eagle

From Middle English egle, from Anglo-Norman egle, from Old French aigle, from Latin aquila. Displaced native Middle English ern, earn, arn, from Old English earn (“eagle”). More at erne.

(US, numismatics, historical) A gold coin with a face value of ten dollars, formerly used in the United States.


fiscal

From Middle French fiscal, from Latin fiscus (“treasury”) – see fiscus and fisc.

Procurator fiscal
procurator fiscal#English

(Scots law) Procurator fiscal, a public prosecutor.


AM

en-noun

AM (countable and uncountable, plural AMs)

(UK politics, historical) Initialism of Assembly Member. (A title similar to MP, placed after the name of a Member of the Welsh National Assembly.)


Cameroon

Alteration of Cameron, influenced by -oon.

He fears that in downplaying traditional Conservative causes, in changing the party to be more in tune with modern Britain, the Cameroons have in effect accepted that they won't change the country much in office.

2007 March 21, Andy Beckett, “The Cameroons”, in The Guardian:

Today, I spy a coalition outrider: Nick Boles, MP for Grantham, founder of Policy Exchange and the archetypal Cameroon ultra-modernizer. I don’t think Boles even owned a tie until he was elected to the House of Commons. That’s how much of a Cameroon the man is.

2010 September 13, Iain Martin, “Nick Boles: The Coalition’s Cameroon Outrider”, in Wall Street Journal:

Maude was a moderniser before modernity dawned in the Tory ranks, a Cameroon before David Cameron.

2012 March 30, James Chapman, “Gorgeous George and why Ed Miliband must now pray Ken Livingstone wins London”, in Daily Mail:

Mr Cameron won significantly smaller vote shares than either Theresa May or Boris Johnson. There are not many Cameroons in Britain. Outside some newspaper op-ed pages, there never were.

2023 November 13, Bagehot, “What David Cameron's return says about British politics”, in Economist:

(UK politics) A Conservative Party member with green or social liberal leanings, supporting the policies of David Cameron.


blue

en-adj

blue (comparative bluer or more blue, superlative bluest or most blue)

bluer (comparative)
more blue (comparative)
bluest (superlative)
most blue (superlative)

conservative

antonym(s) of “pertaining to the US Democratic Party”

red

antonym(s) of “dominated by higher-frequency electromagnetic radiation”

antiblue

antonym(s) of “having blue as its colour charge”

Tok Pisin: blu

→ Fiji Hindi: bulu

→ Shona: bhuluu

→ Somali: buluug

→ Swahili: bluu, buluu

→ Tooro: bururu

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

belau

blue-coloured — see also dark blue, light blue

(politics) Supportive of, run by (a member of), pertaining to, or dominated by a political party represented by the colour blue.

(UK politics) Supportive of or related to the Conservative Party.


blue

en-noun

blue (countable and uncountable, plural blues)

He is a true blue.

(UK politics) A member or supporter of the Conservative Party.


red

red (countable and uncountable, plural reds)

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

sekobarbitaali

slang: secobarbital — see also secobarbital

(Ireland, UK, beverages, informal) Red lemonade


yellow

en-adj

yellow (comparative yellower or more yellow, superlative yellowest or most yellow)

yellower (comparative)
more yellow (comparative)
yellowest (superlative)
most yellow (superlative)

From Middle English yelwe, yelou, from Old English ġeolwe, oblique form of Old English ġeolu, from Proto-West Germanic *gelu, from Proto-Germanic *gelwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃wos, from *ǵʰelh₃- (“gleam, yellow”).
Compare Welsh gwelw (“pale”), Latin helvus (“dull yellow”), Irish geal (“white, bright”), Italian giallo (“yellow”) Lithuanian žalias (“green”), Ancient Greek χλωρός (khlōrós, “light green”), Persian زرد (zard, “yellow”), Sanskrit हरि (hari, “greenish-yellow”), Russian жёлтый (žóltyj, “yellow”), Russian зелёный (zeljónyj, “green”). Cognate with German gelb (“yellow”), Dutch geel (“yellow”).
The verb is from Old English ġeolwian, from the adjective.

cog

yellow constituencies

2012 March 2, Andrew Grice, “Yellow rebels take on Clegg over NHS 'betrayal'”, in The Independent:

(UK politics) Related to the Liberal Democrats.


liberal

The adjective is from Old French liberal, from Latin līberālis (“befitting a freeman”), from līber (“free”); it is attested since the 14th century. The noun is first attested in the 1800s.

vasemmistolainen

someone left-wing — see also progressive, left-winger

(UK politics) One who favors individual voting rights, human and civil rights, and laissez-faire markets (also called "classical liberal"; compare libertarian).

liberaali

Britain: one who favors individual voting rights, human and civil rights and laissez-faire markets


advocate

en-verb

advocate (third-person singular simple present advocates, present participle advocating, simple past and past participle advocated)

advocates (present singular third-person)
advocating (participle present)
advocated (participle past)
advocated (past)

From Middle English advocat, advoket, from Old French advocat, from Latin advocātus (past participle of advocāre (“to call for”)), a calque of Ancient Greek παράκλητος (paráklētos) (whence English paraclete). Doublet of advoke, avocat, avouch, and avow.

doublet

(Scots law) To appeal from an inferior court to the Court of Session.

(Scots law, in higher courts) To call a case before itself for decision.


reset

In early times it was common to charge the reset of property taken by robbery as reset of theft. But in later practice reset of property taken by robbery has been frequently libelled and found relevant (1).

1867, John H. A. MacDonald, A Practical Treatise on the Criminal Law of Scotland, Edinburgh: William Paterson, page 405:

(Scots law) The crime of knowingly and dishonestly receiving stolen goods, or harbouring an outlaw.


reset

en-verb

reset (third-person singular simple present resets, present participle resetting, simple past and past participle resetted)

resets (present singular third-person)
resetting (participle present)
resetted (participle past)
resetted (past)

Criminal resetting of property shall not be limited to the receiving of property taken by theft or robbery, but shall extend to the receiving of property appropriated by breach of trust and embezzlement and by falsehood, fraud and wilful imposition.

1995, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Part VI, section 51”, in Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, page 41:

(Scots law) To receive and hide (stolen goods, or a criminal, etc.)


wake

From Middle English wake, from Old English wacu, from Proto-Germanic *wakō, related to the verb *wakjaną.

1523–1525, Jean Froissart, John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners (translator), Froissart's Chronicles
Great solemnities were made in all churches, and great fairs and wakes throughout all England.

And every village smokes at wakes with lusty cheer.

1612, Michael Drayton, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great Britaine, […], London: […] [Humphrey Lownes] for M[athew] Lownes; I[ohn] Browne; I[ohn] Helme; I[ohn] Busbie, →OCLC:

(historical, Church of England) A yearly parish festival formerly held in commemoration of the dedication of a church. Originally, prayers were said on the evening preceding, and hymns were sung during the night, in the church; subsequently, these vigils were discontinued, and the day itself, often with succeeding days, was occupied in rural pastimes and exercises, attended by eating and drinking.


wet

en-noun

wet (countable and uncountable, plural wets)

From Middle English wet (“wet, moistened”), wett, wette, past participle of Middle English weten (“to wet”), from Old English wǣtan (“to wet, moisten, water”), from Proto-West Germanic *wātijan, from Proto-Germanic *wētijaną (“to wet, make wet”), from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (“water, wet”) (also the source of water).
Cognate with Scots weit, wete (“to wet”), Saterland Frisian wäitje (“to wet; drench”), Icelandic væta (“to wet”). Compare also Middle English weet (“wet”), from Old English wǣt (“wet, moist, rainy”), from Proto-West Germanic *wāt, from Proto-Germanic *wētaz (“wet, moist”), related to Scots weit, weet, wat (“wet”), North Frisian wiat, weet, wäit (“wet”), Saterland Frisian wäit (“wet”), West Frisian wiet (“wet”), Middle Dutch wet (“wet, damp, watery”), Swedish and Norwegian våt (“wet”), Danish våd (“wet”), Faroese vátur (“wet”), Icelandic votur (“wet”).

cog

(British, UK politics, derogatory) A moderate Conservative; especially, one who opposed the hard-line policies of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.


dry

[d̠͡ɹ̠˔ʷaɪ̯]

Adjective and noun from Middle English drye, dryge, drüȝe, from Old English drȳġe (“dry; parched, withered”), from Proto-West Germanic *drūgī, *draugī, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz, *draugiz (“dry, hard”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“to strengthen; become hard”), from *dʰer- (“to hold, support”). The verb derives from Middle English drien, from Old English drȳġan (“to dry”), from Proto-West Germanic *drūgijan, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz (“hard, desiccated, dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“strong, hard, solid”).
cognates and related terms
 Cognate with Scots dry, drey (“dry”), North Frisian drüg, driig, Saterland Frisian druuch (“dry”), West Frisian droech (“dry”), Dutch droog (“dry”), Low German dröög (“dry”), German dröge (“dull”), Icelandic draugur (“a dry log”). Related also to German trocken (“dry”), West Frisian drege (“long-lasting”), Danish drøj (“tough”), Swedish dryg (“lasting, hard”), Icelandic drjúgur (“ample, long”), Latin firmus (“strong, firm, stable, durable”). See also drought, drain, dree.

cog

(British, UK politics) A radical or hard-line Conservative; especially, one who supported the policies of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.


whip

→ Irish: fuip

⇒ Jamaican Creole: wip

From Middle English whippen, wippen (“to flap violently”), from Middle Dutch wippen (“to swing, leap, dance, oscillate”) and Middle Low German wippen (“to move quickly”), from Proto-Germanic *wipjaną (“to move back and forth”). Some similarity to Sanskrit root वेप् (vep, “shake, flourish”), Latin vibrō (“I shake”). (See Swedish vippa and Danish vippe (“to shake”)).
The unetymological wh- is probably expressive of the sound of a whip; compare the same development in whisk and onomatopoeias such as whack and whoosh.
The political senses are from whipper-in (“huntsman who keeps the hounds from wandering”), 18th century hunting terminology.

der

(UK politics, with definite article) A document distributed weekly to MPs by party whips informing them of upcoming votes in parliament.

to withdraw the whip

As a result, he was stripped of the whip on Tuesday, preventing him from voting in the fourth ballot to narrow down candidates to be the next party leader.

2022 July 20, Heather Stewart, “Tobias Ellwood temporarily given back Tory whip to vote in leadership contest”, in The Guardian:

In the letter, Hancock said he had spoken to the Conservatives’ chief whip, Simon Hart, last week, and been told the whip would be restored in time, “but that is now not necessary” – meaning he will sit as an independent until the next election.

