麒麟

麒麟 (canonical)
麒麟 (canonical)
kirin (romanization)

From Old Japanese, in turn from Middle Chinese 麒麟 (MC gi lin). First cited in Japanese to the Nihon Shoki of 720.
The giraffe sense was probably based on a superficial resemblance between certain depictions of the mythical beast and the patterning and body shape of the real animal: a tailed, hoofed, and horned quadruped with a vaguely leopard-like spot pattern. First cited in Japanese to a text from 1798.

2010 May 23, Gosho Aoyama, “ＦＩＬＥ(ファイル).５(ご) [青](せい)[龍](りゅう) [FILE 5: Azure Dragon]”, in 名(めい)探(たん)偵(てい)コナン [Legendary Detective Conan], volume 68 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN:

That’s giraffe(kirin) the animal! The qilin(kirin) we’re talking about… has a deer-like body covered in golden scales, with a cow’s tail and a horse’s hooves, and with a single horn growing from its dragonish head… It’s a mythical beast from Chinese legends!

それは動物のキリン！問題の麒麟は…全身が黄色い鱗で覆われていて、姿は鹿、牛の尾と馬の蹄を持ち、龍に似た頭から１本角が生えてる…中国の伝説上の神獣だよ！

Sore wa dōbutsu no kirin! Mondai no kirin wa… Zenshin ga kiiroi uroko de ōwarete ite, sugata wa shika, ushi no o to uma no hizume o mochi, ryū ni nita atama kara ippon tsuno ga haete ru… Chūgoku no densetsu jō no shinjū da yo!

麒麟, 騏驎: (mythology, Chinese mythology) a qilin


blast

en-verb

blast (third-person singular simple present blasts, present participle blasting, simple past and past participle blasted)

blasts (present singular third-person)
blasting (participle present)
blasted (participle past)
blasted (past)

⇒ Italian: blastare

From Middle English blasten, blesten, from Old English blǣstan (“to blow, blast”), from Proto-West Germanic *blēstijan, from Proto-Germanic *blēstijaną. Possibly related to Middle High German blesten (“to stand out, plop, splash”).

noncog

Chewbacca blasted the Stormtroopers with his laser rifle.

(transitive, science fiction) To shoot, especially with an energy weapon (as opposed to one which fires projectiles).


anti-gravity

(science fiction) Any concept, system or device that would oppose or cancel out the force of gravity.


fantasma

→ Cebuano: pantasma

Borrowed from Latin phantasma, from Ancient Greek φάντασμα (phántasma, “image, phantom”), from φαντάζω (phantázō, “to make visible”), from φαίνω (phaínō, “to cause to appear, bring to light”). Compare Sicilian fantàsimu (“dumb”). Cognate with English phantom.

der

El fantasma de la ópera.


immortal

From Latin immortālis, from prefix im- (“not”) (from in-) + mortālis (“mortal”) (from mors (“death”), combining form mort- + adjectival suffix -alis), equivalent to im- + mortal. Displaced native undeadly, from Old English undēadlīċ.

Not susceptible to death; living forever; never dying.

I have immortal longings in me.

c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

Connected with or relating to immortality.


immortal

Tazmania/Middle Sphere is in need of builders, admin, and immortals. […] Immortals do not need experiance^([sic]).

1999, Corey Crawford, “RECRUITING: [circle] Tazmania/Middle Sphere: Admin, Builders, Immortals”, in rec.games.mud.announce (Usenet):

(Internet) An administrator of a multi-user dungeon.


were-

Back-formation from werewolf (“man-wolf”), from Old English werewulf, derived from wer (“man”) + wulf (“wolf”).

back-form

lycanthrope, used with animal names to indicate a person who changes shape into that animal.


ホラー

ja-noun

ホラー • (horā)

ホラー映画

2002 January 17, Yukiru Sugisaki, “STAGE(ステージ)３(さん) Vol.(ボリューム)５(ご)”, in [D](ディー)・[N](エヌ)・[ANGEL](エンジェル)・ [D.N.Angel], volume 6 (fiction), Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten, →ISBN, page 10:

A movie!? They went to the Movie Area instead of the Attraction Area!? Oh no!! Is there a screening of that popular horror movie called One Hand now!?

映画ですってぇ⁉アトラクションエリアじゃなくてムービーエリアに行っちゃったの⁉大変‼もしかして 今 大人気の「片手」とかゆうホラームービー⁉

Eiga desuttē⁉ Atorakushon Eria ja nakute Mūbī Eria ni itchatta no⁉ Taihen‼ Moshikashite ima daininki no “Wan Hando” toka yū horā mūbī⁉

horror (as a genre or element of fiction)

Daijisen#Online_search_engines
Nihon Kokugo Daijiten
ja:ホラー


d'oh

Audio (US)

Imitative. Popularised by the cartoon character Homer Simpson in the TV show The Simpsons. Voice actor Dan Castellaneta has said that he modelled his version on the drawn-out "do-o-o-o" sound made by Jimmy Finlayson in the films of Laurel and Hardy.
The OED has references from the BBC as far back as 1945.

—I just paid for our food. —You didn't have to. It's free. —D'oh!

Expresses frustration or anger, especially at one’s own stupidity.

British Broadcasting Corporation
Homer Simpson
Jimmy Finlayson
Laurel and Hardy
Oxford English Dictionary
The Simpsons


魑魅

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (魑魅):
* → Japanese: 魑魅(ちみ) (chimi)
* → Korean: 이매(魑魅) (imae)
* → Vietnamese: si mị (魑魅)

/ʈ͡ʂʰʐ̩⁵⁵ meɪ̯⁵¹/

/t͡sʰiː⁵⁵ mei̯²²/

/ʈ͡ʂʰʐ̩⁵⁵ meɪ̯⁵¹/

/t͡sʰiː⁵⁵ mei̯²²/

Chaos, Oddity, Block-stump, and Glutton were all cast out to the four frontiers, to ward off ill sprites and evil spirits.

Húndūn, Qióngqí, Táowù, Tāotiè, tóu zhū sì yì, yǐ yù chīmèi.

渾敦，窮奇，檮杌，饕餮，投諸四裔，以禦魑魅。

浑敦，穷奇，梼杌，饕餮，投诸四裔，以御魑魅。


魑魅

a demon formed from the spirit of mountains and forests

魑魅魍魎

魑魅魍魎 ちみもうりょう


swashbuckler

Phillips, in his New World of Words defines, to swash, to make fly about; to clash, or make a noise with swords; and a swash-buckler, a vain glorious sword player or fencer, a meer braggadochoe, a vapouring fellow.

1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 80:

A swordsman or fencer who engages in showy or extravagant swordplay.

miekkailija

a swordsman or fencer who engages in show or extravagant swordplay


gaijin

/ˈɡaɪˌd͡ʒɪn/

From Japanese 外人 (gaijin, “foreigner”), from Middle Chinese 外人 (ŋuɑiᴴ ȵiɪn). Compare Mandarin 外人 (wàirén), from Old Chinese 外人 (*ŋʷaːds njin, “foreigner, outsider” < “non-relative”), from 外 (wài, “outside, outer”) + 人 (rén, “person”).

der

For a while he began to speak Japanese, rather slangy, never having seemed to learn it — karoshi for death from overwork, yakitaori-ya for eatery, and gaijin for clumsy foreigner.

1976, Bill Henderson, The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses, Pushcart Press, page 207:

The sarariman had been Japanese, but the Ninsei crowd was a gaijin crowd.

1984, William Gibson, Neuromancer (Sprawl; book 1), New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, →ISBN, page 10:

And I did not intend to live my life as a gaijin—not merely, like the expatriate, someone by definition permanently out of place but someone unwanted as well.

1992, David Pollack, Reading Against Culture, Cornell Press, page 230:

[...] I was placed in the gaijins' dormitory area up on the third floor.

2004, Troy Anderson, The Way of Go, Simon and Schuster, page 149:

Oh's pitchers later acknowledged that they were instructed—under penalty of a fine—to throw no strikes to the gaijin.

2006, Alan M. Klein, Growing the Game: The Globalization of Major League Baseball, page 127:

(from the perspective of a Japanese person) A non-Japanese person.


vampiric

Vampirics kill to eat, not to play. Mostly.

2015, D. C. McGannon, C. Michael McGannon, Charlie Sullivan and the Monster Hunters: Council of the Hunters, page 18:

You should know Jakob; you are one of the oldest Vampirics we have here besides Braedon and me.

2020, Katlyne Marie, Unnatural, volume 1:

(fantasy) A vampire or vampire-like creature.


illusion

en-noun

illusion (countable and uncountable, plural illusions)

From Old French illusion, from Latin illūsiō, from illūdere, from in- (“at, upon”) + lūdere (“to play, mock, trick”). Displaced native Old English dwimmer.

(uncountable) The state of being deceived or misled.

delusion

a belief in something untrue, the state of being misled


bard

(15th c.) from Scottish Gaelic bàrd, from Old Irish bard, from Proto-Celtic *bardos (“bard, poet”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerH- (“praise”), and reinforced by Latin bardus, borrowed from Celtic. Cognate with Latin grātus (“grateful, pleasant, delightful”), Sanskrit गृणाति (gṛṇāti, “calls, praises”), Old Church Slavonic жрьти (žrĭti, “to sacrifice”).

cog

I saw a bard work a bit of magic once. He brought up a volunteer from the audience, insulted him in rather colorful fashion, and then made the man forget the insults—and then he did the same trick all over again, twice more.”

2015 August 18, Tim Pratt, Pathfinder Tales: Reign of Stars, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 116:

"Having a bard would be even less helpful than having a second wizard, " John interjects.

2024 January 9, Kristy Boyce, Dungeons and Drama, Delacorte Press, →ISBN, page 66:

(roleplaying games, fantasy) A class of character that typically focuses on charisma, magic and supporting other players; a fantasy fiction character inspired by this archetype.


bard

From French barde. English since the late 15th century.


enano

es-adj

enano (feminine enana, masculine plural enanos, feminine plural enanas)

enana (feminine)
enanos (masculine plural)
enanas (feminine plural)

From Latin nānus, from Ancient Greek νᾶνος (nânos). Cognate with Portuguese anão. Compare English nano-.


enano

es-noun

enano m (plural enanos, feminine enana, feminine plural enanas)

enanos (plural)
enana (feminine)
enanas (feminine plural)

→ Cebuano: unano

→ Tagalog: unano


gollumish

en-adj

gollumish (comparative more gollumish, superlative most gollumish)

more gollumish (comparative)
most gollumish (superlative)

2003: "I do feel a bit Gollumish about it…" —alt.support.low-carb, 12 Nov 2003

2004: "With the gollumish Tony Blair never far away, urging him on, George W Bush doggedly climbed his own Mt Doom and thrust the Coalition of the Willing into the fire – along with a few thousand apparently expendable human lives." —The New Zealand Listener, Vol 191, "2003 reloaded", 27 Jan 2004

(informal) Having similar traits to the fictional character Gollum, including obsessiveness, sinisterness or talking in an unusual manner often punctuated by hissing sounds.


balrog

From Sindarin, a fictional language created by J.R.R. Tolkien, meaning something akin to "mighty demon".

The Balrog made no answer. The fire in it seemed to die, but the darkness grew. It stepped forward slowly on to the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall […]

1954, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring:

What was released was a demon, a balrog of pure sexual energy which had been denied for too long.

2004, post on newsgroup, alt.sex.bondage:

[…] is just a big goofy Balrog as far as I'm concerned, he might make a "Green Dot" poster scared; the big dweeb.

