portmanteau

en-noun

portmanteau (plural portmanteaus or portmanteaux)

portmanteaus (plural)
portmanteaux (plural)

Jabberwocky
Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking-Glass
portmanteau

First used by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass to describe the words he coined in “Jabberwocky”.

His long-awaited portmanteau, which premiered in Cannes on Monday, is the most Anderson of all Anderson films. It's Anderson distilled, Anderson squared, Anderson to the nth degree.

2021 July 12, Nicholas Barber, “The French Dispatch: Four stars for Wes Anderson's latest”, in BBC:


homeworld

But Woman's heart within itself lives more, / And in her Homeworld she can happy be, / Loving and lov'd: from Nature's founts her Lore / Instinctive flows, she drinks it fresh and free

1839, Henry Ellison, Madmoments, page 229:

"First the Patrons wipe-out our home world, now you blow any chance of us making any credits," Kane said in his gruff sinking voice.

2016, A.K. Brown, Jumpstart (Champagne Universe Series: Book 1), page 19:

(science fiction) The world on which someone or something originated; a home planet or moon.


true name

He saw that in this dusty and fathomless matter of learning the true name of each place, thing, and being, the power he wanted lay like a jewel at the bottom of a dry well. For magic consists in this, the true naming of a thing.

1968, Ursula Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea, page 59:

It would be back to the stone floors and getting up when it was still dark and no alcohol under any circumstances and memorising the true names of everything until the brain squeaked.

1987, Terry Pratchett, Mort, →ISBN, page 229:

They conjured a world of primitive magic in which evil spirits could not be given their true names for fear of increasing their power.

1991 April 23, Martin Cropper, “In The Native State”, in The Times:

(fantasy) The unique name of an entity, which can be used to control or manipulate that entity.


abduction

abduction (countable and uncountable, plural abductions)

From Latin abductiō (“robbing; abduction”), from abdūcō (“take or lead away”), from ab (“away”) + dūcō (“to lead”). Equivalent to abduct + -ion.
* (physiology): From French, from Latin abductus.
* Compare French abduction.

But fear of abduction never stopped a good ufologist.

2010, Monte Dwyer, Red in the Centre: Through a Crooked Lens, Monyer Pty Ltd, page 122:


Trekkie

From Trek + -ie.
From Star Trek, as in groupie. (1970).

Not all Trekkies go around speaking Klingon and making endless references to the original Star Trek series.

1992 StarTrek VI is a fast-moving, vigorous book that will not disappoint the legions of Trekkies who avidly follow the adventure of their heroes. — Review of Star Trek - The Undiscovered Country in Amiga User International, author unknown, December 1992, HHL Publishing (UK), page 90.

2002 I have a major confession to make which will probably incur the wrath of all Trekkies out there. — Trek & Treat, article in The Daily Mirror (UK), Jessica Mellor, Saturday, August 10, 2002, page 44.

(fandom slang) A (usually major) fan of the TV science fiction series Star Trek.


bug-eyed monster

bug-eyed monster (plural bug-eyed monsters)

(science fiction, derogatory) An extraterrestrial.


abracadabra

/ˌæbɹəkəˈdæbɹə/

From Late Latin abracadabra, a word used in magical writings, of unknown origin. Relationships have been suggested with Abraxas (a Gnostic deity), and with various Aramaic or Hebrew terms עַבְרָא כְּדַבְרָא (avra kedavra, literally “what was said has come to pass”), עַבְדָא כְּדַבְרָא (avda kedavra, literally “what was said has been done”); אַרְבַּע-אֶחַד-אַרְבַּע (arba-eḥad-arba, literally “four-one-four”), but there is little supporting evidence.

unk

unknown

Where is the necessity of this provision in the Constitution? […] Can anyone believe that we, by any amendments of ours, by any of our scribbling on that parchment, by any amulet, any legerdemain—charm—Abrecadabra—of ours can prevent our sons from doing the same thing—that is, from doing as they please, just as we are doing as we please? It is impossible. Who can bind posterity?

1851, Hugh A. Garland, quoting John Randolph of Roanoke, “The Virginia Convention—Every Change is Not Reform”, in The Life of John Randolph of Roanoke, volume II, New York: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 329:

With a quiet bank holiday afternoon to fill, the Mill yesterday dug out the old magic kit, brushed the cobwebs off its top hat and practiced a few abracadabras.

2012 August 28, Georgina Turner, The Guardian:

A use of the mystical term ‘abracadabra’, supposed to work as part of a healing charm or a magical spell; any spell or incantation making use of the word.

I don’t know all the theoretical abracadabra about how it works, I’m only its pilot.

Astrology was not specifically banned in the statutes against witchcraft, but so long as its technicalities remained abracadabra to the lay public there was always a risk that the practitioner might find himself arrested for sorcery.

1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society 2012, page 335:

Mumbo jumbo; obscure language or technicalities; jargon.

wartaal

mumbo jumbo, obscure language or technicalities, jargon — see also mumbo jumbo, jargon


abracadabra

/ˌæbɹəkəˈdæbɹə/

unknown

Next, the conjuror filled a glass with water from a big jug and then covered the tumbler with a cloth. "Abracadabra," he cried and crumpled the cloth.

1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 49:

Used to indicate that a magic trick or other illusion has been performed.

abrakadabra

used to indicate that a magic trick or other illusion has been performed


Frankenstein complex

en-noun

Frankenstein complex (plural Frankenstein complexes)

Coined by American science fiction author Isaac Asimov in 1947 in his novelette Little Lost Robot. From Victor Frankenstein, the title character of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein.

coin

I'll admit that this Frankenstein Complex you're exhibiting has a certain justification—hence the First Law in the first place.

1947 March, Isaac Asimov, “Little Lost Robot”, in Astounding Science Fiction, volume 39, number 1, page 116:

Mr. Graf, you're still disturbed. You sure you're not harboring just a little of the old Frankenstein complex about all this? It's all right to admit it to me—in fact, I want you to talk about it.

1987 December, Lois McMaster Bujold, “Falling Free”, in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, volume 108, number 13, page 30:

The central character of Mary Shelley's novel by the same name 'Frankenstein' is used as an adjective in a variety of biomedical contexts, eg Frankenstein complex The fear that machines via artificial intelligence may replace physicians

1992, Joseph C. Segen, The Dictionary of Modern Medicine, →ISBN, page 234:

No wonder Gibson introduces the Turing Registry agents in Neuromancer, representatives of cyberpunk's own apparent Frankenstein Complex: “For thousands of years men dreamed of pacts with demons. Only now are such things possible.[…]”

2010, Graham J. Murphy, Sherryl Vint, editors, Beyond Cyberpunk: New Critical Perspectives, Routledge, →ISBN, page 197:

artificial intelligence
artificial intelligence

The fear that an artificial intelligence will turn against humans.


shapeshift

en-verb

shapeshift (third-person singular simple present shapeshifts, present participle shapeshifting, simple past and past participle shapeshifted)

shapeshifts (present singular third-person)
shapeshifting (participle present)
shapeshifted (participle past)
shapeshifted (past)

Probably a back-formation from shapeshifter.

Journey in exactly the same way as you did to shapeshift into your power animal except, this time, set your intention to shapeshift into a named ancestor.

2010, Mike Williams, Follow the Shaman's Call: An Ancient Path for Modern Lives, page 91:

I can't shapeshift Zane, I only look like this I always have.

But to embed oneself in an irregular and unpredictable food supply as mycelium does, one must be able to shapeshift.

2020, Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life, page 57:

(biology, fantasy, mythology, intransitive) To change one's shape or form (into another) through often magical means, normally applied only to living beings.


deep sleep

en-noun

deep sleep (countable and uncountable, plural deep sleeps)

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

Donnchadh and Gwalcmai, along with the other fourteen teams selected for planetary infiltration, had been put into deep sleep shortly after liftoff from their planet.

2004, Robert Doherty, Area 51: Legend, →ISBN:

The Kironian had remained in deep sleep until alerted by a high-pitched squeaky sound. When the Kironian woke, everything seemed as though it had just left Kiron.

2005, Bob Ticer, Visiting the Strange Planet Called Earth, →ISBN, page 13:

There is also the possibility that our aliens perfected cryogenics and simply went into deep sleep until the environment improved.

2008, Cavin Wright, The Golden Prize, →ISBN, page 17:

(rare, fiction) Artificially induced hibernation in humans for the purpose of long distance space travel.


aberration

aberration (countable and uncountable, plural aberrations)

/ˌæb.əˈɹeɪ.ʃn̩/

A learned borrowing from Latin aberrātiō(n) (“relief, diversion”), first attested in 1594, from aberrō (“wander away, go astray”), from ab (“away”) + errō (“wander”). Compare French aberration. By surface analysis, aberrat(e) + -ion.

абера́ция

astronomy: small periodical change of position of heavenly bodies

Only by submitting to the aberration could the human traders travel safely through the territory of Zularn.

(fantasy, roleplaying games) Any creature with supernatural powers not found in the organized classes of beings in a given setting.


spacer

It was the futile throwing back in the face of the Spacers their most keenly felt insult: their insistence on considering the natives of Earth as disgustingly diseased.

"How do I know I can trust you?" asked BKR.
Grakker hesitated. "Spacer's oath," he said at last.

2014 [1993], Bruce Coville, Aliens Ate My Homework, page 134:

Shepard: What are you running for?
Charles Saracino: I'm seeking one of the five spacer seats in Parliament. They have certain baroque conditions for a citizen to be able to vote for them.
Charles Saracino: You have to spend more than six months a year in space. But you can't have stayed in any one settled system for more than a month.

2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel:

He was thankful that he still had his suit on when the ship had a catastrophic decompression, a spacer's worst nightmare.

2017, A.K. Brown, Humans on the Menu (Champagne Universe Series: Book 2), page 20:

(science fiction) A person who works or lives in space.


teleport

(science fiction) Synonym of teleporter (“science fiction device”)


teleport

teleport (indefinite nominative singular)
teleports (genitive indefinite singular)
teleporten (definite nominative singular)
teleportens (definite genitive singular)
teleporter (indefinite nominative plural)
teleporters (genitive indefinite plural)
teleporterna (definite nominative plural)
teleporternas (definite genitive plural)

Han steg in i teleporten
He stepped into the teleport


seme

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek σῆμα (sêma).

lbor

(linguistics, semiotics) Anything which serves for any purpose as a substitute for an object of which it is, in some sense, a representation, sign, or symbol.


seme

Borrowed from Japanese 攻め (seme), derived from the verb 攻める (semeru, “to attack”).

[…] BL manga readers chose intelligence, protectiveness, and beauty/handsomeness as the top three most important traits in a seme […]

2008, Dru Pagliassotti, “Better Than Romance? Japanese BL Manga and the Subgenre of Male/Male Romantic Fiction”, in Antonia Levi, Mark McHarry, Dru Pagliassotti, editors, Boys' Love Manga: Essays on the Sexual Ambiguity and Cross-Cultural Fandom of the Genre, McFarland & Company (2008), →ISBN, page 73:

Sebas has always been the seme.

2010, Pentabu, My Girlfriend's a Geek, volume 1, Yen Press (2012), →ISBN:

The seme is larger, stronger, and more traditionally masculine, while the uke is smaller, weaker, and more feminine.

