kukkaz (“cock”), probably of onomatopoeic origin.
Cognate with Middle Dutch cocke (“cock, male bird”) and Old Norse kokkr ("cock"; whence Danish kok (“cock”), dialectal Swedish kokk (“cock”)). Reinforced by Old French coc, also of imitative origin. The sense "penis" is attested since at least the 1610s, with the compound pillicock (“penis”) attested since 1325.

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeic

gloss

(UK, Commonwealth, Ireland, derogatory, slang) A stupid, obnoxious or contemptible person.

The running patterer cares less than other street-sellers for bad weather, for if he "work" on a wet and gloomy evening, and if the work be "a cock," which is a fictitious statement or even a pretended fictitious statement, there is the less chance of any one detecting the ruse.

1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor:

"You used to talk an awful lot of cock."

That Hitler's armies can't be beat is just a load of cock, / For Marshal Timoshenko's boys are pissing through von Bock […]

2013, M. J. Trow, Swearing Like A Trooper: Rude Slang of World War Two:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, derogatory, slang, uncountable) Nonsense; rubbish; a fraud.

All right, cock?

Now, in coming down here, I journeyed part of the way with a jolly old cock, who shed a tear with me every time the coach stopped […]

1848, Thomas Frost, Paul the Poacher, page 118:

(slang, UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, especially as term of address) A man; a fellow.


cock

en-verb

cock (third-person singular simple present cocks, present participle cocking, simple past and past participle cocked)

cocks (present singular third-person)
cocking (participle present)
cocked (participle past)
cocked (past)

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeic

Foster's Lager TV commercial, 1980s
"Please tell me the way to Cockfosters." ... "Drink it warm, mate."

(British, Ireland, transitive, slang) To copulate with; (by extension, as with fuck) to mess up, to damage, to destroy.


cock

onomatopoeic

2006, Vamp, “oh cock i should have kept with a toyota!”, in uk.rec.cars.modifications (Usenet):

(UK, Ireland, slang) Expression of annoyance.


tick

From Middle English *tik, tek, tyche (“light touch, tap”), from the verb (see Etymology 3 below). Compare Dutch tik (“a pat, tap”), Middle High German zic (“a slight touch”).

cog

Indicate that you are willing to receive marketing material by putting a tick in the box

Kate's choice to don her pink suit again now, at the height of the Barbiecore trend, shows the royal really does have her finger on the pulse. That, paired with her statement belt and the fact pearls are having a real fashion moment (courtesy of the Met Gala) is three big ticks from us.

2023 May 26, Natasha Harding, Alexandria Dale, “Kate Middleton just re-wore her Alexander McQueen baby pink trouser suit”, in Women's Health:

(Australia, New Zealand, British, Ireland) A mark (✓) made to indicate agreement, correctness or acknowledgement.

oikein-merkki (note that a different sign is used in Finland to indicate correctness)


tick

When he had no funds he went on tick. When he could get no credit he went without, and was almost as happy.

1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 2, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

Immediately he got any money he would pay his debt; if there was any over he would spend it; if there was not—and there seldom was—he would begin to go on tick again.

1903, Samuel Butler, chapter 42, in The Way of All Flesh:

He paid his mother-in-law rent and, when the baker or the butcher or the grocer wouldn't let her have any more on tick, he paid the bills.

1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York 2007, page 190:


shit

en-verb

shit (third-person singular simple present shits, present participle shitting, simple past shat or (rare) shitted or (US) shit, past participle shat or (rare) shitted or (US) shit or shitten)

shits (present singular third-person)
shitting (participle present)
shat (past)
shitted (past rare)
shit (US past)
shat (participle past)
shitted (participle past rare)
shit (US participle past)
shitten (participle past)

From Middle English schiten, shiten, from Old English sċītan, from Proto-West Germanic *skītan, from Proto-Germanic *skītaną, from Proto-Indo-European *skéydt, from *skeyd-, *skeh₁i-d (“to cut”) (compare *skey-).
Cognate with West Frisian skite, Low German schieten, Dutch schijten, German scheißen, Danish skide. More at shed.

you can't put the shit back in the horse

I saw red and smashed a plate and a bowl. […] I swept up the mess. I bawled a lot as I swept […] I also thought, I am about to get my period. It absolutely shits me that this should explain anything.

1983, Helen Garner, Yellow Notebook: Diaries Volume I, Text Publishing, published 2022, page 70:

(transitive, vulgar, colloquial, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Ireland) To annoy.


coin

en-noun

coin (countable and uncountable, plural coins)

desc

→ Cantonese: coins (kon¹ si²) (from the plural noun form)

→ Japanese: コイン (koin)

From Middle English coyn, from Old French coigne (“wedge, cornerstone, die for stamping”), from Latin cuneus (“wedge”). Doublet of coign and cuneus. See also quoin (“cornerstone”). Displaced Middle English mynt, from Old English mynet (whence modern English mint), which was derived from Latin monēta.

der

She spent some serious coin on that car!

It was the biggest thing in the town, and everybody I met was full of it. They were going to run an over-sea empire, and make no end of coin by trade.

1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 199:

Boy toy named Troy, used to live in Detroit, big dope dealer money he was getting some coin.

2014, Nicki Minaj, “Anaconda”, in The Pinkprint:

Of course, she [Charlie XCX] has a penchant for designer frames that cost upwards of $400. If you want to splurge on one of those exact pairs, go off. If you want to save some coin, I found similar options at more affordable brands and even some Amazon dupes. You’re welcome.

2024 September 14, Heath Owens, “What to Wear to Charli xcx & Troye Sivan's Tour If You Wanna 'SWEAT'”, in Cosmopolitan:

(uncountable, slang, UK, US, African-American Vernacular) Money in general, not limited to coins.


naff

en-adj

naff (comparative naffer, superlative naffest)

naffer (comparative)
naffest (superlative)

Perhaps from Polari, 1960s. Further etymology unknown; perhaps a conscious corruption of either fanny or eff (off) (see naff off).

That tie is a bit naff, don’t you think?

She was an ordinary woman in her dress style; she didn't wear a leather bodice or naff over-knee plastic spiky-heeled boots.

1998, Robert Llewellyn, The Man on Platform Five, London: Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN, page 291:

I mean ten years ago a bit of charlie was for pop stars or a celebrities birthday bash. It was demonized by Daily Mail Readers getting drunk in naff wine bars.

2004, J. J. Connolly, Layer Cake, spoken by XXXX (Daniel Craig):

Remember, “tacky” means “cheap or glitzy”, whereas “naff” is about stylistic shortcomings which are horrifyingly average and pathetically ordinary. The Jersey Shore is tacky, but The Bachelor is naff.

2012, Simon Doonan, Gay men don't get fat, New York: Blue Rider Press, →ISBN, page 206:

A mere seven years after her tragic death, isn’t it grim and tasteless to send her hologram off on some naff tour?