2004, post on newsgroup, rec.skiing.alpine:

[And now, a warp-drive round of Confirm or Deny.][...]
Gandalf the Grey was cooler than Gandalf the White.
Hmm, that’s a tough one. I think in some ways he was cooler, but he kind of needed to defeat the Balrog in order to become a better wizard, I guess, and play a bigger role in defeating Sauron. But he was definitely more chill as Gandalf the Grey and had a better sense of humor.

2020 July 25, Maureen Dowd, Elon Musk, “Elon Musk, Blasting Off in Domestic Bliss”, in New York Times, archived from the original on 2020-07-25:


conperson

en-noun

conperson (plural conpeople or conpersons)

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

(informal) A fictional person, especially one supposed to inhabit a conworld and speak a conlang.


wraith

Borrowed from Middle Scots wraith, first attested in 1513 as a translation of the Aeneid.
The word has no certain etymology. J. R. R. Tolkien favored a link with writhe. Also compared are Scots warth and Old Norse vǫrðr (“watcher, guardian”), whence Icelandic vörður (“guard”). See also wray/bewray, from Middle English wreien. Perhaps from wrath as a wraith is a vengeful spirit.

We might indeed have been the wraiths of the departed dead upon the dead sea of that dying planet for all the sound or sign we made in passing.

1912 February–July, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Under the Moons of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as “Sola Tells Me Her Story”, in A Princess of Mars, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., 1917 October, →OCLC, pages 159–160:

Like wraiths with the impediments of bodies they stumbled in the direction of Salthill faces.

2001, Joyce Carol Oates, Middle Age: A Romance, paperback edition, Fourth Estate, page 80:

A ghost or specter, especially a person's likeness seen just after their death.

привидение

A ghost or specter, especially seen just after a person's death


Elmer Fudd

The first animated appearance of the figure was as a character named "Egghead" in the short Egghead Rides Again in 1937. The figure's first animated appearance as "Elmer Fudd" was in the short Elmer's Candid Camera in 1940.

A fictional hunter, a member of the Looney Tunes, who has a distinctive squeaky and babyish voice.


pygmy

From Latin Pygmaeī, from Ancient Greek πυγμαῖος (pugmaîos, “a member of a race of dwarves”), from πυγμή (pugmḗ, “fist (as small as a fist)”).

der

Although Pygmies are relatively protected against gene flow from other populations, many Pygmy tribes show extensive gene replacement and few have remained relatively unaltered.

2018, Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, The History and Geography of Human Genes:

(often capitalized) A member of one of various Ancient Equatorial African tribal peoples, notable for their very short stature.

Ctesias lived in Persia for several years, as the personal physician of King Ataxerxes II, and would have had contact with travellers to India, and Indian visitors to Persia. He describes dog-headed humans, pygmy men who grow their beards so long that they can be used as clothes, and affirms that it never rains in India.

2015, Sam Miller, A Strange Kind of Paradise: India through Foreign Eyes:

(Greek mythology) A member of a race of dwarfs.

джудже

a member of a mythological race of dwarfs

It was so high up that the people walking about in the street below looked like pygmies.

2015, Rosie Harris, Moving On: A family saga set in 1970’s Liverpool:

(figuratively, derogatory, offensive) Any dwarfish person or thing.


pygmy

en-adj

pygmy (comparative more pygmy, superlative most pygmy)

more pygmy (comparative)
most pygmy (superlative)

Amongst foodgrains, as we travelled from the green South and East towards the dry North and West, the pygmy crop of rice gave way to the tall bajra and jowar.

1999, Ashok V. Desai, The Price of Onions, page 73:

Like a pygmy; unusually short or small for its kind.


trickster

1991, Alan R. Velie (compiler and editor), American Indian Literature: An Anthology, Revised edition, page 44,
The trickster is one of the oldest and most widespread of mythological and literary figures. […] As the name implies, the trickster is, on one level—probably the most important—an amoral practical joker who wanders about playing pranks on unsuspecting victims […] With all the fluctuations, certain things about the trickster are predictable: he is always a wanderer, always hungry, and usually oversexed.
Tricksters abound in folktales […] .

And let us begin with those sympathetic elements, the tricksters who obtain the lovers and the land, always at the expense of fools and knaves, sometimes at the expense of other tricksters.

2015, J. Douglas Canfield, Tricksters and Estates: On the Ideology of Restoration Comedy, page 31:

(mythology, literature) Any of numerous figures featuring in various mythologies and folk traditions, who use guile and secret knowledge to challenge authority and play tricks and pranks on others with their acts of trickery; any similar figure in literature.

A skilled trickster knows how to outsmart their enemies with ease.

One who plays tricks or pranks on others.

мошеник

one who plays tricks or pranks on others

One who performs tricks (parts of a magician' act or entertainingly difficult physical actions).

A fraud or cheat (person who performs a trick for the purpose of unlawful gain).


trickster

en-verb

trickster (third-person singular simple present tricksters, present participle trickstering, simple past and past participle trickstered)

tricksters (present singular third-person)
trickstering (participle present)
trickstered (participle past)
trickstered (past)

(intransitive) To engage in the antics of a trickster; to play tricks.


loup-garou

en-noun

loup-garou (plural loup-garous or loups-garous)

loup-garous (plural)
loups-garous (plural)

/ˌlu.ɡəˈɹuː/

In this respect, it is always a full moon for a loup-garou. They are never more than half-sane to begin with, and they tend to become increasingly unstable over time.


loup-garou

fr-noun

loup-garou m (plural loups-garous, feminine louve-garou)

loups-garous (plural)
louve-garou (feminine)

→ English: loup-garou

Inherited from Old French leu garoul, a pleonastic compound of leu (“wolf”) + garoul (“werewolf”); the latter from garulf, from Frankish *werawulf. Equivalent to loup + -garou.


бес

ru-noun+

бес • (bes) m anim (genitive бе́са, nominative plural бе́сы, genitive plural бе́сов, relational adjective бесо́вский, diminutive бесёнок)

bes (romanization)
бе́са (genitive)
бе́сы (nominative plural)
бе́сов (genitive plural)
бесо́вский (adjective relational)
бесёнок (diminutive)
бе́с (nominative singular)
бе́сы (nominative plural)
бе́са (genitive singular)
бе́сов (genitive plural)
бе́су (dative singular)
бе́сам (dative plural)
бе́са (accusative singular)
бе́сов (accusative plural)
бе́сом (instrumental singular)
бе́сами (instrumental plural)
бе́се (prepositional singular)
бе́сах (plural prepositional)

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *běsъ (“evil spirit”).


Daffy Duck

The first appearance of the character was in the short Porky's Duck Hunt in 1937; from daffy + duck.

A fictional anthropomorphic black duck in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons by Warner Bros.


Daffy Duck

(cartoon) Daffy Duck (One of the Warner Bros. cartoon characters, an anthropomorphic black-feathered duck is known for his lisp.)


cyborg

Blend of cybernetic + organism. Coined by Austrian neuroscientist Manfred Clynes in 1960.

coinage

I would not classify the Tin Woodman as magical robot, but more of a magical cyborg, if anything.

1981, Teri (Pettit at PARC-MAXC), fa.sf-lovers newsgroup, "Re: SF-LOVERS Digest V3 #122", May 15

Prof. Clynes is a published poet and author of five books. He coined the word "cyborg". He also coined the word "sentics" to describe a new science entirely of his own devising.

1991, Timothy K. Smith, "Manfred Clynes Sees A Pattern in Love -- He's Got the Printouts", The Wall Street Journal, September 24, front page

... Kevin Warwick, professor of cybernetics at Reading University. Warwick is no stranger to publicity. His autobiography, I, Cyborg, which came out last month (Century, £16.99), meticulously catalogues his very many newspaper, magazine, radio and TV appearances. With commendable honesty, he also acknowledges the amount of (unfair, obviously) criticism he has received for being greedy for media attention. That isn't the main thrust of the book, though, which is rather an account of why he is turning himself into a cyborg.

2002 September 19, “Short Cuts”, in London Review of Books, volume 24, number 18, Thomas Jones:

The cyborg subject, with its pacemakers, drug regimes and artificial limbs, is usually also the first world middle to upper-class economic subject with a conscious incentive to preserve life for as long as possible under the best possible conditions.

2003, David Simpson, "Are we still tragic?", guardian.co.uk (exclusive from London Review of Books Vol. 25 No. 7, April 3), April 1

On the track of John and Kate is the T-X (Kristanna Loken), a blond female cyborg so metallically single-minded, and so impervious to blandishment and punishment alike, that, from where I was sitting, she looked to be our best hope of getting a woman into the Oval Office.

2003 July 14, Anthony Lane, “The Current Cinema -- Metal Guru”, in The New Yorker:

(science fiction) A being which is part machine and part organic.


cyborg

en-verb

cyborg (third-person singular simple present cyborgs, present participle cyborging, simple past and past participle cyborged)

cyborgs (present singular third-person)
cyborging (participle present)
cyborged (participle past)
cyborged (past)

(science fiction) To convert (something) into a cyborg.


cyborg

Unadapted borrowing from English cyborg.


cyborg

cyborg (nominative singular)
cyborgi (nominative plural)
cyborga (genitive singular)
cyborgów (genitive plural)
cyborgowi (dative singular)
cyborgom (dative plural)
cyborga (accusative singular)
cyborgi (accusative plural)
cyborgiem (instrumental singular)
cyborgami (instrumental plural)
cyborgu (locative singular)
cyborgach (locative plural)
cyborgu (singular vocative)
cyborgi (plural vocative)

Orthographic borrowing from English cyborg.

obor

(robotics, science fiction) cyborg (being which is part machine and part organic)


Persephone

From Ancient Greek Περσεφόνη (Persephónē).

(Greek mythology) A minor deity, the queen of the Underworld/Hades, and goddess of the seasons and vegetation. Originally named Kore/Core, she is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter; and the wife of Hades. Her Roman counterpart is Proserpina.

(astronomy) 399 Persephone, a main belt asteroid.

‘My name is Persephone’ she says, ‘but in England everyone calls me Seph.’

2008, Gaynor McGrath, Lemniscate, Transit Lounge Publishing (2011) (e-book), chapter 23, 376

(rare) A female given name from Ancient Greek.

(science fiction) The tenth planet, orbiting beyond Pluto.


waldo

From the Robert A. Heinlein story Waldo, published in Astounding in 1940, derived from the name of the eponymous protagonist, Waldo F. Jones, who invented remote manipulators to overcome his own myasthenia gravis.

Waldo flexed and extended his fingers gently; the two pairs of waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.


cenobite

From Old French cenobite or Ecclesiastical Latin coenobīta, from coenobium, from Ancient Greek κοινόβιον (koinóbion, “community life, convent”), from κοινός (koinós, “common”) + βίος (bíos, “life”).

der

Lamprecht knew very well how the war was going and was perfunctory in his rounding up of Jews and cenobites.

1980, Anthony Burgess, Earthly Powers, page 418:

A new or recent member of a Greek monastic religious order; a caloyer.

Coordinate term: eremite

A monk who lives in a religious community, rather than in solitude.

cenobita

(fiction) A torturous demon creature made famous by the Hellraiser series.


Disneyfication

From the US corporation Disney + -fication. Compare earlier Disneyfied and later Disneyfy.

He may even be having his first doubts about the neon chrome artyfake Disneyfication of America.

1959, Lawrence Lipton, The Holy Barbarians, Messner, pages 143–44:

Cultural diversity mirrors the biological and geographical diversity of our planet. ’Disneyfication’, like economic globalization, tends to ride roughshod over local variety. So baseball hats, blue jeans and running shoes become the uniform of teenagers in both Budapest and Bangalore while Western TV shows promote the illusion of limitless wealth.