2011, Robin E. Brenner, Snow Wildsmith, “Love through a DIfferent Lens: Japanese Homoerotic Manga through the Eyes of American Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Other Sexualities Readers”, in Timothy Perper, Martha Cornog, editors, Mangatopia: Essays on Manga and Anime in the Modern World, Libraries Unlimited (2011), →ISBN, page 97:

(Japanese fiction, fandom slang) An active or dominant male character in a same-sex relationship; a top.


het

en-noun

het (countable and uncountable, plural hets)

Mary Ellen Curtin presented a paper at the 2002 Popular Culture Association conference in which she studied fanfiction archives to discover that black characters appeared far less in both het and slash fiction than white or even Latino/a characters.

2005, Rhiannon Bury, Cyberspaces of Their Own: Female Fandoms Online, Peter Lang, published 2005, →ISBN, page 207:

The vast majority of fan fiction is het or slash, and these types are usually defined against each other as approaches to romance and porn, marginalizing gen as something outside of the dominant concerns of fan fiction.

2006, Catherine Driscoll, “One True Pairing: The Romance of Pornography and the Pornography of Romance”, in Karen Hellekson, Kristina Busse, editors, Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet: New Essays, McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 84:

Other studies explore why some women write het, or fictions with heterosexual pairings of certain couples, within canons such as Star Trek Voyager that generally inspire slash fiction (Somogyi, 2002).

2010, Rebecca Ward Black, “Just Don't Call Them Cartoons: The New Literacy Spaces of Anime, Manga, and Fanfiction”, in Julie Coiro, Michele Knobel, Colin Lankshear, Donald J. Leu, editors, Handbook of Research on New Literacies, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, →ISBN, page 595:

(uncountable, fandom slang) Fan fiction involving characters in an opposite-sex romantic or sexual relationship.


OMC

OTOH, if an OFC or OMC is written to further the story, well, if you can make me believe it, congratulations.

1999 September 28, Sigrid H., “NEW: Wonder Of Wonders/speechification/Laura/Karmen”, in alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated (Usenet):

It involves archaeology, the mysterious death of an immortal and the development of a menage a trois between Mac, Methos and a very well developed OMC.

2000 January 2, Shomeret, “My Favorite HL Fics of 1999”, in alt.tv.highlander.creative (Usenet):

However, especially in the Romeo and Juliet cases, they go all fan-wanky and the stories don't have the effectiveness because you recognize them as simply efforts to make a way to keep R & J alive if not happy together (often by the introduction of an OFC or OMC to replace the other character in another's life).

2004 August 8, Jillun, “Re: What ratings are acceptible^([sic]) here?”, in alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer.creative (Usenet):

(fandom slang) Initialism of original male character.


EU

(Star Wars) Abbreviation of expanded universe.


fable

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French fable, from Latin fābula, from fārī (“to speak, say”) + -bula (“instrumental suffix”). See ban, and compare fabulous, fame. Doublet of fabula.

fabulous

equivalent to fable + -ous but actually derived from Latin fābulōsus

I say it would look like a fable to report that this gentleman gives away all which is the overplus of a great fortune by secret methods to other men.

1712 January 13 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, January 2, 1711–1712”, in The Spectator, number 264; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 316:


robot

From German Robot, from a West Slavic language, ultimately related to Etymology 2, below.

“I say again, down with the robot!—he is a dog who yields it!”

1849, Littell's Living Age, volume 23, page 309:

Although the robot varied from region to region, it was rarely less than burdensome.

2007, Tim Blanning, The Pursuit of Glory, Penguin, published 2008, page 159:

(now historical) A system of serfdom used in Central Europe, under which a tenant's rent was paid in forced labour.


robot

desc

→ Arabic: رُوبُوت (rūbūt), رُوبُوط (rūbūṭ)

→ Hindi: रोबोट (roboṭ)

→ Japanese: ロボット (robotto)

→ Korean: 로봇 (robot)

→ Persian: رُبات (robât), روبات (rôbât)

→ Swahili: roboti

→ Welsh: robot

Internet Archive
Josef Čapek
Karel Čapek
R.U.R.

Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”). Coined in the 1920 science-fiction play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek after having been suggested to him by his brother Josef, and taken into English without change.

Young Rossum invented a worker with a minimum amount of requirements. He had to simplify him. He rejected everything that did not contribute directly to the progress of work—everything that makes man more expensive. In fact, he rejected man and made the Robot. My dear Miss Glory, the Robots are not people. Mechanically they are more perfect than we are, they have an enormously developed intelligence, but they have no soul.

c. 1921 (date written), Karel Čapek, translated by Paul Selver, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots): A Fantastic Melodrama […], Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1923, →OCLC, Act I, page 17:

The robots in Dick's novel, loosely adapted by Ridley Scott into the film Blade Runner, were so similar to humans that when they went rogue, trained bounty hunters were called in to perform psychological tests to see whether suspected androids lacked human empathy.

2010 January 26, Tom Chivers, Iain McDiarmid, The Telegraph:

(chiefly science fiction) An intelligent mechanical being designed to look like a human or other creature, and usually made from metal.


robot

From English robot, from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”). Coined in the 1921 science-fiction play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek after having been suggested to him by his brother Josef.

a style of dance popular in disco whereby the dancer impersonates the movement of a robot


robot

pl-noun

robot m animal (female equivalent (rare) robotka)

robotka (feminine rare)
robot (nominative singular)
roboty (nominative plural)
robota (genitive singular)
robotów (genitive plural)
robotowi (dative singular)
robotom (dative plural)
robot (accusative singular)
robota (accusative singular)
roboty (accusative plural)
robotem (instrumental singular)
robotami (instrumental plural)
robocie (locative singular)
robotach (locative plural)
robocie (singular vocative)
roboty (plural vocative)


alien

From Middle English alien, a borrowing from Old French alien, aliene, from Latin aliēnus (“belonging to someone else”, later “exotic, foreign”), from Latin alius (“other”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos. Related to English else.

der

You might not have much use for me. You spend too much time with the damn aliens, pretending your time in the gangs back on Earth never happened. I know you weren't happy when I found you at the Citadel a couple years back.
But I'm glad you're on this. I hope you find whoever took my people on Freedom's Progress and kick their scaly asses. I'm glad it's a human finding these bastards.

2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Hello from the Reds:

Any life form of extraterrestrial or extradimensional origin.


alien

en-adj

alien (comparative more alien, superlative most alien)

more alien (comparative)
most alien (superlative)

alien subjects, enemies, property, or shores

Not belonging to the same country, land, or government, or to the citizens or subjects thereof; foreign.


alien

[ˈa.lɪ.ẽɪ̯̃]

Unadapted borrowing from English alien (“extraterrestrial life form”). Doublet of alheio.


UFO

→ Czech: UFO

→ Dutch: ufo

→ Estonian: UFO

→ Finnish: UFO, ufo

→ German: UFO, Ufo

→ Greek: ούφο (oúfo)

→ Italian: UFO, ufo

→ Japanese: UFO (yūfō)

→ Norwegian: ufo

→ Portuguese: UFO, ufo

→ Swedish: ufo, UFO

After the case had been reported in the newspapers, Mrs. Gracindo de Souza, wife of a member of the local stock exchange, told police that she and her daughter had been driving down Alameda Sao Boaventura when they had seen an^([sic]) UFO hovering over the clearing where the bodies were later discovered.

1967, Brad Steiger, Joan Whritenour, “Someone Up There May Not Like Us”, in Flying Saucers Are Hostile, Tandem Publishing, published 1975, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 13:

To my way of thinking, there is every bit as much evidence for the existence of UFOs as there is for the existence of God. Probably far more. At least in the case of UFOs there have been countless taped and filmed—and, by the way, unexplained—sightings from all over the world, along with documented radar evidence seen by experienced military and civilian radar operators.

2004, George Carlin, “THEY CAME FROM OUT OF THE SKY”, in When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 12:

unidentified flying object
unidentified flying object#English

Initialism of unidentified flying object; (loosely) an alien spacecraft.

未確認飛行物体

みかくにんひこうぶったい


UFO

de-noun

UFO n (strong, genitive UFOs or UFO, plural UFOs or UFO)

UFOs (genitive)
UFO (genitive)
UFOs (plural)
UFO (plural)
UFO (nominative singular)
UFOs (definite nominative plural)
UFO (definite nominative plural)
UFOs (genitive singular)
UFO (genitive singular)
UFOs (definite genitive plural)
UFO (definite genitive plural)
UFO (dative singular)
UFOs (dative definite plural)
UFO (dative definite plural)
UFO (accusative singular)
UFOs (accusative definite plural)
UFO (accusative definite plural)

Borrowed from English UFO, initialism of unidentified flying object, itself translated into German as unidentifiziertes Flugobjekt or more commonly unbekanntes Flugobjekt.


UFO

Orthographic borrowing from English UFO, but pronounced like an acronym rather than a mere initialism.

未確認飛行物体 未確認飛行物体#Japanese

unidentified flying object
unidentified flying object

Synonym of 未確認飛行物体 (mikakunin hikō buttai, “unidentified flying object”); a UFO


UFO

Orthographic borrowing from English UFO.

(science fiction, ufology) UFO, unidentified flying object


sasquatch

Borrowed from Halkomelem sásq’ets (“hairy man”).

bor+

(cryptozoology) A large hairy humanoid creature of western North America.


phoenix

en-noun

phoenix (plural phoenix or phoenixes or phoenices)

phoenix (plural)
phoenixes (plural)
phoenices (plural)

From Old English and Old French fenix, from Medieval Latin phenix, from Latin phoenīx, from Ancient Greek φοῖνιξ (phoînix), from Egyptian bnw (boinu, “grey heron”). Doublet of Bennu. The grey heron was venerated at Heliopolis and associated in Egypt with the cyclical renewal of life because the bird rises in flight at dawn and migrates back every year in the flood season to inhabit the Nile waters.

(Chinese mythology) A mythological Chinese chimerical bird whose physical body symbolizes the six celestial bodies; a fenghuang.


phoenix

la-noun

phoenīx f (genitive phoenīcis); third declension

phoenīx (canonical feminine)
phoenīcis (genitive)
phoenīx (nominative singular)
phoenīcēs (nominative plural)
phoenīcis (genitive singular)
phoenīcium (genitive plural)
phoenīcī (dative singular)
phoenīcibus (dative plural)
phoenīcem (accusative singular)
phoenīcēs (accusative plural)
phoenīcīs (accusative plural)
phoenīce (ablative singular)
phoenīcibus (ablative plural)
phoenīx (singular vocative)
phoenīcēs (plural vocative)


ace

→ Japanese: エース (ēsu)

→ Korean: 에이스 (eiseu)

→ Russian: эйс (ejs)

→ Swedish: ess

(?) → Finnish: ässä

Inherited from Middle English as, from Old French as, from Latin as, assis (“unity, copper coin, the unit of coinage”). Doublet of as. Likely related or deriving ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs, or otherwise taking from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”) in the sense of "singular".

der

[…] maybe two or three twenties, a dozen tens, and twenty or thirty fins. The rest is all aces and silver.

1990, David F. Friedman, Don DeNevi, A Youth in Babylon: Confessions of a Trash-film King, page 136:

If they got too many aces (dollar bills) or fives or tens, they turned them in to the vault where they became part of the reserve.