2019 February 24, Barbara Ellen, “Amy Winehouse could belt out a tune – her naff hologram can’t”, in The Guardian:

Note that last phrase: what actually emerged was a virtual-reality platform called Horizon Worlds, accessible only via naff and clunky Oculus headsets (think an uncomfortable version of Zoom) […]

2023 May 13, John Naughton, “A moment’s silence, please, for the death of Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse”, in The Observer, →ISSN:

Did you see Elon Musk apologise for some tweets this week? (Please don’t be naff and call them “X posts”.)

2025 June 13, Marina Hyde, “So social media has broken even Elon Musk. I’m forced to ask: U OK hun?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(British, Ireland, Commonwealth, colloquial, Polari) Bad; tasteless, poorly thought out, not workable.


at

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Germanic *at
Old English æt
Middle English at
English at
From Middle English at, from Old English æt (“at, near, by, toward”), from Proto-Germanic *at (“at, near, to”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (“near, at”). Cognate with Scots at (“at”), North Frisian äät, äit, et, it (“at”), Danish at (“to”), Swedish åt (“for, toward”), Norwegian åt (“to”), Faroese at (“at, to, toward”), Icelandic að (“to, towards”), Gothic 𐌰𐍄 (at, “at”), Latin ad (“to, near”).

em

not distinct from the senses expressed in English by in or on

a (unproductive; only used with a few words, as in à mesa: at the table)

(no preposition is used, e.g.:) 五點鐘 /五点钟 (wǔ diǎnzhōng) or 五點 /五点 (wǔ diǎn, literally “at five o'clock”)

balance as at 20th March 1999

n.d., quoted in Longmans Business Dictionary

Indicating time of occurrence, especially an instant of time, or a period of time relatively short in context or from the speaker’s perspective.

(UK, Commonwealth, Ireland, especially finance) (also as at; before dates) On (a particular date).


for

fa (alternative)
fo (alternative)
fo' (alternative)
fur (alternative)
fuh (alternative)
fer (alternative)

From Middle English for, from Old English for (“for, because of”), from Proto-Germanic *furi (“for”), from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-.
Cognate with West Frisian foar (“for”), Dutch voor (“for”), German für (“for”), Danish for (“for”), Swedish för (“for”), Norwegian for (“for”), Icelandic fyrir (“for”), Latin per (“by, through, for, by means of”) and Romance language descendants (e.g. Spanish para (“for”)), Ancient Greek περί (perí, “for, about, toward”), Lithuanian per (“by, through, during”), Slovak pre (“for”), Sanskrit परि (pári, “over, around”).

cog

He totally screwed up that project. Now he's surely for the sack.

(UK) Due for or facing (a certain outcome or fate).


an

From Middle English an, from Old English ān (“a, an”, literally “one”). More at one.

inh

not used in Esperanto (but when necessary to express indefiniteness:) iu (some)

ერთ-ერთი

not an article, but used for indicating „one among others“

not used in Latin (Old, Classical, Late, New Latin, sometimes in Medieval Latin)

(nonstandard, British, West Country) Used before all consonants.

Form of a (all article senses).
Used before all consonants.


an

(nonstandard, British, West Country) one


fall

en-verb

fall (third-person singular simple present falls, present participle falling, simple past fell, past participle fallen)

falls (present singular third-person)
falling (participle present)
fell (past)
fallen (participle past)

get up

antonym(s) of “come to the ground deliberately”

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”.

fell

to fell a tree; to fell an opponent; as in

the apple does not fall far from the stem

the apple does not fall far from the tree

the apple doesn't fall far from the tree

the apple does not fall far from the trunk

the bigger they are, the harder they fall

the bigger they come, the harder they fall

the rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain

to fall a tree

(UK, US, dialect, archaic) To fell; to cut down.

To move downwards.
To fell; to cut down.


dear

en-adj

dear (comparative dearer or more dear, superlative dearest or most dear)

dearer (comparative)
more dear (comparative)
dearest (superlative)
most dear (superlative)

From Middle English dere, from Old English dīere (“of great value or excellence, expensive, beloved”), from Proto-West Germanic *diurī, from Proto-Germanic *diurijaz (“dear, precious, expensive”). Cognate with Scots dere, deir (“of great value or worth, highly valued, precious, beloved”), Saterland Frisian djuur (“precious, dear, costly, expensive”), Dutch duur (“costly, precious”), German teuer (“costly, precious”), German Low German düür, Danish dyr (“expensive”), Swedish dyr (“expensive”), Norwegian dyr (“expensive”), Icelandic dýr (“expensive”), Yiddish טייַער (tayer, “precious, expensive”).

cog

(used in translations) 親愛なる (しんあいなる, shin'ai-naru)

tcher (often under French-borrowed "chér")

عَزِيز

an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line

(used in translations) 親愛なる (しんあいなる, shin'ai naru)

(mijn) beste

an ironic way to start (often after my) addressing an inferior

The dearer the jewel, the greater the love expressed.

There's more depends on this than on the value.
The dearest ring in Venice will I give you,
And find it out by proclamation:
Only for this, I pray you, pardon me.

c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

This water is sold for 50 cents per ton, which is not dear under the circumstances.

1902, Briquettes as Fuel in Foreign Countries (report of the United States Bureau of Foreign Commerce)

Every summer we can rent a cottage in the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear.

1966, The Beatles, “When I'm Sixty-Four”:


mind

en-verb

mind (third-person singular simple present minds, present participle minding, simple past and past participle minded)

minds (present singular third-person)
minding (participle present)
minded (participle past)
minded (past)
mind (infinitive)
mind (first-person present singular)
minded (first-person past singular)
mind (present second-person singular)
mindest (archaic present second-person singular)
minded (past second-person singular)
mindedst (archaic past second-person singular)
minds (present singular third-person)
mindeth (archaic present singular third-person)
minded (past singular third-person)
mind (plural present)
minded (past plural)
mind (present subjunctive)
minded (past subjunctive)
mind (imperative present)
minding (participle present)
minded (participle past)

→ Chinese: mind, MIND

From Middle English minde, münde, ȝemünde, from Old English ġemynd (“memory”), from Proto-West Germanic *mundi, *gamundi, from Proto-Germanic *mundiz, *gamundiz (“memory, remembrance”), from Proto-Indo-European *méntis (“thought”) (compare also mantis, via Greek), from the root *men- (“to think”).
Cognate with Old High German gimunt (“mind, memory”), Danish minde (“memory”), Swedish minne (“memory”), Icelandic minni (“memory, recall, recollection”), Gothic 𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌳𐍃 (munds, “memory, mind”), Latin mēns (“mind, reason”), Sanskrit मनस् (mánas), Ancient Greek μένος (ménos), Albanian mënd (“mind, reason”). Doublet of mantra. Related to Old English myntan (“to mean, intend, purpose, determine, resolve”). More at mint.

cog

would you mind putting on your seat belt

I'm not very healthy. I do eat fruit sometimes, mind.