1998 December 5, “A Reader's Guide To Disneyfication”, in New Internationalist:

The Disneyfication of Tibet
How tourism has become a tool of occupation.

2014 January/February, Pearl Sydenstricker, “The Disneyfication of Tibet”, in Washington Monthly, archived from the original on 2014-01-01, heading:

Given that Onward itself is a family-friendly project, the film thrives on these self-aware digs at Disneyfication; any good D&D mission should have a sense of real danger, so it’s worth pointing out how that’s missing from so much mainstream entertainment.

2020 February 21, David Sims, “Pixar Needs to Make More Movies Like ‘Onward’”, in The Atlantic:

The act or process whereby something is Disneyfied.


Gandalf

From Old Norse mythology Gandalfr (“elf with a magic staff”).

A male given name from the Germanic languages known in history, and in the books of Tolkien, but not usually bestowed on children.


Sindarin

Developed by J. R. R. Tolkien as a language in his fantasy works, in which the word Sindarin itself is not of Sindarin origin: it is a term in Quenya (another of Tolkien's constructed languages), derived from Sindar, the Quenya name for the people who spoke it, which in turn is derived from sinda (“grey”).

constructed language
constructed language

A constructed language, partly inspired by Welsh, spoken by certain elves and others in J. R. R. Tolkien's works.


geisha

Borrowed from Japanese 芸者(げいしゃ) (geisha, “artisan”), from Middle Chinese 藝 (MC ngjiejH, “art, craft”) + 者 (MC tsyaeX, “-er”).

A Japanese female entertainer skilled in various arts such as tea ceremony, dancing, singing and calligraphy.


possession

en-noun

possession (countable and uncountable, plural possessions)

مَسّ

the state of being possessed by a spirit or demon

Réunion is the largest of France's overseas possessions.

A territory under the rule of another country.

possessió

a territory under the rule of another country


rishathra

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

Generalized from the term coined by author Larry Niven in his Ringworld novels.

(science fiction) Sex between any two (or more) humanoids of different species.


Donald Duck

desc

دُونَالْد دَاك

→ Arabic: دُونَالْد دَاك (dūnāld dāk)

→ Arabic: دُونَالْد دَاك (dūnāld dāk)

→ Armenian: Դոնալդ Դաք (Donald Dakʻ)

→ Azerbaijani: Donald Dak

→ Bulgarian: Доналд Дък (Donald Dǎk)

→ Dutch: Donald Duck

→ French: Donald Duck

→ Georgian: დონალდ დაკი (donald daḳi)

→ German: Donald Duck

Ντόναλντ Ντακ

→ Greek: Ντόναλντ Ντακ (Ntónalnt Ntak)

→ Gujarati: ડોનાલ્ડ ડક (ḍonālḍ ḍak)

דוֹנָלְד דָאק

→ Hebrew: דוֹנָלְד דָאק (Dónald Dak)

→ Hindi: डोनाल्ड डक (ḍonālḍ ḍak)

→ Hindi: डोनाल्ड डक (ḍonālḍ ḍak)

→ Japanese: ドナルドダック (donarudo dakku)

ಡೊನಾಲ್ಡ್ ಡಕ್

→ Kannada: ಡೊನಾಲ್ಡ್ ಡಕ್ (ḍonālḍ ḍak)

→ Kannada: ಡೊನಾಲ್ಡ್ ಡಕ್ (ḍonālḍ ḍak)

→ Korean: 도널드 덕 (doneoldeu deok)

→ Latvian: Donalds Daks

ഡൊണാൾഡ് ഡക്ക്

→ Malayalam: ഡൊണാൾഡ് ഡക്ക് (ḍoṇāḷḍŭ ḍakkŭ)

→ Marathi: डोनाल्ड डक (ḍonālḍa ḍak)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: Donald Duck

→ Portuguese: Pato Donald (calque)

→ Romanian: Donald Duck

→ Russian: Дональд Дак (Donalʹd Dak)

→ Spanish: Pato Donald (calque)

โดนัลด์ ดั๊ก

→ Thai: โดนัลด์ ดั๊ก (doo-nalt dák)

→ Ukrainian: Дональд Дак (Donalʹd Dak)

Single-handed [sic] he swung the staid Western Union from its ordinary singing-telegram policy to the point where local patrons can request that their greeting be sung in Donald Duck voice.

1941 March 6, “Screwy Hall Of Fame Presents A Quack”, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

And then the most Donald Duck-like screaming and jabbering you ever heard.

1945, Ernie Pyle, edited by David Nichols, Ernie's war: the best of Ernie Pyle's World War II dispatches, Touchstone Books, published 1987, page 399:

DSP can also eliminate ghost images from TV screens and banish those irritating Donald Duck squeaks and quacks from speeded-up playback of tape-recorded voice messages.

1992 April, Gene Bylinsky, “A U.S. Comeback in Electronics”, in Fortune, volume 125, number 8, page 77:

Perched securely in the rafters and using a walkie-talkie to communicate with colleagues on the airdock's floor, Lachenmeier was amused to find his voice had risen into the Donald Duck register due to the bubble of escaping helium spreading along the ceiling.

1992 May, Sturat F. Brown, “Earthwinds Waits on the Weather”, in Popular Science, volume 240, number 5, page 80:

One of the Disney cartoon characters, an anthropomorphic white-feathered duck who usually wears a sailor suit and is known for his voice especially in tantrums.

ഡൊണാൾഡ് ഡക്ക്

ḍoṇāḷḍŭ ḍakkŭ


Donald Duck

NB - Pronunciation of Norwegian Bokmål «Donald Duck».ogg

From English Donald Duck, notably being untranslated unlike this character in other Scandinavian languages.

Karakteren Donald Duck ble skapt i 1934 hos Walt Disney Productions.

The character Donald Duck was created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions.

Donald Duck er like oppbyggelig som han er bukseløs

2011 January 24, Bergens Tidende, page 2/3:

Donald Duck is as edifying as he is pantsless

et av barndommens Donald Duck-blad hvor speiderbevegelsen stadig ble ironisert med

1988, Knut Faldbakken, Bad boy, page 185:

one of the childhood Donald Duck magazines where the scout movement was constantly ironized

på barneværelset har vi festlige Donald Duck-tapeter

1958, Eva Ramm, Med støv på hjernen, page 13:

in the nursery we have festive Donald Duck wallpapers

aftensmaten til far ser ut som et av de smørbrødene Donald Duck lager når han skal flotte seg

Dad's dinner looks like one of the sandwiches Donald Duck makes when he's going great

med ujevne mellomrom inhalerer [de] helium og får sånne Donald duck-stemmer

at irregular intervals [they] inhale helium and get such Donald duck voices

gjennom Donald [Duck] blir vårt avkom indoktrinert, sies det

1977, Ebba Haslund, Født til klovn, page 149:

through Donald [Duck] our offspring are indoctrinated, it is said

(cartoon) Donald Duck (One of the Disney cartoon characters, an anthropomorphic white-feathered duck who usually wears a sailor suit and is known for his voice especially in tantrums.)


Tolkien

Likely from Middle Low German Tolkin (literally “son of Tolk”), which is probably also related to Polish Tołkiny and German Tolksdorf, names for a Prussian town; the nickname Tolk is connected to Middle Low German tolk (“interpreter”), from Proto-Slavic *tъlkъ. J. R. R. Tolkien subscribed to a folk etymology that connected the name with German tollkühn (“foolhardy”).

der

(countable) A surname.
British author J. R. R. Tolkien


Tolkien

Tolkien (nominative singular)
Tolkiena (genitive singular)
Tolkienowi (dative singular)
Tolkiena (accusative singular)
Tolkienem (instrumental singular)
Tolkienie (locative singular)
Tolkienie (singular vocative)


Middle-earth

(fiction) The main setting of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and other works.

Միջերկիր

fictional place on Earth where most of the stories of J. R. R. Tolkien are set

Alternative form of Middle Earth: the Earth.


shield

From Middle English scheld, shelde, from Old English scield (“shield”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeldu, from Proto-Germanic *skelduz (“shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“cut, split”). Cognate with West Frisian skyld, Dutch schild (“shield”), German Schild (“shield”), Danish skjold (“shield”), Icelandic skjöldur (“shield”) and Faroese skjøldur (“shield”).
Compare Latin scūtum (“shield”), Irish sciath (“shield”), Latgalian škīda (“shield”), Lithuanian skydas (“shield”), Russian щит (ščit, “shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to cover, protect”), *skey- (“to cut, split”).

noncog

Kinetic barriers, colloquially called "shields", provide protection against most mass accelerator weapons. Whether on a starship or a soldier's suit of armor, the basic principle remains the same.
Kinetic barriers are repulsive mass effect fields projected from tiny emitters. These shields safely deflect small objects traveling at rapid velocities. This affords protection from bullets and other dangerous projectiles, but still allows the user to sit down without knocking away their chair.

2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Kinetic Barriers ("Shields") Codex entry:

Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.

(science fiction) A field of energy that protects or defends.

schild

sci fi: a field of energy that protects or defends


amputee

From French amputée, (past participle of amputer (“to amputate”)), from Latin amputatus, perfect passive participle of amputare (“to amputate”).

A person who has had one or more limbs removed.


Gollum

A fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. In the story, he was originally known as Sméagol and later named Gollum after his habit of making "a horrible swallowing noise in his throat".
The name, Sméagol, comes from Old English smeagan (“to burrow”).

A person who bears the traits or has the characteristics of Gollum in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.


minotaur

/ˈmɪnəˌtɔː(ɹ)/

/ˈmaɪnəˌtɑɹ/

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Μινώταυρος (Minṓtauros), from Μίνως (Mínōs, “Minos, king of Crete”) + ταῦρος (taûros, “bull”).

af

(Greek mythology) Alternative letter-case form of Minotaur

مَنْطُور

monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man


hentai

en-noun

hentai (countable and uncountable, plural hentai or hentais)

→ Cebuano: hentai

→ Finnish: hentai

→ French: hentai

→ German: Hentai

→ Indonesian: hentai

→ Italian: hentai

→ Japanese: ヘンタイ (hentai)

→ Korean: 헨타이 (hentai)

→ Polish: hentai

→ Portuguese: hentai

→ Russian: хентай (xentaj)

→ Spanish: hentai

→ Swedish: hentai

→ Tagalog: hentai

→ Ukrainian: хента́й (xentáj)

Pseudo-Japonism, derived from 変態(へんたい) (hentai, “pervert”), short for 変態性欲者(へんたいせいよくしゃ) (hentai seiyoku-sha, literally “person with abnormal sexual desires”).

ja-r

へんたい せいよく-しゃ

There was a hentai video that I saw / I told you about the night that we first made love

2019, “Hentai”, in Cry, performed by Cigarettes After Sex:

X defines adult content as […]
This definition also applies to "AI-generated, photographic or animated content such as cartoons, hentai or anime".

2024 June 5, “Porn now officially allowed on X with safeguards for those under 18”, in Channel News Asia:

A work of anime or manga (or any similar medium) that contains heavily sexual or pornographic art.

hentai

a work of anime that contains sexual art (esp. manga or anime)


hentai

From English hentai, a semantic shift from Japanese 変態(へんたい) (hentai, “pervert”).

hentai; a work of anime or manga (or any similar medium) that contains heavily sexual or pornographic art


hentai

hentai (a work of anime or manga—Japanese cartoon art, respectively animated and static—that contains pornography)


hentai

id-noun

hentai (first-person possessive hentaiku, second-person possessive hentaimu, third-person possessive hentainya)

hentaiku (first-person possessive)
hentaimu (possessive second-person)
hentainya (possessive third-person)


hentai

hentai (a work of anime or manga — Japanese cartoon art, respectively animated and static — that contains pornography)


hir

head

hir (third-person singular, gender-neutral, objective case, reflexive hirself)

en-pron

But once the disorientation had passed, hir forced hirself back to full consciousness--and worked quickly to establish hir position, and Ruskin's.