1996, Arthur M. Smith, Robert Thomas King, Let's Get Going, page 65:


morph

en-verb

morph (third-person singular simple present morphs, present participle morphing, simple past and past participle morphed)

morphs (present singular third-person)
morphing (participle present)
morphed (participle past)
morphed (past)

Meta leapt forward. In midair his lower half morphed, and suddenly he was one-half humanoid, one-half coiled spring.

"Would it reflect badly on women if I morphed my bust size up a bit for it? Sorta like wearing a padded bra?"

2015 January 30, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive - EGS:NP (webcomic), Comic for Friday, Jan 30, 2015:

(science fiction, fantasy) To shapeshift.


hell

hell (third-person singular simple present hells, present participle helling, simple past and past participle helled)

hells (present singular third-person)
helling (participle present)
helled (participle past)
helled (past)

From Middle English helle, from Old English hell, from Proto-West Germanic *hallju, from Proto-Germanic *haljō (“concealed place, netherworld”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, conceal, save”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hälle (“hell”), West Frisian hel (“hell”), Dutch hel (“hell”), German Low German Hell (“hell”), German Hölle (“hell”), Norwegian helvete (“hell”), Icelandic hel (“the abode of the dead, death”). Also related to the Hel of Germanic mythology. See also hele.

cog

To make hellish; to place (someone) in hell; to make (a place) into a hell.


hell

hell (nominative singular)
hella (nominative plural)
helle (nominative plural)
helle (accusative singular)
hella (accusative plural)
helle (accusative plural)
helle (genitive singular)
hella (genitive plural)
helle (dative singular)
hellum (dative plural)

desctree

Middle English: helle, hel, hell, hælle
English: hell, Hell
Scots: hell, Hell

From Proto-West Germanic *hallju, from Proto-Germanic *haljō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide, conceal”).
Compare German hell (“light”).


bot

I stared at the bot and recognized her for the first time. She was me.

1998, David G. Hartwell, editor, Year's best SF 3, page 130:

As he guided the bot, Andrews reminisced about his younger days in Wyoming, when he had witnessed a mishandled load of wheat puff out a dusty fog.

The bot juddered to a halt, as the whole lower segment of its power arm darkened.

2007, Peter F. Hamilton, The Dreaming Void:

(science fiction, informal) A physical robot.

The goals of IRC bots vary widely, such as automatically kicking other users off or more nefarious things like spamming other IRC users. In this paper, a free standing IRC bot is presented that monitors an IRC channel for commands from a particular user and responds accordingly.

2009, Ryan Farley, Xinyuan Wang, “Roving Bugnet: Distributed Surveillance Threat and Mitigation”, in Dimitris Gritzalis, Javier López, editors, Emerging Challenges for Security, Privacy and Trust: 24th IFIP TC 11 International Information Security Conference, page 42:

He is particularly good at creating web robots, which are also called bots. A bot is software that searches for certain kinds of websites and then automatically does something — good or bad — on each site. Google uses bots to search and index websites.

2009, Richard K. Neumann, Legal Reasoning and Legal Writing: Structure, Strategy, and Style, page 91:

Twitter bots can leverage Twitter′s text message support to allow users to accomplish tasks from their cell phones. You could consider Twitter accounts that are simply an automated import of blog′s RSS feed a Twitter bot.

2010, Dusty Reagan, Twitter Application Development For Dummies, page 59:

Overall, bots—good and bad—are responsible for 52 percent of web traffic, according to a new report by the security firm Imperva, which issues an annual assessment of bot activity online.

2017 January 31, Adrienne LaFrance, “The Internet Is Mostly Bots”, in The Atlantic, retrieved 2021-09-01:

(computing) A piece of software designed to perform a minor but repetitive task automatically or on command, especially when operating with the appearance of a (human) user profile or account.

بُوت

a piece of software for doing repetitive tasks


king

en-verb

king (third-person singular simple present kings, present participle kinging, simple past and past participle kinged)

kings (present singular third-person)
kinging (participle present)
kinged (participle past)
kinged (past)

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

Audio — the king

The seating arrangement of the temple was the Almanach de Gotha of Congregation Emanu-el. Old Ben Reitman, patriarch among the Jewish settlers of Winnebago, who had come over an immigrant youth, and who now owned hundreds of rich farm acres, besides houses, mills and banks, kinged it from the front seat of the center section.

1917, Edna Ferber, Fanny Herself, page 32:

To assume or pretend preeminence (over); to lord it over.

If the machine does this, it will lose only one point, and as it is not looking far enough ahead, it cannot see that it has not prevented its opponent from kinging but only postponed the evil day.

1957, Bertram Vivian Bowden, editor, Faster Than Thought: A Symposium on Digital Computing Machines, page 302:

I was about to make a move that would corner a piece that she was trying to get kinged, but I slid my checker back[…].

1986, Rick DeMarinis, The Burning Women of Far Cry, page 100:

To promote a piece of draughts/checkers that has traversed the board to the opposite side, that piece subsequently being permitted to move backwards as well as forwards.

Through the ex-centric diaspora, kinging in postcolonial Australia has become a site of critical hybridity where diasporic female masculinities have emerged through the contestations of "home" and "host" cultures.

2008, Audrey Yue, “King Victoria: Asian Drag Kings, Postcolonial Female Masculinity, and Hybrid Sexuality in Australia”, in Fran Martin, Peter Jackson, Audrey Yue, Mark McLelland, editors, AsiaPacifQueer: Rethinking Genders and Sexualities, page 266:


parallel

From Middle French parallèle, borrowed from Latin parallelus.

parallel universe

(science fiction, of realities, dimensions, timelines, etc.) Coexisting but normally not interacting with the regular reality.


adamant

From Middle English adamant, adamaunt, from Latin adamantem, accusative singular form of adamās (“hard as steel”), from Ancient Greek ἀδάμας (adámas, “invincible”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + δαμάζω (damázō, “I tame”) or of Semitic origin. Doublet of diamond.

der

This then is and alwayes hath ben the fashion of Worldlinges, & reprobate persons, to harden their hartes as an adamant stone, against anye thinge that shalbe tolde the for amendement of their lives, and for the savinge of their soules.

1582, Robert Parsons, chapter 8, in The first booke of the Christian exercise, appertayning to resolution, G. Flinton:

As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead …

1611, King James Translators, Ezekiel 3:9

But this was a finale she ever avoided: an offer, like the rock of adamant in Sinbad's voyages, finishes the attraction by destroying the vessel;...

1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XV, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 162:

An imaginary rock or mineral of impenetrable hardness; a name given to the diamond and other substances of extreme hardness.


general

en-noun

general (countable and uncountable, plural generals)

From Middle English general, in turn from Anglo-Norman general, generall, Middle French general, and their source, Latin generālis, from genus (“class, kind”) + -ālis (“-al”); thus morphologically parallel with, and a doublet of, generic.


astronaut

/ˈæstɹəˌnɔːt/

/ˈæstɹəˌnɔt/

/ˈæstɹəˌnɑt/

From astro- + -naut. Coined from Ancient Greek ἄστρον (ástron, “star”) and ναύτης (naútēs, “sailor”).

astronout

member of the crew of a spaceship or other spacecraft, or someone trained for that purpose — see also cosmonaut

(Hong Kong) A person (typically man) working abroad away from their family.


queen

Tok Pisin: kwin

desc

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

→ Burmese: ကွင်း (kwang:)

→ German: Queen

→ Japanese: クイーン (kuīn), クィーン (kwīn)

→ Korean: 퀸 (kwin)

→ Marshallese: kwiin

→ Sikaiana: kuini

→ Spanish: cuina

→ Thai: ควีน (kwiin)

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

gloss

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

cog

[…] and yet I will not ſay but amongſt duſt there is Pearle found, and in hard rockes Dyamonds of great value, and ſo amongſt many women there are ſome good, as that gracious and glorious Queene of all woman kinde the Virgin Mary the mother of al bliſſe, what wun her honour, but an humble minde and her paines and loue vnto our Sauiour Chriſt.

1620, Thomas Tell-Troth [pseudonym of Joseph Swetnam], The Araignment of Lewd, Idle, Froward, and Unconstant Women: Or the Vanitie of Them, Choose You Whether, London, published 1807, retrieved 2022-01-14:

A woman whose pre-eminence, power, or forcefulness is comparable to that of a queen.

(Christianity) The Virgin Mary (especially in formulations such as Queen of Heaven, Queen of Glory).


gold

Borrowed from English gold, from Middle English gold, from Old English gold (“gold”), from Proto-Germanic *gulþą (“gold”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰl̥tóm (“gold”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- (“yellow; gleam; to shine”).

der

(fantasy roleplaying games board games) miscellaneous unit of currency in fantasy genre


epigram

epigram (nominative singular)
epigramy (nominative plural)
epigramu (genitive singular)
epigramów (genitive plural)
epigramowi (dative singular)
epigramom (dative plural)
epigram (accusative singular)
epigramy (accusative plural)
epigramem (instrumental singular)
epigramami (instrumental plural)
epigramie (locative singular)
epigramach (locative plural)
epigramie (singular vocative)
epigramy (plural vocative)

(poetry) epigram (short, witty or pithy poem)


handmaiden

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

* From Middle English hande mayden, handmaiden, hand mayden, hand-mayden, handmayden, hondemaiden, hond maydyn, hoondmaydyn; equivalent to hand + maiden, the first component in the sense of "ready at hand".
* (feminist woman who supports transgender rights): An allusion to Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale (1985), in which "handmaids" are women who serve the male commanders in a patriarchal dystopia.

sense

Online and over Shabbat dinners, arguments about the election have grown bitter. Those grudgingly planning to vote for Labour have been called traitors to the community and self-hating Jews. Anti-Corbyn die-hards, on the other hand, have been branded the handmaidens of a hard Brexit.

2019 November 21, Benjamin Mueller, “At Odds With Labour, Britain’s Jews Are Feeling Politically Homeless”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-11-13:


wij

wij (nominative singular)
wije (nominative plural)
wija (genitive singular)
wijów (genitive plural)
wijowi (dative singular)
wijom (dative plural)
wija (accusative singular)
wije (accusative plural)
wijem (instrumental singular)
wijami (instrumental plural)
wiju (locative singular)
wijach (locative plural)
wiju (singular vocative)
wije (plural vocative)

Probably related to Ukrainian вій (vij), which refers to the same creature.

(Slavic mythology) viy (creature with gigantic eyelids and eyelashes from hell who kills by looking at people)


DC

Ellipsis of DC Comics.: Initialism of Detective Comics.


RS

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
w:Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire

(fandom slang) Initialism of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.


FL

(slang, manga, anime) Abbreviation of female lead.


SI

en-noun

SI (countable and uncountable, plural SIs)

S.I.

statutory instrument, chiefly in citation

(fandom slang) Initialism of self-insertion. (of the author into fan fiction)


CT

(science fiction) Initialism of contraterrene.


ME

United States of America
United States of America

Abbreviation of Maine, a state of the United States of America.


ML

ML (countable and uncountable, plural MLs)

(slang, manga, anime) Abbreviation of male lead.


banshee

desc

→ Arabic: بَانْشِي (bānšī)

→ Arabic: بَانْشِي (bānšī)

→ Catalan: banshee

→ Dutch: banshee

→ Esperanto: banŝio

→ Finnish: banshee

→ French: banshee, banshie

→ German: Banshee

→ Japanese: バンシー (banshī)

→ Korean: 반시 (bansi)

→ Northern Kurdish: banşî

→ Portuguese: banshee

→ Russian: ба́нши (bánši), банши́ (banší), ба́ньши (bánʹši), баньши́ (banʹší)

→ Spanish: banshee

Borrowed from Irish bean sí, from Old Irish ben síde (literally “woman of the fairy mound”). The term banshee entered English in 1771.

der

Late had he heard, in prophet's dream, / The fatal Ben-Shie's boding scream […].