(UK, Ireland) Take note; used to point out an exception or caveat.


cooee

From Dharug guuu-wi adopted into English by white settlers in Australia from 1790.

cooey (alternative)
coo-ee (alternative)

Cooee! I'm over here!

Then, raising her hands to her lips she utters a long, loud, piercing " Cooee ! "
" Coo — ee ! " comes back over the black waters.

2001, June E. Barker, First Platypus, Gaygar—The Little Mother Duck, in Helen F. McKay (editor), Pauline E. McLeod, Francis Firebrace Jones, June E. Barker, Gadi Mirrabooka: Australian Aboriginal Tales from the Dreaming, page 58,
Gaygar could hear her people cooee out to her, "COOEE, GAYGAR! COOEE, GAYGAR!" they would cry.

(informal, chiefly Australia, UK) Used to attract someone's attention.


girl

en-noun

girl (countable and uncountable, plural girls)

girls (plural)
gal (alternative colloquial)
gel (alternative British slang)
girle (alternative obsolete)
gyrle (alternative obsolete)
gorl (alternative Internet)
grrrl (alternative slang)
grrl (alternative slang)
guhrl (alternative nonstandard)
gurl (alternative nonstandard)
gworl (alternative slang)
gyal (alternative)

desctree

Jamaican Creole: gyal, gal
→ English: gal; gyal
→ Icelandic: gella
→ Japanese: ギャル (gyaru)
→ English: gyaru

Tok Pisin: gel

→⇒ Finnish: kiltsi

→ French: girl; gow

→ German: Girl

→ Hungarian: görl

→ Japanese: ガール (gāru)

Etymological Dictionary of the German Language

de:Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

From Middle English gerle, girle, gyrle (“young person (boy or girl)”), perhaps from Old English *gyrele, from Proto-West Germanic *gurilā, from a zero-grade diminutive of *gaurā (“young child”) + *-ilā. Ultimately of unknown origin. Doublet of gal/gyal and gyaru.

(UK, dialect, obsolete) A roebuck two years old.


case

From Middle English case, from Old Northern French casse (compare Old French chasse (“box, chest, case”)), from Latin capsa (“box, bookcase”), from capiō (“to take, seize, hold”). Doublet of cash, chase, and chasse. Compare Spanish caja, Asturian caxa, Portuguese caixa.

The price of a case (five shillings piece bad) from the smasher is about one shilling; an alderman (two and sixpence) about sixpence; a peg (shilling) about threepence; a downer or sprat (sixpence) about twopence.

1859, Snowden's magistrates assistant, page 90:

(UK, slang, obsolete) A counterfeit crown (five-shilling coin).


stem

From Middle English stem, stemme, stempne, stevin, from Old English stemn, from Proto-West Germanic *stamni, from Proto-Germanic *stamniz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand, stay”).

der

(chiefly British) A winder on a clock, watch, or similar mechanism.


Aussie

en-adj

Aussie (not generally comparable, comparative more Aussie, superlative most Aussie)

more Aussie (comparative)
most Aussie (superlative)

From the Marvel Mixmaster to the Miracle Microwave, every time a new-fangled gadget has lobbed into the Aussie kitchen, Aussie mums have changed their cooking styles accordingly.

1987, Kerry Cue, Hang On To Your Horses Doovers, page 5:

Most Aussie officers seemed this way to me; always cool, deliberate, and extremely rational in their decision making, a far cry from the American leadership I had seen during my first year in the army.

1998, Gordon L. Steinbrook, Allies and Mates: An American Soldier with the Australians and New Zealanders in Vietnam 1966-1967, page 63:

Here's something I learned the hard way: The very best time of year to start off with accounting software is the beginning of the financial year (1 July for most Aussie businesses, and 1 April for most Kiwi businesses).

2010, Veechi Curtis, Lynley Averis, Bookkeeping For Dummies, page 81:

For example, if you buy US dollars (USD) using Australian dollars (AUD) and the Aussie dollar falls, you can then sell your US dollars and you will have made money as you will have more Aussie dollars than you started with.

2011, Wiley Trading Guide, volume 2, John Wiley & Sons Inc, page 153:

They′re the ‘Almost Aussies’ who embrace their new culture with a vengeance – some becoming more Aussie than Aussies.

2008, Lois Nicholls, Aussie, Actually, page 111:

You couldn't get more Aussie than the cast he chose—or their cars. The goodies drive Holdens and the baddies cruise around in a big, grunting, chocolate-brown Monaro.

2008, Janet Fife-Yeomans, Heath: A Family's Tale, page 65:

‘I'm a perfectionist, mate,’ he said, his accent becoming noticeably more Aussie, as it always did in private.

2010, Quintin Jardine, Screen Savers, unnumbered page:

'Every fucking aussie. Go to Cronulla Beach Sunday for some Leb and wog bashing Aussie Pride ok.'

2015, Johnny Lieu, “Cronulla Riots: What happened on one of Australia's darkest days”, in Mashable:

(chiefly Australia, New Zealand, British, South Africa, colloquial) Australian.


donger

[…] And I had a lad in this morning with the most enormous donger.

1988, Alan Hollinghurst, The Swimming-Pool Library, paperback edition, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 18:

My donger gets sucked right up inside this bloody hose. Hell it was painful. / ‘Christ almighty,’ Sandy said. ‘Yer right. She′s a powerful pump alright.’

2011, Bill Marsh, The ABC Book of Great Aussie Stories: For Young People:

(Africa, Australia, British, informal) The penis.


brekkie

en-noun

brekkie (countable and uncountable, plural brekkies)

brekkies (plural)
brekky (alternative)
breakie (alternative)
breaky (alternative)

→? Maori: parakuihi

What's for brekkie, Dad?

For quotations using this term, see Citations:brekkie.

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) Breakfast.


pavement pizza

pavement pizza (countable and uncountable, plural pavement pizzas)

I think I'm about to deliver a pavement pizza.

Being drunk is one thing, but creating a pavement pizza on a train is clearly overstepping the mark.

2004, Andrew Holmes, Matthew Reeves, Pains on Trains: A Commuter′s Guide to the 50 Most Irritating Travel Companions, page 207:

I was so relieved at the end of the journey that if I had had anything left to throw up I would have made it a hat trick of pavement pizzas.

2009, Aaron Chynn, Memoirs of an Ordinary Man: A Yorkshireman's Tale, page 77:

2010, Michael Powell, Matt Forbeck, Forbidden Knowledge College: 101 Things Not Every Student Should Know How To Do, Adams Media, UK, page 84,
This will make you gag and cough; keep going until your stomach starts heaving. Open your throat as if you were is about to swallow a sword; this sends another signal to your brain that a pavement pizza [is] about to be delivered.