1988, Jeffrey Carver, From a Changeling Star, New York: Bantam Books, →ISBN, →OL, page 232:

I don't know what Scratch looks like in the real world, I met hir online.

1996 June, Caitlin Sullivan with Bornstein, Kate, Nearly Roadkill: an Infobahn erotic adventure, New York: Serpent's Tail, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, LCC PS3569.U3449 N43 1996, page 10:

Words like "freak" became attached to hir name, and I don't believe "brave" was ever a word the media associated with hir.

1997 December 18, Kate Bornstein, My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely, London, New York: Routledge, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, LCC HQ1075.B69 1998, page 130:

T'Pau leveled a gaze at hir. "You are male and female ... and neither. 'It' is the proper word. We have no use for semantic games on Vulcan."

2000 August 29, Peter David, Renaissance (Star Trek New Frontier: Excalibur #10), Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, page 137:

(nonstandard) Them (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular object pronoun, coordinate with him and her.


superman

DC Comics
Friedrich Nietzsche
George Bernard Shaw
Man and Superman
Thomas Common
Thus Spoke Zarathustra

A calque of German Übermensch; super- + man. The German word was introduced by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) in his work Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 1883), and rendered in English as superman by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) in the play Man and Superman (1903) and by Thomas Common (1850–1919) in his 1909 translation of Nietzsche’s work. Some scholars regard this word as not properly conveying the meaning of Übermensch, and prefer to use the German word or overman.
The “person of extraordinary powers” sense was reinforced by the DC Comics’ character Superman, who first appeared in Action Comics #1 dated June 1938.

Nietzsche wrote of the coming of the superman.

Man does desire an ideal Superman with such energy as he can spare from his nutrition, and has in every age magnified the best living substitute for it he can find. His least incompetent general is set up as an Alexander; his King is the first gentleman in the world; his Pope is a saint. He is never without an array of human idols who are all nothing but sham Supermen.

1901–1903, John Tanner [pseudonym; George Bernard Shaw], “[The Revolutionist’s Handbook and Pocket Companion] Man’s Objection to His Own Improvement”, in Man and Superman. A Comedy and a Philosophy, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable & Co., published 1903, →OCLC, page 194:

And Zarathustra spake thus unto the people: / I teach you the Superman. Man is something that is to be surpassed. What have ye done to surpass man? / … What is the ape to man? A laughing-stock, a thing of shame. And just the same shall man be to the Superman: a laughing-stock, a thing of shame.

1909, Friedrich Nietzsche; Thomas Common, transl., “Zarathustra's Prologue”, in Thus Spake Zarathustra; a Book for All and None (Complete Works of Friedrich Nietzsche; 4), Edinburgh, T. N. Foulis, OCLC 1210069; republished as Thus Spake Zarathustra, New York, N.Y.: The Modern Library, [1940s?], OCLC 11993131, page 6

"Well, what is it that he does that I don't do? Just say the word, - teetotal, vegetarian, aeronaut, theosophist, superman."

1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

(chiefly philosophy) An imagined superior type of human being representing a new stage of human development; an übermensch, an overman.

[page 113] The idea of superman is as old as the world. Through all the centuries, through hundreds of centuries of its history, humanity has lived with the idea of superman. Sayings and legends of all ancient peoples are full of images of a superman. Heroes of myths, Titans, demi-gods, Prometheus, who brought fire from heaven; prophets, messiahs and saints of all religions; heroes of fairy tales and epic songs, knights who rescue captive princesses, awake sleeping beauties, vanquish dragons, and fight giants and ogres—all these are images of a superman. [...] [page 114] People dreamt of, or remembered times long past when their life was governed by supermen, who struggled against evil, upheld justice and acted as mediators between men and the Deity, governing them according to the will of the Deity, giving them laws, bringing them commandments.

1931, P[yotr] D[emianovich] Ouspensky, “Superman”, in R[eginald] R. Merton, transl., A New Model of the Universe: Principles of the Psychological Method in Its Application to Problems of Science, Religion, and Art, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, →OCLC, pages 113–114:

By the latter part of 1848, the throne of Hudson the Railway King who had been called in in 1845 as a superman to save the Eastern Counties Railway, was tottering to its fall, [...].

1941 December, Kenneth Brown, “The Newmarket & Chesterford Railway—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 533:

I had a vision of what the ideal man should be. I wanted someone whose income combined with mine could afford us a family, an apartment, a car, and all the travel, luxury, and fun we could possibly tolerate. I wanted a Superman.

2010 August, A[lex] E[chevarria] Roman, chapter 25, in The Superman Project: A Chico Santana Mystery, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 218:

What type of human weakness might a being of unfathomable power—a superman—inadvertently expose to the keen analytic mind of an avenging dark knight? Would he discover that a superhuman being who cannot be overcome, who is loved and adored by most, and who awes the commoner, desires to be overcome?

2016, Patrick J. Reider, “How Batman Cowed a God”, in Nicolas Michaud, editor, Batman, Superman, and Philosophy: Badass or Boyscout? (Popular Culture and Philosophy; 100), Chicago, Ill.: Open Court Publishing Company, →ISBN:

Early in Crime and Punishment, [Rodion] Raskolnikov has become obsessed with the notion that he himself is a "superman." Therefore, he thinks, he is not subject to the laws that govern ordinary people. […] However, his indecision and confusion throughout the novel indicate that he is not a superman. Moreover, in the course of the novel, [Fyodor] Dostoyevsky seeks to prove that there is no such thing as a superman. Dostoyevsky believes that every human life is precious, and no one is entitled to kill.

2016, A Study Guide for Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” (Novels for Students), Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale; Cengage Learning, →ISBN:

A man of extraordinary or seemingly superhuman powers.

супермэн

person of extraordinary or superhuman powers


Asterix

From French Astérix, from astérisque (“asterisk”) modified in imitation of the numerous Gaulish names ending in *rīx (“king”).

The fictional Ancient Gaulish man who is the protagonist and title character of the series.


Heidi

From Swiss German Heidi, a pet form of Adelheid, equivalent of English Adelaide and Alice. The name became internationally popular due to the children's book Heidi (1880).

"Heidi?" Kurtz echoed. "Heidi? That's a damned odd name for an English elder sister, isn't it?" "Not for Heidi, it isn't," she replied buoyantly, and scored an immediate laugh from the kids beyond the lighting. Heidi because her parents went to Switzerland for their honeymoon, she explained; and Switzerland was where Heidi was conceived. "Among the edelweiss," she added, with a sigh.

1983, John le Carré, The Little Drummer Girl, Pan Books, →ISBN, page 142:

But the purported rise in violent videos online has led some MPs to campaign for courts to have more power to remove or block material on YouTube. The Labour MP Heidi Alexander said she was appalled after a constituent was robbed at knifepoint, and the attackers could be found brandishing weapons and rapping about gang violence online.

2012 April 19, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in the Guardian:

A female given name from the Germanic languages.


nicker

From Middle English niker, from Old English nicor, from Proto-Germanic *nikwis. Cognate with German Nix (“water demon”) and German Nixe (“mermaid”); also related to Old Norse nykr (“water demon”) (see there for further descendants). Doublet of nix.

And in another tale, told at Kemnitz of the Nicker, as he is there called, when he asks the midwife how much he owes her, she answers that she will take no more from him than from other people.

1891, Edwin Sidney Hartland, The Science of Fairy Tales, page 48:

A type of mythological sea creature or sea monster; also, a water sprite; a nix or nixie; a mermaid or merman.


cloak

en-verb

cloak (third-person singular simple present cloaks, present participle cloaking, simple past and past participle cloaked)

cloaks (present singular third-person)
cloaking (participle present)
cloaked (participle past)
cloaked (past)

From Middle English cloke, from Old Northern French cloque (“travelling cloak”), from Medieval Latin clocca (“travelers' cape, literally “a bell”, so called from the garment’s bell-like shape”), of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *klokkos, ultimately imitative.
Doublet of cloche and clock.

onomatopoeic

imitative

The ship cloaked before entering the enemy sector of space.

(science fiction, transitive, intransitive) To render or become invisible via futuristic technology.


orphan

Late Middle English, from Late Latin orphanus, from Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “without parents, fatherless”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃órbʰos.
 PIE word
 *h₃órbʰos
Cognate with Sanskrit अर्भ (árbha), Latin orbus (“orphaned”), Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe (“heir”)), Old English ierfa (“heir”). More at erf.

weeskind

person whose (parent or) parents have died

anak yatim (who has lost father, literally means orphan child)

An orphan isn't harmful in a language that has garbage collection, such as Java. However, reducing the number of orphans can be expected to improve code performance.

2003, David D. Riley, The Object of Data Abstraction and Structures Using Java, page 234:


dwarf

From Middle English dwergh, dwerw, dwerf, from Old English dweorg, from Proto-West Germanic *dwerg, from Proto-Germanic *dwergaz.
Cognate with Scots dwerch; Old High German twerc (German Zwerg); Old Norse dvergr (Swedish dvärg); Old Frisian dwirg (West Frisian dwerch); Middle Low German dwerch, dwarch, twerg (German Low German Dwarg, Dwarch); Middle Dutch dwerch, dworch (Dutch dwerg).
The Modern English noun has undergone complex phonetic changes. The form dwarf is the regular continuation of Old English dweorg, but the plural dweorgas would have given rise to dwarrows and the oblique stem dweorge- would have led to dwery. These forms are sometimes found as the nominative singular in Middle English texts and in English dialects. A parallel case is that of Old English burg giving burgh, borough, burrow, bury.

dwarf standing on the shoulders of giants

Nidavellir, which is sometimes called Svartalfheim, where the dwarfs (who are also known as dark elves) live beneath the mountains and build their remarkable creations.

2017, Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 20:

(mythology) Any member of a race of beings from (especially Scandinavian and other Germanic) folklore, usually depicted as having some sort of supernatural powers and being skilled in crafting and metalworking, often as short with long beards, and sometimes as clashing with elves.

dwerg

being from folklore, underground dwelling nature spirit

(now sometimes offensive) A person of short stature, often one whose limbs are disproportionately small in relation to the body as compared with typical adults, usually as the result of a genetic condition.


dwarf

en-adj

dwarf (comparative dwarfer, superlative dwarfest)

dwarfer (comparative)
dwarfest (superlative)

The specimen is a very dwarf form of the plant.

It is possible to grow the plants as dwarf as one desires.


decant

en-verb

decant (third-person singular simple present decants, present participle decanting, simple past and past participle decanted)

decants (present singular third-person)
decanting (participle present)
decanted (participle past)
decanted (past)

From French décanter, from Medieval Latin dēcanthāre, from dē- + canthus (“beak of a cup or jug”).

“We also predestine and condition. We decant our babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers or future …” He was going to say “future World controllers,” but correcting himself, said “future Directors of Hatcheries,” instead.

(science fiction) To remove (a clone or other artificially-gestated baby) from its chamber, vat, or artificial womb.


elegy

From Middle French elegie, from Latin elegīa, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ἐλεγείᾱ (elegeíā), ellipsis of ἐλεγείᾱ ᾠδή (elegeíā ōidḗ, “an elegiac song”).

requiem

a piece of music played at a mass for the dead

A classical poem written in elegiac meter


augur

Borrowed from Latin augur, of uncertain origin; akin to augurō (“interpret omens”).