1810, The Lady of the Lake, Walter Scott, 3.VII:

(Scotland, Ireland, folklore) A female spirit, usually taking the form of a woman whose mournful wailing warns of an impending death.


IMF

Since 1996 and over six installments, special IMF (The Impossible Missions Force) agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has been spectacularly ‘figuring things right in the face of danger, often without a plan.

2018, Deborah Cornelious, “‘Mission: Impossible - Fallout’ review: mission successful”, in The Hindu, archived from the original on 2022-12-07:

Impossible Mission Force
w:Impossible Mission Force

(fiction) Initialism of Impossible Mission Force, a fictional spy organization from the Mission: Impossible franchise.


jump

Brill Publishers
hydraulic jump
jump cut
jump discontinuity
jump instruction

From Middle English jumpen (“to walk quickly, run, jump”), probably of Middle Low German or North Germanic origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *gumpōną ~ *gumbōną (“to hop, skip, jump”), an iterative verb. The OED suggests an imitative origin. Others have connected it to Ancient Greek ἀθεμβούσα (athemboúsa, “uninhibited”), which is unlikely. Related to jumble. In the sense “to propel oneself” it displaced leap partially and spring largely.
Cognates
Cognate with Middle Dutch gumpen (“to jump”), Low German jumpen (“to jump”), Middle High German gumpen, gampen (“to jump, hop”) (dialectal German gampen, Alemannic German gumpe, Walser dialect kumpu), Old Norse goppa (“to jump”) Danish gumpe (“to jolt”), Swedish gumpa (“to jump”), Danish gimpe (“to move up and down”), Middle English jumpren, jumbren (“to mix, jumble”).

onomatopoeic

imitative

قَفْزَة

instance of propelling oneself into the air — see also leap

(science fiction) An instance of faster-than-light travel, not observable from ordinary space.


gray

From Middle English gray, from Old English grǣġ, from Proto-West Germanic *grāu, from Proto-Germanic *grēwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰreh₁- (“to green, to grow”).
See also Dutch grauw, German grau, Old Norse grár); also Latin rāvus (“grey”), Old Church Slavonic зьрѭ (zĭrjǫ, “to see, to glance”), Russian зреть (zretʹ, “to watch, to look at”) (archaic), Lithuanian žeriù (“to shine”).

cog

(chiefly US, ufology) Synonym of grey alien


gray

(ufology) gray (one of a race of evil, short extraterrestrial beings)


gripe

English: grip (obsolete)

Borrowed from Old French gripe, from Latin gryps, grȳphus, from Ancient Greek γρῡ́ψ (grū́ps).

A griffin (mythological beast; also in heraldry).


magia

Borrowed from Late Latin magīa, from Ancient Greek μαγεία (mageía).

Los cineastas usaron su magia tecnológica para crear efectos especiales.

The filmmakers used their technical wizardry to create special effects.

(figuratively) wizardry (skill, ability)


lemon

desc

→ Kashubian: lemòna (Canada, United States)

Cream Lemon
Lemon
Lemon (color)
Lemon (geometry)

Inherited from Middle English lymon, from Old French lymon (“citrus”), from Arabic لَيْمُون (laymūn) or Persian لیمون (limon), from Persian لیمو (limu), from Sanskrit निम्बू (nimbū, “lime”), ultimately from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *limaw or Munda. Likely doublet of lime.
The fandom sense is named after the erotic anime series Cream Lemon.

I'd really like to know what people think of this and whether I should carry on writing lemons or go and hide under a rock somewhere.

1997 April 18, Neko, “[Dominion][FanFic][Lemon] A Typical Night at the Station”, in rec.arts.anime.creative (Usenet):

WARNING: This story is a lemon and must be viewed with great care. If you are either under the age of 18, think graphic sex is discussing^([sic]) or you know what my writing is like you should turn away now.

2000 May 30, Ian Blakeman, “[Eva][FanFic][Lemon] A day at Misatos appartment^([sic])”, in rec.arts.anime.creative (Usenet):

This won't be a lemon simply because I can't see myself writing anything like that.

2002 November 10, Goku Girl, “[DBZ][FanFic][Yaoi] Saiya-jin no Suto-ri Ichi (part one)”, in rec.arts.anime.creative (Usenet):

(fandom slang) A piece of fanfiction involving explicit sex.


dimension

a machine that lets you travel to a parallel dimension.

"If a man should wish to be in some other place, it is entirely possible for him to imagine himself in that place and, diving back through the negative dimension, to emerge out of it in that place with instantaneous rapidity. To imagine oneself———"

1938 July, L. Ron Hubbard, “The Dangerous Dimension”, in Astounding Science-Fiction, volume XXI, number 5, Street & Smith, →OCLC, page 105:

DR. PAUL MANHEIM: I have been on the other side. I have touched another dimension. Part of me is still there.
LAURA MANHEIM: Help him.
DR. CRUSHER: Try to stay calm Dr. Manheim. I don't think it's going to help you're struggling against it.
DR. PAUL MANHEIM: My mind is floating between two places. It is difficult to know which is which. There is no way to explain it.

1988 May 2, Rod Loomis, Michelle Phillips, Gates McFadden, We'll Always Have Paris (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Paramount Domestic Television, →OCLC:

He was experimenting with matter transportation through the nth dimension.

2016, A.K. Brown, Jumpstart (Champagne Universe Series: Book 1), page 2:

(science fiction, fantasy) A universe or plane of existence.


larva

la-noun

lārva f (genitive lārvae); first declension

lārva (canonical feminine)
lārvae (genitive)
lārva (nominative singular)
lārvae (nominative plural)
lārvae (genitive singular)
lārvārum (genitive plural)
lārvae (dative singular)
lārvīs (dative plural)
lārvam (accusative singular)
lārvās (accusative plural)
lārvā (ablative singular)
lārvīs (ablative plural)
lārva (singular vocative)
lārvae (plural vocative)

Catalan: larva

Czech: larva

Danish: larve

Dutch: larve

English: larva

French: larve

Galician: larva

Hungarian: lárva

Macedonian: ларва (larva)

Middle High German: larve, larfe

German: Larve

Mòcheno: lòrf

Italian: larva

Norwegian: larve

Polish: larwa

Portuguese: larva

Romanian: larvă

Russian: ла́рва (lárva)

Spanish: larva

Swedish: larv

Possibly from Lār (“Etruscan praenomen; titulary god”), usu. as Lares (“guardian deities”), but vowel length gradation unexplained.

(mythology) ghost, haunt, evil spirit, demon, devil


ドラキュラ

[do̞ɾa̠kʲɨɾa̠]


悪魔

From Middle Chinese 惡魔 (MC 'ak ma, literally “bad, evil + demon”).

ltc-l

(Buddhism) a mara, a demon seeking to prevent enlightenment


invisibly

en-adv

invisibly (comparative more invisibly, superlative most invisibly)

more invisibly (comparative)
most invisibly (superlative)

In a way that can not be seen; in an invisible manner.


force

en-noun

force (countable and uncountable, plural forces)

From Middle English force, fors, forse, from Old French force, from Late Latin fortia, a noun derived from the neuter plural of Latin fortis (“strong”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to rise, high, hill”).

der

non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger

The Europeans tried, my goodness how they tried. But on the day the US proved too strong and too inspired. They were, dammit, just better. And when Leonard's putt dropped they clearly had the force with them as well.

1999 September 28, Mike Selvey, “Crenshaw vindicated by a chain reaction”, in The Guardian:

The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.

2005, George Lucas, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, spoken by Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), published 2005:

(humorous or science fiction, with the, often capitalized) A metaphysical and ubiquitous power from the fictional Star Wars universe created by George Lucas. See usage note.

voima

science fiction: binding, metaphysical, and ubiquitous power


neck

The Neck no more upon the river sings.
And no Mermaid to bleach her linen flings
Upon the waves in the mild solar ray.

1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 234:

(folklore) A shapeshifting water spirit in Germanic mythology and folklore; a nix.


angel

Jamaican Creole: ienjel

→ Chinese: 安琪兒／安琪儿 (ānqí'ér)

→ Hawaiian: ʻānela

→ Lingala: anjelu, anzelu

→ Malagasy: anjely

Florence Baptistery
Seven churches of Asia
en:Angel (disambiguation)
en:angel

Two Baroque angels from southern Germany, from the mid-18th century
From Middle English angel, aungel, ængel, engel, from Old English anġel, ænġel, enġel, enċġel (“angel, messenger”), from Proto-West Germanic *angil, borrowed from Latin angelus, itself from Ancient Greek ἄγγελος (ángelos, “messenger”); and also in part from Anglo-Norman angele, angle, from the same Latin source. The religious sense of the Greek word first appeared in the Septuagint as a translation of the Hebrew word מַלְאָךְ (malʾāḵ, “messenger”) or יהוה מַלְאָךְ (malʾāḵ YHWH, “messenger of YHWH”).
Use of the term in some churches to refer to a church official derives from interpreting the "angels" of the Seven churches of Asia in Revelation as being bishops or ministers rather than angelic beings.

der

don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly

(colloquial, dated) An unidentified flying object detected by air traffic control radar.


race

en-noun

race (countable and uncountable, plural races)

1560s, via Middle French race from Italian razza (early 14th century), of uncertain origin. Partially displaced native Middle English kinde (“kind, type, sort, race, nature”), whence English kind.
theories
* Diez and some other scholars suggest derivation from Proto-Germanic *raitō (whence Old High German reiza (“line”) and Old Norse ríta (“to score, log, outline”)), perhaps via Lombardic *raiza (“line”), which Körting notes is a literal rendering of Latin linea sanguinis (“bloodline of descent”). Anatoly Liberman says "the semantic fit is good" but the chronology falters; he says the Germanic word went out of use before the Italian word arose, and he says the intermediary is not attested.
* Some scholars suggest derivation from Old Spanish raza, rasa, from earlier ras, res (“head of cattle”), from Arabic رَأْس (raʔs, “head”), but Italian razza predates the Spanish word according to Diez and Meyer-Lübke.
* Meyer-Lübke suggested Latin generatio as the root; Körting says "the disappearance of two initial syllables hardly seems credible", but Meyer-Lübke notes the Venetian form narazza and the Old Bellunesian form naraccia, positing that after the first syllable ge- was lost, the remaining (una) narazza came to be reanalysed as una razza.
* Gianfranco Contini suggests the Italian word comes from Old French haraz (“troop of horses”), whence Modern French haras (“breeding farm for horses; stud farm”), from Old Norse hárr (“grey-haired; hoary”). Liberman considers this derivation the most likely.
* Other suggested Latin etyma:
** radius (perhaps via Vulgar Latin *radia) (per Baist).
** radix (“root”) (per Ulrich); Liberman says "the semantic match is excellent", and race (“rhizome of ginger”) (which definitely derives from radix) shows that the phonology is plausible.
** *raptiare (“breed falcons”) (per Körting).
** The nominative of ratio (perhaps via an unattested intermediate form *razzo), as opposed to ragione which derives from the accusative rationem.
* Other implausible suggestions include Slavic raz and Basque arraca, supposedly meaning "stud animal" (Basque arrazza, "race", derives from Spanish).

raça

a group of sentient beings distinguished by common characteristics

عِرْق

a large group of people distinguished from others on the basis of physical characteristics

raça

a group of organisms distinguished by common characteristics

A treaty was concluded between the race of elves and the race of men.