(UK, Australia, humorous) A patch of vomit on the pavement, road or ground.


multicolour yawn

multicolour yawn (plural multicolour yawns)

Consequently, to brighten up a shady spot in the front garden we have recently added ‘Harlequin’, its green foliage splashed generously with white, though hopefully not to be splashed generously with a multicolour yawn.

2006, Ian Shenton, The Trouble with Plants: Tales of Trivia and Tribulation from an English Garden, page 80:

(UK, slang, humorous) Vomit; an act of vomiting.


Englishman

Englishmen (plural)
englishman (alternative obsolete)

/ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ.mən/

From Middle English Englishman, Inglishman, from Old English Englisċman, Englisċmon, corresponding to English + -man. Compare Old Norse Englismaðr (“Englishman”).

red-legged partridge
red-legged partridge

(UK) A grey partridge (in contrast with Frenchman, red-legged partridge).


mill

en-verb

mill (third-person singular simple present mills, present participle milling, simple past and past participle milled)

mills (present singular third-person)
milling (participle present)
milled (participle past)
milled (past)

From Middle English mylne, mille, from Old English mylen, from Proto-West Germanic *mulīnu (“mill”), from Late Latin molīna, molīnum, molīnus (“mill”), from Latin molō (“grind, mill”, verb), closely allied to Proto-Germanic *muljaną (“to crush, grind”) (see English millstone). Perhaps cognate with Milne (a surname). Doublet of moline, moulin, and blin.

cog

l-vocalizing: UK, General Australian, New Zealand

Ben mort, shall you and I heave a bough, mill a ken, or nip a bung, and then we'll couch a hogshead under the ruffmans, and there you shall wap with me, and I'll niggle with you.

1611, Thomas Middleton, “The Roaring Girl”, in Arthur Henry Bullen, editor, The Works of Thomas Middleton, volume 4, published 1885, act 5, scene 1, pages 128–129:

And why not?—You would think little of peaching and hanging him for this Scotch affair.—Rat me, one might have milled the Bank of England, and less noise about it.

1818, Walter Scott, chapter 6, in The Heart of Midlothian:

(obsolete, UK, thieves' cant) To commit burglary.


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

And by my word! the bonny bird / In danger shall not tarry.

1809, Thomas Campbell, Lord Ullin's Daughter:

After tea, the bright boys wash, clean their boots, and change into their “second-best” attire, and stroll forth[…]; sometimes to saunter, in company with others, up and down that parade until they “click” with one of the “birds.”

1918 [1915], Thomas Burke, Nights in London, New York: Henry Holt and Company, page 75:

The usual visual grammar was in place – a carpet in the street, people in paddocks awaiting a brush with something glamorous, blokes with earpieces, birds in frocks of colliding colours that if sighted in nature would indicate the presence of poison.

2013 September 13, Russell Brand, The Guardian:

“All these fantastic birds, long hair, made up, false eyelashes and things, crowding round this group of scabby, spotty teenagers,” marveled Anderson.

2017, David Weigel, The Show That Never Ends: The Rise and Fall of Prog Rock, W. W. Norton & Company:

(UK, Ireland, colloquial) A girl or woman, especially one considered sexually attractive.

Mike went out with his bird last night.

But all of a sudden though, just through the smoke / It's your bird laughing and joking with a bloke / Ain't just that either, as she moves closer / In a shape what looks like they're lovers, he's tonguing her!

2002, “Geezers need excitement”, in Mike Skinner (lyrics), Original Pirate Material, performed by The Streets:

(UK, Ireland, colloquial, by extension) A girlfriend.

to give the bird

(UK, with definite article, chiefly in phrases) Booing and jeering, especially as done by an audience expressing displeasure at a performer.


qualm

Perhaps from Middle English qualm, cwalm (“death, sickness, plague”), which is from Old English cwealm (West Saxon: "death, disaster, plague"), ūtcwalm (Anglian: "utter destruction"), from Proto-West Germanic *kwalm (“killing, death, destruction”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to stick, pierce; pain, injury, death”), whence also quell. Although the sense development is possible, this has the problem that there are no attestations in intermediate senses before the appearance of "pang of apprehension, etc." in the 16th century. The alternative etymology is from Dutch kwalm or German Qualm (“steam, vapor, mist”) earlier “daze, stupefaction”, which is from the root of German quellen (“to stream, well up”). The sense “feeling of faintness” is from 1530; “uneasiness, doubt” from 1553; “scruple of conscience” from 1649.

der

(archaic, UK, dialectal) Mortality; plague; pestilence.

(archaic, UK, dialectal) A calamity or disaster.


air

en-verb

air (third-person singular simple present airs, present participle airing, simple past and past participle aired)

airs (present singular third-person)
airing (participle present)
aired (participle past)
aired (past)
aire (alternative obsolete)
ayre (alternative obsolete)
eyr (alternative obsolete)
ayr (alternative)

From Middle English aire, from Old French air, from Latin āēr, from Ancient Greek ἀήρ (aḗr). Displaced native Old English lyft. More at lift, loft.

err (one US pronunciation or with fair–fur merger)

Why is this girl airing me?

(transitive, British, MLE, slang) To ignore (a person).


arm

en-adj

arm (comparative armer or more arm, superlative armest or most arm)

armer (comparative)
more arm (comparative)
armest (superlative)
most arm (superlative)

From Middle English arm (“poor, wretched”), from Old English earm (“poor, miserable, pitiful, wretched”), from Proto-West Germanic *arm, from Proto-Germanic *armaz (“poor”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁erm- (“poor, ill”).
Cognates
Akin to Dutch arm (“poor”), German arm (“poor”), Yiddish אָרעם (orem, “poor”), Swedish arm (“poor”).

der

(UK dialectal, chiefly Scotland) Poor; lacking in riches or wealth.

(UK dialectal, chiefly Scotland) To be pitied; pitiful; wretched.


earth

en-noun

earth (countable and uncountable, plural earths)

earths (plural)
airth (alternative Scotland)
erd (alternative dialectal rare)
yearth (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English erthe, from Old English eorþe, from Proto-West Germanic *erþu, from Proto-Germanic *erþō (“dirt, ground, earth”) (compare West Frisian ierde, German Low German Eerd, Dutch aarde, Dutch Low Saxon eerde, German Erde, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian jord), related to *erwô (“earth”) (compare Old High German ero, perhaps Old Norse jǫrfi), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁er- (compare Ancient Greek *ἔρα (*éra, “earth”) in ἔραζε (éraze, “to the ground, to earth”), perhaps Tocharian B yare (“gravel”).
Probably unrelated, but of unknown etymology, is Old Armenian երկիր (erkir, “earth”). Likewise, the phonologically similar Proto-Semitic *ʔarṣ́- – whence Arabic أَرْض (ʔarḍ), Hebrew אֶרֶץ (ʾereṣ) – is probably unrelated.

inh

earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust

(British) A connection electrically to the earth ((US) ground); on equipment: a terminal connected in that manner.


earth

en-verb

earth (third-person singular simple present earths, present participle earthing, simple past and past participle earthed)

earths (present singular third-person)
earthing (participle present)
earthed (participle past)
earthed (past)
airth (alternative Scotland)
erd (alternative dialectal rare)
yearth (alternative obsolete)

That noise is because the amplifier is not properly earthed.