Augur of ill, whoſe tongue was never found / Without a prieſtly curſe, or boding ſound; [...]

a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The First Book of Homer’s Ilias”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 420:

A diviner who foretells events by the behaviour of birds or other animals, or by signs derived from celestial phenomena, or unusual occurrences.

faltore

diviner who foretells events by unusual occurrences


harpy

Ultimately from Middle French harpie, from Latin harpyia, from Ancient Greek Ἅρπυια (Hárpuia, literally “snatcher”), from ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “I snatch, seize”). Compare rapacious. Middle English had arpie.

harpía

fabulous winged monster with the face of a woman

Both table and provisions vanish'd quite,
With sound of harpies' wings and talons heard.

1671, John Milton, “The Second Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC:

(mythology) A mythological creature generally depicted as a bird-of-prey with the head of a maiden, a face pale with hunger and long claws on her hands personifying the destructive power of storm winds.

c. 1772, Oliver Goldsmith, letter to Mrs. Bunbury
The harpies about me all pocket the pool.

One who is rapacious or ravenous; an extortioner.

Circus aeruginosus
Circus aeruginosus#Translingual

The European moor buzzard or marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus).

Harpia harpyja
Harpia harpyja#Translingual

A large and powerful double-crested, short-winged American eagle (Harpia harpyja).


hob

From Middle English Hob (a diminutive of Robin, an Old French [Term?] diminutive of Robert), through its connection with Robin Goodfellow and (later) the devil. Compare hobgoblin; see robin.

From elves, hobs, and fairies, […] Defend us, good Heaven!

1610–1616, John Fletcher, “Monsieur Thomas. A Comedy.”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act IV, scene vi:

(obsolete) A fairy; a sprite; an elf; a bogey.


druid

Borrowed from French druide, from Old French, via Latin Druidae, from Gaulish *druwits, from Proto-Celtic *druwits (literally either “oak-knower” or “firm knower, great sage”), from either Proto-Indo-European *dóru (“tree”) or *drew- (“solid, firm, hard”) and *weyd- (“to see, to have knowledge”).
The earliest record of the term in Latin is by Julius Caesar in the first century B.C. in his De Bello Gallico. The native Celtic word for "druid" is first attested in Latin texts as druides (plural) and other texts also employ the form druidae (akin to the Greek form). Cognate with the later insular Celtic words, Old Irish druí (“druid, sorcerer”) and early Welsh dryw (“seer”).

(fantasy, roleplaying games) A priest or mage who uses magic based on nature or trees.


haiku

(poetry) haiku (Japanese poem in three lines, the first and last consisting of five morae, and the second consisting of seven morae, usually with an emphasis on the season or a naturalistic theme)

(poetry) haiku (three-line poem in any language, with five syllables in the first and last lines and seven syllables in the second, usually with an emphasis on the season or a naturalistic theme)


stasis

en-noun

stasis (usually uncountable, plural stases)

From New Latin stasis, from Ancient Greek στάσις (stásis). See the doublet stead.

(science fiction) A technology allowing something to be artificially frozen in time, so that it does not age or change.

pysäytin

scifi: technology allowing something to be artificially frozen in time


wizard

4chan
English Renaissance
Fizban the Fabulous
en:wizard

From Middle English wysard, wysarde, equivalent to wise + -ard. A uniquely medieval Anglo-Saxon word with no known morphologically exact cognates in or outside the Germanic family; did not gain distinct sense of "occultist, magic user" (as opposed to a philosopher or sage) until circa 1500s, aligning roughly with the starting English Renaissance.
The sense of "old (male) virgin" is from a Japanese Internet meme where virgins who are typically friendless, shy, outcasts, and loners who don't fit in anywhere, legendarily gain magical powers upon reaching 30 years of age; popularized ultimately by 4chan and adjacent online incel spaces.

The wizard conjured up a large fireball.

The wily wizard must be caught.

1697, John Dryden, Translation of Virgil's Georgics:

He found himself watching a couple of wizards doing what he at first mistook for the beginning of a dance, and then for a session of tai chi. But suddenly he realized they were signing.

2016 February 2, Diane Duane, Games Wizards Play, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN:

But that's not what will make her a powerful wizard – more powerful than me, more powerful than Leesha, even more powerful than you.

2021 November 1, Dale Stubbart, The Wizard Without a Wand, Dale Stubbart:

Someone, usually male, who uses (or has skill with) magic, mystic items, and magical and mystical practices.


berserker

Illustrations of Northern Antiquities
Swedish History Museum
Torslunda plates
Walter Scott

Borrowed from Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights with frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn (“bear”) + serkr (“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins worn by the warriors. Bjǫrn is possibly ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”); and serkr from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; thread”). Alternatively, it has been suggested that the first element of the word is from berr (“bare, naked”), suggesting warriors who went into battle without armour, but this is now thought unlikely. Doublet of berserk.
The word was introduced in English by the Scottish author and historian Walter Scott (1771–1832) in Illustrations of Northern Antiquities (1814) (spelled berserkir), and in his novel The Pirate (1822) (spelled berserkar). The sense “type of von Neumann probe whose mission is to exterminate alien lifeforms” was coined by the American author Fred Saberhagen (1930–2007) in 1963 in his Berserker series of novels and short stories.
cognates
* Icelandic berserkur
* Swedish bärsärk

ref

From the collection of the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm, Sweden.

coinage

(science fiction) A type of von Neumann probe whose mission is to exterminate alien lifeforms.


duma

duma (nominative singular)
dumy (nominative plural)
dumy (genitive singular)
dum (genitive plural)
dumie (dative singular)
dumom (dative plural)
dumę (accusative singular)
dumy (accusative plural)
dumą (instrumental singular)
dumami (instrumental plural)
dumie (locative singular)
dumach (locative plural)
dumo (singular vocative)
dumy (plural vocative)

dumka (individual composition in the genre of instrumental folk music from Ukraine)

dumka (literary work based on such a composition)


Charybdis

From Ancient Greek Χάρυβδις (Khárubdis).

I have never yet been able to steer my lovers through the Scylla of presence, or the Charybdis of absence.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Chapter XII. Lady Marchmont’s Journal.”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 85:

A dangerous whirlpool on the coast of Sicily opposite Scylla on the Italian coast.


vamp

en-verb

vamp (third-person singular simple present vamps, present participle vamping, simple past and past participle vamped)

vamps (present singular third-person)
vamping (participle present)
vamped (participle past)
vamped (past)

From Middle English vaumpe, vaum-pei, vampe (“covering for the foot, perhaps a slipper or understocking; upper of a boot or shoe”), or from Anglo-Norman vampe, *vaumpé (“part of a stocking covering the top of the foot”), from Old French avantpied, avantpiet, variants of avantpié, from avant (“in front”) + pié (“foot”).
Noun senses 2 and 3 (“a patch; something patched up or improvised”) appear to have been extended from sense 1 (“top part of a boot or shoe”). Sense 4 (“repeated and often improvised musical accompaniment”) was probably derived from sense 3, and sense 5 (“activity to fill or stall for time”) from sense 4.
The verb senses were derived from the noun. Compare also Middle English vaum-peien (“(uncertain) to repair (footwear) with a new upper or vamp; to fabricate an upper or vamp”).

cog

Keep vamping! Something’s wrong with the mic!

She went out there to vamp since the speaker was late arriving.

(intransitive) To delay or stall for time, as for an audience.


vamp

A Fool There Was (1915 film)
Derby shoe
Oxford shoe
Theda Bara

Clipping of vampire. From a character type developed first for silent film, notably for Theda Bara's role in the 1915 film A Fool There Was.
The verb is derived from the noun.

If I knew what I know now before I got vamped, I'd do the same thing.

2004, David Sosnowski, Vamped: A Novel, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 277:

Astonishing how few peasants and regular people got vamped back in the olden days, when it wasn't regulated.

2012, Justine Larbalestier, Sarah Rees Brennan, Team Human, Harper Collins, →ISBN:

Nobody ever got the drop on Shades, not even when he was alive, and certainly not in the fifty years since he got vamped.

2017, Keith R. A. DeCandido, Blackout, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:

(fiction, slang, transitive) To turn (someone) into a vampire.


damnation

en-noun

damnation (countable and uncountable, plural damnations)

From Middle English dampnacioun, from Old French dampnacion, from Latin damnatio.

The state of being damned; condemnation; openly expressed disapprobation.

проклятие

(religion) Condemnation to everlasting punishment in the future state, or the punishment itself.


damnation

Oh damnation! The window doesn't shut!

Expressing annoyance or disappointment; damn; dammit.


rut

rut (countable and uncountable, plural ruts)

From Middle English rutte (noun) and rutten (verb), from Old French rut (“noise, roar, bellowing”), from Latin rugītus, from rugīre (“to roar”).

der

Proximity to an omega in heat can sometimes cause alphas go into rut, an aggressive need for sexual intercourse usually triggered by the scent of an omega in heat.

2017, Marianne Gunderson, "What is an omega?: Rewriting sex and gender in omegaverse fanfiction", thesis submitted to the University of Oslo, page 36

All the characters in this story pressure Dean to help Castiel through his rut, and clearly consider Dean’s resistance to be immature and an overreaction.

2019, Tessa Barone, "Just Go Find Yourself a Nice Alpha: Gender and Consent in Supernatural Fandom's Alpha/Beta/Omega Universe", thesis submitted to Oregon State University, page 34

Early in Wicked Game, Steve goes into his first-ever rut.

2019, Chris van der Vegt, "The Second Genders: Utopia and Dystopia in Stranger Things Omegaverse Fanfiction", thesis submitted to Utrecht University, page 23

(fandom slang, countable, uncountable) In omegaverse fiction, the intense biological urge of an alpha to mate, typically triggered by proximity to an omega in heat.


nave

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese nave, from Latin nāvis, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂us. Doublet of nau.

inh+

(colloquial, usually in science fiction) Ellipsis of nave espacial (“spaceship”).


chimera

monolith

antonym(s) of “anything composed of very disparate parts”

Variant of Middle English chimere, chymere, & chymera under renewed Latin influence from the 16th century, from French chimère, from Latin Chimaera, from Ancient Greek Χίμαιρα (Khímaira, “fire-breathing mythological monster, fire-spewing Lycian or Cilician mountain”), from χίμαιρα (khímaira, “she-goat”, from χίμαρος (khímaros, “male goat”) + -α (-a)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰey-. In reference to the fish, directly from Latin Chimaera, used by Linnaeus. In reference to organisms with distinct areas of different genetic makeups, a calque of German Chimäre, used by Hans Winkler in 1907.

af

...beestis clepid chymeres, that han a part of ech beest, and suche ben not, no but oonly in opynyoun...

1382, John Purvey, Bible, Prologue, p. 31

Bellerophon was commanded to destroy this monster, and with the assistance of the flying horse, Pegasus, he slew the chimera.

1860, E. Cust, “The Chimeras: An Attempt to Show that the Compound Animals of the Assyrian Marbles are Representations of those Erected by Solomon and Jeroboam (Read 1st and 8th December, 1859.)”, in Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, volume XII, Liverpool: Adam Holden, →OCLC, page 99:

The game includes a bunch of chimeras, with the lion heads shooting fire and the snake tails whipping around trying to bite the player.