There are two distinct races of gods known to Norse mythology[.]

1898, Herman Isidore Stern, The gods of our fathers: a study of Saxon mythology, page 15:

Imagine a race of aliens that develops on a dimly lit world perpetually shrouded in clouds so that vision would be less useful for survival than on Earth.

1999, Clifford A. Pickover, The Science of Aliens, page 47:

Tali: My father is responsible for the lives of seventeen million people—our entire race is in his hands. And I'm his only child.

2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Normandy SR-1:

A group of sentient beings, particularly people, distinguished by common ancestry, heritage or characteristics (see Wikipedia's article on historical definitions of race):

(fantasy, science fiction, mythology) A large group of nonhumans distinguished from others on the basis of a common heritage.


tractor

en-verb

tractor (third-person singular simple present tractors, present participle tractoring, simple past and past participle tractored)

tractors (present singular third-person)
tractoring (participle present)
tractored (participle past)
tractored (past)

Formed from Latin tractus, perfect passive participle of trahere (“to pull”), + agent noun suffix -or.

(transitive, science fiction) To move with a tractor beam.


law

en-noun

law (countable and uncountable, plural laws)

From Middle English lawe, laȝe, from Old English lagu (“law”), borrowed from Old Norse lǫg (“law”, literally “things laid down or firmly established”), originally the plural of lag (“layer, stratum, a laying in order, measure, stroke”), from Proto-Germanic *lagą (“that which is laid down”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”). Cognate with Scots law (“law”), Icelandic lög (“things laid down, law”), Faroese lóg (“law”), Norwegian lov (“law”), Swedish lag (“law”), Danish lov (“law”), Finnish laki (“law”). Replaced Old English ǣ and ġesetnes. More at lay.
Not related to legal, nor to French loi, Spanish ley, all of which ultimately derive from Latin lēx, from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to gather”).

азакуан

body of rules established in a community by its authorities

(fantasy) One of two metaphysical forces ruling the world in some fantasy settings, also called order, and opposed to chaos.


rod

From Middle English rodde, from Old English *rodd or *rodde (attested in dative plural roddum (“rod, pole”)), of uncertain origin, but probably from Proto-Germanic *rudd- (“stick, club”), from Proto-Indo-European *rewdʰ- (“to clear land”). Compare Old Norse rudda (“club”). For the root, compare English rid. Presumably unrelated to Proto-Germanic *rōdō (“rod, pole”).

These cylindrical rods fly through the air at incredible speeds and can only be picked up by high-speed cameras.

2000, Jack Barranger, Paul Tice, Mysteries Explored: The Search for Human Origins, Ufos, and Religious Beginnings, Book Three, p.37:

During one such broadcast in 1997, the esteemed radio host bellowed, “I got a fax earlier today from MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) in Arizona and they said what you think are rods are actually insects!”

2009, Barry Conrad, An Unknown Encounter: A True Account of the San Pedro Haunting, Dorrance Publishing, pages 129–130:

He tells of a home video showing a rod flying into the open mouth of a girl singing at a wedding.

2010, Deena West Budd, The Weiser Field Guide to Cryptozoology: Werewolves, Dragons, Skyfish, Lizard Men, and Other Fascinating Creatures Real and Mysterious, Weiser Books, page 15:

(ufology) A rod-shaped object that appears in photographs or videos traveling at high speed, not seen by the person recording the event, often associated with extraterrestrial entities.


behemoth

/ˈbiː.əˌməθ/

From Middle English behemoth, bemoth, from Late Latin behemoth, from Hebrew בְּהֵמוֹת (behemót). Most likely, the Hebrew word is an intensive plural of בְּהֵמָה (behemá, “beast”), from Proto-Semitic (compare Ge'ez ብህመ (bəhmä, “to be dumb, to be speechless”), Arabic ب ه م (b-h-m)).
Some have instead suggested a borrowing from a hypothetical Egyptian pA-i-H-E1-mw (*pꜣ-jḥ-mw, “hippopotamus”, literally “the ox of the water”), from pꜣ (“definite article”) + jḥ (“ox, cattle”) + mw (“water”) in a direct genitive construction (for the pronunciation, compare the later Coptic descendants ⲡ- (p-) + ⲉϩⲉ (ehe) + ⲙⲟⲟⲩ (moou)); this, however, suffers from problems such as the lack of attestation of the supposed etymon, and there seems little reason to prefer it to the intensive plural explanation.

der

<i class="Latn mention" lang="egy">*pꜣ-jḥ-mw</i>

Coordinate term: leviathan

⸿ Beholde now Behemoth which I made with thee, hee eateth graſſe as an oxe.
 Loe now, his ſtrength is in his loynes, and his force is in the nauell of his belly.
 Hee moueth his taile like a Cedar: the ſinewes of his ſtones are wrapt together.
 His bones are as ſtrong pieces of braſſe: his bones are like barres of iron.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 40:15–18, column 1:

(biblical) A great and mighty beast which God shows to Job in Job 40:15–24.


spell

From Middle English spell, spel, from Old English spell (“news, story”), from Proto-Germanic *spellą (“speech, account, tale”), from Proto-Indo-European *spel- (“to tell”) or from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to speak, to sound”) with the s-mobile prefix. Cognate with dialectal German Spill, Icelandic spjall (“discussion, talk”), spjalla (“to discuss, to talk”), guðspjall (“gospel”) and Albanian fjalë (“word”).

der

hoa- (prefix with various attachments for various purposes)

under a spell

Skies are not so black / Mary took me back / Mary has broken your spell

1962, Marty Robbins (lyrics and music), “Devil Woman”:

I believe your love has placed its spell on me

2020, Deftones, The Spell of Mathematics:

A magical effect or influence induced by an incantation or formula.


spell

→ Welsh: sbel

From Middle English spelen, from Old English spelian (“to represent, take or stand in the place of another, act as a representative of another”), akin to Middle English spale (“a rest or break”), Old English spala (“representative, substitute”).

cog

Even Mrs. Harker seems to lose sight of her trouble for whole spells. [...] When he had spoken, Mina's long spell of silence made me look at her.

1897, Bram Stoker, chapter 24, in Dracula, HTML edition:

So after a short spell in the brass foundry the wisest course was to follow with a similar period in the steel foundry, where much important work was done, including the manufacture of centres for wheels.

1944 November and December, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 343:

[...] Class 37s became synonymous with the depot, and over the years more than a third of the class had a spell allocated to the shed.

2020 June 17, John Crosse, “Thornaby's traction transition”, in Rail, page 65:

(colloquial) An indefinite period of time (usually with a qualifier); by extension, a relatively short distance.


rake

en-verb

rake (third-person singular simple present rakes, present participle raking, simple past and past participle raked)

rakes (present singular third-person)
raking (participle present)
raked (participle past)
raked (past)

From Middle English rake, rakke (“pass, path, track; type of fencing thrust; pasture land (?)”), and then partly:
* probably from Old English racu (“bed of a stream; path; account, narrative; explanation; argument, reasoning; reason”) (compare Old English hrace, hraca, hracu (“gorge”)), from Proto-Germanic *rakō (“path, track; course, direction; an unfolding, unwinding; account, narrative; argument, reasoning”) [and other forms], from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten, right oneself”); and
* from Old Norse rák (“strip; stripe; furrow; small mountain ravine”), further etymology uncertain but probably ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rakō, as above.
cognates
The English word is cognate with Icelandic rák (“streak, stripe; notch in a rock; vein in stone or wood”), Norwegian råk (“channel (in ice); cow path; trail”), Norwegian Nynorsk råk (“channel (in ice); cow path; trail; furrow; stripe”), Swedish råk (“crack or channel in ice; river valley”); and probably cognate with Old Danish rag (modern Danish rag (“stiff; taut”) (regional)), Old Norse rakr (“straight”), Swedish rak (“straight”).

cog

Alternative spelling of raik (“(intransitive, Midlands, Northern England, Scotland) to walk; to roam, to wander; of animals (especially sheep): to graze; (transitive, chiefly Scotland) to roam or wander through (somewhere)”)


criminal

From Middle English cryminal, borrowed from Anglo-Norman criminal, from Late Latin criminalis, from Latin crimen (“crime”).

‘[…] There's every Staffordshire crime-piece ever made in this cabinet, and that's unique. The Van Hoyer Museum in New York hasn't that very rare second version of Maria Marten's Red Barn over there, nor the little Frederick George Manning—he was the criminal Dickens saw hanged on the roof of the gaol in Horsemonger Lane, by the way—’

1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

A person who is guilty of a crime, notably breaking the law.

kriminele

person guilty of a crime, breaking the law


人

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (人):
* → Japanese: 人(にん) (nin); 人(じん) (jin)
* → Korean: 인(人) (in)
* → Vietnamese: nhân (人)

Austroasiatic languages
Shang dynasty
Yueshi culture

Characters in the same phonetic series (人) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
Pictogram (象形) – side view of a standing man, highlighting an arm and a leg. Compare 大, 立 (lì), 卩 (jié), 夭, and 氏 according to one interpretation. See also the original version of 年.
亼 is similar but unrelated; it represents an open mouth flipped upside down and appears on top of characters such as 食, 金, 令, 龠, and 今.
It represents a roof in the characters 余, 茶, 舍, and 倉. It represents a flag on a flagpole in 㫃. Eventually, it represents two parallel mountain walls in 谷.
The stylized version to the left of the characters is 亻 (see also 千). Similar but unrelated to 彳.
Sagart (1999) relates it to Tibetan ཉེན (nyen, “relative”), from ཉེ (nye, “near”) + nominalizing suffix -n; if so, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-naːj ~ s-nej (“near”).
Schuessler (2007) proposes two etymologies:
* Same etymon as 仁 (OC *njin, “to be kind; to be good”), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s/k-niŋ (“heart; brain; mind”). The semantic association of 仁 with 人 was somewhat late, dated to Mencius's time; later on, 仁 would be usually interpreted as "humane, acting like a human being".
** If so, semantically parallel with Tibetan སེམས་ཅན (sems can, “living being, human, animal”, literally “possessor of mind”); and Latin animalis (“living, having soul”) from anima (“soul”).
* Related to Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɲaʔ ~ *ɲah (“person”) with a nominalizing suffix -n, from the auto-ethnonym of a hostile, possibly Austroasiatic-speaking, eastern people, whom the Sinitic-speaking Shang referred to as 人方 (OC *njin paŋ).

ncog

亻
𠆢
儿
𠂉
几
𠔽
𤯔
𦉫
寧
儂/侬
𠆧

吃得苦中苦，方為人上人／吃得苦中苦，方为人上人

chī de kǔ zhōng kǔ, fāng wéi rén shàng rén

狼人 ― lángrén ― werewolf

虎人 ― hǔrén ― weretiger

(fantasy, mythology) were- (indicates a person who changes shape into an animal)


shrew

From Middle English *schrewe, from Old English sċrēawa (“shrew”), from Proto-Germanic *skrawwaz (“thin; meagre; frail”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut; shorten; skimp”). Cognates include Old High German scrawaz (“dwarf”), Norwegian skrugg (“dwarf”).

otter shrew

subfamily Potamogalinae in family Tenrecidae

treeshrew

families Tupaiidae and Ptilocercidae in order Scandentia

West Indies shrew

genus †Nesophontes in family Solenodontidae

Any of numerous small, mouselike, chiefly nocturnal, mammals of the family Soricidae (order Soricomorpha).