(UK, transitive) To connect electrically to the earth.


snake

→ Maori: neke

→ Sranan Tongo: sneki

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Snake.wav

From Middle English snake, from Old English snaca (“snake, serpent, reptile”), from Proto-West Germanic *snakō (“snake”), derived via Proto-Germanic *snakô from Proto-Germanic *snakaną (“to crawl”).
See also German Low German Snake, Snaak (“snake”), dialectal German Schnake (“adder”), Swedish snok (“grass snake”), Danish snog (“grass snake”), Icelandic snákur (“snake”); also Old High German snahhan.

inh

(UK, Australia) A flavoured jube (confectionary) in the shape of a snake.


thick

en-adj

thick (comparative thicker, superlative thickest)

thicker (comparative)
thickest (superlative)

From Middle English thikke, from Old English þicce (“thick, dense”), from Proto-West Germanic *þikkwī, from Proto-Germanic *þekuz (“thick”), from Proto-Indo-European *tégus (“thick”).
Cognates
Cognate with Danish tyk (“thick”), Dutch dik (“thick”), Faroese tjúkkur (“thick”), German dick (“thick”), Icelandic þykkur (“thick”), Norwegian Bokmål tykk (“thick”), Norwegian Nynorsk tjukk (“thick”), Saterland Frisian tjuk (“thick”), Swedish tjock (“thick”). Related to Old Irish tiug (“thick”) and Welsh tew (“thick”).

“Screaming headlines in every paper in the country—damn all journalists, I say! Do you know there was a whole crowd staring in at the lodge gates this morning. Sort of Madame Tussaud’s chamber of horrors business that can be seen for nothing. Pretty thick, isn’t it?”

1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 126:

"Of course I was eager to put her affairs in order," George told my father, "but I found it a bit thick when expected to pay for Lord Randolph Churchill's barouche purchased in the '80s."

1969, Anita Leslie, Lady Randolph Churchill, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 288:


what

From Middle English what, from Old English hwæt (“what”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Germanic *hwat (“what”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód (“what”), neuter form of *kʷós (“who”).
Cognate with Scots what, whit (“what”), North Frisian wat (“what”), Saterland Frisian wat (“what”), West Frisian wat (“what”), Dutch wat (“what”), Low German wat (“what”), German was (“what”), Danish hvad (“what”), Norwegian Bokmål hva (“what”), Swedish vad (“what”), Norwegian Nynorsk kva (“what”), Icelandic hvað (“what”), Latin quod (“what, which”).

It’s a nice day, what?

“That’s riled them,” said my compaion. “Good work, what?”

1918, Denis Garstin, The Shilling Soldiers, London: Hodder and Stoughton, page 83:

Chuffy: WHAT? No, no, no, no, no. My casa is your casa, what?

1991 May 12, “Kidnapped!”, in Jeeves and Wooster, Series 2, Episode 5:

what do you say?
what do you say#English

(British, colloquial, dated) Clipping of what do you say?, used as a type of tag question to emphasise a statement and invite agreement, often rhetorically.


right

From Middle English right, righte, from Old English rihte, rehte (“right; rightly; due; directly; straight”), from Proto-Germanic *rehta, from *rehtaz (“right; straight”).

ryght (alternative)
reight (alternative)
rite (alternative)

it doesn't matter what they say about you as long as they spell your name right

I made a right stupid mistake there, didn't I?

I stubbed my toe a week ago and it still hurts right much.

a right godly treatise

1549, John Calvin, Of the life or conuersation of a Christen man, a right godly treatise:

That's long enough for any small town." Lyon leaned forward. "Do you like Lawrenceville, Mr. Hill?" The driver cocked his head. "Aeah. Why not? Born here. It's a right nice town

1966, Jacqueline Susann, Valley of the Dolls, page 214:

Well, that would be right neighborly of you, miss.

But it would be right neighborly and Christian of you to put your own wants aside for a spell.

The fog was right hard to see through so I was on Tom Pritchard before I saw him.

2011, Ann Hite, Ghost on Black Mountain:

Kids nowadays were a right thrillproof bunch. The Armoury Section had, unexpectedly, proved to be a real moodclunker.

2015, Jeff Torrington, Swing Hammer Swing!, page 255:

(British, US, dialect) Very, extremely, quite.


Strine

From a pronunciation spelling of Australian spoken with this accent. Coined by “Afferbeck Lauder” (Alastair Ardoch Morrison) and popularised with his 1965 book Let Stalk Strine. Australian from 1965.

strine (alternative)
'Strine (alternative)
'strine (alternative)

Several Strine forms depend on an assumed equivalence between Strine fortis consonants and Cultivated/RP lenis ones, thus garbler mince (couple of minutes), egg jelly (actually). It is doubtful whether this reflects any real phonetic difference.

1982, J. C. Wells, Accents of English, volume 3: Beyond the British Isles, page 595:

A TEAM at Griffith University in Brisbane is working on the development of what the university’s newspaper calls a bionic snorter. Translating into English from Strine, this is a bionic hooter, conk, bugle or nose.

1989 July 8, “Ariadne”, in New Scientist, page 120:

Dell’Oso describes the encounter of an Asian woman with a surly bus driver whose only language is Strine (a form of Australian English, barely intelligible to many of the native-speakers).

1992, Gillian Bottomley, From Another Place: Migration and the Politics of Culture, published 2009, page 133:

(Australia, New Zealand, UK, informal, humorous) Broad Australian English.


sister

en-noun

sister (plural sisters or (archaic in most senses) sistren)

sisters (plural)
sistren (archaic plural)

desc

→ Gulf Arabic: سِسْتَر (sistar, “female nurse”)

→ Japanese: シスター (shisutā)

→ Korean: 시스터 (siseuteo)

PIE word
 *swésōr
From Middle English sister, suster, from Old English swustor, sweoster, sweostor (“sister, nun”); from Proto-Germanic *swestēr (“sister”), from Proto-Indo-European *swésōr (“sister”).
Cognate with Scots sister, syster (“sister”), West Frisian sus, suster (“sister”), Dutch zuster (“sister”), German Schwester (“sister”), Norwegian Bokmål søster (“sister”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish syster (“sister”), Icelandic systir (“sister”), Gothic 𐍃𐍅𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰𐍂 (swistar, “sister”), Latin soror (“sister”), Russian сестра́ (sestrá, “sister”), Lithuanian sesuo (“sister”), Albanian vajzë (“girl, maiden”), Sanskrit स्वसृ (svásṛ, “sister”), Persian خواهر (xâhar, “sister”).
In standard English, the form with i is due to contamination with Old Norse systir (“sister”).
The plural sistren is from Middle English sistren, a variant plural of sister, suster (“sister”); compare brethren.