(Greek mythology) Alternative letter-case form of Chimera, a supposed monster in Lycia with the head of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a dragon or serpent, killed by the hero Bellerophon.


chimera

From Latin chimaera, from Ancient Greek Χίμαιρα (Khímaira).

chimaera, a kind of shark of the genus Chimaera


soma

Transliteration of Sanskrit सोम (soma). Doublet of haoma.

[…] there is always soma, delicious soma, half a gramme for a half-holiday, a gramme for a week-end, two grammes for a trip to the gorgeous East, three for a dark eternity on the moon […]

1932, Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, London: Chatto & Windus:

(by extension, science fiction) Any kind of intoxicating drug.


corvette

Unadapted borrowing from French corvette.

ubor

(nautical) In a modern navy, a lightly armed and armoured blue water warship, smaller than a frigate, capable of transoceanic duty.

(science fiction, by extension) A starship of comparable role


mammy

That's what you for—to help white folks keep niggers down. That's why he sent you to me. They be calling you mammy in a few years. You be running the whole house when the old man dies.

(US, historical, often pejorative) In the southern United States, a black nanny employed to look after white children; or in the antebellum South, a female slave who was close to the household and looked after the children.


madman

A person who makes risky and questionable decisions.


beam

en-verb

beam (third-person singular simple present beams, present participle beaming, simple past and past participle beamed)

beams (present singular third-person)
beaming (participle present)
beamed (participle past)
beamed (past)

→ German: beamen

→ Dutch: beamen

→ Japanese: ビーム

From Middle English beem, from Old English bēam (“tree, cross, gallows, column, pillar, wood, beam, splint, post, stock, rafter, piece of wood”), from Proto-West Germanic *baum, from Proto-Germanic *baumaz (“tree, beam, balk”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to grow, swell”). Cognate with West Frisian beam (“tree”), Saterland Frisian Boom (“tree”), Dutch boom (“tree”), German Low German Boom (“tree”), German Baum (“tree”), Luxembourgish Bam (“tree”), Albanian bimë (“a plant”). Doublet of boom.
The original English meaning of beam ("tree") is preserved in some compound words such as quickbeam.
The verb is from Middle English bemen, from Old English bēamian (“to shine, to cast forth rays or beams of light”), from the noun.

inh

Beam me up, Scotty; there's no intelligent life down here.

The injured crewmembers were immediately beamed to sickbay.

Beam me up (x4) / Beam me up town / Beam me down (x3) / Beam me back downtown

2010, “Beam Me Up”, in Walking the Midnight Streets, performed by Midnight Magic:

(transitive, science fiction) To transmit matter or information via a high-tech wireless mechanism.

säteilyttää

scifi: to transmit over high-tech wireless mechanism


pug

Origin unknown, possibly related to West Flemish pugge (“(adjective) small; (noun) short person; pet name derived from the first name Pugge”); though it is uncertain whether sense 1 (“senses relating to someone or something small”) and sense 2 (“senses relating to people”) are derived from the same source.
Sense 1.8 (“small demon”) was probably influenced by, though not a variant of, puck.

pentu

It is to be observed in this experiment, […] that the loss of weight by feeding (tegs or pugs) on turnips, is remarkable: […]

1808, Thomas Batchelor, “Live Stock”, in General View of the Agriculture of the County of Bedford. […], London: […] [B. MᶜMillan] for Richard Phillips, […], →OCLC, section 2 (Sheep), page 541:

Senses relating to someone or something small.

(UK, regional, archaic) Also used as a proper name: any of various animals, such as a ferret, hare, squirrel, or young salmon.

(specifically) Synonym of teg (“a sheep (originally a ewe) in its second year, or from the time it is weaned until it is first shorn”)

teg

[…] I heard her call him dear pug, and found him to be her favourite monkey.

1712 October 13 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “THURSDAY, October 2, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 499; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 454:

Its proper Povver to hurt, each Creature feels, / Bulls aim their Horns, and Aſſes lift their Heels, / 'Tis a Bear's Talent not to kick, but hug, / And no Man vvonders he's not ſtung by Pug: […]

1733, Alexander Pope, The First Satire of the Second Book of Horace, […], London [actually Edinburgh]: […] L[awton] G[illiver] and sold by A. Dodd […], E[lizabeth] Nutt […], →OCLC, page 13:

Take avvay the pug, ſaid I, to the attendants—Take it avvay vvhile any of it is left—They reſcued the ſtill ſmiling babe, and run avvay vvith it.

1753 (indicated as 1754), [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XLIII. Lady G. to Lady Grandison.”, in The History of Sir Charles Grandison. […], 2nd edition, volume VI, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by C. Hitch and L. Hawes, […], →OCLC, page 211:

Or, is the Monkey sick, he takes his bed; / Old Slop is sent for, to prescribe for Pug.— […]

1812, Peter Pindar [pseudonym; John Wolcot], “Tristia; or, The Sorrows of Peter: […]. Elegy.”, in The Works of Peter Pindar, Esq. […], new edition, volume V, London: […] J[ohn] Walker, G. Wilkie and J. Robinson, G. Robinson, […]; and G. Goulding and Co. […], →OCLC, page 297:

(specifically, obsolete) An ape, a monkey; also (by extension) a human child.

[T]here is a dead silence, till pug is well out of cover, and the whole pack well in: then cheer the hounds with tally ho! till your lungs crack. Away he goes in gallant style, and the whole field is hard up, till pug takes a stiff country: […]

1812, [Maria] Edgeworth, “The Absentee. Chapter VIII.”, in Tales of Fashionable Life (2nd series), volume VI, London: […] [Heney] for J[oseph] Johnson and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 93–94:

That spell was broken by the sight of poor wearied pug, his once gracefully-floating brush all draggled and drooping, as he toiled up the sheep-paths toward the open down above.

1848, [Charles Kingsley], “The Philosophy of Fox-hunting”, in Yeast: A Problem. […], London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], published 1851, →OCLC, page 16:

Dear, delicate Madam, I am your little Paraquit, your Sparrovv, your Shock, your Pugg, your Squirrel.

1685 July (first performance), N[ahum] Tate, Cuckolds-Haven: Or, An Alderman No Conjurer. A Farce. […], London: […] J. H. and are to be sold by Edward Poole, […], published 1685, →OCLC, Act I, scene ii, page 5:

Squirrels / Are not uncommon in the plantings on the broad edges, where they may be seen feeding on the deal-apples, as the Broadsmen call the fir-cones; nuts and acorns too they are fond of. […] Stoats sometimes chase them, but "pug" generally manages to escape, an[d] he can get to a tree first—he is a much more daring jumper.

1895, P[eter] H[enry] Emerson, “Shrew Mouse, or Rana, and Squirrels”, in Birds, Beasts and Fishes of the Norfolk Broadland, London: David Nutt, […], →OCLC, page 363:

Satan. The great diuell. / Pvg. The leſſe diuell.

1616 October or November (first performance), Ben Jonson, “The Persons of the Play”, in The Diuell is an Asse: A Comedie […], London: […] I. B. for Robert Allot, […], published 1631, →OCLC, page 93:

In Iohn Mileſius any man may reade / Of Diuels in Sarmatia honored, / Call'd Kottri, or Kibaldi; ſuch as vvee / Pugs and Hob-goblins call.

1635, Tho[mas] Heywood, “The Ninth Tractat: The Angell”, in The Hierarchie of the Blessed Angells. […], London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 574:

This is your Buſineſs Good Pug Robin, / And your Diverſion, dull Dry Bobbing: / T' intice Fanaticks in the Dirt, / And vvaſh 'em clean in Ditches for't.

1677 (indicated as 1678), [Samuel Butler], “Canto I”, in Hudibras. The Third and Last Part. […], London: […] Simon Miller, […], →OCLC, page 82:

(obsolete) A small demon; an imp, a puck, a sprite.


hag

From Middle English hagge, hegge (“demon, old woman”), shortening of Old English hægtesse, hægtes (“harpy, witch”), from Proto-West Germanic *hagatussjā. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Häkse (“witch”), Dutch heks, German Hexe (“witch”). Doublet of hex.

And that olde hag that with a staffe his staggering lymbes dooth stay

1565, Arthur Golding (tr.), The Fyrst Fower Bookes of P. Ouidius Nasos worke intitled Metamorphosis, London: William Seres, The Fovrthe Booke:

Such unaccountable masses of shades and shadows, that at first you almost thought some ambitious young artist, in the time of the New England hags, had endeavored to delineate chaos bewitched.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 3, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 11:

A witch, sorceress, or enchantress; a wizard.

A hagfish; one of various eel-like fish of the family Myxinidae, allied to the lamprey, with a suctorial mouth, labial appendages, and a single pair of gill openings.

A hagdon or shearwater; one of various sea birds of the genus Puffinus.


hag

From Middle English hag (denoting a gap in a cliff), from Old Norse hǫgg (“cut, gap, breach”), derivative of hǫggva (“to hack, hew”). Compare English hew, Old Swedish hug (“blow, stroke”).

This said, he led me over hoults and hags; / Through thorns and bushes scant my legs I drew

1845, Edward Fairfax (tr.), Godfrey of Bulloigne; or, The Recovery of Jerusalem: Done into English Heroical Verse, page 168:

(Northern England) A small wood, or part of a wood or copse, which is marked off or enclosed for felling, or which has been felled.


sage

en-adj

sage (comparative sager, superlative sagest)

sager (comparative)
sagest (superlative)

From Middle English sage, from Old French sage (11th century), from Latin *sapium, from Latin sapere (“to taste, to discern, to be wise”).
The noun meaning "man of profound wisdom" is recorded from circa 1300. Originally applied to the Seven Sages of Greece.


sage

’Tis certain, that, while we aſpire to the magnanimous Firmneſs of the philoſophic Sage, and endeavour to confine our Pleaſures altogether within our own Minds, we may, at laſt, render our Philoſophy, like that of Epictetus and other Stoics, only a more refin’d Syſtem of Selfiſhneſs, and reaſon ourſelves out of all Virtue, as well as ſocial Enjoyment.

1748, [David Hume], “Essay V. Sceptical Solution of these Doubts.”, in Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, part I, page 69:

A wise person or spiritual teacher; someone of gravity and wisdom, especially, a teacher venerable for years, and of sound judgment and prudence; a grave or stoic philosopher.


sage

en-noun

sage (usually uncountable, plural sages)

From Middle English sauge, from Middle French sauge, from Old French salje, from Latin salvia, from salvus (“healthy”), see safe.

broom sage

species of Chrysothamnus, Ericameria, Lorandersonia

purple sage

Salvia leucophylla; Artemisia tridentata

silvery sage

Salvia officinalis
Salvia officinalis#Translingual

The plant Salvia officinalis and savory spice produced from it; also planted for ornamental purposes.

Any of a number of plants such as sagebrush considered to be similar to Salvia officinalis, mostly because they are small shrubs and have gray foliage or are aromatic.


sage

Borrowed from Japanese sage (sage), from Japanese 下げる (sageru, “to lower”). From 2channel.

sage in all fields

(4chan, Internet slang) Word used in the email field of imageboards to prevent a bump of the post. Used as an option rather than a word in some imageboard software.


soubrette

Borrowed from French soubrette, from Occitan soubreta (“coy”) (feminine of soubret), from soubra (Provençal sobrar), from Latin superare (“be above”).

At present I have only a soubrette's part, with an apron and pockets, and a ballad; but, as I said before, luck's all in this world, and I have every requisite for being lucky.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Success”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 77:

And then too it was exhilarating to see the baron come sailing in with a pair of soubrettes on his arm—each time a different pair.