Certain other small mammals that resemble true shrews.

The clerk had, I'm afraid, a shrew of a wife—shrill, vehement, and fluent. 'Rogue,' 'old miser,' 'old sneak,' and a great many worse names, she called him.

1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:

His wife was a shrew with warts on her face and she spoke to him sharply when others were present, but Simcha did not complain.

1959, Mordecai Richler, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz:

(derogatory) An ill-tempered, nagging woman: a scold.


ドラゴン

[do̞ɾa̠ɡõ̞ɴ]

(especially fantasy) Western dragon (mythical creature)


human

From Late Middle English humayne, humain, from Middle French humain, from Old French humain, umain, from Latin hūmānus m (“of or belonging to a man, human, humane”, adjective), from homo, with unclear ū. Spelling human has been predominant since the early 18th century. Not etymologically related to man.

чолові́к m (čolovík) (now usually means "man", "male human")

Greetings. I am Blor-Utar from Zimtok-5. I have come to subjugate the human race. Do not resist. Why humans? Because, in addition to their value as slave labor, they are also delicious and nutritious!

1994 March 29, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes:

(strictly, biology) The tallest, most abundant and most intelligent of the primates; Homo sapiens.

(fantasy, science fiction, mythology) A human as contrasted from superficially similar but typically more powerful humanoid creatures; a member of the human race.

Greetings, human! You have stumbled into the dimension of the Snow People.[…]Flesh plows clear the streets to make them safe to drive.[…]Does this shock you, human? Do the ways of our world open your eyes to the truths of your own?

2011 December 29, Alex Culang, Raynato Castro, Buttersafe (webcomic):

(fantasy, science fiction) A term of address for any human, often implying the listener's species is their only noteworthy trait.


編

From Middle Chinese 編 (MC pen|pjien|penX).


princess

From Middle English princesse, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman princesse, Old French princesse. By surface analysis, prince + -ess.

A Bulgarian open-faced baked sandwich prepared with ground meat.


dictator

desc

→ Pashto: ديکتاتور (diktātor), ډيکټاټور (ḍikṭaṭor)

→ Swahili: dikteta

→ Urdu: ڈِکْٹیٹَر (ḍikṭeṭar)

→ Urdu: ڈِکْٹیٹَر (ḍikṭeṭar)

From Latin dictātor (“a chief magistrate”), from dictō (“dictate, prescribe”), from dīcō (“say, speak”). By surface analysis, dictate + -or, literally “one who dictates”.

surf

(history) A magistrate without colleague in republican Ancient Rome, who held full executive authority for a term granted by the Senate, typically to conduct a war.


plasma

en-verb

plasma (third-person singular simple present plasmas, present participle plasmaing, simple past and past participle plasmaed)

plasmas (present singular third-person)
plasmaing (participle present)
plasmaed (participle past)
plasmaed (past)

From Late Latin plasma (“mold”), from Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma, “something formed”).

der

(science fiction, transitive) To transform something into plasma.


broadsword

The Brythunian's arm drew back; the ancient broadsword with its strange, clawed quillons arcked spinning through the air.

1990, Robert Jordan, “Conan the Magnificent”, in The Conan Chronicles II, published 1997:

Henry carried a heavy broadsword with a cruciform hilt, and a decorated dagger on his hip known as a misericord because its blade could release souls. The English knights and men-at-arms carried broadswords, maces for smashing skulls and the murderous pole-axe, combining a spear with an axehead about five feet long.

2013, Colin Brown, “1415 Azincourt”, in Glory and B*llocks: The Truth Behind Ten Defining Events in British History, →ISBN, page 46:

(colloquial, often fantasy) Synonym of longsword


unbinilium

systematic element name
systematic element name

The systematic element name for the (as yet undiscovered) chemical element with atomic number 120 (symbol Ubn).


Klingon

[Alt: Photograph of two people in Klingon costume]
c. 1960s, from the Star Trek franchise, purportedly by Gene Roddenberry, named for Lieutenant Wilbur Clingan of the Los Angeles Police Department. In-universe, the name was a transcription of Klingon tlhIngan.

SPOCK: Captain, we've reached the designated position for scanning the coded directive tape.
KIRK: Good. We've both guessed right. Negotiations with the Klingon Empire are on the verge of breaking down. Starfleet Command anticipates a surprise attack. We are to proceed to Organia and take whatever steps are necessary to prevent the Klingons from using it as a base.

1967 March 23, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Errand of Mercy (Star Trek: The Original Series), Paramount Domestic Television, →OCLC:

(countable) Member of an alien warrior race in the Star Trek universe with distinctive forehead ridges and a culture based on strict observance of honour, loyalty, and combat.

克林貢

member of an alien warrior race in the Star Trek universe


Klingon

An artificial language created by Marc Okrand for the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.


doujinshi

en-noun

doujinshi (countable and uncountable, plural doujinshi or doujinshis)

Borrowed from Japanese 同(どう)人(じん)誌(し) (dōjinshi, “fan-produced manga or essay booklets”), from 同(どう)人(じん) (dōjin, “group for the same interest”) + 誌(し) (shi, “magazine or a pamphlet”).

ja-r

(manga) A fan-produced book or magazine of Japanese fiction; especially manga.


humanoid

From human + -oid from Latin hūmānus m (“of or belonging to a man, human, humane”, adjective).

A being having the appearance or characteristics of a human.

humanoid

a being having the appearance or characteristics of a human


humanoid

pl-noun

humanoid m animal (related adjective humanoidalny)

humanoidalny (adjective)
humanoid (nominative singular)
humanoidy (nominative plural)
humanoida (genitive singular)
humanoidów (genitive plural)
humanoidowi (dative singular)
humanoidom (dative plural)
humanoida (accusative singular)
humanoidy (accusative plural)
humanoidem (instrumental singular)
humanoidami (instrumental plural)
humanoidzie (locative singular)
humanoidach (locative plural)
humanoidzie (singular vocative)
humanoidy (plural vocative)

Internationalism; compare English humanoid, French humanoïde, German Humanoid, ultimately from Latin hūmānus.

(robotics, science fiction) humanoid (being having the appearance or characteristics of a human)


space

en-verb

space (third-person singular simple present spaces, present participle spacing, simple past and past participle spaced)

spaces (present singular third-person)
spacing (participle present)
spaced (participle past)
spaced (past)

From Middle English space, from Anglo-Norman space, variant of espace, espas et al., and spaze, variant of espace, from Latin spatium, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peh₂- (“to stretch, to pull”).

der

The captain spaced the traitors.

Sound effect of blow with blunt instrument, groan, and the unmistakable cycling of an air lock—Castor: "Sorry, folks. My assistant has just spaced Mr. Rudolf. […]"

1952, Robert A. Heinlein, The Rolling Stones:

A lot of people make jokes about spacing somebody, about shoving somebody out an airlock. I don't think it's funny. Never will.

1995, J. Michael Straczynski, And Now for a Word (Babylon 5), season 2, episode 15, spoken by Dr. Stephen Franklin (Richard Biggs):

(transitive, science fiction) To kill (someone) by ejection into outer space, usually without a space suit.

He well remembered, when he was a junior officer, how the sight of a well dressed, impeccably neat commanding officer, no matter how long they had been spacing, maintained the enthusiasm, confidence and morale of the officers and men.

1947 January 20, Bernard I. Kahn, “Command”, in Astounding Science Fiction, volume 38, number 5:

(intransitive, science fiction) To travel into and through outer space.


animé

From Japanese アニメ (“anime”), from アニメーション (“animēshon”), from English animation.


prince

From Middle English prince, from Anglo-Norman prince, from Latin prīnceps (“first head”), from prīmus (“first”) + capiō (“seize, take”). Cognate with Old English fruma (“prince, ruler”). Doublet of princeps.
Displaced native Middle English atheling, from Old English æþeling; Middle English kinebarn, from Old English cynebearn; Middle English alder, from Old English ealdor; and Middle English drighten, from Old English dryhten.


mana

en-noun

mana (usually uncountable, plural manas)

Borrowed from Maori mana, ultimately from Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.
The use of "mana" for "magical power" in videogames originated from Larry Niven, when he wrote the short story, "Not Long Before the End", in 1969. It was later popularised by his "The Magic Goes Away" setting.

Battle of Chunuk Bair
New Zealand Defence Force
Royal New Zealand Navy

[page 10] I have the honor to report, for the information of the Government, the result of my visit to Maketu and the Lake District, and the preliminary arrangements made for introducing the new system of Government for the Natives. […] [page 12] They further required that a certain number of the old Chiefs should be liberally pensioned by the Government, and placed upon a footing of equality with European gentlemen of independent means, in consideration of their resigning their "mana" as Chiefs in favor of the new system; […]

1862 January 25, Thomas H. Smith, “No. 4: Second Report from T. H. Smith, Esq., R.M.”, in Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives of New Zealand. From the Seventh Day of July to the Fifteenth Day of September, 1862 both Days Inclusive. In the Twenty-sixth Day of the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. Being the Second Session of the Third Parliament of New Zealand, Wellington: Printed by W. C. Wilson for the House of Representatives, at the printing office, Shortland Crescent, Auckland, →OCLC, pages 10 and 12:

The human tribe partakes of the mana or life-force of the animal, and is strengthened[].

1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., page 61:

But in popular estimation their essential virtue derived from the personal mana of the sovereign.

1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in 16th and 17th Century England, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, OCLC 71368859; republished London: Folio Society, 2012, OCLC 805007047, page 193

It can be seen, therefore, that mana is a nonvisible changing measure; it can remain static, increase, or decrease, depending on the actions or inaction of the recipient, and it can be enhanced or diminished. […] One can speak of the mana of a warrior, the mana of a woman leader, the mana of a child prodigy.

1999, Pat Hohepa, “My Musket, My Missionary and My Mana”, in Alex Calder, Jonathan Lamb, Bridget Orr, editors, Voyages and Beaches: Pacific Encounters, 1769–1840, Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, →ISBN, page 197:

Among the Maori sovereignty was the result of mana—power based on hereditary rank and personal achievement. Manas could coexist and overlap, as they did in the medieval times in Europe.

2001 September, Aldo Matteucci, “Language and Diplomacy – A Practitioner's View”, in Jovan Kurbalija, Hannah Slavik, editors, Language and Diplomacy, Malta: DiploProjects, Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies, University of Malta, →ISBN, page 61:

On a number of occasions in recent years apologies have been offered to Māori because of past offences to their mana and invasions of their rights as tangata whenua.

2012, Harold Hill, “Te Ope Whakaora, the Army that Brings Life: The Salvation Army and Māori”, in Hugh [Douglas] Morrison, Lachy Paterson, Brett Knowles, Murray Rae, editors, Mana Māori and Christianity, Wellington: Huia Publishers, →ISBN:

Power, prestige; specifically, a form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or people.

[…] Teleporting from an open room where there were a dozen black orcs firing bows […] landed me, low on mana and hitpoints, in a room full of gnome mages who instantly summoned four umber hulks and a xorn!