妹妹

mui⁶⁻⁴ mui⁶⁻²

ເອື້ອຍ

ē ʼư̄ ʼa nya

(British) A senior or supervisory nurse, often in a hospital.


son

sons (plural)
sonne (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English sonn, sone, sun, sune, from Old English sunu (“son”), from Proto-Germanic *sunuz (“son”), from Proto-Indo-European *suHnús (“son”), from Proto-Indo-European *sewH- (“to bear; give birth”).

па

a male person in relation to his parents

(UK, New York City, colloquial) An informal address to a friend or person of equal authority.


uncle

Bislama: angkel

→ Burmese: အန်ကယ် (ankai)

⇒ Chinese: 安哥 (āngē)

→ Hawaiian: ʻanakala

→ Hindi: अंकल (aṅkal)

→ Irish: uncail

→ Scottish Gaelic: uncail

Tok Pisin: ankol

Torres Strait Creole: ankel

→ Welsh: wncl

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwh₂os
Latin avunculus
Old French unclebor.
Middle English uncle
English uncle
From Middle English uncle, borrowed from Anglo-Norman uncle and Old French oncle, from Vulgar Latin *aunclum, from Latin avunculus (“maternal uncle”, literally “little grandfather”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂euh₂-n-tlo- (“little grandfather”), a dialectal diminutive of *h₂éwh₂ō (“grandfather, adult male relative other than one’s father”) (whence also Latin avus (“grandfather”)). Displaced native Middle English em (“uncle”) from Old English ēam (“maternal uncle”), containing the same Proto-Indo-European root, and Old English fædera (“paternal uncle”). Compare Saterland Frisian Unkel (“uncle”), Dutch nonkel (“uncle”), German Low German Unkel (“uncle”), German Onkel (“uncle”), Danish onkel (“uncle”). More at eam and eame.

der

December 1843, William Makepeace Thackeray, "Grant in Paris" (review), in Fraser's Magazine
A chain hangs out of the pocket of his velvet waistcoat , by which we may conclude that he has a watch , though we have known many gents whose watches were at their uncle's (as the fashionable term for the pawnbroker goes)

(British, informal, dated) A pawnbroker.

fajdexhi

UK informal: pawnbroker — see also pawnbroker

(especially in the Southern US, parts of UK and South Asia) An affectionate term for a man of an older generation than oneself, especially a friend of one's parents, by means of fictive kin.

дзя́дзька

form of address to a man by young people or children in some countries


cousin

The noun is derived from Middle English cosin, cosine, cosyn (“blood relative, kinsman or kinswoman; any relative; nephew or niece; first cousin; grandson or granddaughter; descendant; godchild or godparent, or a relative of a godchild or godparent; (figurative) closely related or similar thing”) [and other forms], and then:
* from Anglo-Norman cosen, cosin [and other forms], Middle French cosin, and Old French cosin (“collateral male relative more distant than one’s brother; form of address used by a monarch to male monarchs or nobles”) [and other forms] (modern French cousin); and
* from Anglo-Norman cosine, Middle French cosine, and Old French cosine (“collateral female relative more distant than one’s sister; form of address used by a monarch to female monarchs or nobles”) [and other forms] (modern French cousine),
from Latin cōnsobrīnus (“maternal cousin; first cousin; relation”) (possibly through Vulgar Latin *cōsuīnus, from *cōsobīnus), from con- (prefix denoting a bringing together of several objects) + sobrīnus (“maternal cousin; sister’s son; any nephew”) (from a noun use of Proto-Italic *swezrīnos (“of or belonging to a sister”, adjective) (with the first syllable influenced by Latin soror (“sister”)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swésōr (“sister”), possibly from *swé (“self”) + *h₁ésh₂r̥ (“blood”) (that is, a woman of one’s own blood) or *-sōr (feminine suffix)).
The verb is derived from the noun.

nb...

coosin, cosen, coseyn, cosigne, cosing, cossen, cossin, cossigne, cossine, cossyn, cossyne, cosyne, cosynne, cousin, cousine, cousyn, cozyn, cusin, cusine, cussyn, cusyn, kosen, kosin, kosyn

ܚܸܙܡܵܐ

any relation (especially a distant one) who is not a direct ancestor or descendant but part of a person’s extended family

neef

child of a person’s parent’s brother or sister

従兄妹

older male cousin and younger female cousin

従姉弟

older female cousin and younger male cousin

taina

younger male cousin of a male or younger female cousin of a female

aacaz

son of a female’s parent’s younger sibling

cousins

American or British intelligence services

My noble L[ords] and Coſens all, good morrovv, / I haue beene long a ſleeper, but I hope / My abſence doth neglect no great deſignes, / VVhich by my preſence might haue been concluded.

c. 1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedy of King Richard the Third. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Sims [and Peter Short] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1597, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], signature G, verso:

Therefore vve meruaile much our Coſin France / VVould in ſo iuſt a buſineſſe, ſhut his boſome / Againſt our borrovving prayers.

c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], page 241, column 1:

In all vvrits, and commiſſions, and other formal inſtruments, the king, vvhen he mentions any peer of the degree of an earl, alvvays ſtiles him "truſty and vvell beloved couſin:" an appellation as antient as the reign of Henry IV; vvho being either by his vvife, his mother, or his ſiſters, actually related or allied to every earl in the kingdom, artfully and conſtantly acknovvledged that connexion in all his letters and other public acts; from vvhence the uſage has deſcended to his ſucceſſors, though the reaſon has long ago failed.

1765, William Blackstone, “Of the Civil State”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book I (Of the Rights of Persons), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 386:

Used by a monarch to address another monarch, or a noble; specifically (British) in commissions and writs by the Crown: used in this way to address a viscount or another peer of higher rank.

serkku

used by a monarch to address another monarch, or a noble


car

cars (plural)
carr (alternative archaic)

→ 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 carrus and horse.

(archaic) A wheeled vehicle, drawn by a horse or other animal.

(UK, Birmingham, obsolete) A four-wheeled cab, as opposed to a (two-wheeled) Hansom cab.


wing

en-noun

wing (countable and uncountable, plural wings)

wings (plural)
weng (alternative obsolete)
whing (alternative obsolete)
wyng (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English winge, wenge, from Old Norse vængr ("wing of a flying animal, wing of a building"; compare vængi (“ship's cabin”)), from Proto-Germanic *wēingijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”), thus related to wind. Cognate with Danish vinge (“wing”), Swedish vinge (“wing”), Icelandic vængur (“wing”).
Replaced native Middle English fither (from Old English fiþre, from Proto-Germanic *fiþriją), which merged with Middle English fether (from Old English feþer, from Proto-Germanic *feþrō). More at feather.

gl

"wing of a flying animal, wing of a building"; compare <i class="Latn mention" lang="non">vængi</i> (“ship's cabin”)

der

An organizational grouping in a military aviation service:

(British) A unit of command consisting of two or more squadrons and itself being a sub-unit of a group or station.