1936, Henry Miller, “The Tailor Shop”, in Black Spring, Paris: The Obelisk Press […], →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, 1963, →ISBN, page 98:

This version of the fragile, yet touching story accents the romance and courtship of the schoolmaster, properly called Mr. Chipping, and the music hall soubrette he falls in love with while vacationing in Pompeii.

1969, Film Bulletin, volume 38, page 127:

The servants in the hall tonight are whitely-wigged black slaves in livery of a certain grade of satin and refinement of lace,– black Major-domos and black Soubrettes.

A female attendant or servant, especially one who is cheeky or mischievous, often featuring in theatrical comedies.


housewife

housewife (plural housewives or housewifes)

From Middle English houswyf, housewif, huswijf, equivalent to house + wife; a doublet of hussy, which it was long-distinguished with and displaced due to gradual negative connotation (see Online Etymology Dictionary entry). Cognate with German Hausweib.

Coordinate term: househusband

2000, Uli Kusch, "Mr. Torture", Helloween, The Dark Ride
Mr Torture sells pain / To the housewives in Spain / He knows just what they crave / Mr Torture

(plural "housewives") A woman whose main employment is homemaking, maintaining the upkeep of her home and tending to household affairs; often, such a woman whose sole [unpaid] employment is homemaking.


Scylla

From Latin Scylla, from Ancient Greek Σκύλλα (Skúlla).

I have never yet been able to steer my lovers through the Scylla of presence, or the Charybdis of absence.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Chapter XII. Lady Marchmont’s Journal.”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 85:

between Scylla and Charybdis
between Scylla and Charybdis

A dangerous rock on the Italian coast opposite the whirlpool Charybdis on the coast of Sicily. The passage between Scylla and Charybdis was formerly considered perilous; hence, the saying between Scylla and Charybdis signifies a great peril on either hand.

(Greek mythology) A personification of said rock as a ravenous monster.

Ah cease rash Youth! desist e'er 'tis too late, / Fear the just Gods, and think of Scylla′s Fate!

1714, Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock, Canto III:

(Greek mythology) A princess, daughter of King Nisos of Megara, who fell in love with King Minos and betrayed her city to him.

(astronomy) The main belt asteroid 155 Scylla.


telepathy

telepathy (usually uncountable, plural telepathies)

Gerwin Schalk and Anthony Ritaccio, at the Albany Medical Center, are working under a multimillion-dollar grant from the U.S. military to design and develop devices that enable soldiers to communicate telepathically. Although this seems like something out of a science fiction story, the Pentagon believes that these so-called telepathy helmets are sufficiently feasible that it is devoting more than $6 million to the project. The target date for completion of the prototype device is 2017.

2013, Al Gore, The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change, New York: Random House, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 239:

(parapsychology) The capability to communicate directly by psychic means; the sympathetic affection of one mind by the thoughts, feelings, or emotions of another at a distance, without communication through the ordinary channels of sensation.


Pegasus

From Late Middle English Pegase, Pegasus, from Latin Pēgasus, from Ancient Greek Πήγασος (Pḗgasos), traditionally associated with πηγή (pēgḗ, “spring, fountain, fountain fed by a spring”), especially used to denote springs of Ocean, where Perseus killed Medusa, from whose blood Pegasus sprang. Some have dismissed this as folk etymology and suggest a pre-Greek origin because of the -ασος suffix. First attested in the 14th century.

Пегас

in Ancient Greek or other European contexts

(Greek mythology) A winged horse fabled to have sprung from the blood of Medusa when she was slain. He is noted for causing, with a blow of his hoof, Hippocrene, the inspiring fountain of the Muses, to spring from Mount Helicon. Bellerophon tamed and rode upon Pegasus when he defeated the Chimaera.

vernal equinoctial
vernal equinox#English

(astronomy) A constellation of the northern sky, near the vernal equinoctial point, representing the winged horse. Its three brightest stars, with the brightest star of Andromeda, form the asterism of the Great Square of Pegasus.


Pegasus

(originally Greek mythology, fantasy, occasionally proscribed) Any winged horse; pterippus.

Confidence in Corinthian Pegasi grew up in the Greek zone of the island in such a way that Pegasi became the accepted coin of the realm.

2007 February 15, R. J. A. Talbert, Timoleon and the Revival of Greek Sicily: 344-317 B.C., Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, →OL, page 167:

(historical) A coin of ancient Corinth with a winged horse depicted on the obverse.


Pegasus

la-proper noun

Pēgasus m sg (genitive Pēgasī); second declension

Pēgasus (canonical masculine singular)
Pēgasī (genitive)
Pēgasus (nominative singular)
Pēgasī (genitive singular)
Pēgasō (dative singular)
Pēgasum (accusative singular)
Pēgasō (ablative singular)
Pēgase (singular vocative)

[ˈpeːɡäs̠ʊs̠]

[ˈpɛːɡäs̬us]


sprite

→ Japanese: スプライト (supuraito)

→ Russian: спрайт (sprajt)

From Middle English sprite, spryt, spreyte, from Old French esprit (“spirit”), from Latin spiritus. Doublet of spirit, spiritus, spirytus, spright, and esprit.
(computer graphics): First used by Danny Hillis at Texas Instruments in the late 1970s.
(meteorology): An acronym for Stratospheric Perturbations Resulting from Intense Thunderstorm Electrification.

doublet

(mythology) Any of various supernatural beings, loosely defined:


scene

From Middle French scene, from Latin scaena, scēna, from Ancient Greek σκηνή (skēnḗ, “scene, stage”). Doublet of scena and skene.

der

(BDSM) A BDSM fantasy that is acted out.


slime

en-noun

slime (countable and uncountable, plural slimes)

→ French: slime

→ Japanese: スライム (suraimu)

→ Korean: 슬라임 (seullaim)

From Middle English slime, slyme, slim, slym, from Old English slīm, from Proto-Germanic *slīmą, from Proto-Indo-European *sley- (“smooth; slick; sticky; slimy”). Cognates include Danish slim, Saterland Frisian Sliem, Dutch slijm, German Schleim (“mucus, slime”), Latin limus (“mud”), Ancient Greek λίμνη (límnē, “marsh”).

der

As it [the Nile] ebbs, the seedsman / Upon the slime and ooze scatters his grain.

c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]:

Soft, moist earth or clay, having an adhesive quality; viscous mud; any substance of a dirty nature, that is moist, soft, and adhesive; bitumen; mud containing metallic ore, obtained in the preparatory dressing.

This is a nameless blue slime, drawn by Chris Hildenbrand, for a role playing game (RPG) that was never released.

2006, Lawrence Wright, Character Design for Mobile Devices, Gulf Professional Publishing, →ISBN, page 8:

(fantasy, video games) A monster having the form of a slimy blob.


waif

The noun is derived from Late Middle English weif (“ownerless property subject to seizure and forfeiture; the right of such seizure and forfeiture; revenues obtained from such seizure and forfeiture”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman waif, weif [and other forms] (compare Anglo-Latin waivum [and other forms], Medieval Latin waivium), possibly from Old French waif, a variant of gaif, gayf (“property that is lost and unclaimed; of property: lost and unclaimed”) (Norman) [and other forms], probably from a North Germanic source such as Old Norse veif (“flag; waving thing”), from Proto-Germanic *waif-, from Proto-Indo-European *weyp- (“to oscillate, swing”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

nb...

waif, waife, wafe, wayf, wayffe, (Early Middle English) waiph, waive

der

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

waifs and strays

(British, law, archaic) An article of movable property which has been found, and of which the owner is not known, such as goods washed up on a beach or thrown away by an absconding thief; such items belong to the Crown, which may grant the right of ownership to them to a lord of a manor.

سَائِبَة

article of movable property found of which the owner is not known

Something found, especially if without an owner; something which comes along, as it were, by chance.

something found, especially if without an owner

مَفْقُود m (mafqūd) (even though it literally means “lost”)


waif

en-verb

waif (third-person singular simple present waifs, present participle waifing, simple past and past participle waifed)

waifs (present singular third-person)
waifing (participle present)
waifed (participle past)
waifed (past)

It is true that Guy, Count of Ponthieu, holds fief under me, but I have no control over the laws of his realm. And by those laws, he hath right of life and death over all stranded and waifed on his coast.

1848, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter I, in Harold, the Last of the Saxon Kings; […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, book IX (The Bones of the Dead), pages 293–294:

(transitive) To cast aside or reject, and thus make a waif.


Bond villain

From Bond + villain. A reference to the typical villains of James Bond movies.

Cheney’s turned into a James Bond villain.

One hundred NR employees come under his authority. "Doing some of the frontline roles has enabled me to understand more around my own decision-making and how it affects the frontline. I say to people I'm not this Bond villain, sitting upstairs, stroking a cat!

2023 January 25, Cem Davis tells Nick Brodrick, “A warm 'Waterloo family' welcome”, in RAIL, number 975, page 38:

An evil genius, usually of significant power and means, who attempts to take over (or destroy) the world.


Bond girl

Sam scowled. 'I hate villains who call me Miss Jones,' she told him. 'It makes me feel like a Bond girl.'

1998, Justin Richards, chapter 12, in Option Lock, page 232:

When a lunch companion suggested that she might not want to take the Halle Berry route should she be nominated for an Oscar for "Monster," and win — soul-searching performance followed by a turn as a Bond girl — Theron threw her head back and howled.

One of the beautiful, seductive young women who appear in James Bond movies.


hjälte

hjältinna (feminine)
hjälte (indefinite nominative singular)

From Middle Low German helt, from Old Saxon helid, from Proto-West Germanic *haliþ.

the main male protagonist in a work of fiction


bruja

es-noun

bruja f (plural brujas, masculine brujo, masculine plural brujos)

brujas (plural)
brujo (masculine)
brujos (masculine plural)

→ Cebuano: bruha

→ Tagalog: bruha

Uncertain. Possibly from Iberian/Celtiberian *bruxtia (compare Catalan bruixa, Portuguese bruxa, Occitan bruèissa), from Proto-Celtic *brixtā (“spell, magic”) (compare Old Irish bricht (“charm”), Old Breton brith (“magic”)). It could instead be akin to a different Celtic word such as Old Irish Brigit (literally “high, exalted”).

m+

crone, hag (ugly, evil-looking, or frightening old woman)


había una vez

(used at the beginnings of fairytales) once upon a time


punk

en-noun

punk (countable and uncountable, plural punks)

Uncertain. Possibly from punk ("rotten wood dust used as tinder", attested since 1678; see Etymology 2 below) to anything worthless (attested since 1869) and then to any undesirable person (since 1908).

gl

(uncountable, science fiction) Any of the punk genres: dieselpunk, solarpunk, steampunk etc.


Santa Claus

Borrowed from Dutch Sinterklaas (“Saint Nicholas”).


sci-fi

(colloquial) Clipping of science fiction.


Star Wars

[ˈstɑɹ ˈwɔɹz]

[ˈstɑ˞ ˈwɔɹz]

From the original name of the science fantasy motion picture Star Wars (1977).

Strategic Defense Initiative
Strategic Defense Initiative

(informal, military) The United States Strategic Defense Initiative.


人魚

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (人魚):
* → Japanese: 人魚(にんぎょ) (ningyo)
* → Korean: 인어(人魚) (ineo)
* → Vietnamese: nhân ngư (人魚)

/jɐn²¹ jyː²¹/

/n̠ʲin²² ɦy⁴⁴/

/zən²² ɦy⁴⁴/

/jɐn²¹ jyː²¹/

/n̠ʲin²² ɦy⁴⁴/

/zən²² ɦy⁴⁴/


人魚

人魚姫

伝説では、彼女は人魚だったと言われる。

Densetsu de wa, kanojo wa ningyo datta to iwareru.