2003 May 20, “Bear”, “Makes Lovely Julienne Ogres …”, in rec.games.roguelike.angband (Usenet), message-ID <3EC9C629.4DF117C@sonic.net>:

Mana often grows in exponential proportion to population size, so as the population increases the player acquires vastly greater powers—a progression that god games share with spellcaster characters in role-playing games.

2010, Ernest Adams, “Artifical Life and Puzzle Games”, in Fundamentals of Game Design, 2nd edition, Berkeley, Calif.: New Riders, →ISBN, page 580:

(fantasy roleplaying games) Magical power.


mana

mana (nominative singular)
many (genitive singular)
manie (dative singular)
manę (accusative singular)
maną (instrumental singular)
manie (locative singular)
mano (singular vocative)

Borrowed from Maori mana, from Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.

(fantasy roleplaying games) mana (magical power)


mana

Borrowed from English mana, from Maori mana.


teek

She stood there dumbfounded as the door swung open and banged against the inside wall, narrowly missing her.¶ I did that, she thought. I'm a... teek?

2011, Nate Kenyon, StarCraft Ghost: Spectres, →ISBN, page 140:

(science fiction) A telekinetic person; a person who has telekinetic abilities.


teek

en-verb

teek (third-person singular simple present teeks, present participle teeking, simple past and past participle teeked)

teeks (present singular third-person)
teeking (participle present)
teeked (participle past)
teeked (past)

Tears of pain came to his eyes—and he didn’t know which hurt more, the pain of the soup on his arm or the real shock he had received when he had forced himself to keep from teeking the falling soup halfway across the room.

1957 April 20, Robert Silverberg, “Hidden Talent”, in Worlds of If, page 27:

With a brief psionic push, Nova teeked them aside and into the rock, firing her rifle at the soft areas just above the creature's rib cage.

2011, Nate Kenyon, StarCraft Ghost: Spectres, →ISBN, page 44:

(science fiction, transitive) To use telekinesis on; to move (something) with the power of one's mind.


Milton

The English place names are from Old English mylen (“mill”) or middel (“middle”) + tun (“settlement”).

The most vulgar man, when he prays, when he suffers, and places hope in heaven, has, at that moment, something in him, which he would express, like Milton, Homer, or Tasso, if education had taught him to clothe his thoughts with words.

1807, [Germaine] de Staël Holstein, translated by D[ennis] Lawler, “[Book X. Holy week.] Chap[ter] V.”, in Corinna; or, Italy. […], volume III, London: […] Corri, […]; and sold by Colburn, […], and Mackenzie, […], →OCLC, pages 59–60:

John Milton, an English author and poet of the seventeenth century.

John Milton's works or media adaptations of his works.

census-designated place
census-designated place

Chittenden County
Chittenden County#English

A town and census-designated place therein, in Chittenden County, Vermont, a suburb of Burlington; named for British statesman William Fitzwilliam, Viscount Milton.


tractor beam

Possibly a shortening of attractor beam; note however the broader meaning of tractor (“machinery that pulls something”). Coined by American science fiction author E. E. Smith in 1931 in his novel Spacehounds of IPC, first serialized in Amazing Stories.

coin

Through it Stevens saw with satisfaction that the Forlorn Hope was not being abandoned; in the grip of powerful tractor beams, every fragment of the wreckage was following close behind them in their flight through space.

1931 August, E. E. “Doc” Smith, “Spacehounds of IPC”, in Amazing Stories, volume 6, number 5, page 549:

By the way they're braced, there are tractor beams and pressor beams and—there are vacuum tubes that have grids but apparently work with cold cathodes.

1945 June, Murray Leinster, “The Ethical Equations”, in Astounding Science Fiction, volume 35, number 4, page 122:

We're caught in a tractor beam! It's pulling us in!

1977, George Lucas, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, spoken by Han Solo (Harrison Ford):

(science fiction) A device-generated beam used to attract other objects from a distance.


escape pod

(chiefly science fiction) Any small, secondary, emergency-use vehicle used to evacuate from the main vehicle during times of danger.


harem

en-noun

harem (countable and uncountable, plural harems)

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem) Turkish harem, from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram, “something prohibited; sanctuary, women”); and later also from حَرِيم (ḥarīm) with same meaning, both from حَرُمَ (ḥaruma, “be forbidden or unlawful”). Doublet of haram.

der

(uncountable) A genre of anime and manga in which a man is the love interest of three or more women.


clean

en-verb

clean (third-person singular simple present cleans, present participle cleaning, simple past and past participle cleaned)

cleans (present singular third-person)
cleaning (participle present)
cleaned (participle past)
cleaned (past)

From Middle English clene, clane, from Old English clǣne (“clean, pure”), from Proto-West Germanic *klainī (“shining, fine, splendid, tender”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *glēy- (“gleaming”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to gleam”). Cognate with Scots clean (“absolute, pure, clear, empty”) and clene, clane (“clean”), North Frisian klien (“small”), Dutch klein (“small”), Low German kleen (“small”), German klein (“small”), Swedish klen (“weak, feeble, delicate”), Icelandic klénn (“poor, feeble, petty, snug, puny, cheesy, lame”).

cog

(manga fandom slang) To purge a raw of any blemishes caused by the scanning process such as brown tinting and poor color contrast.


anime

en-noun

anime (countable and uncountable, plural anime or animes)

Borrowed from Japanese アニメ (anime), an abbreviation of アニメーション (animēshon), itself borrowed from English animation, from Latin animātiō, from animāre.

Gotta get in tune with Sailor Moon / 'Cause that cartoon has got the boom anime babes / That make me think the wrong thing

1998, “One Week”, performed by Barenaked Ladies:

After three months of successful sales in manga form, it was made into an anime for television.

2005, Peter J. Katzenstein, A World of Regions, page 165:

Usually the manga comes first, though it may be an offshoot of a novel, and an anime may be inspired by a video game.

2005, Joan D. Vinge, The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Eighteenth Annual Collection, page cix:

These anime prepared the way for Otaku no video, a two-part Original Video Animation (OVA).

2006, Thomas LaMarre, edited by Tomiko Yoda and Harry D. Harootunian, Japan After Japan, page 363:

(countable) An animated work that originated in Japan, regardless of the artistic style.


anime

anime (absolutive indefinite)
animea (absolutive indefinite singular)
animeak (absolutive indefinite plural)
animek (ergative indefinite)
animeak (ergative indefinite singular)
animeek (ergative indefinite plural)
animeri (dative indefinite)
animeari (dative indefinite singular)
animeei (dative indefinite plural)
animeren (genitive indefinite)
animearen (genitive indefinite singular)
animeen (genitive indefinite plural)
animerekin (comitative indefinite)
animearekin (comitative indefinite singular)
animeekin (comitative indefinite plural)
animerengatik (causative indefinite)
animearengatik (causative indefinite singular)
animeengatik (causative indefinite plural)
animerentzat (benefactive indefinite)
animearentzat (benefactive indefinite singular)
animeentzat (benefactive indefinite plural)
animez (indefinite instrumental)
animeaz (indefinite instrumental singular)
animeez (indefinite instrumental plural)
animetan (indefinite inessive)
animean (indefinite inessive singular)
animeetan (indefinite inessive plural)
animetako (indefinite locative)
animeko (indefinite locative singular)
animeetako (indefinite locative plural)
animetara (allative indefinite)
animera (allative indefinite singular)
animeetara (allative indefinite plural)
animetaraino (indefinite terminative)
animeraino (indefinite singular terminative)
animeetaraino (indefinite plural terminative)
animetarantz (directive indefinite)
animerantz (directive indefinite singular)
animeetarantz (directive indefinite plural)
animetarako (destinative indefinite)
animerako (destinative indefinite singular)
animeetarako (destinative indefinite plural)
animetatik (ablative indefinite)
animetik (ablative indefinite singular)
animeetatik (ablative indefinite plural)
animerik (indefinite partitive)
animetzat (indefinite prolative)

Borrowed from Japanese アニメ (anime), an abbreviation of アニメーション (animēshon), ultimately from English animation.

Beste batzuk, berriz, animeetako marrazkien antzera janzten dira; Alizia herrialde miresgarrian ipuinetik ateratakoak ematen du zenbaitek.

2009 December 27, Elena Senao, “Japoniarren bi aurpegiak”, in Argia, number 2212:

Others, however, disguise themselves in the style of anime cartoons; some look like characters from the tale Alice in Wonderland.


anime

Borrowed from Japanese アニメ. First attested in 1997.

Coordinate term: manga

(animation) anime (animated work that originated in Japan, regardless of the artistic style)


anime

pl-adj

anime (not comparable, no derived adverb)

(animation, postpositive, relational) anime (artistic style originating in, and associated with, Japanese animation, and that has also been adopted by a comparatively low number of animated works from other countries)

(animation, postpositive, relational) anime (animated work that originated in Japan, regardless of the artistic style)


dry

drȳ (canonical masculine)
drȳas (nominative plural)
drȳ (nominative singular)
drȳas (nominative plural)
drȳ (accusative singular)
drȳas (accusative plural)
drȳes (genitive singular)
drȳa (genitive plural)
drȳe (dative singular)
drȳum (dative plural)

Middle English: dri, driȝ, dry

⇒ Middle English: driȝmann, driȝmenn pl

Borrowed from a Brythonic language, from Proto-Brythonic *drüw, from Proto-Celtic *druwits (“druid”).

late 10th century, Ælfric, "Passion of St. Julian and his wife Basilissa"
Gehelp urum godum and hat to þe gefeccan þisne dry Iulianum þe ure goda anlicnysse mid ealle to-brytte...

Help our gods, and command men to bring thee this sorcerer Julianus, who hath utterly broken the images of our gods,...

Hīe woldon forbærnan þone drȳ. ― They wanted to burn the wizard. (Ælfric’s Homilies, volume 1.)


manga

en-noun

manga (countable and uncountable, plural manga or mangas)

desc

→ Hindi: मांगा (māṅgā), माँगा (māṅgā), मैंगा (maiṅgā)

Black Cat (manga)
Hokusai
manga (disambiguation)

Borrowed from Japanese 漫画(まんが) (manga), from Middle Chinese 漫 (MC manH, “free, unrestrained”) + 畫 (MC hweaH|hweak, “drawing”). Compare Mandarin 漫畫／漫画 (mànhuà), Korean 만화 (漫畵／漫畫, manhwa). After an 1814 book by Katsushika Hokusai. Doublet of manhua and manhwa.

zh-l

漫畫／漫画 (mànhuà)

English speakers are quick to notice the at times incorrect use of English in anime and manga. Many English words are customarily used in standard Japanese speech, and sometimes they are pronounced and employed in a manner quite different from their native use.

2001, Gilles Poitras, “What makes anime unique”, in Anime Essentials: Every Thing a Fan Needs to Know, page 63:

Manga (Japanese comics) are everywhere. Even here in Auckland. One can find various titles in their original versions as well as in Chinese, Korean and English translations.

2007, Yukako Sunaoshi, “Who reads comics? Manga readership among first-generation Asian immigrants in New Zealand”, in Popular Culture, Globalization and Japan, page 94:

Manga-influenced comics by Western authors are frequently sold alongside manga, although in most bookstores the decision is primarily a matter of format and packaging (i.e., whether the book is printed in the compact manga size or the traditionally larger American comic book format).