2022 December 7, Peter Walker, “Row grows over Matt Hancock’s announcement he is quitting as MP”, in The Guardian:

(UK politics, by extension) The regular status of an MP within a parliamentary party, which can be revoked by the party as a disciplinary measure.


suspension

en-noun

suspension (countable and uncountable, plural suspensions)

Borrowed from Late Latin suspensiōnem (“arching, vaulting; suspension”), from suspendēre (“to hang up, to suspend”), from sub- (“under”) + pendere (“to hang, to suspend”), from Proto-Italic *pendō (“to hang, to put in a hanging position”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pénd-e-ti, from *(s)pend- (“to pull; to spin”)). Compare Anglo-Norman suspensiun, French suspension, Occitan suspensio.

der

(Scots law) A stay or postponement of the execution of a sentence, usually by letters of suspension granted on application to the Lord Ordinary.

εκκρεμότητα

Scots law: stay or postponement of the execution of a sentence


upgive

en-verb

upgive (third-person singular simple present upgives, present participle upgiving, simple past upgave, past participle upgiven)

upgives (present singular third-person)
upgiving (participle present)
upgave (past)
upgiven (participle past)

From up- + give. Cognate with German aufgeben (“to abandon, give up, quit”).

cog

[…] we hereby resign, surrender, upgive, overgive and deliver, ALL and WHOLE — (here the lands were described) — together with all right, title and interest whatever […]

1811, Robert Bell, A System of the Forms of Deeds Used in Scotland, page 116:

Then, too, are Jersey's sons all resolute, / Repairing to the camp in numbers great, / Their sufferings to avenge upon the foe, / Which all must cease should Jersey be upgiven.

1849, Robert Wharton Landis, Liberty's Triumph: A Poem, page 255:

There fell a sudden rain then, from the gods: / Which glisters, in the sun, like golden hairs; / And earth upgave sweet savour of her sod, / Mingled with iron stink of sweat and blood.

1906, Charles Montagu Doughty, The Dawn in Britain, page 4:

(transitive, poetic, obsolete except in Scots law) To give up or yield up.


PC

(UK politics) Initialism of Plaid Cymru.


augmentation

en-noun

augmentation (countable and uncountable, plural augmentations)

From Middle English augmentation, augmentacion, augmentacioun, from Old French augmentacion, from Latin augmentātiō, verbal noun from augmentō (“increase”, verb).

(Scots law) An increase of stipend obtained by a parish minister by an action raised in the Court of Teinds against the titular and heritors.


Georgian

Georgian (countable and uncountable, plural Georgians)

/ˈd͡ʒɔːd͡ʒən/

/ˈd͡ʒɔɹd͡ʒən/

/ˈd͡ʒɔʊ.d͡ʒən/

/ˈd͡ʒoːd͡ʒən/

United States of America
United States of America

(countable) A native or resident of the state of Georgia in the United States of America.

Iberian

native or resident of the Eurasian country of Georgia

goober

native or resident of the US state of Georgia


Georgian

en-adj

Georgian (comparative more Georgian, superlative most Georgian)

more Georgian (comparative)
most Georgian (superlative)

/ˈd͡ʒɔːd͡ʒən/

/ˈd͡ʒɔɹd͡ʒən/

/ˈd͡ʒɔʊ.d͡ʒən/

/ˈd͡ʒoːd͡ʒən/

Of, from, or characteristic of the reigns of Kings George I and George II of Great Britain, and George III and George IV of the United Kingdom (1714–1830).

Pertaining to a movement in lyric poetry during the reign of King George V of the United Kingdom (1910-1936).


affect

en-verb

affect (third-person singular simple present affects, present participle affecting, simple past and past participle affected)

affects (present singular third-person)
affecting (participle present)
affected (participle past)
affected (past)

From Middle English affecten, from Latin affectāre, from Latin affectus, the participle stem of Latin afficere (“to act upon, influence, affect, attack with disease”), from ad- + facere (“to make, do”).

der

(transitive, Scots law) To burden (property) with a fixed charge or payment, or other condition or restriction.


PPS

Shah has since apologised, saying: “I deeply regret the hurt I have caused.” It emerged later that she had stepped down as PPS to McDonnell.

2016 April 26, Nazia Parveen, “Bradford MP Naz Shah quits as McDonnell's PPS after antisemitic posts”, in The Guardian:

(UK politics) Initialism of parliamentary private secretary.


lock

From Middle English lok, lokke, from Old English locc (“hair of the head, hair, lock of hair, curl, ringlet”), from Proto-West Germanic *lokk, from Proto-Germanic *lukkaz, from Proto-Indo-European *lugnó-, from Proto-Indo-European *lewg- (“to bend”).
Cognate with West Frisian lok, lokke, Dutch lok (“earlock, curl”), German Locke (“lock of hair, curl”), Danish lok, Swedish lock (“lock of hair, curl”). It has been theorised that the word may be related to the Gothic verb *𐌻𐌿𐌺𐌰𐌽 (*lukan, “to shut”) in its ancient meaning "to curb".

inh

(Scots law, historical) A quantity of meal, the perquisite of a mill-servant.


minor

From Middle English minor, menor, menour, etc., from Latin minor (“lesser; young; young person”) both directly and via Norman and Middle French menor, menour, etc. Doublet of minus but not mini-. Cognate with minister, minify, Minorca, Menshevik, and possibly minnow. Compare Latin minimum and minuō, Old High German minniro, Cornish minow.

byvak

subject of secondary undergraduate study

(Scots law, obsolete) An adolescent, a person above the legal age of puberty but below the age of majority.


ping pong

en-noun

ping pong (countable and uncountable, plural ping pongs)

→ Chinese: 乒乓球 (pīngpāngqiú)

→ Greek: πινγκ πονγκ (pingk pongk)

→ Italian: ping pong

→ Japanese: ピンポン (pin pon)

→ Korean: 핑퐁 (pingpong)

→ Portuguese: pingue-pongue

→ Russian: пинг-понг (ping-pong)

→ Spanish: ping pong

Onomatopoeic. The name “ping-pong” was in wide use before British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. Jaques sold the rights to the “ping-pong” name in the United States to Parker Brothers. Registered in the United States in 1930, Ping-Pong (with dash) is still a registered wordmark of Parker Brothers, Inc. Contrary to a common misconception, the word does not originate from Chinese 乒乓 (pīngpāng), though there are possibilities that the coiners encountered Chinese themselves.

(UK politics) The exchange of proposed amendments between the two Houses of Parliament, particularly at the end of a session when compromises have to be made to complete the legislative process within the limited time available.


adhere

en-verb

adhere (third-person singular simple present adheres, present participle adhering, simple past and past participle adhered)

adheres (present singular third-person)
adhering (participle present)
adhered (participle past)
adhered (past)

From Middle English *adheren (suggested by Middle English adherande (“adhering, adherent”, present participle)), from Latin adhaerēre, adhaesum: ad (“to”) + haerēre (“to stick”). Compare French adhérer.

cog

The Dictionary of the Scots Language
w:Dictionary of the Scots Language

Scottish Language Dictionaries
w:Scottish Language Dictionaries

(intransitive, Scots law) To affirm a judgment.


advise

en-verb

advise (third-person singular simple present advises, present participle advising, simple past and past participle advised)

advises (present singular third-person)
advising (participle present)
advised (participle past)
advised (past)
advise (infinitive)

From Middle English avisen (“to perceive, consider, inform”), from Old French aviser, from avis, or from Late Latin advisō, from ad + visō, from Latin videō (“to see”), visum (“past participle of videō”). See also advice.

inh

(Scots law) To deliver judgment after a case has been reserved for further consideration.


World War I

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-World War I.wav

(history) The war from 1914 to 1918 between the Entente Powers of the British Empire, Russian Empire, France, Italy, the United States and other allied nations, against the Central Powers represented by the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

第１次世界大戦

だいいちじせかいたいせん


reduce

en-verb

reduce (third-person singular simple present reduces, present participle reducing, simple past and past participle reduced)

reduces (present singular third-person)
reducing (participle present)
reduced (participle past)
reduced (past)

From Middle English reducen, from Old French reduire, from Latin redūcō (“reduce”); from re- (“back”) + dūcō (“lead”). See duke, and compare with redoubt.

(transitive, Scots law) To annul by legal means.


shilling

Sranan Tongo: sren

From Middle English schilling, shilling, from Old English sċilling, from Proto-Germanic *skillingaz, equivalent to skill + -ing. Doublet of scalding and schilling.

look as if one had lost a shilling and found sixpence

A great bargain also had been[…]the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire. In fact, that arm-chair had been an extravagance of Mrs. Bunting. She had wanted her husband to be comfortable after the day's work was done, and she had paid thirty-seven shillings for the chair.

1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0016:

(historical) A coin formerly used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta, Australia, New Zealand and many other Commonwealth countries worth twelve old pence, or one twentieth of a pound sterling.


decimalisation

en-noun

decimalisation (usually uncountable, plural decimalisations)

Specifically, conversion of the currencies of the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1971 from pounds, shillings and pence to a decimal system in which one pound was worth 100 new pence (later renamed simply pence).


Thatcherism

From Thatcher + -ism. Popularized by Jamaican-born British sociologist and cultural theorist Stuart Hall in an article in Marxism Today, see quotations.

coin

Thus “Thatcherism” is—give or take one or two elements—the corresponding political bedfellow of a period of capitalist recession: the significant differences between this and other variants of Tory “philosophy” being conceived as without any specific pertinent political or ideological effects.

1979 January, Stuart Hall, “The Great Moving Right Show”, in Marxism Today, page 14:

(UK politics) The political ideology attributed to the governments of British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1979–1990), characterised by, among other things, a free market economy, privatisation, low taxation, austerity and opposition to unionisation.

撒切爾主義 /撒切尔主义

political ideology of Thatcher's governments


Thatcherite

en-adj

Thatcherite (comparative more Thatcherite, superlative most Thatcherite)

more Thatcherite (comparative)
most Thatcherite (superlative)

/ˈθæt͡ʃəɹaɪt/

From Thatcher + -ite, named after British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013).

named-after

a Thatcherite policy

Morgan, by his own description represented the new spirit of Thatcherite enterprise.

(UK politics) Of or relating to Thatcherism.

He has a Thatcherite outlook on life.


Thatcherite

/ˈθæt͡ʃəɹaɪt/

(UK politics) An advocate of Thatcherism.


Thatcher's children

She has not begun to stem the tide of British ugliness—the yobbish teenagers shivering in their torn gear; the shoddy streets littered with fast-food packaging; the drunks urinating on London's tube platforms; the drug culture. It is facile to call those concerned “Thatcher's children”: she is not responsible for their actions.