(British) A panel of a car which encloses the wheel area, especially the front wheels.


that

From Middle English that, from Old English þæt (“the, that”, neuter definite article and relative pronoun), from Proto-West Germanic *þat, from Proto-Germanic *þat. Cognate to Scots that, Saterland Frisian dät, West Frisian dat, Dutch dat, Low German dat and datt, German dass and das, Danish det, Swedish det, Icelandic það, Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐍄𐌰 (þata). Further from Proto-Indo-European *tód; compare Ancient Greek τό (tó), Sanskrit तद् (tád), Waigali ta, Lithuanian tai̇̃, Polish to.

inh

'at (alternative)
't (alternative contraction pronunciation-spelling)
dat (alternative)
thet (alternative)
yt (alternative abbreviation obsolete)
yᵗ (alternative abbreviation obsolete)
yͭ (alternative abbreviation obsolete)
yt. (alternative abbreviation obsolete)

Ooh, I was that happy I nearly kissed her.

This was carried with that little noise that for a good space the vigilant Bishop was not awak'd with it.

1693, John Hacket, “Scrinia reserata: a Memorial offered to the great Deservings of John Williams”, in Archbishop Williams:

(informal, British, Australia, in positive constructions) To such an extent; so.


finger

Sranan Tongo: finga

PIE word
 *pénkʷe
From Middle English fynger, finger, from Old English finger (“finger”), from Proto-West Germanic *fingr, from Proto-Germanic *fingraz (“finger”), from Proto-Indo-European *penkʷrós, from *pénkʷe (“five”). Compare West Frisian finger, Low German/German Finger, Dutch vinger, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish finger; also Old Armenian հինգեր-որդ (hinger-ord, “fifth”). More at five.

sormi

something similar in function to a finger

Something similar in shape to the human finger, particularly:

(UK regional, botany, usually in the plural, obsolete) Synonym of foxglove (D. purpurea).


duck

en-noun

duck (countable and uncountable, plural ducks or duck)

ducks (plural)
duck (plural)
ducke (alternative obsolete)

desctree

Sranan Tongo: doksi (from the plural)
→ Dutch: doks

From Middle English doke, ducke, dukke, dokke, douke, duke, from Old English duce, dūce (“duck”, literally “dipper, diver, ducker”), from Old English *dūcan (“to dip, dive, duck”), from Proto-West Germanic *dūkan, from Proto-Germanic *dūkaną (“to dive, bend down”). See verb above.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots duik, duke, dook (“duck”), Danish dukand, dykand (“sea-duck”), Swedish dykfågel (“a diver, diving bird, plungeon”), Dutch duiker (“diving bird, loon”, literally “diver, dipper, plunger”), German Low German Düker (“diving bird, loon”, literally “diver”), German Taucher (“diving bird, loon, grebe”, literally “diver, plunger”).
For the meaning development compare Russian ныро́к (nyrók, “pochard”) (< ныря́ть (nyrjátʹ, “to dive”)).

cog

could eat the arse out of a low flying duck

could eat the crotch out of a low flying duck

could eat the crutch from a low flying duck

don't teach your grandmother how to milk ducks

(UK, slang, obsolete) A faggot; a meatball made from offal.


hack

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

(UK, student politics, derogatory) A person who frequently canvasses for votes, either directly or by appearing to continuously act with the ulterior motive of furthering their political career.


former

Inherited from Middle English formere. By surface analysis, form + -er.

Fifth-former.

Sixth-former.

(chiefly British, used in combinations) Someone in, or of, a certain form (class).


crew

Probably of Brythonic origin. Compare Middle Welsh creu (“pigsty, hovel, stockade”).

Between the shippon and the pig-crew, with the wind blowing over from the vegetable ground.

2004, Gillian Cross, On the Edge, →ISBN, page 7:

(British, dialectal chiefly Scotland, Northern England, East Midlands) A pen for livestock such as chickens or pigs


cream

en-noun

cream (countable and uncountable, plural creams)

creams (plural)
creme (alternative)
creyme (alternative)

→ Chinese: 忌廉, 淇淋 (qílín)

→ Hawaiian: kalima

→ Hindi: क्रीम (krīm)

→ Indonesian: krim

→ Japanese: クリーム (kurīmu)

→ Korean: 크림 (keurim)

→ Maori: kirīmi

→ Swahili: krimu

→ Thai: ครีม (kriim)

→ Zulu: ukhilimu

From Middle English creime, creme, from Old French creme, cresme, blend of Late Latin chrisma (“ointment”) (from Ancient Greek χρῖσμα (khrîsma, “unguent”)), and Late Latin crāmum (“cream”), from Gaulish *crama (compare Welsh cramen (“scab, skin”), Breton crammen), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)krama- (compare Middle Irish screm (“surface, skin”), Dutch schram (“abrasion”), Lithuanian kramas (“scurf”)). Doublet of crema and crème. Displaced native Old English rēam (“cream”) (> modern ream).
Figurative sense of "most excellent element or part" appears from 1581. Verb meaning "to beat, thrash, wreck" is 1929, U.S. colloquial. The U.S. standard of identity is from 21 CFR 131.3(a).

der

standards of identity
standard of identity

The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.

(standards of identity, UK) The liquid separated from milk containing at least 18 percent milkfat (48% for double cream).


rat

From Middle English ratte, rat, rotte, from Old English rætt, from Proto-West Germanic *ratt, from Proto-Germanic *rattaz, *rattō (compare West Frisian rôt, Dutch rat), of uncertain origin, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- (“to scrape, scratch, gnaw”). However, the rat may have been unknown in Northern Europe in antiquity, and the Proto-Germanic word may have referred to a different animal; see *rattaz for more. Attestation of this family of words begins in the 12th century.
Some of the Germanic cognates show considerable consonant variation, e.g. Middle Low German ratte, radde; Middle High German rate, ratte, ratze. The irregularity may be symptomatic of a late dispersal of the word, although Kroonen accounts for it with a Proto-Germanic stem *raþō nom., *ruttaz gen., showing both ablaut and a Kluge's law alternation, with the variation arising from varying remodellings in the descendants. Kroonen states that this requires a Proto-Indo-European etymon in final *t and is incompatible with the usual derivation from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- (“to scrape, scratch, gnaw”).

Get your rat out.

I don't need no dating app to tell me if I look like crap / To tell me if I'm thin or fat, to tell me should I shave my rat / I don't need no radio, no MTV, no BBC / I just need a bubble bath to set me on a higher path

2022, Chambers Hester Louise, Champion Michael James, Teasdale Rhian Louise, “Too Late Now”, in Wet Leg, performed by Wet Leg, Domino, →OCLC:

(UK, north-west London, slang, vulgar) Vagina, vulva.


skimmed milk

en-noun

skimmed milk (countable and uncountable, plural skimmed milks)

skimmed milks (plural)
skim milk (alternative)

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


lob

Some are acute for the Lob; which is, going into a Shop to have a Guinea or Pistole chang'd, and the Change being given, the bringer of the Gold telling it over, Palms Two or Three Shillings, then returning the Money, says there wants so much, which the Shop-keeper telling over again, and finding short, very innocently crys 'tis true, and makes up the Summ.