2012, Jason Thompson, “Introduction”, in Manga: The Complete Guide, page 46:

(countable, comics) A comic originating in Japan.


manga

From Japanese 漫画(まんが) (manga), after an 1814 book by Katsushika Hokusai.

(comics) manga (comic originating in Japan)


manga

manga (nominative singular)
mangat (nominative plural)
manga (accusative nominative singular)
mangat (accusative nominative plural)
mangan (accusative genitive singular)
mangat (accusative genitive plural)
mangan (genitive singular)
mangojen (genitive plural)
mangain (genitive plural rare)
mangaa (partitive singular)
mangoja (partitive plural)
mangassa (inessive singular)
mangoissa (inessive plural)
mangasta (elative singular)
mangoista (elative plural)
mangaan (illative singular)
mangoihin (illative plural)
mangalla (adessive singular)
mangoilla (adessive plural)
mangalta (ablative singular)
mangoilta (ablative plural)
mangalle (allative singular)
mangoille (allative plural)
mangana (essive singular)
mangoina (essive plural)
mangaksi (singular translative)
mangoiksi (plural translative)
mangatta (abessive singular)
mangoitta (abessive plural)
mangoin (instructive plural)
See the possessive forms below. (comitative)
mangani (nominative singular)
mangani (nominative plural)
mangani (accusative nominative singular)
mangani (accusative nominative plural)
mangani (accusative genitive singular)
mangani (accusative genitive plural)
mangani (genitive singular)
mangojeni (genitive plural)
mangaini (genitive plural rare)
mangaani (partitive singular)
mangojani (partitive plural)
mangassani (inessive singular)
mangoissani (inessive plural)
mangastani (elative singular)
mangoistani (elative plural)
mangaani (illative singular)
mangoihini (illative plural)
mangallani (adessive singular)
mangoillani (adessive plural)
mangaltani (ablative singular)
mangoiltani (ablative plural)
mangalleni (allative singular)
mangoilleni (allative plural)
manganani (essive singular)
mangoinani (essive plural)
mangakseni (singular translative)
mangoikseni (plural translative)
mangattani (abessive singular)
mangoittani (abessive plural)
mangoineni (comitative plural)
mangasi (nominative singular)
mangasi (nominative plural)
mangasi (accusative nominative singular)
mangasi (accusative nominative plural)
mangasi (accusative genitive singular)
mangasi (accusative genitive plural)
mangasi (genitive singular)
mangojesi (genitive plural)
mangaisi (genitive plural rare)
mangaasi (partitive singular)
mangojasi (partitive plural)
mangassasi (inessive singular)
mangoissasi (inessive plural)
mangastasi (elative singular)
mangoistasi (elative plural)
mangaasi (illative singular)
mangoihisi (illative plural)
mangallasi (adessive singular)
mangoillasi (adessive plural)
mangaltasi (ablative singular)
mangoiltasi (ablative plural)
mangallesi (allative singular)
mangoillesi (allative plural)
manganasi (essive singular)
mangoinasi (essive plural)
mangaksesi (singular translative)
mangoiksesi (plural translative)
mangattasi (abessive singular)
mangoittasi (abessive plural)
mangoinesi (comitative plural)
mangamme (nominative singular)
mangamme (nominative plural)
mangamme (accusative nominative singular)
mangamme (accusative nominative plural)
mangamme (accusative genitive singular)
mangamme (accusative genitive plural)
mangamme (genitive singular)
mangojemme (genitive plural)
mangaimme (genitive plural rare)
mangaamme (partitive singular)
mangojamme (partitive plural)
mangassamme (inessive singular)
mangoissamme (inessive plural)
mangastamme (elative singular)
mangoistamme (elative plural)
mangaamme (illative singular)
mangoihimme (illative plural)
mangallamme (adessive singular)
mangoillamme (adessive plural)
mangaltamme (ablative singular)
mangoiltamme (ablative plural)
mangallemme (allative singular)
mangoillemme (allative plural)
manganamme (essive singular)
mangoinamme (essive plural)
mangaksemme (singular translative)
mangoiksemme (plural translative)
mangattamme (abessive singular)
mangoittamme (abessive plural)
mangoinemme (comitative plural)
manganne (nominative singular)
manganne (nominative plural)
manganne (accusative nominative singular)
manganne (accusative nominative plural)
manganne (accusative genitive singular)
manganne (accusative genitive plural)
manganne (genitive singular)
mangojenne (genitive plural)
mangainne (genitive plural rare)
mangaanne (partitive singular)
mangojanne (partitive plural)
mangassanne (inessive singular)
mangoissanne (inessive plural)
mangastanne (elative singular)
mangoistanne (elative plural)
mangaanne (illative singular)
mangoihinne (illative plural)
mangallanne (adessive singular)
mangoillanne (adessive plural)
mangaltanne (ablative singular)
mangoiltanne (ablative plural)
mangallenne (allative singular)
mangoillenne (allative plural)
mangananne (essive singular)
mangoinanne (essive plural)
mangaksenne (singular translative)
mangoiksenne (plural translative)
mangattanne (abessive singular)
mangoittanne (abessive plural)
mangoinenne (comitative plural)
mangansa (nominative singular)
mangansa (nominative plural)
mangansa (accusative nominative singular)
mangansa (accusative nominative plural)
mangansa (accusative genitive singular)
mangansa (accusative genitive plural)
mangansa (genitive singular)
mangojensa (genitive plural)
mangainsa (genitive plural rare)
mangaansa (partitive singular)
mangojaan (partitive plural)
mangojansa (partitive plural)
mangassaan (inessive singular)
mangassansa (inessive singular)
mangoissaan (inessive plural)
mangoissansa (inessive plural)
mangastaan (elative singular)
mangastansa (elative singular)
mangoistaan (elative plural)
mangoistansa (elative plural)
mangaansa (illative singular)
mangoihinsa (illative plural)
mangallaan (adessive singular)
mangallansa (adessive singular)
mangoillaan (adessive plural)
mangoillansa (adessive plural)
mangaltaan (ablative singular)
mangaltansa (ablative singular)
mangoiltaan (ablative plural)
mangoiltansa (ablative plural)
mangalleen (allative singular)
mangallensa (allative singular)
mangoilleen (allative plural)
mangoillensa (allative plural)
manganaan (essive singular)
manganansa (essive singular)
mangoinaan (essive plural)
mangoinansa (essive plural)
mangakseen (singular translative)
mangaksensa (singular translative)
mangoikseen (plural translative)
mangoiksensa (plural translative)
mangattaan (abessive singular)
mangattansa (abessive singular)
mangoittaan (abessive plural)
mangoittansa (abessive plural)
mangoineen (comitative plural)
mangoinensa (comitative plural)


manga

Borrowed from Japanese 漫画(まんが) (manga). Doublet of manhwa.

Hiromu Arakawa est une jeune mangaka débutante quand elle envoie son premier projet chez un éditeur. L’histoire courte deviendra FullMetal Alchemist, un des mangas les plus vendus au Japon : 12 millions d’exemplaires !

2005 November 1, “Duck Action : 5 mangas inmangables ! [Duck Action: 5 Manga You Can’t Miss!]”, in Picsou Magazine (non-fiction), Disney Hachette Presse, page 27:

Hiromu Arakawa was a young mangaka debuting when she sent her first project to a publisher. That short story became FullMetal Alchemist, one of the best-selling manga in Japan: 12 million copies!

Osamu Tezuka est le plus grand dessinateur de manga. De 1947 à 1989, il dessine 150000 pages et crée d’innombrable séries : Astro Boy, le roi Léo, Metropolis, BlackJack, Les trois Adolf, Ayako, Phénix […]

Osamu Tezuka was the greatest manga artist. From 1947 to 1989, he drew 150,000 pages and created countless series: Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, Metropolis, Black Jack, Message to Adolf, Ayako, Phoenix…


manga

Ultimately from Japanese 漫画(まんが) (manga).


manga

From Japanese 漫画(まんが) (manga), from Middle Chinese 漫 (MC manH, “free, unrestrained”) + 畫 (MC hweaH|hweak, “drawing”). Doublet of manhua and manhwa.


manga

manga (nominative singular)
mangi (nominative plural)
mangi (genitive singular)
mang (genitive plural)
mandze (dative singular)
mangom (dative plural)
mangę (accusative singular)
mangi (accusative plural)
mangą (instrumental singular)
mangami (instrumental plural)
mandze (locative singular)
mangach (locative plural)
mango (singular vocative)
mangi (plural vocative)

Coordinate term: anime


manga

(chiefly Portugal) (comics) manga (comic made in Japanese)


manga

manga (indefinite nominative singular)
mangas (genitive indefinite singular)
mangan (definite nominative singular)
mangans (definite genitive singular)
mangor (indefinite nominative plural)
mangors (genitive indefinite plural)
mangorna (definite nominative plural)
mangornas (definite genitive plural)


manga

head

manga (definite accusative mangayı, plural mangalar)

mangayı (accusative definite)
mangalar (plural)


magician

/məˈd͡ʒɪʃən/

From Middle English magicien, from Middle French magicien.

A person who plays with or practices allegedly supernatural magic.

magjistar

practitioner of allegedly supernatural magic


butterfly

From Middle English buterflie, butturflye, boterflye, from Old English buterflēoge, equivalent to butter + fly. Cognate with Dutch botervlieg, German Butterfliege (“butterfly”). The name may have originally been applied to butterflies of a yellowish color, and/or reflected a belief that butterflies ate milk and butter (compare German Molkendieb (“butterfly”, literally “whey-thief”) and Low German Botterlicker (“butterfly”, literally “butter-licker”)), or that they excreted a butter-like substance (compare Dutch boterschijte (“butterfly”, literally “butter-shitter”)). Compare also German Schmetterling from Schmetten (“cream”), German Low German Bottervögel (“butterfly”, literally “butter-fowl”). More at butter, fly.
An alternate theory suggests that the first element may have originally been Old English butor- (“beater”), a mutation of bēatan (“to beat”), but this would not explain the cognates in other languages or the other names formed with milk products.
Superseded non-native Middle English papilion (“butterfly”) borrowed from Old French papillon (“butterfly”).

cog

One potential butterfly could be JFK having another son the year after the POD instead of a daughter.

(alternate history) A random change in an aspect of the timeline seemingly unrelated to the primary point of divergence, resulting from the butterfly effect.

perhosen siivenisku

random change working through butterfly effect


butterfly

en-verb

butterfly (third-person singular simple present butterflies, present participle butterflying, simple past and past participle butterflied)

butterflies (present singular third-person)
butterflying (participle present)
butterflied (participle past)
butterflied (past)

Pearl Harbor not happening would've butterflied Taylor Swift.

(transitive, of the point of divergence of an alternate history scenario) To cause events after the point of divergence to not happen as they did in real history, and people conceived after the point of divergence to not exist in recognizable form, due to the random variations introduced by the butterfly effect.


夔

From a Kam-Tai source (Mei, 1980; Schuessler, 2007); compare Proto-Tai *ɣwaːjᴬ (“water buffalo”), Sui kui² (“water buffalo”). Schuessler also considered 犩 (Later Han Chinese ŋuɨ) to be the same etymon.

(Chinese mythology) the Kui, a one-legged creature


妖

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qrow): semantic 女 + phonetic 夭 (OC *qoːwʔ, *qrow, *qrowʔ).

Han compound

貓妖

猫妖