London's financial district, like New York's, had its “big bang,” after which, as though from dragon's teeth, Yuppies sprang up, armed with Porsches and mobile telephones. They included, inevitably, some unattractive specimens, and much of their wealth has proved evanescent. To call them “Thatcher's children” is both unfair and unhistorical. Just the same corner-cutting, money-obsessed types can be found in the novels of Trollope and Galsworthy. At the other end of the scale are the workers in moribund industries, the unmarried mothers, and the feckless young, all those who have come to expect more from the welfare state than the welfare state could ever provide: They too are called “Thatcher's children”: but their problems would have existed whatever government was in power.

1990, Anthony Lejeune, “Class”, in National Review, volume 42, number 21, pages 81–84:

Negus (2002), for example, characterizes intermediaries in the music industry in London as “public schoolboys”; in Manchester they have been seen as “Thatcher's children,” the unemployed and disaffected.

2005, Justin O'Connor, “Cities, Culture and ‘Transitional Economies’: Developing Cultural Industries in St. Petersburg”, in John Hartley, editor, Creative Industries, Wiley-Blackwell, page 255:

The social group in Britain that came to be known as ‘Thatcher's children’ (benefiting from the right-wing monetarist policies of Margaret Thatcher's government) were also called ‘yuppies’ (young, upwardly-mobile professionals, especially those working in money markets and the Stock Exchange). They often originated in the south-east of England and their profit motives were legitimised by government policy in favour of free market economics.

2007, Nikolas Coupland, Style: Language Variation and Identity, Cambridge University Press, page 96:

Non-unionism was now the norm across swathes of the private sector so that only an estimated 16% of employees were organised by trade unions by 2006. Increasingly younger workers aged between sixteen and twenty-four – known as Thatcher's children – saw little point in being trade union members.

2007, Anthony Seldon, Blair's Britain, 1997–2007, Cambridge University Press, page 228:

People who grew up or were born in the United Kingdom during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher (1979–1990) and who adopted the ideology of Thatcherism.


PDD

People Demand Democracy
w:People Demand Democracy

(UK politics) Initialism of People Demand Democracy.


Holy Grail

the Holy Grail (canonical)
Holy Grails (plural)

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

From Middle English Holy Grayle.
(web page layout): So called because it was traditionally difficult to achieve with the available markup.

(Arthurian legend) An artifact in Arthurian mythology, being the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper and in which some of his blood was caught during the crucifixion.


diet

From Middle English diet, dyet, from Old French diete, from Medieval Latin diēta, diaeta (“a public assembly; set day of trial; a day's journey”), from Ancient Greek δῐ́αιτα (dĭ́aita, “way of living, living space; decision, judgement”), influenced by Latin diēs (“day”).

der

(Scots law) A criminal proceeding in court.


ward

en-noun

ward (countable and uncountable, plural wards)

→ Swahili: wodi

From Middle English ward, warde, from Old English weard (“watching, ward, protection, guardianship; advance post; waiting for, lurking, ambuscade”), from Proto-West Germanic *wardu, from Proto-Germanic *wardō (“protection, attention, keeping”), an extension of the stem *wara- (“attentive”) (English wary, beware), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to cover”).
Cognate with German Warte (“watchtower”), warten (“wait for”); English guard is a parallel form which came via Old French.

inh

(historical, Scots law) Land tenure through military service.

Protection, defence.
Land tenure through military service.


UKIP

UK Independence Party
UK Independence Party#English


UK Independence Party

A Euro-sceptic political party in the United Kingdom.


World War II

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-World War II.wav

As students all over the United States knuckle down to learning, the rumble of war drums once more proclaims Mars high man in Europe. Discarding morbid curiosity, every student should consider it vitally necessary to get a general picture of the causes, movements, and possible effects of World War II. The average U. S. citizen's knowledge of World War II will probably decide his role in it.

1939 November 10, “Following The War”, in The Chart, volume I, number 1, Joplin, Missouri: Joplin Junior College, page 4, column 1:

Nothing since the beginning of World War II, a year ago last September, has boosted British morale or given them greater courage to fight on as has this brilliant Libyan campaign.

1941 March, Frederick M. Barrows, “The War in Africa”, in Command and General Staff School Military Review, volume XXI, number 80, →OCLC, page 23, column 1:

If Demandt's essay served as a strident example of the German desire for normalcy, a more subtle example was provided by a brief allohistorical depiction of a Nazi victory in World War II written by German historian Michael Salewski in 1999.

2005 May 23, Gavriel D. Rosenfeld, The World Hitler Never Made: Alternate History and the Memory of Nazism, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 182:

The tiny island of Tinian was the launch point for American planes carrying atomic bombs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Now a new runway is being carved from the jungle, just south of World War II ruins inked with mildew.

2023 March 25, Damien Cave, “An Anxious Asia Arms for a War It Hopes to Prevent”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-25:

(history) The war from 1939 to 1945 of the Allied forces, including the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, France, and China, against the Axis Powers, including Germany, Italy, and Japan.

מִלְחֶמֶת הָעוֹלָם הַשְּׁנִיָּה \ מלחמת העולם השנייה

Great Patriotic War

primarily in a Soviet or Russian context


feu

(Scots law, property law, historical) Land held in feudal tenure.


feu

en-verb

feu (third-person singular simple present feus, present participle feuing, simple past and past participle feued)

feus (present singular third-person)
feuing (participle present)
feued (participle past)
feued (past)

1813, "Keith", Entry in Nicholas Carlisle, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, Volume II, unnumbered page,
The Village of OLD KEITH is of ancient date, having been partly feued by the predecessors of the Family of Forbes, and partly feued by the Ministers, and stands upon the glebe: this Village is greatly on the decline, and almost a ruin.—About the year 1750, the late Lord FINDLATER divided a barren Muir, and feued it out in small lots […] .

1841, Alexander Dunlop, J. M. Bell, John Murray, James Donaldson (reporters), Cases Decided in the Court of Session, Volume 3, 2nd Series, page 620,
The prohibition of feuing beyond a certain extent was clearly implied; […] .

But in effect, whereas Heriot's knew that their feuing conditions were subordinate to the law of contract, the Earl of Moray knew by 1822 that as a result of the Lords' decision in 1818 estate development could not be controlled by contract law and the feuing plan.[…]The impact on the Moray estate was that[…]despite a recession in the Edinburgh property market generally after 1826, virtually the entire estate was feued by 1836.

2001, Richard Rodger, “The Transformation of Edinburgh: Land, Property and Trust in the Nineteenth Century”, in Paperback, Cambridge University Press, published 2004, page 68:

(Scots law, transitive) To bring (land) under the system of feudal tenure.


feu

(Scots law, property law) feud, tenure, piece of land held by that tenure


coupon

From French coupon, from couper (“to cut”).

(UK politics, historical) The letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the coalition government.


Tigger

From the initials of The Independent Group + -er.

Nor is there any sign that Corbyn is at present willing to make any overtures to the eight Tiggers and those who may be contemplating joining them.

2019 February 25, John Crace, “The Independent Group may have secured another Tory government. That's not an accident”, in British GQ:

For one Tigger in particular, Chuka Umunna, 2019 was quite a rollercoaster. Over the course of the year, he was an MP for Labour, an MP for The Independent Group, an MP for the Lib Dems, and then an MP for no one.

2020 January 31, Michael Deacon, “The 20 funniest moments of Brexit”, in The Telegraph:

In fact, Joan Ryan MP (the first Labour MP to jump ship to the Tiggers/Change UK) said, after I'd confessed to her about the dog shampoo, ‘Well, I think your coat looks very nice.’

2020 March 19, Rachel Johnson, Rake's Progress: My Political Midlife Crisis, →ISBN:

(informal, UK politics, historical) A member of The Independent Group for Change, a pro-European British political party that existed in 2019.


stress

en-noun

stress (countable and uncountable, plural stresses)

Hans Selye
Walter Cannon
stress
stress (mechanics)

From a shortening of Middle English destresse, borrowed from Old French destrecier, from Latin distringō (“to stretch out”). This form probably coalesced with Middle English stresse, from Old French estrece (“narrowness”), from Vulgar Latin *strictia, from Latin strictus (“narrow”).
In the sense of "mental strain" or “disruption”, used occasionally in the 1920s and 1930s by psychologists, including Walter Cannon (1934); in “biological threat”, used by endocrinologist Hans Selye, by metaphor with stress in physics (force on an object) in the 1930s, and popularized by same in the 1950s.

(Scots law) distress; the act of distraining; also, the thing distrained.


LC

LC (countable and uncountable, plural LCs)

The lord chancellorship certainly needed reform and sadly Lord Irvine resisted taking the sensible steps of creating an independent judicial appointments commission and ending the nonsense of the LC having the right, should he choose, of sitting himself as a judge on cases.

2016 July 27, Helena Kennedy QC, “Letters: Charlie Falconer to blame for lord chancellor folly”, in The Guardian:

(UK politics) Initialism of lord chancellor.


superior

/sʉːˈpɪə.ɹiː.ə/

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French superiour, from Latin superior (“higher, upper”).

(Scots law, historical) One who has made an original grant of heritable property to a tenant or vassal, on condition of a certain annual payment (feu duty) or of the performance of certain services.


panel

From Middle English panel (“piece of cloth, saddle pad, pane of glass, piece of ice, part, division, jury list, jury members”), from Anglo-Norman panel, panelle (“piece of cloth, saddle cushion”), from Vulgar Latin *pannellus, diminutive of Latin pannus (“cloth, rag, garment”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂n- (“fabric”). Cognate with Old English fana (“a piece of cloth, patch, banner, flag, vane”). Doublet of vane.

cog

[I]t remains only to examine the Relevancy of the two general exculpatory Defences pled for the Pannells.

1737, “Information for His Majesty’s Advocate, and Mr. Hugh Forbes, Advocate, Procurator Fiscal of the High Court of Admiralty, against Thomas McAdam, and James Long, Pannels”, in Extract of the Proceedings before James Graham of Airth, Esq; Judge of the High Court of Admiralty in Scotland, in the Action at the Instance of Duncan Forbes, Esq; His Majesty’s Advocate, and Mr. Hugh Forbes, Advocate, Procurator Fiscal of the Said High Court, against Thomas McAdams Souldier, and James Long Corporal, in the Regiment of Foot Commanded by Colonel —— Hamilton. Laid before the House Pursuant to Their Lordship’s Order April 18, 1737, London: Printed by John Baskett, […], →OCLC, page 12:

(Scots law) A prisoner arraigned for trial at the bar of a criminal court.


crave

From Middle English craven, from Old English crafian (“to crave, ask, implore, demand, summon”), from Proto-West Germanic *krafōn, from Proto-Germanic *krafjaną (“to demand”). Cognate with Danish kræve (“to demand, require”), Swedish kräva (“to crave, demand”), Icelandic krefja (“to demand”), Norwegian kreve (“to demand”).

inh

(Scots law) A formal application to a court to make a particular order.


Maggie

(informal) Margaret Thatcher, former British prime minister.


mitre

From Middle English mytre, from Old French mitre, from Ancient Greek μίτρα (mítra, “headband, turban”). Its use in reference to a counterfeit coin derived from the bishop's mitre stamped upon it. Doublet of Mithras, Mithra, Mitra, and Mehr.

doublet

(historical, numismatics) A 13th-century coin minted in Europe which circulated in Ireland as a debased counterfeit sterling penny, outlawed under Edward I.


Tory

From Irish tóraí (“pursuer”), from tóir (“pursuit”). The first recorded use in English is from a 1646 letter by James Butler ("Earl of Ormond") to a Colonel O' Brien, describing bandits and thieves on main roadways.

(UK politics) A member or supporter of the Conservative Party, which evolved from Royalist politicians; historically associated with upholding the rights of the monarchy and the privileges of the established Church.

консерватор

a member or supporter of the Conservative Party (UK, Canada)


Tory

(UK politics) Of or belonging to the Tory Party or the Conservative Party.


superiority

en-noun

superiority (countable and uncountable, plural superiorities)

From Middle English superiorite, from Old French superiorite, from Medieval Latin superioritas, from Latin superior.
Morphologically superior + -ity.

(Scots law, historical) The right which the superior enjoys in the land held by the vassal.


tanner

George II of Great Britain
John Sigismund Tanner
Royal Mint

Named after John Sigismund Tanner (1705–1775), who designed a sixpence for the Royal Mint during the reign of King George II.

[A]s you are so flash of your money, though you say you are poor, you may give me a tanner to buy a little baccy with; […]

1851, George Borrow, chapter III, in Lavengro; the Scholar—the Gypsy—the Priest. […], volume II, London: John Murray […], →OCLC, page 32:

They'd say hello, maybe slip you a tanner.

2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 469:

(British, colloquial) A former British coin worth six old pence.


treat

en-verb

treat (third-person singular simple present treats, present participle treating, simple past and past participle treated or (Northern England, Bristol, colloquial) tret)

treats (present singular third-person)
treating (participle present)
treated (participle past)
treated (past)
tret (Northern-England colloquial participle past)
tret (Northern-England colloquial past)
treat (infinitive)

From Middle English treten, from Anglo-Norman treter, Old French tretier, traiter, from Latin tractāre (“to pull", "to manage”), from the past participle stem of trahere (“to draw", "to pull”).

(UK politics, law) To commit the offence of providing food, drink, entertainment or provision to corruptly influence a voter.


SF

(Ireland, UK politics) Initialism of Sinn Féin; an Irish political party.


BNP

British National Party
w:British National Party

(UK politics) Initialism of British National Party.


BNP

David Cameron kallade BNP:s framgång för ”avskyvärd”.

2009 June 8, “Katastrof för Labour [Disaster for Labour]”, in SVT Nyheter:

David Cameron called the BNP's success "abhorrent".


GC

General Committee
w:Constituency Labour Party

(UK politics) Initialism of General Committee: the general management committee of a constituency party of the British Labour Party.


adduce

adduce (third-person singular simple present adduces, present participle adducing, simple past and past participle adduced)

adduces (present singular third-person)
adducing (participle present)
adduced (participle past)
adduced (past)

From Middle English adducen, from Latin addūcere, adductum (“to lead or bring to”), from ad- + dūcere (“to lead”). See duke, and compare adduct.

(transitive, Scots law) To produce in proof.


adduce

head

adduce (third-person singular simple present adduces, present participle adducin, simple past adduced, past participle adduced)

adduces (present singular third-person)
adducin (participle present)
adduced (past)
adduced (participle past)

Borrowed from Latin adducere, adductum (“to lead or bring to”).

(transitive, Scots law) to adduce (produce in proof)


faculty

From Middle English faculte (“power, property”), from Old French faculte, from Latin facultas (“capability, ability, skill, abundance, plenty, stock, goods, property; in Medieval Latin also a body of teachers”), another form of facilitas (“easiness, facility, etc.”), from facul, another form of facilis (“easy, facile”); see facile. Doublet of facility.

der

(Church of England) A licence to make alterations to a church.


missive

15th century; from Medieval Latin missīvus, from mittō (“to send”).

(in the plural, Scots law) Letters sent between two parties in which one makes an offer and the other accepts it.


Battle of Britain

(historical) A series of air engagements between the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the German Luftwaffe during World War II for air superiority over southern England and the English Channel prior to any German invasion of the British Isles.

Slag om Brittanje

series of air engagements between the British Royal Air Force and the German Luftwaffe during World War II


SDP

We believed that the Trots represented a mad, extreme form of Labour that was never going to do anything for anybody, yet we felt strongly that nothing would be achieved by jumping ship and defecting to the SDP.

2008, Cherie Blair, Speaking for Myself: My Life from Liverpool to Downing Street:

Social Democratic Party
w:Social Democratic Party (UK)

(UK politics, historical, 1981–1988) Initialism of Social Democratic Party, a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom.


Mebyon Kernow

From Cornish, meaning "Sons of Cornwall".

A left-of-centre political party that campaigns for greater self-government for Cornwall.


production

en-noun

production (countable and uncountable, plural productions)

→ Japanese: プロダクション (purodakushon)

/pɹəˈdʌkʃən/

From Middle English produccioun, from Old French production, from Latin prōductiō, prōductiōnem (“a lengthening, prolonging”). See produce.

der

(Scots law, in the plural) Written documents produced in support of the action or defence.


outer

inner

antonym(s) of “one who supports leaving the EU”

The 51.4 per cent to 48.6 per cent victory of the "outers" broke the back of the Labour government.

2013 January 25, Jon Cruddas, “Au Revoir, Europe: What If Britain Left the EU? by David Charter”, in The Independent:

2015 May 7, Guy Faulconbridge, “Britain's EU "outers" see opportunity in wake of Greece's "No"”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 2015-12-22:

Meanwhile, outers are disporting themselves on TV in luminous green ties, hand-woven by first years at the Dronefield Academy for the Sartorially Challenged.

2016 February 16, Robert Shrimsley, “Gimme a Brexit break”, in Financial Times:

(UK politics) One who supports leaving the European Union.


succession

en-noun

succession (countable and uncountable, plural successions)

Inherited from Middle English [Term?], from Old French succession, from Latin successiō (noun).

An act, process, or instance of succeeding:

(historical) In Roman and Scots law, the taking of property by one person in place of another.


CP

CP (countable and uncountable, plural CPs)

(UK politics, since 2019) Initialism of command paper.


Black and Tan

A member of the RIC British paramilitary force, operating against Irish republicans in the War of Independence 1920/21.

Dúchrónach

member of the RIC British irregular army group


Arthur

From the name of the legendary king, from Middle English Arthure, from Medieval Latin Arthurus, probably from Middle Welsh arth (“bear”).
Other suggestions include Old Welsh arth (“bear”) and ur (“man”), or a Latinized (Romano-British) name; compare Latin Artorius, itself possibly of Etruscan origin, or more likely Messapic-Illyrian related to Proto-Albanian *artsa (“bear”).

A number of places in the United States:

A village in Douglas County and Moultrie County, Illinois.

Wellington North
Wellington North#English

Wellington County
Wellington County#English

A community of Wellington North township, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada, named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.


Arthur

Arabic: آرثر

Japanese: アルテュール (Arutyūru)

Equivalent to English Arthur, used in France since the Middle Ages.


hat trick

From hat + trick (“element of a magician’s or variety entertainer’s act; entertaining and difficult physical action”, noun). Sense 2 (“achievement of a bowler taking three wickets in three consecutive balls”)—the original sporting sense—refers to the commemorative hat formerly given as a prize to the bowler by his club.

هاتريك

three achievements in a single game, competition, season, etc.

שלושער m (shloshá'ar, literally “three-gate or goal”)

གསུམ་སྦྲགས (gsum sbrags, literally “pack-of-three”)

Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament

(UK politics, historical, rare) A means of securing a seat in the House of Commons by a Member of Parliament placing their hat upon it during an absence.


resignation

en-noun

resignation (countable and uncountable, plural resignations)

/ˌɹɛz.ɪɡˈneɪ.ʃən/

/ˌɹez.ɪɡˈnæɪ.ʃən/

From Middle English resignacion, resignacioun, from Old French resignation, from Medieval Latin resignātiōnem, accusative of resignātio. Equivalent to resign + -ation.

(Scots law, historical) The form by which a vassal returns the feu into the hands of a superior.


inner

outer

antonym(s) of “One who supports remaining in the EU”

From Middle English inner, ynner, ynnere, from Old English innera, comparative of inne (“within”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁en.

(UK politics) One who supports remaining in the European Union.


interlocutor

From French interlocutoire, from Latin interlocūtōrium.

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

A decree of the English Court of Chancery is not entitled to more respect in Scotland than a decree (interlocutor) of the Scottish Court of Session in England.

1869, “The Judicial System of Scotland”, in The American Law Register (1852-1891), volume 17, number 5, page 257:


recognition

recognition (usually uncountable, plural recognitions)

/ˌɹɛkəɡˈnɪʃən/

From Middle English recognicion, from Middle French recognicion, recognition and its etymon Latin recognitiōnem (accusative of recognitiō), from recognitus, past participle of recognōscere.

(Scots law, historical) A return of the feu to the superior.


irritate

en-verb

irritate (third-person singular simple present irritates, present participle irritating, simple past and past participle irritated)

irritates (present singular third-person)
irritating (participle present)
irritated (participle past)
irritated (past)

From Latin irritātus, past participle of irritō (“I invalidate, annul”), from irritus (“invalid”), negation of ratus (“valid, established, fixed”).

/ˈɪɹ.ɪˌteɪt/

c. 1634-1661 John Bramhall, Protestants' Ordination Defended
Are human laws presently superfluous, so often as they do not irritate or abrogate Divine laws ?

(transitive, obsolete, Scots law) To render null and void.


facility

en-noun

facility (countable and uncountable, plural facilities)

From Middle English facilite, from Middle French facilité, and its source, Latin facilitās. By surface analysis, facile + -ity. Doublet of faculty.

(Scots law) A condition of mental weakness less than idiocy, but enough to make a person easily persuaded to do something against their better interest.


purdah

purdah (countable and uncountable, plural purdahs)

Borrowed from Hindustani پردہ / पर्दा (pardā), and its etymon Classical Persian پرده (pardah, “curtain; screen; (archaic) veil”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”).

der

Despite Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris's reassurance that "the White Paper is coming" it was further delayed by the period of purdah that preceded local elections held on May 6.

2021 June 2, “Network News: ‘Root and Branch’ Review Three Years in the Making”, in Rail, number 932, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 10:

(countable, UK politics) The period between the announcement of an election or referendum and its conclusion, during which civil servants refrain from making policy announcements or taking actions that could be seen as advantageous to certain candidates in the election.


Victorian

From Victoria + -an (suffix forming adjectives and agent nouns), from the name of Queen Victoria (1819–1901), monarch of the United Kingdom.

suffix

It was not until the late 1800s when older members of New York society, aghast at the invasion of vulgar "new money," devised a daunting system of social rules – not to mention silverware – meant to repel anyone of humble origins who dared to sit down at one of their twelve-course dinners. It was the Victorians who gave us such useful implements as the strawberry knife.

2008 May 29 – June 4, Aimee Levitt, “St. Louis’ etiquette masters tell us how to mind our manners”, in Riverfront Times, St. Louis, Mo.: Euclid Media Group, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-06-02, page 20:

The arrival of the railway turned this isolated fishing village into a popular seaside destination for Victorians who came to breathe fresh sea air, clear their lungs or take the waters.

2022 January 12, Paul Bigland, “Fab Four: The Nation’s Finest Stations: Grange-over-Sands”, in Rail, number 948, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 27:

A person born in or living in the Victorian period, or exhibiting characteristics of that period.

викторианец

The commercial resurgence brought about by the area's changing tastes is reflected in midtown's conglomeration of refurbished Victorians, apartments, specialty shops, offices, corner groceries, restaurants, single-family homes, and bed and breakfast inns.

1987, Faren Maree Bachelis, “Downtown Sacramento”, in The Pelican Guide to Sacramento and the Gold Country (A Firebird Press Book), Gretna, New Orleans, La.: Pelican Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 86:

(chiefly US, architecture) A house built in the Victorian architectural style.


Victorian

From Victoria (“capital of British Columbia, Canada”) + -an (suffix forming adjectives and agent nouns); incorporated as a city in 1862, the settlement which preceded the city was named Fort Victoria after Queen Victoria in 1843.

(Canada) Of, or native or relating to, the city of Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, Canada.


Victorian

(Canada) A person from the city of Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, Canada.


adherence

en-noun

adherence (countable and uncountable, plural adherences)

From Middle French adhérence, from Latin adhærentia.

(Scots law) The fulfilment of the legal obligation of residing with wife or husband.


nobel

nobel (nominative singular)
noble (nominative plural)
nobla (genitive singular)
nobli (genitive plural)
noblowi (dative singular)
noblom (dative plural)
nobel (accusative singular)
noble (accusative plural)
noblem (instrumental singular)
noblami (instrumental plural)
noblu (locative singular)
noblach (locative plural)
noblu (singular vocative)
noble (plural vocative)

(historical) noble (medieval coin of England in the 14th and 15th centuries)


backbench

His spacious quarters indicate his transition from backbench upstart to established member of the governing team.

There was no separate back-bench organization ; indeed there were no back-bench caucuses in any Nigerian Legislative House, and any attempt to create one would probably have been regarded by the leadership concerned as a subversive move.

1963, Richard L. Sklar, Nigerian Political Parties: Power in an Emergent African Nation, published 2004, page 400:

Both Thatcher's and Major's PPSs developed the role of trying to see that those members considered loyal to the leadership won the main positions on backbench party committees.

1995, R. L. Borthwick, Churchill to Major: The British Prime Ministership Since 1945, page 153:

In fall 1984, Brian Mulroney led a cabinet with far more political experience than the Conservative backbench.

1997, David Campbell Docherty, Mr. Smith Goes to Ottawa: Life in the House of Commons:

2009, John Coakley, Michael Gallagher, Politics in the Republic of Ireland, page 301,
In situations of low ministerial turnover and increased professionalisation of politics, with most TDs regarding politics as a career, Taoisigh could find that impatience on the backbenches leads to calls for leadership turnover to effect promotions.

A bench at the back of a room or seating area.

(politics, UK, New Zealand, often attributive) In a house of legislature following the model of the Westminster system (such as the UK House of Commons), any bench behind either of the front benches and occupied by rank-and-file members.


House of Commons

“House”, in this term, means a deliberative assembly, while “the Commons” stands for “the common people”, as opposed to nobility.

مَجْلِس عُمُوم

lower house in UK or Canadian parliament

When the legislation was debated by the House of Commons, Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said it was "riddled with holes", while former Conservative Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said it was "badly written".

2024 March 20, Conrad Landin, “"Farcical" Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act isn't working”, in RAIL, number 1005, page 25:

(UK politics) The lower house of the British Parliament.


Early Modern English

The form of the English language written and spoken from the end of the 15th century to the mid-17th century.


DA

DA (countable and uncountable, plural DAs or DA's)

(UK politics) Initialism of devolved administration.


placeman

Plus, contrary to hysterical prediction and uninformed innuendo, Bryant Lemuel's influence did not fill this pilot project with compliant placemen, instead leaving all appointments to the university science faculty.

2007, Christopher Brookmyre, Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks, →ISBN, page 183:

Predictably, the brow-beaten Clement in the end submitted to Philip's demands that the papal commission, which was eventually convened in November 1309, should consist predominantly of clerics who were known to be royal placemen.

2007, Edwin Mullins, The Popes of Avignon, Blue Bridge, published 2008, page 32:

(UK politics, derogatory) One appointed to an office, especially in government, as a reward for political or other support; an appointee, a yes-man.


Hansard

Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Luke Hansard
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Thomas Curson Hansard

From Hansard, the surname of Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), an English printer who inherited the business of printing reports of parliamentary debates and proceedings from his father Luke Hansard (1752–1828). T. C. Hansard added his name to the title of the reports from 1829, and from about 1859 they began to be referred to generically as “Hansards”.

Mr. BURNS thought that if they were to have a Hansard at all, they should take steps to have it thoroughly well done, and he would be very glad if they could get rid of these corrections altogether. He thought the exact words, or as nearly as possible the exact words, should be put into the Hansard, and the staff should be so efficient that there would be no necessity for corrections.

1868 October 16, A[rthur] J[ohn] Burns, “Reporting Debates”, in New Zealand. Parliamentary Debates. Third Session of the Fourth Parliament. […] (House of Representatives), volume IV, Wellington: G. Didsbury, government printer, →OCLC, page 372, column 1:

Now, Hansard's Debates originated in the year 1803, and through the enterprize of a son of the late Mr. Luke Hansard, who had been so long connected with the printing of the House, these Debates had supplied the Parliament with a very accurate record of its proceedings. They were cited continually in the House, and so great was their reputation that even in Prussia they had a Preussiches Hansard; there was also a Hansard's Debates both in Canada and Australia. [...] Suppose, then, that these Debates came to an end to-morrow; [...] the newspapers would not supply them with the materials which were now contained in Hansard. It was impossible that the newspapers could report the proceedings of the House at sufficient length.

1875 May 4, Mitchell Henry, “Parliament—Publication of Debates and Exclusion of Strangers.—Resolution.”, in Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates, […] (House of Commons), volume CCXXIV (Third Series), 3rd volume of the session, London: Published by Cornelius Buck, at the office for “Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates,” […], →OCLC, columns 68–70:

He, for example, who would essay to take account of Mr. [William Ewart] Gladstone, must read much else besides Hansard; he must brush up his Homer, and set himself to acquire some theology.

1885, [Augustine Birrell], “Carlyle”, in Obiter Dicta, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 1:

In any case, the judges are not allowed to read Hansard in order to see what the sponsors, or any other member, may have said. This is a much criticised rule, but there is a certain amount to be said for it. The legislative processes, through which the parliamentary draftsman's work must pass, are confusing and muddled.

1983, Geoffrey Lewis, “Statutory Interpretation”, in Lord Atkin, London: Butterworths, →ISBN, page 118; reprinted Oxford, Oxfordshire, Portland, Or.: Hart Publishing, 1999, →ISBN:

In a country like India with a vibrant democracy, parliamentary debates play a very crucial role and are watched with keen interest by the people, who are politically conscious. The Reporters' Branch is entrusted with the responsibility of producing the Indian Hansard, i.e., the Official Report of the proceedings of Lok Sabha.

1992, “The Indian Hansard”, in Parliament of India: The Ninth Lok Sabha 1989–1991: A Study, New Delhi: Northern Book Centre for the Lok Sabha Secretariat, →ISBN, part I (Articles), page 63, column 1:

The object of the court in interpreting legislation is to give effect so far as the language permits to the intention of the legislature. If the language proves to be ambiguous I can see no sound reason not to consult Hansard to see if there is a clear statement of the meaning that the words were intended to carry. The days have long passed when the courts adopted a strict constructionist view of interpretation which required them to adopt the literal meaning of the language. [...] I cannot agree with the view that consulting Hansard will add so greatly to the cost of litigation, that on this ground alone we should refuse to do so. Modern technology greatly facilitates the recall and display of material held centrally. I have to confess that on many occasions I have had recourse to Hansard, of course only to check if my interpretation had conflicted with an express Parliamentary intention, but I can say that it does not take long to recall and assemble the relevant passages in which the particular section was dealt with in Parliament, nor does it take long to see if anything relevant was said.

1992 November 26, Lord Griffiths [Hugh Griffiths, Baron Griffiths] (judge of the House of Lords), “Pepper (Inspector of Taxes) … Respondent and Hart … Appellant [[1993] Appeal Cases 593]”, in The Law Reports of the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting: House of Lords, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and Peerage Cases, London: Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales, published 1993, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-09-18, pages 617–618:

Imagine a parliamentary stenographer scribbling furiously in the days before tape recorders. His job is to record politicians' speeches so they can be written up and preserved in an official parliamentary record like Hansard. [...] When some dramatic break or swerve in the speech seems too uncertain to sort out there and then, the stenographer sticks in clumps of hyphens, partly as a signal to himself that he will need to sort this out later when "correcting" and "clarifying" his final copy for Hansard.

1993, Graham Bradshaw, “Appendix: Dashing Othello’s Spirits”, in Misrepresentations: Shakespeare and the Materialists, Ithaca, N.Y., London: Cornell University Press, →ISBN, page 258:

Following the debate in question, Tim Loughton sent an unmarked copy of Hansard to his constituent to inform him that he would no longer be acting as his MP as the constituent had made this position untenable. [...] However, and unbeknown to Loughton, the constituent reported the debate to the police as a 'hate crime' and complained that sending a copy of Hansard was 'harassment'.

2015, Roger Williams, “Harassment in Sussex”, in Rough Justice: Citizens’ Experience of Mistreatment and Injustice in the Early Stages of Law Enforcement, Hook, Hampshire: Waterside Press, →ISBN, part 1 (Contributions, Media and Experiences), page 106:

(chiefly British, Commonwealth) The official report of debates and other proceedings in the British and some Commonwealth parliaments.


Morgan le Fay

/ˌmɔːɡən lə ˈfeɪ/

From Old Welsh or Old Breton Morgen (a female given name unrelated with the male one Morgan, literally “sea-born”) + Old French la fee (“the fairy”).

der

a female given name unrelated with the male one <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">Morgan</i>

(Arthurian legend) The half sister of King Arthur, known for being a powerful enchantress.


cross the floor

en-verb

cross the floor (third-person singular simple present crosses the floor, present participle crossing the floor, simple past and past participle crossed the floor)

crosses the floor (present singular third-person)
crossing the floor (participle present)
crossed the floor (participle past)
crossed the floor (past)

(UK politics, of a member of a parliament) To vote against one’s own political party in parliament.

Two weeks ago, Mr Davies intimated to Mr Brown that he was ready to cross the floor.

2007 June 27, Philip Webster, Francis Elliott, “How Brown led his latest recruit across the floor”, in Times of London, retrieved 2008-11-09:

(UK politics, informal, of a member of a parliament) To resign from one’s political party and join another party, resulting in moving from one’s currently assigned desk or seat in the legislative chamber to a new desk or seat physically located with the other members of one’s new party.


chancellor

/ˈtʃɑːnsələ/

/ˈt͡ʃænsələ/

Angela Merkel
Frick Collection
Hans Holbein the Younger
Thomas More

From Anglo-Norman or Middle English chaunceler, chanceler, canceler (“chief administrative or executive officer of a ruler; chancellor, secretary; private secretary, scribe; Lord Chancellor of England; officer of the ruler's exchequer; a high administrative or executive officer (for example, a deputy or representative of a bishop; the head of a university)”), from Old French cancelier, chancelier (“chancellor”), from Late Latin cancellārius (“secretary; doorkeeper, porter; usher of a court of law stationed at the bars separating the public from the judges”), from Latin cancellī (plural of cancellus (“grate; bars, barrier; railings”), diminutive of cancer (“grid; barrier”), from Proto-Italic *karkros (“enclosure”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”)) + -ārius (suffix forming nouns denoting an agent of use).
The word was present as Late Old English canceler, cancheler, from Norman cancheler, but was displaced in the 13th century by the Old French and Anglo-Norman forms mentioned above.

refn

From the Frick Collection in New York City, New York, USA.

مُسْتَشَار

[page 111] […] Lord Falkland […] took an Opportunity to tell the King, that He had now a good Opportunity to prefer Mr. Hyde, by making him Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the Place of Sir John Colepepper; […] [page 112] He [Colepepper] ſurrendered his Office of Chancellor of the Exchequer: And the next Day Mr. Hyde was ſworn of the Privy-Council, and Knighted, and had his Patents ſealed for that Office.

[1760, Edward, Earl of Clarendon [i.e., Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon], “Part the Second”, in The Life of Edward, Earl of Clarendon, Lord High Chancellor of England, and Chancellor of the University of Oxford. […], volume I, Oxford, Oxfordshire: At the Clarendon Printing-house, →OCLC, pages 111 and 112:

Chancellor Philip Hammond has told the BBC he and other MPs will "find a way" of blocking a no-deal Brexit. […] Mr Hammond is expected to be replaced as chancellor whoever wins the Conservative leadership election later this month.

2019 July 5, “Philip Hammond: MPs will and should Stop No-deal Brexit”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 2019-07-08:

Liz Truss has sacked Kwasi Kwarteng as her chancellor and replaced him with Jeremy Hunt ahead of a U-turn on key sections of her disastrous mini-budget, as she launched a desperate attempt to restore her crumbling political authority.

2022 October 14, “Liz Truss sacks Kwasi Kwarteng before corporation tax U-turn”, in The Guardian:

Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer#English

A senior secretary or official with administrative or legal duties, sometimes in charge of some area of government such as finance or justice.

(UK politics) Ellipsis of Chancellor of the Exchequer.

"Have you agreed on your chancellor, gentlemen?" was the first question of the Judge. The foreman, called in Scotland the chancellor of the jury, usually the man of best rank and estimation among the assizers, stepped forward, and, with a low reverence, delivered to the Court a sealed paper, containing the verdict, […]

1818 July 25, Jedadiah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter XII, in Tales of My Landlord, Second Series, […] (The Heart of Mid-Lothian), volume II, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Company, →OCLC, pages 285–286:

The verdict must be returned to the Court by the chancellor of the jury, in presence of the accused, and of the whole jury; and, being engrossed in the record, and read aloud, it is then sealed up, in terms of the regulations 1672, No. 9, and deposited with the clerk of Court, never to be opened again but by order of the judges. The verdict, when in writing, is authenticated by the subscriptions of the chancellor and clerk of the jury, and accompanied with a list of the names of the jurors, and a state of the vote of each individual, "whether condemning or assoilzieing;" Regulations 1672, No. 9.

1826, Robert Bell, William Bell, “CRIMINAL PROSECUTION”, in A Dictionary of the Law of Scotland, 3rd revised and enlarged edition, volume I, Edinburgh: Printed for John Anderson & Co. […], and Bell & Bradfute, →OCLC, page 333:

[T]he pursuer moved the Court "for a rule to shew cause why this case should not be ordered to be tried, in respect that the verdict as it appears on the notes of the Judge furnished to the parties, was not declared by the chancellor or foreman of the jury in open Court, and taken down by the clerk of the said Court before the jury was discharged."

1853 July 16, Geo[rge] Dingwall Fordyce (reporter), James Paterson (reporter), William Gillies Tytler (reporter), Frederick Hallard (reporter), “James Mackenzie, Pursuer, v. Dunlop, Wilson and Co., Defenders.”, in Reports of Cases Decided in the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and in the House of Lords on Appeal from Scotland, [ […] Being a Continuation of The Scottish Jurist.">…


apprise

en-verb

apprise (third-person singular simple present apprises, present participle apprising, simple past and past participle apprised)

apprises (present singular third-person)
apprising (participle present)
apprised (participle past)
apprised (past)
apprise (infinitive)

From Middle English aprisen, apprisen (“to determine or estimate the value of (something), to appraise, evaluate; to regard (something) as important, valuable, or worthy, to esteem, prize; to praise or worship (God)”), and then either:
* from Old French apriser, aprisier (“to appraise, evaluate”), from à (“to”) + prisier, preisier (“to attribute a value to, to appraise, value”) (from Latin pretiāre, the present active infinitive of pretiō (“(Late Latin) to consider valuable, hold in high regard, to esteem, prize, value; (Medieval Latin) to estimate the worth of, appraise, assess, value”), from pretium + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)); or
* from Old French à pris (“to (put a) price (on)”) (pris (“price; esteem, (positive) reputation”) is derived from Latin pretium).
Pretium (“cost, price; value, worth”) is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“before, in front; first”). The English word is a doublet of appraise, appreciate, praise, price, and prize.

doublet

Infeftments are alſo extinct, vvhen the Superior adjudgeth or appriſeth from his Vaſſal; for thereby it vvas found, that the Property vvas Conſolidat vvith the Superiority,

1681, James Dalrymple of Stair [i.e., James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair], “Extinction of Infeftments”, in The Institutions of the Law of Scotland, […], 1st part, Edinburgh: […] Heir of Andrew Anderson, […], →OCLC, page 416:

[T]he infeftment of annualrent, being jus sed ignobilius, becomes extinct, if the annualrenter thereupon do apprise the property, and be infeft: and therefore, whoever appriseth for any years of the annualrent, the infeftment thereof, unless it be taken away by satisfaction or redemption, extinguisheth the infeftment of annualrent, without distinction whether the apprising be led for any years belonging to the fiar, liferenter, or any other.

1832, James, Viscount of Stair [i.e., James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair], John S[hank] More, “Title V. Infeftments of Annualrent, where, of Poinding of the Ground, and of Pensions.”, in The Institutions of the Law of Scotland, […], new edition, volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Walker] for Bell & Bradfute, →OCLC, page 387:

(specifically, Scots law) To put a price on (something) for the purpose of sale; to appraise.


Blitz

Specific use of blitz. The Blitz was in truth not a blitzkrieg, which is a rapid ground offensive based on superior tank forces. However, the word was current at the time for the successful German campaigns in Poland and France, and was transferred to the attacks on Britain, perhaps by association of Blitz (“lightning”) with the bombings.

(historical) The series of air raids launched on various cities in Great Britain by the German air force in 1940–41 during World War II.


C

(UK politics, in election results) Abbreviation of Conservative.


Commons

Commons (disambiguation)#People
House of Commons

(UK politics, Canadian politics) The House of Commons, part of the parliament under the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy.


Con

(UK politics) Abbreviation of Conservative.


Labor

(UK politics, American spelling, Australian spelling) Misspelling of Labour. (UK political party)


Lords

(British, UK politics, plural only) Ellipsis of House of Lords.


Morgan

en-prop

Morgan (countable and uncountable, plural Morgans)

(Arthurian legend) Ellipsis of Morgan le Fay.


Whig

From Whiggamore, possibly from Scots whiggamore (“horse driver”), from whig (“to drive”) + mare.

whig

a member of an 18th- and 19th-century political party

(UK politics, historical) A member of an 18th- and 19th-century political party in Britain that was opposed to the Tories, and eventually became the Liberal Party.

(UK politics, rare) A member (especially a politician) of the former Liberal Party or its successor, the Liberal Democrats.


Zeppelin

Borrowed from German Zeppelin. Named after Ferdinand von Zeppelin, whose surname derives from the German town name Zepelin. Doublet of cepelinas.


interdict

From Middle English entrediten, from Old French entredire (“forbid”), from Latin interdīcō (“prohibit, forbid”), from inter- (“between”) + dīcō (“say”), from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ-.

The Fife County Council, and other objectors, were successful in July [1950] in obtaining an interim interdict against this decision, but the Court of Session withdrew the interdict in January, and it was then stated that a civil court had no jurisdiction in the matter. […] Mr. Waller adds that when the railway was authorised in 1897, one of the clauses of the Act authorising the transfer of the line to the North British Railway provided that that company should work it in perpetuity, and it was this clause that caused the interim interdict to be granted.

1951 April, “Notes and News: North Fife Line, Scotland”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 281:

In May [1995], the court issued an interdict preventing the service withdrawal, pending consultation on the closure to passenger traffic of three short stretches of railway around Glasgow and its hinterland that were only used by the Fort William Sleeper - and for which BR had failed to invoke standard closure procedures.

2021 August 25, David Clough, “The Sleeper experience”, in RAIL, number 938, page 61:


Arthurian

en-adj

Arthurian (comparative more Arthurian, superlative most Arthurian)

more Arthurian (comparative)
most Arthurian (superlative)

A reminder of the Arthurian legends comes with the next station, Camelford, where passengers alight for Boscastle and Tintagel with their fine coast scenery, and near to which is Slaughter Bridge, where King Arthur is supposed to have fought his last.

1949 September and October, B. G. Wilson, “The North Cornwall Line of the Southern Region”, in Railway Magazine, page 328:

Of or pertaining to the legend of Arthur, king of the Britons, and his court at Camelot.


defender

From Middle English defender, deffender, defendere, defendour, defendoure, partly from Anglo-Norman defendour, from Old French defendëor; partly from Middle English defenden + -ere, equivalent to defend + -er.

(Scots law) A defendant in a civil action.


King Arthur

A legendary king of Britain, said to have led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century.


COBRA

Cabinet Office Briefing Room A
w:Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms

(UK politics) Initialism of Cabinet Office Briefing Room A.

(UK politics, by extension) Acronym of Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms.


COBRA

(UK politics, by extension) A cabinet committee meeting that would use a COBR room

(UK politics, by extension) A cabinet committee that would meet using a COBR room


CPS

Last year, for example, Raab wrote a paper for the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) – since the birth of Thatcherism one of the radical right's fiercest thinktanks […]

2012 August 22, Andy Beckett, “Britannia Unchained: the rise of the new Tory right”, in The Guardian:

Centre for Policy Studies
w:Centre for Policy Studies

(UK politics) Initialism of Centre for Policy Studies.


FCO

The FCO also disputes Fernández's claim that Britain kicked out the island's original Argentinian inhabitants.

2013 January 3, Luke Harding, Uki Goni, The Guardian:

Foreign and Commonwealth Office
w:Foreign and Commonwealth Office

(British, UK politics) Initialism of Foreign and Commonwealth Office.


PSI

Policy Studies Institute
w:Policy Studies Institute

(UK politics) Initialism of Policy Studies Institute, a British think tank.


Nat

(slang, informal, UK politics) A member or supporter of the Scottish National Party.


Majorism

(UK politics) The political and economic policies of the British Conservative prime minister Sir John Major.


Whitehall

en-proper noun

Whitehall (countable and uncountable, plural Whitehalls)

From Middle English whit (“white”) + halgh (“corner, nook; hall”).

Britain's securocracy - Whitehall spymasters, backed up by government lawyers, engaged in the increasingly thankless task of preserving state secrets - are faced with an intriguing conundrum. What do they do when the bulwark they have been relying on for so long to protect their secrets crumbles before their eyes?

2000 July 27, Richard Norton-Taylor, “Analysis: The secret's out”, in the Guardian:

It notes: "The Welsh Government's view is that genuine 'levelling up' cannot simply mean a sprinkling of new, ad hoc rail projects decided in Whitehall, it has to be part of a strategic approach to promoting growth in all parts of the UK."

2020 December 2, Philip Haigh, “When will Wales's wish for rail improvements come true?”, in Rail, page 32:

(UK politics, by extension, metonymically) The British government or civil service


Blairite

The Blairites came up with young country and new this, new that, but it was cosmetic.

2001 August 27, Madeleine Bunting, “The end is nigh: pessimism rules”, in The Guardian:

(UK politics, informal) A supporter of Tony Blair, British prime minister from 1997 to 2007, or his policies.


Blairite

(UK politics) Relating to Blairites or to Tony Blair's government and policies.


TCA

Labour, which has said it will not take the UK back into the EU, the single market or customs union, has, however, already committed to using the 2025 review of the TCA to try to reduce barriers to trade.

2023 February 11, Toby Helm, “Revealed: secret cross-party summit held to confront failings of Brexit”, in The Observer, →ISSN:

Trade and Cooperation Agreement
w:EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

(European politics, UK politics) Initialism of Trade and Cooperation Agreement.


New Labour

From the slogan “New Labour, New Britain”, used by Tony Blair in his 1994 Labour Party Conference speech.

(UK politics) A movement in the 1990s and 2000s to rebrand the British Labour Party by discarding traditional goals such as nationalization and socialism.


Rt Hon

Right Honourable
Right Honourable#English

Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament

(UK and Commonwealth politics) Abbreviation of Right Honourable. (in the titles of Members of Parliament)


Church of England

The English branch of the Christian Church; (since the 16th century) specifically the established Protestant church in England which is the mother church of the Anglican Communion.


delict

Borrowed from Latin delictum (“fault”), from neuter of delictus, past participle of delinquo (“to be lacking; to fail; to transgress”), from dē- + linquō (“to leave, quit, forsake, depart from”).

(civil law, Scots law) A wrongful act, analogous to a tort in common law.

civil law; Scots law; civil law; Scots law


IDS

(UK politics) Initialism of Iain Duncan Smith.


rosary

From Middle English rosarie, from Latin rosārium, here in its sense as a garland of roses. The coin usage referred to the laurel wreath appearing on the obverse bust, as opposed to the bare head on the pollard. Doublet of Rosario and rosarium.

psalter (150-bead rosary for use with the Psalms)

(historical numismatics) A 13th-century coin minted in Europe as a counterfeit debased form of the sterling silver penny of Edward I, at first accepted as a halfpenny and then outlawed.


mora

From Latin mora (“duration of time, delay”).

(Scots law) A delay in bringing a claim.


mora

(Scots law) mora (a delay in bringing a claim)


sceat

Learned borrowing from Old English sceatt.

lbor

1840, Ancient Laws and Institutes of England, Volume 2, Commissioners on the Public Records of the Kingdom, unnumbered page,
In the Anglo-Saxon laws there is no passage from which the value of the ‘sceat’ can be ascertained with certainty, though from some places in the laws of Ethelbirht it would appear, that, in Kent at least, 20 sceats were equal to 1 scilling.

The Obolus and the Scruple appear to have been equally familiar to the Anglo-Saxons under the names of the older sceat and penny. The Kentishmen seem to have resembled the Franks in their coinage as well as in their Wergilds, for their scilling weighed 20 sceats; and as the scilling was only a corruption of the Roman sicilicus (the shekel), or quarter-ounce weight, the Kentish ounce must have contained 80 sceats or 40 pence; in other words it was the old Salic solidus of 40 scruples, often met with in later times under the name of mancus, or heavier ounce of 30 Carlovingian (or sterling), and 40 Merovingian pence, or scruples.

1862, Eben William Robertson, Scotland Under Her Early Kings, Edmonston and Douglas, page 347:

(numismatics, historical) A small Anglo-Saxon coin, especially one made of silver; sometimes regarded as a weight (and thus a comparative measure of a coin's value).


Liberal Democrat

en-noun

Liberal Democrat (plural Liberal Democrats)

(Australian politics, UK politics) a member of the Liberal Democrats political party


Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats (UK)
Liberal Party (UK)
Social Democratic Party (UK)

From the merger of the Liberals and the Social Democrats.

(UK politics) A centrist political party


florin

From Middle English florin, floren, from Old French florin, from Italian fiorino (“little flower”). Doublet of fiorino.

A pre-decimal British coin, worth two shillings or ten new pence.


time immemorial

time immemorial (usually uncountable, plural times immemorial)

from time immemorial

My home is in the North of Palestine on the other side of Jordan, beyond the Sea of Galilee. My family has dwelt there from time immemorial, but they always loved this city, and have a legend that they dwelt occasionally within its walls, even in the days when Titus from that hill looked down upon the temple.

1870, B[enjamin] Disraeli, chapter XVII, in Lothair. […], volume III, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, pages 177–178:

The tower had been consecrated to this ancient diversion from time immemorial, the western façade conveniently forming the boundary of the churchyard at that end, where the ground was trodden hard and bare as a pavement by the players.

1874, Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC:

She had worn from time immemorial an old blue satin dress, and a white crape shawl embroidered in colors; […]

1875 January–December, Henry James, Jr., Roderick Hudson, Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, late Ticknor & Fields, and Fields, Osgood, & Co., published 1876, →OCLC; republished as Roderick Hudson (EBook #176), U.S.A.: Project Gutenberg, 18 September 2016:

In every Circular or Polygonal household it has been a habit from time immemorial[…]that the mothers and daughters should constantly keep their eyes and mouths towards their husband and his male friends; and for a lady in a family of distinction to turn her back upon her husband would be regarded as a kind of portent, involving loss of status.

1884, A Square [pseudonym; Edwin A. Abbott], Flatland […] , London: Seeley & Co., Part I: This World, § 4.— Concerning the Women:

The Communists have no need to introduce community of women; it has existed almost from time immemorial.

1888 [1848], Samuel Moore, transl., edited by Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto, translation of Das Kommunistische Manifest by Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels:

This is a great tract of a hundred thousand acres, which from time immemorial has been a hunting preserve of the nobility.

1905 April–October, Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1906 February 26, →OCLC:

That there is and from time immemorial has been within that part of the parish called Mablethorpe St. Mary's a laudable custom that, if any outdweller take ancient pasture ground, he shall pay a modus of 4d. an acre, and so in proportion, on the 1st of August, in lieu of all manner of tithe; and that if any of the ancient pasture be once ploughed up or meadowed, it shall, when restored to pasture again, pay 4d. the acre in the hands of such outdweller.

1917, The English Reports: Exchequer, page 789:

This thing is a "pyramid" since time immemorial, shit goes downhill, money goes up: it's that simple.

2002 September 15, David Chase, “For All Debts Public and Private”, in The Sopranos, season 4, episode 1, spoken by Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini):

(countable, uncountable) Time that extends beyond memory or record.

time that extends beyond memory or record

有史以前 (yǒushǐ yǐqián, literally “before history”)

(UK law, uncountable) Time before 6 July 1189.


diligence

diligence (countable and uncountable, plural diligences)

The precepts against parties, to whose oath of verity any point is referred, do only command them to compear at the term, with certification, that if they compear not, they shall be holden as confessing the point referred to their oath; but precepts against witnesses cannot have that certification, but all that can be done against them, or against the havers of writs, is to compel them to appear, and depone; and therefore these precepts are called executorials, because they are for putting the acts to effect by execution: they are also called compulsitors for the same reason. And they are called diligences, because they excuse the users thereof from negligence, whereby posterior diligences being exacty followed, are preferable to prior diligences being neglected, vigilantibus non dormientibus jura subveniunt, which is founded upon that great interest to hasten pleas to an end. They are also called diligences, because though the effect do not follow, yet the user thereof hath endeavoured what he could, and so is held as in the same case as if he had obtained the command of the precept. These precepts are called executorials before executions be thereupon; but they are only called diligences when they are executed in due time.
... Diligences are of three sorts, being either upon precepts before decreets, upon acts, or upon decreets.
The last sort of diligences and executorials, viz. those after decreets, which serve for putting of decreets to execution, and making them effectual, are ordinarily horning, caption, poinding, charges to remove, and thereupon letters of possession, (which are granted on all decreets in petitory and possessory actions, but declaratory actions need none,) together with the executory actions upon arrestments, and of adjudications of lands and annualrents..

1832 James, Viscount of Stair and J,S, More. The institutions of the law of Scotland. Vol 2, p 705

(Scots law) The process by which persons, lands, or effects are seized for debt; process for enforcing the attendance of witnesses or the production of writings.


common law

(law, Scots law, Roman-Dutch law) Law of general application throughout a country, province, or state as opposed to law having only a special or local application

Scots law; Roman-Dutch law; Scots law; Roman-Dutch law


OST

Office of Science and Technology
w:Office of Science and Technology

(UK politics, historical) Initialism of Office of Science and Technology.


adjudicate

en-verb

adjudicate (third-person singular simple present adjudicates, present participle adjudicating, simple past and past participle adjudicated)

adjudicates (present singular third-person)
adjudicating (participle present)
adjudicated (participle past)
adjudicated (past)

/əˈd͡ʒʉː.dɪ.kæɪt/

Borrowed from Latin adiūdicō, adiūdicātus, from ad + iūdicō (“to judge”). Doublet of adjudge.

bor+

(Scots law, transitive, as of a debtor's estate) to seize or convey as security.


Edwardian

en-adj

Edwardian (comparative more Edwardian, superlative most Edwardian)

more Edwardian (comparative)
most Edwardian (superlative)

If the kind of network we envisage is to be established, it would be unwise to begin any of its services hurriedly with older stock, which, however admirable in its day, now has an air of faded Edwardian splendour that is out of joint with the times.

1962 December, “A new Pullman era?”, in Modern Railways, page 362:

In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […] The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra–wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised.

2013 May 17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 23, page 19:

This delightful four-platform station [Bognor Regis] is still controlled by semaphore signals and boasts a lovely red-brick Edwardian building with steel canopies, crowned with a clocktower which dates from 1902.

2022 November 16, Paul Bigland, “From rural branches to high-speed arteries”, in RAIL, number 970, page 55:

Of the period in British history from circa 1901 to 1910, when Edward VII ruled the British Empire.


British Empire

Violence and racism were the reality of the colonial experience and no wonder that the sun never set on the British Empire because even God couldn't trust the English in the dark.

2015, Shashi Tharoor, "Britain Does Owe Reparations", 00:05:16

Two hundred and forty years have passed since the 1781 Yorktown Campaign, a campaign that was a decisive victory for the Continental Army and forced the British Empire to reach concessions with the 13 Colonies.

2021-2022 Winter, Matthew R. Prescott, John P. Ruedisueli, “The Relevance of the 1781 Yorktown Campaign”, in SAR Magazine, volume 116, number 3, Louisville, KY: Sons of the American Revolution, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 20, column 1:

In 1920, the British Empire covered over a quarter of the Earth's surface area.

(chiefly historical) The United Kingdom and its overseas dependencies and colonies.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office


letter of relaxation

en-noun

letter of relaxation (plural letters of relaxation)

Do you think that the state of the exchanges is that which ought to guide the discretion of the Government, with reference to the issue of a similar letter of relaxation?

1858, Samuel Jones-Loyd Overstone, Overstone Tracts on Metallic and Paper Currency:

(Scots law) A letter passing the signet, whereby a debtor is relieved from personal diligence, or whereby an outlaw is reponed against sentence of outlawry.


leaver

An extraordinary cross-party summit bringing together leading leavers and remainers – including Michael Gove and senior members of Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet – has been held in high secrecy to address the failings of Brexit and how to remedy them in the national interest, the Observer can reveal.

2023 February 11, Toby Helm, “Revealed: secret cross-party summit held to confront failings of Brexit”, in The Observer, →ISSN:

(UK politics) Alternative letter-case form of Leaver


fiar

I say, since ye hae sae muckle consideration for me, I'se be blithe to accept your kindness; and my mother and me (she's a life-renter, and I am fiar, o' the lands o' Wideopen) would grant you a wadset, or an heritable bond, for the siller, and to pay the annual-rent half-yearly; and Saunders Wyliecoat to draw the bond, and you to be at nae charge wi' the writings.

1816, Walter Scott, “The Black Dwarf”, in A Complete Edition of the Waverley Novels, volume 13, published 1831, page 108:

(Scots law) One in whom the property of an estate is vested, subject to the estate of a liferenter.


chaperone

/ˈʃæ.pəˌɹoʊn/

/ˈʃæ.pəˌɹəʊn/

(UK, business) An employee sent by a British company to the European Union to work with a client there, to circumvent restrictions imposed after Brexit.


threepence

threepence (countable and uncountable, plural threepences)

(countable, historical) A former (pre-decimalisation) British or Irish coin worth three old pence.


Spanish Armada

(historical) The fleet of warships sent by Philip II of Spain against England in 1588.


kain

kain (countable and uncountable, plural kains)

hens[…] in most leases make a part of the rent, under the name of kain, and are generally kept for conveniency or profit.

1798, Robert Douglas, General View of the Agriculture in the Counties of Roxburgh and Selkirk:

(Scots law) poultry, etc., required by the lease to be paid in kind by a tenant to the landlord.


pursuer

On his area the pursuer built a dwelling-house, of which the gable and garden-wall were mutual with his neighbour Smith […]

1809, Faculty of Advocates (Scotland), Decisions of the Court of Sessions, from 1752 to 1808, page 216:

(Scots law) The party who initiates a lawsuit; a plaintiff.


mortify

en-verb

mortify (third-person singular simple present mortifies, present participle mortifying, simple past and past participle mortified)

mortifies (present singular third-person)
mortifying (participle present)
mortified (participle past)
mortified (past)

From Anglo-Norman mortifier, Middle French mortifier, from Late Latin mortificō (“cause death”), from Latin mors (“death”) + -ficō (“-fy”).

the schoolmasters of Ayr were paid out of the mills mortified by Queen Mary

1876 James Grant, History of the Burgh and Parish Schools of Scotland, Part II, Chapter 14, p.453 (PDF 2.7 MB)

(transitive, Scots law, historical) To grant in mortmain.


sixpence

en-noun

sixpence (countable and uncountable, plural sixpences)

look as if one has lost a shilling and found sixpence

Finest apples, sixpence each.

When the ferry-boat with her wild freight pushed into the stream, nobody cared sixpence for the wasted time but the captain of the craft.

1876, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter XXIX, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Hartford, Conn.: The American Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 221:

(obsolete, British, uncountable) The value of six old pence; half of a shilling; or one-fortieth of a pound sterling.


Little Englander

Little Englander (plural Little Englanders)

(British, derogatory, modern) A bigoted, xenophobic, and nationalistic English person.

(British, derogatory, modern) Someone unaware of the world outside England.

(British, archaic) Someone who advocated an end to the British Empire.


Guinevere

From Middle English Gwenyver, from Middle Welsh Gwenhwyfar, from Proto-Brythonic *Gwɨnnohuɨβar. Doublet of Jennifer.

(Arthurian legend) In Arthurian legend, the wife of King Arthur.


scathe

scathe (countable and uncountable, plural scathes)

From Middle English scath, scathe [and other forms], from Old Norse skaði (“damage, harm; loss; death; murder”), from Proto-Germanic *skaþô (“damage, scathe; one who causes damage, injurer”, noun) (whence Old English sċeaþa, sċeaþu (“scathe, harm, injury”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keh₁t- (“damage, harm”).
Cognates
* Scots skaith
* Dutch schade
* German schaden
* Norwegian skade
* Swedish skada
* Icelandic skaði
* Polish szkoda
* Russian шко́да (škóda)
* Belarusian шко́дa (škóda)
* Ukrainian шко́да (škóda)

nb...

scade, scate, schath, schathe, schatht, sckathe, skade, skaith, skaithe, skagh, skate, skath, skathe, (Northern England, Northwest Midlands, Scotland) scaith, scaithe, schaithe, schath, schathe, skaith, skaithe, skaitht, (in names) scait, skeithe

der

(countable, Scots law, obsolete) An injury or loss for which compensation is sought in a lawsuit; damage; also, expenses incurred by a claimant; costs.


Camelot

en:Camelot (disambiguation)
en:Chrétien de Troyes
en:Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart

First attested in Old French as Camaalot in Chrétien de Troyes' Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart
* (US politics, Kennedy administration): From a reference to a contemporary musical of the same name

(Arthurian legend) A mythical location in England. The stronghold of King Arthur in the Arthurian legend.


Camelot

Inherited from Middle French Camalot, from Old French Camaalot.


Home Secretary

en-noun

Home Secretary (plural Home Secretaries)

(British) The British cabinet minister, responsible for law and order, who is head of the Home Office.


Home Office

(British, UK politics) The British government department, headed by the Home Secretary, responsible for security and law enforcement in England and Wales.

內政部 /内政部

ministry responsible for internal affairs


Tories

Helped by massive tax increases piled on to the electorate by the Tories in their first post-election budget, we slowly began to win the battle.

2011, Philip Gould, The Unfinished Revolution: How New Labour Changed British Politics:

(UK politics) The British Conservative Party


Merlin

From Middle English Merlyn, from Medieval Latin Merlinus and Old French Merlin, from Proto-Brythonic *Mor-ðin (literally “sea-hill”), from Proto-Celtic *mori (“sea”) + *dūnom (“stronghold, rampart”).

der

census-designated place
census-designated place

Josephine County
Josephine County#English

A census-designated place in Josephine County, Oregon, United States.


Merlin

Unadapted borrowing from English Merlin.

(Arthurian legend) Merlin (wizard who helped Arthur)


Lib Dem

(Australian politics, UK politics, informal) Liberal Democrat


complainer

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

(Scots law) A complainant (an alleged victim in a criminal trial).


juristic

Loan translation of obsolete Dutch juristisch.

(Scots law, South Africa) legal, juridical, pertaining to the law and jurisprudence


NOC

en-noun

NOC (countable and uncountable, plural NOCs)

(UK politics) Initialism of no overall control.


the other place

[W]e all trooped from our end of the building to the House of Lords - which I'm told, for some reason, we must never refer to by name. We have to call it 'another place' or 'the other place'[.]

1999, Gyles Brandreth, chapter 3, in Breaking the Code:

(parliamentary) the other house of a bicameral legislature (used by members of one house when speaking in their own house); in the UK, the House of Lords seen from the House of Commons or vice versa; in Canada, the Senate seen from the House of Commons or vice versa.

(UK, Oxford University slang, derogatory) University of Cambridge

(UK, Cambridge University slang, derogatory) University of Oxford