1999 March 27, “恍(こう)惚(こつ)の人魚(マーメイド) [Enchanting Mermaid]”, in Vol.2, Konami:

A beautiful mermaid who lures seafarers before drowning them.

海を航海する者を誘惑しておぼれさせる、美しい人魚。

Umi o kōkai suru mono o yūwaku shite oboresaseru, utsukushii ningyo.

人魚構文

人魚構文 にんぎょこうぶん


love triangle

/ˈlʌv ˌtɹaɪ.æŋɡəl/

La Battaglia di Legnano is a patriotic melodrama with a love triangle theme included.

1961 December 12, The Times, p.5 col. F:

By placing Max and Onno in a love triangle with Ada, Mr. Mulisch achieves an emotional depth that recalls Francois Truffaut's classic film “Jules and Jim.”

1997 January 5, Jack Miles, “On a Mission From God”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

A situation in which two suitors vie or compete for the love of the same person.

liefdesdriehoek

situation in which two people vie for the love of a third


speculative fiction

en-noun

speculative fiction (countable and uncountable, plural speculative fictions)

There are at least two principal ways to write speculative fiction—write about people, or write about gadgets.

1947, Robert A. Heinlein, On the Writing of Speculative Fiction:

And the speculation shows signs of turning into very sophisticated science fiction – science fiction in the purest sense; speculative fiction about science.

1987, Angela Carter, “Bruce Chatwin: The Songlines”, in Shaking a Leg, Vintage, published 2013, page 588:

Stephenson is one of speculative fiction’s most meticulous architects, and here he’s got sheets and sheets of blueprint.

2021 November 16, Omar El Akkad, “Neal Stephenson’s Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(uncountable) A class of fiction involving fantastic, supernatural or futuristic elements, including fantasy, horror, and science fiction, dealing with worlds, themes, and characters not part of everyday life.


dieselpunk

Coordinate term: steampunk

In other words, steampunk explores adjustment to an industrial culture from the opposite direction to cyberpunk -- but has very much the same agenda. Me, I'm trying to write dieselpunk ...

2002 November 20, Charlie Stross, “Re: What "steampunk" genre?”, in rec.arts.sf.written (Usenet):

[…] post-apocalyptic dieselpunk action adventure […]

2007, Sean Demory, quoted in Brian McTavish, "Kansas City writer, artist publish digital comic book for cell phones", in The Kansas City Star, 2007 July 25, page F3

BioShock isn't steampunk, it's dieselpunk.

2010 March 19, Teresa Lott, “Re: I hate steampunk...”, in rec.arts.sf.written (Usenet):

A genre of science fiction and art that combines fictional retrofuturistic elements with the technology, culture, and aesthetics of the period of history beginning in the interbellum between World War I and World War II and ending around the 1950s (known as the "diesel era" within the dieselpunk community).


SF

SF (countable and uncountable, plural SFs)

→ Japanese: エスエフ, SF (SF)

speculative fiction
speculative fiction#English

(fiction) Initialism of science fiction or speculative fiction, often used to avoid having to choose between the two.


SF

サイエンス・フィクション サイエンス・フィクション#Japanese

(fiction) SF: Abbreviation of サイエンス・フィクション (“science fiction”).


lament

lament (nominative singular)
lamenty (nominative plural)
lamentu (genitive singular)
lamentów (genitive plural)
lamentowi (dative singular)
lamentom (dative plural)
lament (accusative singular)
lamenty (accusative plural)
lamentem (instrumental singular)
lamentami (instrumental plural)
lamencie (locative singular)
lamentach (locative plural)
lamencie (singular vocative)
lamenty (plural vocative)

(poetry) threnody (poem of lamentation or mourning for a dead person; a dirge; an elegy)


Wookiee

What's this guy tryinna [sic] disappear behind you, a Wookie? [sic]

1985, Stephen King, Peter Straub, The Talisman, page 341:

I backed it out to the dirt road, and the door to the double-wide opened and a big guy, more Wookiee than human being, filled the doorway.

2009, Janet Evanovich, Plum Spooky, page 98:

Kevin whined, his Wookiee face showing hurt somewhere beneath the dark glasses.

2009, Jaqueline Girdner, Murder, My Deer, page 115:

A member of a fictional race of tall, hairy bipeds in the universe of the Star Wars motion pictures.


science fiction

science fiction (usually uncountable, plural science fictions)

From science + fiction; apparently coined in 1851 by W. Wilson.

Some people consider motion pictures such as the Star Wars movies more as fantasies than science fiction.

Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology.

1975 April 20, Isaac Asimov, “How Easy to See the Future!”, in Natural History, volume 84, number 4, New York: American Museum of Natural History, →ISSN, page 92, column 2:

Fiction in which advanced technology or science is a key element.


science fiction

pl-noun

science fiction n (indeclinable, abbreviation s.f. or SF)

Unadapted borrowing from English science fiction.

ubor

elementy science fiction

(literature) science fiction (genre of fiction)


science fiction

pl-adj

science fiction (not comparable, no derived adverb)

opowiadanie science fiction

(literature, postpositive, relational) science fiction (genre of fiction)


Sheol

Borrowed from Hebrew שְׁאוֹל, שְׁאֹל (sheól, “abode of the dead, underworld, netherworld, etc.”).

bor

Hebrew שְׁאוֹל

(Old Testament) The realm of the dead, the common grave of mankind, Hell. In older English translations of the Bible, notably the Authorized Version or King James Bible, this word sheol is translated inconsistently and variously as grave (31 times), pit (3 times) or hell (31 times: e.g., De. 32:22; 2Sa. 22:6; Job 11:8; Ps. 9:17).


pretender

/pɹɪˈtɛndəɹ/

A person who professes beliefs and opinions that they do not hold.


Sherlock Holmes

What powers of deduction! . . . And what assurance! . . . A real Sherlock Holmes! I really didn’t think detectives like that existed, except in books!

1978, Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper, Michael Turner, transl., Tintin in America (The Adventures of Tintin), Egmont, published 2012, →ISBN, page 45:

(figuratively, by extension) Any person who has or is considered to have great powers of observation and deduction.


Tartarus

From Latin Tartarus, from Ancient Greek Τάρταρος (Tártaros).

[…] them with Fire and hoſtile Arms / Fearleſs aſſault, and to the brow of Heav'n / Purſuing, drive them out from God and bliſs, / Into thir place of puniſhment, the Gulf / Of Tartarus, which ready opens wide / His fiery Chaos to receave thir fall.

1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 50–55:

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) A dark and gloomy part of the realm of Hades, reserved for the damned and the wicked, such as the Titans; an equivalent of hell in Greek and Roman mythology.


battleship

From battle + ship; shortened from line-of-battle ship, attested 1794.

Schlachtschiff n. Schlachtschiff is used for dreadnought battleships

Linienschiff is used for pre-dreadnought battleships.

(military, nautical) A large capital warship displacing thousands to tens of thousands of tons, heavily armoured and armed with large-caliber guns; now obsolescent and replaced by smaller vessels with guided missiles.

(science fiction, by extension) A starship of comparable role


megalomaniac

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

'Well, I don't know him well enough yet to say, but I will admit that if he is not a mere bullying megalomaniac, and if what he says is true, then he certainly is in a class by himself.'

1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed:

One affected with or exhibiting megalomania.

megalòman

one affected with or exhibiting megalomania


miniature

/ˈmɪn(i)ət͡ʃʊəɹ/

/ˈmɪnɪt͡ʃəɹ/

Borrowed from Italian miniatura (“manuscript illumination”), from miniare (“to illuminate”), from Latin miniō (“to colour red”), from minium (“red lead”).

(chess) A chess game which is concluded with very few moves.


Mickey Mouse

→ Albanian: Miushi Miki (calque)

desc

مِيكِي مَاوْس

→ Arabic: مِيكِي مَاوْس (mīkī māws)

→ Arabic: مِيكِي مَاوْس (mīkī māws)

→ Azerbaijani: Mikki Maus

→ Bulgarian: Мики Маус (Miki Maus)

→ Czech: Mickey Mouse

→ Danish: Mickey Mouse

→ Dutch: Mickey Mouse

→ French: Mickey Mouse

→ Georgian: მიკი მაუსი (miḳi mausi)

→ German: Micky Maus (calque)

→ Greek: Μίκυ Μάους (Míky Máous), μικιμάους (mikimáous)

→ Hebrew: מיקי מאוס (miki maus)

→ Hindi: मिकी माउस (mikī māus)

→ Japanese: ミッキーマウス (Mikkī Mausu)

→ Korean: 미키 마우스 (Miki Mauseu)

→ Macedonian: Мики Маус (Miki Maus)

→ Portuguese: Mickey Mouse

→ Romanian: Mickey Mouse, Miki Maus

Ми́кки Ма́ус

→ Russian: Ми́кки Ма́ус (Míkki Máus)

→ Samoan: Miki Mausi

→ Spanish: Mickey Mouse

มิกกี้ เมาส์

→ Thai: มิกกี้ เมาส์

→ Thai: มิกกี้ เมาส์

From Mickey, a diminutive of the given name Michael, + mouse, referring to the species of the character. The name Mickey Mouse was coined by American animator Walt Disney in 1928 after his wife, Lillian Disney, persuaded him to change the character's original name Mortimer Mouse to Mickey, deeming the former too formal for the playful character. "Mickey" was suggested by Lillian, who preferred its more approachable and lively sound.
The adjective sense developed during the Second World War, after a large quantity of low-quality counterfeit Mickey Mouse watches flooded the UK.

The most famous Disney cartoon character, an anthropomorphic mouse with a falsetto voice and a cheerful disposition.


Mickey Mouse

1949, from English Mickey Mouse, notably being untranslated unlike this character in other Scandinavian languages.

(cartoon) Mickey Mouse (One of the Disney cartoon characters, an anthropomorphic mouse who usually wears red shorts and is known for circular ears.)


Mickey Mouse

Unadapted borrowing from English Mickey Mouse.


ansible

Coined by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin in 1966 in her novella Rocannon's World; Le Guin states that she derived it from answerable. The word was further spread by its adoption into other science fiction worlds, including by Orson Scott Card in Ender's Game (1986), Vernor Vinge in The Blabber (1988) and Dan Simmons in Hyperion (1989).

coin

“You remember the ansible, the machine I showed you in the ship, which can speak instantly to other worlds, with no loss of years– […] ”
“An ansible would theoretically be powered by subatomic particles that have undergone quantum entanglement, which utilizes Einstein's 'spooky action at a distance', allowing the alteration of one particle to instantaneously alter the state of its paired particle. […] ”

1966, Ursula K. Le Guin, Rocannon's World, reprinted in Worlds of Exile and Illusion, Macmillan (1996), page 25

“[…] The master ansible is there, in contact with all our invasion fleet; the ships are all working, ready to fight. […]”

1985, Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game, reprinted by Macmillan, published 2002, →ISBN, page 251:

Ky had allotted two hours here, time to strip the news from the ansible, share it, even discuss it, but she didn’t plan to have everyone clustered and vulnerable.

2008, Elizabeth Moon, Victory Conditions, reprint by Random House, published 2009, →ISBN, page 39:

(science fiction) A hypothetical device that enables users to communicate instantaneously across great distances; that is, a faster-than-light communication device.

Dan Simmons
Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card
Rocannon's World
Vernor Vinge


fairy godmother

en-noun

fairy godmother (plural fairy godmothers)

I thought it was clever the director cast the same woman to play both the Wicked Witch and Prince Charming's fairy godmother.

In certain fairy tales, a fictional benevolent woman with magical powers who uses them to help the cause of the protagonist.