(UK, slang, obsolete) A form of fraud in which a person asks for change in a shop, palms some of the coins, and tells the shopkeeper that he has not given them enough.


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, Australia, British, specifically) A marine reptile of that order.


olive

→ Maori: ōriwa

From Middle English olyve, from Old French olive (“olive, olive tree”), from Latin olīva (“olive”), itself either from Etruscan *𐌄𐌋𐌄𐌉𐌅𐌀 (*eleiva), Pre-Classical Greek *ἐλαίϝα (*elaíwa) (compare Mycenaean Greek 𐀁𐀨𐀷 (e-ra-wa), Ancient Greek ἐλαία (elaía)), or the same source as those two. In any case, ultimately from a Mediterranean Pre-Greek source, possibly Proto-Berber *wlw (“wild olive”). More questionably, maybe from Proto-Indo-European *loiwom (compare Old Church Slavonic лои (loi, “tallow”), Old Armenian եւղ (ewł, “oil”)). Doublet of oliva. Displaced native Old English eleberġe, literally "oil berry."

(UK, dialect) An oystercatcher, a shore bird of genus Haematopus.


plum

→ Cornish: ploum

→ Haida: pláms

→ Manx: plumbis

→ Japanese: プラム (puramu)

→ Scottish Gaelic: plumas

→ Thai: พลัม (plam)

From Middle English plomme, ploume, from Old English plūme, from Proto-West Germanic *plūmā, borrowed from Latin prūnum. Doublet of prune.

Indian plum

esp Flacourtia indica; Osmaronia cerasiformis

(derogatory, chiefly UK) A fool, an idiot.


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.


copper

en-noun

copper (countable and uncountable, plural coppers)

Inherited from Middle English coper, from Old English coper, copor (“copper”), from Late Latin cuprum (“copper”), contraction of Latin aes Cyprium (literally “Cyprian brass”), from Ancient Greek Κύπρος (Kúpros, “Cyprus”). Cognate with Dutch koper (“copper”), German Kupfer (“copper”), Icelandic kopar (“copper”).

der

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-copper.wav

Mum would heat the water in a copper in the kitchen and transfer it to the tin bath.

I explain that socks can’t be boiled up in the copper with the sheets and towels or they shrink.

When the water in the copper boils, the arsenic and tartar, well pounded, is put into it, and kept boiling till the liquor is reduced to about half.

1797, “Dyeing”, in Colin Macfarquhar, George Gleig, editors, Encyclopædia Britannica: or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature, Volume 6, Part 1 p.207:

'You had better mind you don't get up too early, and you mustn't put any fire under the copper before two o'clock.'

1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 6:

He rose to his knees, for he had been sitting in the darkness near the copper.

1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 230:

'Vot game now she play?' he asked himself, as he distinguished his wife near one of the pig-scalding coppers.

1907, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Human Toll (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 254:

The wet laundry's stove had a long vent in the ceiling which helped to release the steam from the coppers in which the clothes and bed linen were boiled.

2000, Christopher Christie, The British Country House in the Eighteenth Century, page 266:

(countable, dated) Any of various specialized items that are made of copper, where the use of copper is either traditional or vital to the function of the item.

(UK, Australia, dated) A large pot, often used for heating water or washing clothes over a fire. In Australasia at least, it could also be a fixed installation made of copper, with a fire underneath and its own chimney. Generally made redundant by the advent of the washing machine.


chair

en-verb

chair (third-person singular simple present chairs, present participle chairing, simple past and past participle chaired)

chairs (present singular third-person)
chairing (participle present)
chaired (participle past)
chaired (past)
chur (alternative)

From Middle English chayer, chaire, chaiere, chaere, chayre, chayere, from Old French chaiere, chaere, from Latin cathedra (“seat”), from Ancient Greek καθέδρα (kathédra), from κατά (katá, “down”) + ἕδρα (hédra, “seat”). Displaced native stool and settle, which now have more specialised senses. Doublet of cathedra and chaise.

The poet was chaired at the national Eisteddfod.

(transitive, Wales, UK) To award a chair to (a winning poet) at a Welsh eisteddfod.


tin

en-noun

tin (countable and uncountable, plural tins)

From Middle English tin, from Old English tin, from Proto-West Germanic *tin, from Proto-Germanic *tiną.

a tin of baked beans; a tobacco tin; a tin of shoe polish

Several tins of paint were needed to paint the house.

empty tins, cans, and plastic containers are recycled in the blue bins.

When it arrived, the train was headed by a "K" class 4-6-0 wood-burning locomotive, and a water-tank wagon next to the tender was immediately besieged by women and girls, clad in their picturesque national costume, all with empty kerosene tins for water, a scene which was re-enacted at each stop down the line.

1943 November and December, G. T. Porter, “The Lines Behind the Lines in Burma”, in Railway Magazine, page 325:

(New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, British, countable) An airtight container, made of tin or another metal, used to preserve food, or hold a liquid or some other product.


chain

From Middle English cheyne, chaine, from Old French chaine, chaene (“chain”), from Latin catēna (“chain”), from Proto-Indo-European *kat- (“to braid, twist; hut, shed”). Doublet of catena. Displaced native Middle English rakil and rakent (from Old English racente (“chain”)); see rackan.

der

a chain is only as strong as its weakest link

(British) A sequence of linked house purchases, each of which is dependent on the preceding and succeeding purchase (said to be "broken" if a buyer or seller pulls out).


silly

en-adj

silly (comparative sillier, superlative silliest)

sillier (comparative)
silliest (superlative)
sely (alternative)
seely (alternative)

From Middle English seely, sēlī, from Old English sǣliġ, ġesǣliġ (“lucky, fortunate”), from Proto-West Germanic *sālīg, from *sāli; equivalent to seel (“happiness, bliss”) + -y. Doublet of Seelie.
The semantic evolution is “lucky” to “innocent” to “naive” to “foolish”. Compare the similar evolution of daft (originally meaning “accommodating”), and almost the reverse with nice (originally meaning “ignorant”).

Dauid had no more but a sylie slynge, and a few stones.

1570, John Foxe, Actes & Monumentes, Vol. II, 926/1:

(now rustic UK, rare) Simple, plain, particularly:

The silly herdman all astonnied standes.

a. 1547, the Earl of Surrey translating Publius Virgilius Maro, Certain Bokes of Virgiles Aeneis, Book II

So luvaris lair no leid suld lak,
A lord to lufe a silly lass.

1568, Alexander Scott, Poems, section 27: