stag

stag (countable and uncountable, plural stags)

From Middle English stagge, steg, from Old English stagga, stacga (“a stag”) and Old Norse steggi, steggr (“a male animal”), both from Proto-Germanic *staggijô, *staggijaz (“male, male deer, porcupine”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *stegʰ-, *stengʰ- (“to sting; rod, blade; sharp, stiff”). Cognate with Icelandic steggi, steggur (“tomcat, male fox”). Related to staggard, staggon.

a stag dance; a stag party; a stag bar

(countable, usually attributive) An unmarried man; a bachelor; a man not accompanying a woman at a social event.

The stag will be held in the hotel's ballroom.

(countable) A social event for men held in honor of a groom on the eve of his wedding, attended by male friends of the groom; sometimes a fundraiser.

Troglodytes troglodytes
Troglodytes troglodytes#Translingual

(countable) The Eurasian wren, Troglodytes troglodytes.


stag

en-verb

stag (third-person singular simple present stags, present participle stagging, simple past and past participle stagged)

stags (present singular third-person)
stagging (participle present)
stagged (participle past)
stagged (past)

(transitive) To watch; to dog, or keep track of.


ringer

Some senses may derive from ring the changes (“run through variations; enliven; pass counterfeit money; trick a shopkeeper into giving too much change”).

(horse racing) A horse fraudulently entered in a race using the name of another horse.


cottontail

A rabbit of any of various species in genus Sylvilagus.


stonefish

en-noun

stonefish (plural stonefishes or stonefish)

A venomous tropical marine fish resembling a piece of rock, of the genus Synanceia, found in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean


seagull

From sea + gull. The second element is from a Brythonic language. Compare Welsh gwylan, Breton gouelan.

And while there are plenty of benches, there's little shelter from the wind (or predatory seagulls the size of dogs) out on the platforms.

2024 November 13, Paul Bigland, “Much to admire... but pockets of neglect”, in RAIL, number 1022, page 49:

Any of several white, often dark-backed birds of the family Laridae having long, pointed wings and short legs.

(UK, slang) A fan or member of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club.


seagull

en-verb

seagull (third-person singular simple present seagulls, present participle seagulling, simple past and past participle seagulled)

seagulls (present singular third-person)
seagulling (participle present)
seagulled (participle past)
seagulled (past)

[…] and when you need cover for the fullback because of the bombs raining down, when the walking maul requires every forward to quit seagulling and actually do some hard graft, then the rest of the game opens up.

2002 September 24, Greig Blanchett, “Re: The Immorality of the Drop Goal”, in rec.sport.rugby.union (Usenet):

On hand was seagulling number eight Dave Hodges to cross for the all-important try.

2002 December 13, “Sharks beached at Stradey”, in BBC Sport:

That occurred in the 12th minute when flanker George Smith, seagulling out wide, enjoyed the rewards of a two-man overlap to score.

2003 November 2, Greg Growden, “Australia survives scare”, in The Age:

France was full of running and continued to spread the ball wide or kick in behind the defence, where towering right-winger Aurelien Rougerie and the seagulling French back row had a height advantage contesting the high ball.

2003 November 10, Mark Fuller, “Impeccable France outclasses Ireland”, in The Age:

Samo seagulled for Australia's final try two minutes from time.

2011 September 24, Darren Walton, “Injuries sour Wallabies 67-5 win over USA”, in MSN NZ:

(British, Australia, New Zealand, rugby slang, of a forward) To run in the back line rather than concentrate on primary positional duties in open play.

It should be considered a style of outboarding I believe. Seagulling arround^([sic]) and all.

2007 December 19, Douglas Eagleson, “Re: british seagull info request”, in rec.boats.cruising (Usenet):

(boating slang) To use a British Seagull outboard.


jewfish

каменен костур

any of many types of fish including the Japanese seabass

Any of several fish species, principally groupers and similar-appearing fish

Epinephelus itajara (Atlantic goliath grouper, spotted jewfish)

Lateolabrax japonicus (Japanese seabass)

Argyrosomus japonicus (silver jewfish, also known as the mulloway jewfish in eastern Australia)

Tandanus tandanus (eel-tailed catfish, freshwater jewfish, dewfish)

Glaucosoma hebraicum (West Australian dhufish, Westralian jewfish, western jewfish)

Glaucosoma buergeri (Westralian jewfish)

Stereolepis gigas (black jewfish, Pacific jewfish)


nope

→ Italian: nop

→ Portuguese: nop

→ Spanish: nop

Representing no pronounced with the mouth snapped closed at the end. Compare yep, welp, ope, and yup.

"Is my son here, Clarence?" asked Roger Oakley. "Nope. The whistle ain't blowed yet."

1856, Sidney George Fisher, Charles Edward Fisher, Kanzas and the Constitution, page 97:

"No," from Tom, ending the word with so decided a pressure of the lips that it sounded like "nope."

“Aunt Kat? And was Aunt Kat your only relation? Have you no father nor mother?” “Nope. Never had none ‘cept Aunt Kat. Her hull name was Katrina. She wuz Dutch she wuz."

1890, Werner's Readings and Recitations, E.S. Werner, page 50:

1: I will not dishonour my country's speech by leaving off the last syllables of words, 2: I will say a good American "yes" and "no" in place of an Indian grunt "um-hum" and "nup-um" or a foreign "ya" or "yeh" and "nope"[…]

c. 1930, The Detroit Educational Bulletin, Detroit (Michigan) Board of Education, page 13:

Nope. Don't know as I do.

2006, Charlotte Hudson Ewing, Red Land, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 54:


kingfish

en-noun

kingfish (plural kingfishes or kingfish)

Other Atlantic fish
king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla)

crevalle jack (Caranx hippos) of Mauritania

Caranx ignobilis
Caranx ignobilis#Translingual

giant trevally or travelli (Caranx ignobilis) of South Africa


trevally

Any of certain fishes of the family Carangidae, especially of the genera Caranx and Pseudocaranx.


flathead

flathead catfish
flathead catfish#English

(US, informal) Alternative form of flathead catfish


mastodon

First attested 1813, from translingual Mastodon (1806), coined by French naturalist Georges Cuvier, from masto- (“breast”) + -odon (“tooth”), due to the mammilloid (“nipple-shaped”) projections on the crowns of the extinct mammal's molars.

coin

When, exactly, Europeans first stumbled upon the bones of an American mastodon is unclear. An isolated molar unearthed in a field in upstate New York was sent off to London in 1705; it was labeled the “tooth of a Giant”.

2014, Elizabeth Kolbert, chapter 2, in The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Henry Holt and Company:

Extinct elephant-like mammal of the genus †Mammut that flourished worldwide from Miocene through Pleistocene times; differs from elephants and mammoths in the form of the molar teeth.

mastodont

extinct elephant-like mammal of the genus Mammut


surfer

→ Japanese: サーファー (sāfā)

Melanitta perspicillata
Melanitta perspicillata#Translingual

(obsolete) A duck, the surf scoter (Melanitta perspicillata).


rout

en-noun

rout (countable and uncountable, plural routs)

The noun is derived from Middle English rout, route (“group of people associated with one another, company; entourage, retinue; army; group of soldiers; group of pirates; large number of people, crowd; throng; group of disreputable people, mob; riot; group of animals; group of objects; proper condition or manner”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman route, rute, Middle French rote, route, Old French rote, route, rute (“group of people, company; group of armed people; group of criminals; group of cattle”) (modern French route (obsolete)), from Latin rupta (compare Late Latin ruta, rutta (“group of marauders; riot; unlawful assembly”)), the feminine of ruptus (“broken; burst, ruptured”), the perfect passive participle of rumpō (“to break, burst, rupture, tear; to force open; (figurative) to annul; to destroy; to interrupt”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hrewp- (“to break; to tear (up)”). The English word is a doublet of route.
The verb is derived from Middle English routen (“to assemble, congregate; of animals: to herd together; to regroup, make a stand against; to be riotous, to riot”) [and other forms], from rout, route (noun); see above.

nb...

rote, rought, roughte, rouht, routh, routhte, routt, routte, rouwte, rouʒt, rouʒte, rovte, rowt, rowte, rowth, rowthte, rowtt, rowtte, rowȝt, ruth, rutte, (West Midlands) roite, (Northern England) rutte, ruth, (chiefly Northern England, early Middle English) rut, rute

nb...

route, rowte, (Northern England) rute, (Late Middle English) rouȝt

(countable, archaic) A group of animals, especially one which is lively or unruly, or made up of wild animals such as wolves; a flock, a herd, a pack.


rout

en-verb

rout (third-person singular simple present routs, present participle routing, simple past and past participle routed)

routs (present singular third-person)
routing (participle present)
routed (participle past)
routed (past)

A variant of wrout, itself a variant of wroot (“to search or root in the ground”) (obsolete), from Middle English wroten (“to search or root in the ground; of a person: to dig earth; of a worm: to slither, wriggle; to corrode; of a worm: to irritate by biting the skin; to destroy (a fortification) by digging or mining”) [and other forms] (whence root), from Old English wrōtan (“to root up or rummage with the snout”). from Proto-West Germanic *wrōtan, from Proto-Germanic *wrōtaną (“to dig with the nose or snout, to root”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps related to Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds (“a root”), cf. English wort, English root .

nb...

vrote, wroote, wrot, wrote, wrothe, wrotyn, (Scotland) wrotte

inh

Nevertheless, he was always stimulated by Winsett, and whenever he caught sight of the journalist's lean bearded face and melancholy eyes he would rout him out of his corner and carry him off for a long talk.

1920, Edith Wharton, chapter XIV, in The Age of Innocence, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, book I, page 122:

(transitive, chiefly US) Usually followed by from: to compel (someone) to leave a place; specifically (usually followed by out or up), to cause (someone) to get out of bed.


rout

Possibly a variant of root (“to dig or pull out by the roots; to abolish, exterminate, root out”), from Middle English wroten; see further at etymology 5. Some recent uses are difficult to tell apart from rout (“of an animal, especially a pig: to search (for something) in the ground with the snout; to search for and find (something)”).

(transitive) Usually followed by out or up: to dig or pull up (a plant) by the roots; to extirpate, to uproot.

(transitive, figurative) Usually followed by out: to find and eradicate (something harmful or undesirable); to root out.


ichneumon

From Latin ichneumōn, from Ancient Greek ἰχνεύμων (ikhneúmōn, “tracker”), from ἴχνος (íkhnos, “track, footstep”).

der

when the Ichneumon is to grapple with the Crocodile, he walloweth his body in the mire, then lets the same drie and harden upon him[…].

1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

Herpestes ichneumon
Herpestes ichneumon#Translingual

An Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), found in Africa and southern Europe.

Ada's unique Lorelei Underwing had died, paralyzed by some ichneumon that had not been deceived by those clever prominences and fungoid smudges.

1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin, published 2011, page 43:

(mythology) a legendary animal, which kills crocodiles and dragons


frosh

(colloquial, plural "froshes") Short for frosh week.


caribou

Borrowed from Canadian French caribou, from Mi'kmaq qalipu (“caribou”) (compare qalipi (“to shovel snow”)), from Proto-Algonquian *maka·lipowa (“caribou; it shovels snow”).

Rangifer tarandus
Rangifer tarandus#Translingual

Any of several North American subspecies of the reindeer, Rangifer tarandus.


skate

From Middle English skat, scate (also schat), from Old Norse skata (“skate”). Cognate with Icelandic skata (“skate, ray”), Norwegian skate (“skate”).

The fishermen crowding in the cafés were also waiting for the end of the storm, when the fish, reassured, would rise to the surface after the bait. Soles, hog fish and skate were returning from their nocturnal expeditions. Day was now breaking.

1952, Nikos Kazantzakis, chapter 1, in Carl Wildman, transl., Zorba the Greek, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, translation of Βίος και πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά [Víos kai politeía tou Aléxi Zormpá], →ISBN, page 3:

Other deep creatures now being harvested or targeted as seafood include rattails, skates, squid, red crabs, orange roughy, black oreos, smooth oreos, hoki, blue ling, southern blue whiting, sablefish, black scabbard fish and spiny dogfish.

1995 December 26, William J. Broad, “Creatures of the Deep Find Their Way to the Table”, in The New York Times:

A fish of the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea (rays) which inhabit most seas. Skates generally have small heads with protruding muzzles, and wide fins attached to a flat body.


zebu

From French zébu, from Tibetan (perhaps མཛོ་པོ (mdzo po, “male bull-yak hybrid”), whence also zobo).

A domesticated ox native to Asia and Africa, having a large fleshy hump on its back and a dewlap (Bos primigenius indicus).


babiroussa

From French babiroussa, from Malay babi rusa (“babiroussa, deer hog”).

Any large hoglike quadruped, of the genus Babyrousa, found in the East Indies, sometimes domesticated, with its upper canine teeth or tusks large and recurved.


pearl

en-noun

pearl (countable and uncountable, plural pearls)

Horace
Jean Jannon
New Testament
Vergil
en:pearl
en:pearl (disambiguation)
en:pearl (typography)

From Middle English perle, from Old French perle of uncertain etymology. Probably via unattested Medieval Latin *pernula, from Latin perna (“haunch; a marine bivalve shaped like a leg of lamb”) but also derived from Medieval Latin perla, from Latin perula (“little bag”). Its typographic use follows the name given by Jean Jannon to the type used in his miniature editions of Vergil, Horace, & the New Testament in the 1620s, which were the smallest printed works to his time. Its surfing use derives from the supposed resemblance to pearl diving.

der

Errol. Pearl three Escutcheons Ruby. / Elgin. Topaz a Saltier and Chief Ruby, on a Canton Pearl a Lyon Rampant Saphyr, which last is their paternal Coat; and the Field Topaz, and Saltier, and Chief Ruby, was the Arms of King Robert the Bruce, they altering the Field from Pearl (as he bore it) to Topaz.

1720, Francis Nichols, Rudiments of Honour, page 296:

The Field is Ruby, on a Bend Topaz, three Martlets Diamond. The Armes of the most Noble and Puissant Lord, Edward Brabazon, Earl of Meath, and Baron of Atherdee in the Kingdom of Ireland. His Lordship's Atchievements are Quarterly of sixteen Coats. 1. Brabazon, as above. 2. Diamond, on a Chevron between three Pickaxes Pearl, as many Mullets Ruby, by the Name of Mosley. 3. Saphire, ten Bezants, 4, 3, 2, 1, by the Bisset. 4. Pearl, on a Bend Diamond, nine Annulets conjoined in three Links Topaz.

1726, John Guillim, The Banner Display'd; Or, an Abridgment of Guillim, page 504:

(1) Pearl, a Cross, Ruby, with the Effigies of our Saviour thereon, Topaz, born in Memory of one of the Family's fighting against the Turks.

1754, John Lodge, The Peerage of Ireland; Or, a Genealogical History of the ..., page 71:

(heraldry) Argent, in blazoning by precious stones.


bunny

Surfers from Durban grew up on bunnies. You get the curry in the bread with the removed square chunk, used to dunk back in the curry.

2008, Steve Pike, Surfing South Africa, page 258:

(South Africa) Bunny chow; a snack of bread filled with curry.


macaco

From French mococo, probably ultimately from Malagasy maka, maki (“lemur”).
Wikispecies

(obsolete) Any of several species of lemur, including the white-headed lemur, ruffed lemur, and ring-tailed lemur.


addax

From Latin addax, apparently from an African language.

In her hand, the haunch of an addax, still hissing from the spit.

1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin 2006, page 53:

A large African antelope (Addax nasomaculatus) with long, corkscrewing horns which lives in the desert.


babbler

From Middle English babeler, babler, equivalent to babble + -er.

Any of several passerine birds, of the families Timaliidae and Paradoxornithidae (both found in Asia, Africa) and Pomatostomidae (found in Australia).


black sheep

He always was the black sheep in the family, as an artist among doctors and lawyers.

(idiomatic) A nonconformist; an unusual or unconventional person, who may be rejected or disdained by others for this reason.

бе́лая воро́на f (bélaja voróna, literally “white crow”)


nelly

Macronectes giganteus
Macronectes giganteus#Translingual

Macronectes halli
Macronectes halli#Translingual

A giant petrel, Macronectes giganteus and Macronectes halli.


silver tongue

/ˌsɪlvəˈtʌŋ/

/ˌsɪlvəɹˈtʌŋ/

From silver (adjective, noun) + tongue (noun). Sense 1 (“trait of being articulate and clever at speaking”) is probably from silver-tongued, which is attested earlier than the noun.

compound

Melospiza melodia
Melospiza melodia#Translingual

(US) The song sparrow (Melospiza melodia).


seeing-eye dog

Genericization of a trademark. From the name of the charity The Seeing Eye, which trains guide dogs.

(US, informal) A guide dog for people who suffer from impaired vision.


iguana

/ɪ.ɡjuˈɑːnə/

A green iguana (Iguana iguana), a large tropical American lizard often kept as a pet.

(zoology) Any member of the genus Iguana.

Colloquially, in America and the Pacific, any of several members of the lizard family Iguanidae.

إِغْوَانَا

Colloquially, in Africa, any large member of the genus Varanus, especially the aquatic Nile monitor (see leguan).

The last they had had, was an iguana one of the blacks had brought in; and though he felt disgusted at the idea of eating it, he made up into a kind of stew, and they both enjoyed it immensely.

1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 161:

(Australia, formerly) Any member of the genus Varanus (see goanna).


porky

en-adj

porky (comparative porkier, superlative porkiest)

porkier (comparative)
porkiest (superlative)

In front of Lister a small red-haired man, with a porky roll of flesh above his towel-top, was examining a line of girls.

1989, Grant Naylor, Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers:


zobo

From Tibetan མཛོ་པོ (mdzo po, “male bull-yak hybrid”); see zebu for more.

der

A kind of Asian cattle, supposed to be a hybrid between the zebu and yak.


swordfish

en-noun

swordfish (countable and uncountable, plural swordfish or swordfishes)

From Middle English swerdfysche, from Old English *sweordfisċ. Equivalent to sword + fish.

Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand. We spent consider'ble money getting 'em reset, and then a swordfish got into the pound and tore the nets all to slathers, right in the middle of the squiteague season.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

Xiphias gladius
Xiphias gladius#Translingual

A large marine fish with a long, pointed bill, Xiphias gladius.

A sudoku technique involving possible cell locations for a digit, or pair, or triple, in uniquely three rows and three columns only. This allows for the elimination of candidates around the grid.


swordfish

en-verb

swordfish (third-person singular simple present swordfishes, present participle swordfishing, simple past and past participle swordfished)

swordfishes (present singular third-person)
swordfishing (participle present)
swordfished (participle past)
swordfished (past)


watchdog

/ˈwɑːt͡ʃˌdɑːɡ/

/ˈwɒt͡ʃˌdɒɡ/

(electronics, computing) Ellipsis of watchdog timer.


matriarch

/ˈmeɪtɹɪˌɑːk/

Of Latin origin, via or reinforced by Old French matriarche, from Latin māter (“mother”) + -archa, -arches, from Ancient Greek -άρχης (-árkhēs), from ἀρχός (arkhós, “chief”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ergʰ- (“to begin, rule, command”). By surface analysis, matri- + -arch.

matriarca

a female leader of a family, a tribe or an ethnic or religious group

A female leader of a family, a tribe or an ethnic or religious group.

The dominant female in a family group of elephants


platypus

head

platypus (plural platypuses or platypus or (common, hypercorrect) platypi or (rare) platypodes)

platypuses (plural)
platypus (plural)
platypi (common hypercorrect plural)
platypodes (plural rare)

From New Latin Platypus (originally a genus name already in use for a type of beetle), from Ancient Greek πλατύπους (platúpous, “flat-footed”), from πλατύς (platús, “flat”) + πούς (poús, “foot”). Piecewise doublet of flatfoot.

der

Victoria's Healesville Sanctuary is celebrating the births of two baby platypuses, in a major milestone.

2008 March 2, “Captive platypus twins make history”, in ABC News:

Ornithorhynchus anatinus
Ornithorhynchus anatinus#Translingual

A semi-aquatic, egg-laying monotreme mammal with a bill resembling that of a duck, that has a mole-like body, a tail resembling that of a beaver, a waterproof pelt, and flat webbed feet – males have poisonous spurs on the inside of the back legs; Ornithorhynchus anatinus.


pussy

en-noun

pussy (countable and uncountable, plural pussies)

Maori: poti, puihi


tang

From Middle English tange, variant of tonge (“tongs, fang”), from Old Norse tangi (“pointed metal tool”), perhaps related to Old Norse tunga (“tongue”). But see also Middle Dutch tanger (“sharp, tart, pinching”).

ruoti

projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to some other part

angel

part of small instrument inserted into handle

(zoology) Any of a group of saltwater fish from the family Acanthuridae, especially the genus Zebrasoma.


twink

From the name of the Twink brand of correction fluid.

Correction fluid
correction fluid#English

(New Zealand) Correction fluid or correction tape.


sunny

From Middle English sunni, from Old English *sunniġ. Cognate with West Frisian sinnich, Low German sünnig, Dutch zonnig, German sonnig. Equivalent to sun + -y.


dunnock

From Middle English donek, dunok, from Old English *dunnuc, equivalent to dun (“brownish grey”) + -ock (diminutive suffix). Compare Old High German doniklīn (“hedge-sparrow; dunnock”). Compare ruddock.

cog

Prunella modularis
Prunella modularis#Translingual

A small European and Asian passerine bird, Prunella modularis; the hedge sparrow or hedge warbler.


squat

From Middle English squatten, from Old French esquatir, escatir (“compress, press down, lay flat, crush”), from es- (“ex-”) + quatir (“press down, flatten”), from Vulgar Latin *coactire (“press together, force”), from Latin coāctus, perfect passive participle of cōgō (“force together, compress”).
The sense “nothing” may be the source or a derivation of diddly-squat.

uder

A place of concealment in which a hare spends time when inactive, especially during the day; a form.


ruminant

en-adj

ruminant (comparative more ruminant, superlative most ruminant)

more ruminant (comparative)
most ruminant (superlative)

From Latin rūmināns, rūminantem, present participle of rūminārī (“to chew the cud, ruminate”), from rūmen (“throat, gullet, rumen (first stomach of a ruminant)”).

G. K. Chesterton
“I wonder what a paradox is,” remarked the priest in a ruminant manner.


ruminant

Flesh behind steel and glass is unprotected
From enemies that whisper to the blood;
The scratch forgotten is the scratch infected;
The ruminant, reason, chews a poisoned cud.

1941, Theodore Roethke, “Prognosis”, in Open House; republished in The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke, 1975, →ISBN, page 5:

An artiodactyl ungulate mammal which chews cud, such as a cow or deer.


mammoth

desc

→ Arabic: مَامُوث (māmūṯ)

→ Arabic: مَامُوث (māmūṯ)

→ Hebrew: מָמוּתָה (mamúta)

→ Hindi: मैमथ (maimath)

→ Japanese: マンモス (manmosu)

→ Khmer: ម៉ាមម៉ូត (maammout)

→ Korean: 매머드 (maemeodeu)

→ Thai: แมมมอธ (mɛm-mɔ́ɔt)

Cheshire Mammoth Cheese
Thomas Jefferson

From obsolete Russian ма́мант (mámant), modern ма́монт (mámont), probably from a Uralic language, such as Proto-Mansi *mē̮ŋ-ońt (“earth-horn”). Possibly influenced by behemoth.
The current Mansi word could mean "earth stag" ма̄хар (māhar), from Northern Mansi ма̄ (mā, “earth”) and ха̄р (hār, “stag”). Adjectival use was popularized in the early 1800s by references to the Cheshire Mammoth Cheese presented to American paleontologist and president Thomas Jefferson.

Maimanto, as they say a sea elephant which is never seene, but accordinge to the Samuites he workes himselfe under grownde and so they finde his teeth or homes or bones in Pechore and Nova Zemla of which they […]

1618, Richard James, “The Implications of James's Maimanto”, in Robert Auty, I. P. Foote, editors, Oxford Slavonic Papers. New Series., volume 9, Clarendon Press, published 1976, Dictionariolum Russico-Anglicum, page 103:

The Mammotovoy, which is dug out of the Earth in Siberia.

1698, Heinrich Wilhelm Ludolf, edited by Sir James Augustus Henry Murray, Sir William Alexander Craigie, and Charles Talbut Onions, A New English dictionary on historical principles: founded mainly on the materials collected by the Philological Society., volume 6, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1908, A. Brand's Emb. Muscovy into China, page 98:

The old Siberian Russians affirm that the Mammuth is very like the Elephant.

1706, Evert Ysbrants Ides, “An Account of Elephants Teeth and Bones, found under Ground”, in The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, from Their Commencement in 1665 to the Year 1800., volume 7, London: C. and R. Baldwin, published 1809, Three Years Travels from Moscow Over-land to China: Thro' Great Ustiga, Siriania, Permia, Sibiria, Daour, Great Tartary, Etc. to Peking ; Containing an Exact and Particular Description of the Extent and Limits of Those Countries, and the Customs of the Barbarous Inhabitants; with Reference to Their Religion, Government, Marriages, Daily Imployments, Habits, Habitations, Diet Death, Funerals etc. to which is Annex'd an Accurat Description of China, Done Originally by a Chinese Author., page 243:

Any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus, of large, usually hairy, elephant-like mammals with long curved tusks and an inclined back, which became extinct with the last retreat of ice age glaciers during the late Pleistocene period, and are known from fossils, frozen carcasses, and Paleolithic cave paintings found in North America and Eurasia.


scritch

en-verb

scritch (third-person singular simple present scritches, present participle scritching, simple past and past participle scritched)

scritches (present singular third-person)
scritching (participle present)
scritched (participle past)
scritched (past)

To make a light scratching sound, like a small animal burrowing.


scritch

A light scratching sound, like a small animal burrowing.


cuscus

From New Latin Cuscus, former genus name, ultimately (probably via French and Dutch koeskoes) from a local word for the marsupials in a language of the Moluccas.

Any of various arboreal marsupials of New Guinea and northern Australia.


fledgling

From fledge (“prepare for flying”) + -ling.

A young bird which has just developed its flight feathers (notably wings).


ailurophilia

/ˌaɪljʊəɹəˈfɪlɪ.ə/

/aɪˌlʊɹəˈfɪli.ə/

/eɪˌlʊɹəˈfɪli.ə/

From ailuro- (“cat”) + -philia (“love”), from Ancient Greek αἴλουρος (aílouros, “cat”) + φίλος (phílos, “dear, beloved”).

der

A fondness or love for cats or other felines.


wild cat

From Middle English wyld cat, wylde cat (in the plural as wild cattes, wylde catis, wyle cattes), equivalent to wild + cat.

An undomesticated felid, as tigers or lions.

Felis silvestris
Felis silvestris#Translingual

(uncommon) Alternative spelling of wildcat, (UK) the Old World wildcats (Felis silvestris) or (US) the bobcat (Lynx rufus) and other New World lynxes.

wildcat

(uncommon) Alternative spelling of wildcat in its other extended senses.


large bonito

Katsuwonus pelamis
Katsuwonus pelamis#Translingual

Katsuwonus pelamis, a large tropical fish allied to the tunny.


gilt-head bream

en-noun

gilt-head bream (plural gilt-head breams)

Sparus aurata
Sparus aurata#Translingual

A fish found in the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coasts of Europe (Sparus aurata).


grey mullet

Any of various edible fish, of the family Mugilidae, found worldwide in coastal waters and rivers.


horse mackerel

Any of several large fishes of many species:


ide

Borrowed from French ide, from Scientific Latin idus (species name), from Swedish id.

a pike says to the pike-folk / a whitefish asked an ide, a / salmon another salmon: / ‘Have they died, the famous men / have Kaleva's sons been lost […]?’

1989, Elias Lönnrot, translated by Keith Bosley, The Kalevala, section XLVII:

Leuciscus idus
Leuciscus idus#Translingual

A freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, found across northern Europe and Asia, especially Leuciscus idus.


feline

Substantive use of the adjective feline, from Latin fēlīnus.

(formal) Any member of Felinae, one of the two extant subdivisions of Felidae.


bluefish

bluefish (countable and uncountable, plural bluefishes or bluefish)

Pomatomus saltatrix
Pomatomus saltatrix#Translingual

A voracious fish (Pomatomus saltatrix) found in waters of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean.


grinder

From Middle English grinder, grindere, from Old English grindere (“one or that which grinds; grinder”), equivalent to grind + -er.

inh

en:any of various machines or devices that grind things

en:grinding machine, any of various machine tools for grinding

Any of various machines or devices that grind things, such as by grinding them down or grinding them up.

A grinding machine: any of various machine tools for grinding (either heavy or light grinding, but precise either way).


albatross

en-noun

albatross (plural albatross or albatrosses)

Uncertain. Probably from Spanish or Portuguese alcatraz (“pelican, gannet, albatross”), probably derived from Arabic الْغَطَّاس (al-ḡaṭṭās, “the diver”) (compare Alcatraz); or from Portuguese alcatruz (“water wheel bucket”), from Arabic الْقَادُوس (al-qādūs), from Ancient Greek κάδος (kádos, “pail, jar”), in reference to the pouch of a pelican. In either case, altered under the influence of Latin albus (“white”). Not derived from modern Arabic قَطْرَس (qaṭras, “albatross”), which is perhaps borrowed from Spanish.
For sense development of "burden", see albatross around one’s neck.

der

Albatross (disambiguation)
albatross (metaphor)

Any of various large seabirds of the family Diomedeidae ranging widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific and having a hooked beak and long narrow wings.


piranha

First attested in 1869. The term entered English either via Portuguese piranha or Spanish piraña, from Old Tupi pirãîa.

(ichthyology) Any of the carnivorous or frugivorous freshwater fish living in South American rivers and belonging to the subfamily Serrasalminae.


grouse

en-noun

grouse (countable and uncountable, plural grouse or grouses)

Attested in the 1530s, as grows ("moorhen"), a plural used collectively.
The origin of the noun is unknown; the following derivations have been suggested:
* From Old French grue (“crane”) (modern French grue) or Medieval Latin gruta (“crane”), both from Latin grūs (“crane”).
* Borrowed from Celtic or a different Medieval Latin word.
* Imitative of the bird’s call.
The verb is derived from the noun.

unknown

unknown

(red grouse):

Among fowls for the table [of King Henry VIII] are crocards, winders, runners, grows, and peions, but neither Turky or Guiney-fowl.

1531 January, “XXI. Extracts from a MS. Dated ‘apud Eltham, mense Jan. 22 Hen. VIII.’ Communicated to the Society by Owen Salusbury Brereton, Esq; Read at the Society of Antiquaries, April 9, 1772.”, in Archaeologia: Or, Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity, volume III, London: […] Society [of Antiquaries of London]; and by Messieurs Whiston, White, Robson, Baker and Leigh, and Brown, published 1775, →OCLC, page 157:

Looke to 't, young growſe: Ile lay it on, and ſure; / Take 't off who's wull.

1633 (first performance), Benjamin Jonson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “A Tale of a Tub. A Comedy […]”, in The Workes of Benjamin Jonson. The Second Volume. […] (Second Folio), London: […] Richard Meighen, published 1640, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 70:

The shy black grouse, “with an eye on every feather,” can only thrive in vast, absolutely undisturbed heath and moorlands. Therefore, unfortunately, there are not too many black grouse.

1979, Rien Poortvliet, translated by Marlies Comjean, “The Black Grouse”, in The Living Forest: A World of Animals, New York, N.Y.: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.; Peacock Press/Bantam Books, →ISBN:

I don’t know whether someone will go to the North Face this year. There you can find pure loneliness. In the base camp, you are only joined by snow grouses. Otherwise, it is extremely quiet, and you have the view of the North Face. You won’t meet anyone at the Kangshung Face too.

2015 February 14, “Kaltenbrunner: “All Everest parties around one table!””, in Deutsche Welle, archived from the original on 2023-01-31:

(countable) Any of various game birds of the subfamily Tetraoninae which inhabit temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere; specifically, the red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) native to heather moorland on the British Isles.

طَيْهُوج

any of various game birds of the subfamily Tetraoninae


grouse

en-adj

grouse (comparative grouser, superlative grousest)

grouser (comparative)
grousest (superlative)

Uncertain; possibly from British dialectal groosh (“excellent, very good”) (Lothian (Scotland)), grosh (northeast Lancashire) and groshy (“having thriving vegetation; juicy and tender; of weather: good for vegetation, rainy”) (Lancashire, Yorkshire), grushie (“having thriving vegetation”) (Scotland); from Scots groosh (“excellent, very good”) (Lothian, obsolete), grush (obsolete), grushie, grushy (“growing healthily or lushly; excellent, very good”) (both archaic), from gross (“lacking refinement, coarse; fat; large”) + -ie (suffix meaning ‘rather, somewhat’).

I had a grouse day.    That food was grouse.

Real grouse birthday this. First time he's had a party.

1965, Mudrooroo, Wild Cat Falling, HarperCollins, published 2001, page 99:

They were the grousest ladies she′d ever met.

1991, Tim Winton, Cloudstreet, Scribner Paperback Fiction, published 2002, page 182:

Not a question but the gag of Mulder pissing on the ID4 poster was grouse.

1998 July 23, Stujo, “SPOILER FTF - questions”, in aus.tv.x-files (Usenet):

I know, but I moved from riding bikes to flying and it is a great move. All riders without a fear of heights I know that flew with me thought it was grouse- and there are no coppers or speed limits up there.

2003 October 4, Leeroy, “FS Ultralight Aircraft”, in aus.motorcycles (Usenet):

(Australia, New Zealand, slang) Excellent.


pikey

The first time he comes to the surface of the water he gasps for breath, his huge mouth gapes, he gives his head a shake and out tumbles the bait, hooks and all, not one of them having had hold, and away goes pikey quite satisfied with his entertainment pro tem., and wondering what that ugly two-legged moster with the hop pole in his hand, and who looked in such a state of perplexity and stew, had to do with the matter

1867, Francis, A book on angling, page 93:

In 1876, in twelve fishings in the same months, there were caught 31 Pikeys, 4 Spotted Dogs, and 441 Nowds.

1881, Robert Lloyd Patterson, The Birds, Fishes & Cetacea of Belfast Lough, page 226:

A pikey's a pike. It's the dirtiest fish in the water.

2011, Jim Nally, Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, →ISBN:

The boated Pikey makes a series of tailstands as it lunges about, biting at feet, bags, hands, creels and thwarts.

2015, E.M. Grant, Grant's Guide to Fishes: The Fisherman's Bible, →ISBN:


pikey

pikey (comparative more pikey, superlative most pikey)

more pikey (comparative)
most pikey (superlative)

Like its schoolboy master, the rod built from the cane then chosen has since had many a narrow escape "by flood and fell," and not a few damaged 'tips,' aye, and 'joints' too; but its main timbers are as sound as ever, and I trust may yet be destined to wave death over many a pikey pool and glittering torrent when the hand that chose them is no longer able to do justice to their supple graces.

1865, Henry Cholmondeley-Pennell, The Book of the Pike, page 126:

The Broadland waters are pikey waters. There is no doubt that if Norfolk is famous for any one species of fish, then it is for none other than Esox himself, the predatory pike.

1965, The Fishing Gazette [New Series] - Issues 4560-4585, page 14:

The name gar-pike has gone some way to suggest the non-existent relationship, while (two dorsal fins notwithstanding) the pike-perches look remarkably 'pikey'.

1979, Len Cacutt, British Freshwater Fishes: The Story of Their Evolution, page 98:

We travel along tortuous forest roads in the most 'pikey' part ofVarmland — the whole time alongside water.

2003, Michael Jensen, Fly-Fishing: For Pike, →ISBN, page 12:

Associated with or filled with pike (fish).


pikey

Possibly from obsolete pike (“depart or travel”), or possibly from turnpike. The verb is derived from the stereotype that the Romani people or other travellers are thieves.

“They must be the pikeys who live up there. They're a nasty bunch. Shouldn't get mixed up with them.” “Well, we told them to fuck off, they didn't seem that nasty to me! What are pikeys anyway?” “Well, they're like vagabonds.”

2012, Pat Coppard, In Spite of Everything: a Life-story, →ISBN, page 15:

Gipsies and the pikey race generally were a class outside Lord Sandbar's previous experience, and he listened greedily.

(UK, Ireland, ethnic slur, offensive) An itinerant person, especially one of Romani or Irish Traveller heritage.


buffalo fish

en-noun

buffalo fish (countable and uncountable, plural buffalo fishes or buffalo fish)

buffalo fishes (plural)
buffalo fish (plural)

Any of several North American freshwater sucker fishes of the genus Ictiobus, similar to carp but having a humped back.


wallaby

→ Catalan: ualabi

→ Dutch: wallaby

→ Finnish: vallabi

→ French: wallaby

→ German: Wallaby

→ Irish: valbaí

→ Italian: wallaby

→ Japanese: ワラビー (warabī)

→ Maori: warapī

→ New Latin: Wallabia

→ Polish: walabia

→ Portuguese: wallaby

→ Russian: валлаби (vallabi)

→ Spanish: ualabí

Borrowed from Dharug wollabi (“rock-wallaby”).

bor+

Any of several species of marsupial; usually smaller and stockier than kangaroos.


peahen

From Middle English pehenne, equivalent to pea (“peafowl”) + hen. Compare Icelandic páhæna (“peahen”). See also peacock, peafowl, peachick, etc.

It shows the peahens that the peacock is strong.

2014, Bill Nye, Corey S. Powell, Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation:


peafowl

From pea (“peacock”) + fowl. Compare Icelandic páfugl (“peafowl”), Swedish påfågel (“peafowl”), Danish påfugl (“peafowl”).

A bird of the genus Pavo or Afropavo, notable for the extravagant tails of the males; a peacock (unspecified sex).


dood

Back-formation from dudhwallah, doodwallah (“milk-man”, literally “milk-ward”), reinterpreting the wallah of milk as a wallah of camels by dint of misremembrance of the Bengali word for “camel” which is উট (uṭ).

The Chief was lying down beside my dooly, aking a nap while his tent was being prepared, with his head resting on his hand, for he refused to accept the loan of my pillow, when a camel-driver came by, leading a huge dood so carelessly as to bring him right across Sir Colin.

1860, William Howard Russell, My Diary in India, in the Year 1858–9, volume 2, London: Routledge, Warne and Routledge, page 25:

“I have never seen it,” he replied, “but I have seen them attack a dood.”
“What is a dood?”
“A camel; one of a troop fording the river.”

1892, George Manville Fenn, Gil the Gummer, Or, The Youngest Officer in the East, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, page 42:


dood

"Talk about yer doods," said a Texas stockman, on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy train last night, "but a leetle the doodest dood I ever seen wuz a feller that come down from Boston into our kentry a year ago las' September."

1884 August, “The Boston Dude”, in Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineer's Monthly Journal, volume 18, number 8:

An' now Oi suppose if Oi don't get thim rolls riddy fer der brikfus' av that small dood that comes ter see Alice, Oi'll niver hear der end av it. Wot do Oi kee-ur? If he gives me a quarter whin he goes, it's more'n he'll do, fer all he's a dood an' all.

1888 November 17, “The Cook's Soliloquy”, in Time, volume 8, number 223, page 7:

On the dood ranch the dweller from the city can renew his almost forgotten ambition to be one with the rider of the Western plains --the cowpuncher, the Indian fighter, the pony express rider, the buffalo hunter, the scout.


dood

en-verb

dood (third-person singular simple present doods, present participle dooding, simple past and past participle dooded)

doods (present singular third-person)
dooding (participle present)
dooded (participle past)
dooded (past)


mullet

Wikispecies
From Middle English molet, mulett, from Old French mulet (now ‘grey mullet’), from Latin mullus (“red mullet”), from Ancient Greek μύλλος (múllos).

A fish of the family Mullidae (order Syngnathiformes), especially the genus Mullus (red mullets or goatfish).

moll

fish of the family Mullidae (red mullets)

(especially US) A fish of the family Mugilidae (order Mugiliformes) (grey mullets).

بُورِيّ

fish of the family Mugilidae (grey mullets)

(US) Any of several species of freshwater fish in the sucker family (especially in the genus Moxostoma, redhorses)


mullet

From Middle English molet, from Old French molette (“rowel”).

Grogan, Creation of 1859, or Moyvore, Westmeath. [...] Arms,—Barry of sex or and sable, on a chief engrailed azure a lion passant of the first. Crest,—A lion's head erased sable, charged with a mullet or.

1871, Debrett's illustrated baronetage and knightage (and companionage) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, page 215:

(heraldry) A star with straight edges and usually with five or six points.


trogon

Present active participle of Ancient Greek τρώγω (trṓgō, “chew, gnaw”).

A bird of a species in the family Trogonidae, most of which live in Central and South America, have colorful feathers, and nest in holes in trees.


gorilla

→ Japanese: ゴリラ (gorira)

→ Korean: 고릴라 (gorilla)

→ Thai: กอริลลา (gɔɔ-rin-lâa)

From Ancient Greek Γόριλλαι (Górillai, “Gorillai (a tribe of hairy women)”), described by Hanno the Navigator, a Carthaginian navigator and possible visitor to the area that later became Sierra Leone; the Greek word is likely from Punic, and ultimately from an African language.

der

In three of these twenty gorillæ 14 ribs are present, and the additional rib in each of them is below. […] The conclusion that the usual place of commencement of the dorsal type in the gorilla is between the 12th and 13th dorsal vertebræ is founded on notes taken of this character in 13 of these gorillæ.

1893, Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, volume 27, pages 133, 135:

The largest of the apes, belonging to the genus Gorilla, native to the forests of central Africa and known for their trait of knuckle-walking.


hoopoe

Alteration of obsolete hoopoop, from earlier hoop, from Middle French and Old French huppe, from Latin upupa, ultimately onomatopoeic; Compare Ancient Greek ἔποψ (épops), Persian پوپو (popo).

For quotations using this term, see Citations:hoopoe.

Any Old World bird of genus Upupa, especially Upupa epops (Eurasian hoopoe), known for its distinctive plumage, fanlike crest, and slender bill.

ઘંટી-ટાંકણો

ghaṇṭī-ṭā̃kṇo


hornbill

I saw what they were, hornbills, white head with a black streak of feather on top, a long grey tail, and a huge red beak that curved down, bigger than his head.

2019, Marlon James, Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Hamish Hamilton, page 408:

Any of various birds of the family Bucerotidae, with bills resembling a cow's horns. Many species have a casque above the bill, and many imprison their young in a tree.


shiner

From Middle English schyner, equivalent to shine + -er. Compare Old English sċīnere (“one who produces deceptive appearances, magician”).

cog

Any silvery fish, such as the horsefish, menhaden, or moonfish.

Fargo wasn't sure what difference it made if one gambler passed something to another, unless it was to be used in cheating, a shiner maybe. But nobody at that table would let a shiner pass.

2003, Jon Sharpe, Trailsman #258: Casino Carnage:

A small reflective surface used for cheating at card games.


when the cat's away the mice will play

when the cat’s away the mice will play (canonical)

In the absence of a controlling entity, subordinates will take advantage of circumstances.

as die kat weg is, is die muis baas

in the absence of a controlling entity, subordinates will take advantage of circumstances

når katten er ude, spiller musene på bordet

als de kat van huis is, dansen de muizen op tafel

kun kissa on poissa, hiiret hyppivät pöydällä

ist die Katze aus dem Haus, tanzen die Mäuse auf dem Tisch

όταν λείπει η γάτα χορεύουν τα ποντίκια

ótan leípei i gáta chorévoun ta pontíkia

ha nincs otthon a macska, cincognak az egerek

þegar kötturinn er frá fara mýsnar á stjá

nuair a bhíonn an cat amuigh, bíonn na lucha ag rince

鼬無き間の貂誇り

いたちなきまのてんほこり

고양이가 없으면 쥐가 살판이 난다

goyang'iga eopseumyeon jwiga salpani nanda

quō nōn versantur cattī mures dominantur

wann d’Kaz fort ass, sinn d’Mais Meeschter

when the cat’s away, the mice are dancing on the table

når katten er borte, danser musene på bordet

quando o gato sai, os ratos fazem a festa

când pisica nu-i acasă, joacă șoarecii pe masă

tha fios aig an luch nach eil an cat a-staigh

где мачке у кући нема ту мишеви коло воде

gde mačke u kući nema tu miševi kolo vode

gaž jo kócor z domu, ga maju myšy swóju wólu

cuando el gato no está, bailan los ratones

cuando el gato no está los ratones están de fiesta

cuando el gato no está, los ratones bailan

när katten är borta, dansar råttorna på bordet

kapag wala ang pusa, naglalaro ang mga daga

kapag wala ang pusa ay pista ng mga daga

rautu mettanaitē gurraṁ mūḍu kāḷḷa mīda parigettutundi

రౌతు మెత్తనైతే గుర్రం మూడు కాళ్ళ మీద పరిగెత్తుతుంది

kedi olmayan yerde meydan farelere kalır


ridley

Any of the marine turtles of the genus Lepidochelys, found in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.


toucan

Borrowed from French toucan, borrowed from Old Tupi tukana, from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *tũkãn, from Proto-Tupian *jɨokãn.

etymon

The ear, small and shapely, the arch of the foot, the curve in mouth and nostril, even the indurated hand dyed to the orange-tawny of the toucan's bill, a hand telling alike of the halyards and tar-bucket;

1924, Herman Melville, Billy Budd, ch 2:

Any of various neotropical frugivorous birds from the family Ramphastidae, with a large colorful beak.


pretty Polly

Polly is a name traditionally given to a pet parrot.

Pretty Polly! Pretty Polly! Squawk! 'Allo! Who's a pretty boy! Squawk! 'Allo! 'Allo!

A phrase traditionally said to parrots, and a phrase that parrots are traditionally taught to speak.


quetzal

From Spanish quetzal, from Classical Nahuatl quetzalli (“brightly colored tail feather, quetzal feather”), from quetza (“to raise, lift”); see also Classical Nahuatl quetzaltōtōtl (“quetzal bird”).

cog

In 2002 Guatemala officially declared the U.S. dollar as legal tender to circulate in parallel to the national currency, the quetzal. This is not likely to last for long as the quetzal is not widely accepted and is considered a weak store of value.

2005, Anastasia Xenias, “Dollarization: The End of Monetary Pluralism in South America?”, in Avery Plaw, editor, Frontiers of Diversity: Explorations in Contemporary Pluralism, page 109:

In this situation, they chose a policy mix of moderate monetary tightening, tight fiscal policy, and central bank intervention in the foreign exchange market to prevent excessive appreciation of the quetzal, without pursuing an exchange rate target[…].

2005, International Monetary Fund, Guatemala: 2005 Article IV Consultation - Staff Report, unnumbered page:

To cope with the subsequent mounting pressures on the domestic currency, the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat) started to intervene in the foreign exchange market to moderate the quetzal depreciation and tightened monetary policy.

2007, Charles Enoch, Karl Habermeier, Marta de Castello Branco, editors, Building Monetary and Financial Systems: Case Studies in Technical Assistance, International Monetary Fund, page 105:

A monetary unit used in Guatemala, equal to 100 centavos.


polar bear

Coined by Thomas Pennant in A Synopsis of Quadrupeds (1771).

Ursus maritimus
Ursus maritimus#Translingual

A hypercarnivorous species of bear, Ursus maritimus, whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle.


chameleon

From Middle English camelion, from Old French cameleon, from Latin chamaeleon, from Ancient Greek χαμαιλέων (khamailéōn), from χαμαί (khamaí, “on the earth, on the ground”) + λέων (léōn, “lion”); ultimately a calque from Akkadian 𒌨𒈤𒊭𒆠 (nēšu ša qaqqari, “chameleon, reptile”, literally “lion of the ground", "predator that crawls upon the ground”). The spelling was re-latinized in the early 18th century. The physics sense was coined by Justin Khoury and Amanda Weltman in 2003 in a paper in Physical Review Letters.

der

A contagious neuro-ego-disease. A virus sticking to liars.
We're the self-centered fuel to boost the new strain of fire.
Adapting, shifting, lacking opinion. Our numbers exceeding the billions.
Everly walking among ourselves down the corridor of chameleons.

1998, “Corridor of Chameleons”, performed by Meshuggah:

A small to mid-size reptile, of the family Chamaeleonidae, and one of the best known lizard families able to change color and project its long tongue.


killer whale

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

Calque or mistranslation of Spanish asesina-ballenas (“whale killer”), referring to their tendency to hunt whales.

bor

Of this whale, little is known to the Nantucketer, and nothing at all to the professed naturalist. From what I have seen of him at a distance, I should say that he was about the bigness of a grampus. He is very savage - a sort of Feegee fish. He sometimes takes the great Folio whales by the lip and hangs there like a leech until the mighty brute is worried to death. The killer is never hunted. I have never heard what sort of oil he has. Exception might be taken to the name of this whale, on the grounds of its indistinctness. For we are all killers on land and on sea; Bonaparts and sharks included.

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

A sea mammal related to dolphins and porpoises (Orcinus orca).


colubrine

en-adj

colubrine (comparative more colubrine, superlative most colubrine)

more colubrine (comparative)
most colubrine (superlative)

From Latin colubrinus, from colubra (“snake”) + -inus (“-ine”).


titmouse

From Middle English titmose, compound of tit (“small bird”) and mose, from Old English māse (“titmouse”), from Proto-West Germanic *maisā, from Proto-Germanic *maisǭ (compare Dutch mees, German Meise, Old Norse meisingr, French mésange), from *maisaz (“tiny, puny”) (compare Norwegian meis (“skinny weakling”)). Spelling as well as the plural form in imitation of the otherwise unrelated mouse.

Any small passerine bird of the family Paridae, which are found in the woods of the Northern Hemisphere and of Africa.


hood

From Middle English hood, hod, from Old English hōd, from Proto-Germanic *hōdaz (cognate with Saterland Frisian Houd, West Frisian/Dutch hoed, German Low German Hood, German Hut). Cognate with Proto-Iranian *xawdaH (“hat”) (compare Avestan 𐬑𐬂𐬛𐬀 (xåda), Old Persian 𐎧𐎢𐎭 (x-u-d /xaudā/)), from Proto-Indo-European *kadʰ- (“to cover”). More at hat.

kapuç

covering for the head attached to a larger garment such as a jacket or cloak

A covering for the head, usually attached to a larger garment such as a jacket or cloak.

(equestrianism) A head and neck covering placed on horses to protect against insects and sunlight, to slow coat growth and for warmth.


poultry

en-noun

poultry (usually uncountable, plural poultries)

From Middle English pultrie, from Old French pouleterie, from poulet, diminutive of poule (“hen”), from Latin pullus (“chick”).
For the development of Middle English /u/ to modern /oʊ/, /əʊ/ before /lt/, /ld/, /ln/, compare boult, boulder, colter/coulter, poultice, shoulder, won't.

a poultry farmer

Domestic fowl (e.g. chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese) raised for food (meat, eggs, or both).


megrim

MEGRIM (LEPIDORHOMBUS WHIFFIAGONIS)[…]NOTE: In Ireland,this species is often called "witch", a name that properly belongs to the craigfluke, Glyptocephalus cynaglossus, which is a right-handed flatfish. Both species are marketed as "white sole."

A flatfish of the genus Lepidorhombus native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean; specifically, a Cornish sole, sail-fluke, witch or whiff (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis).

patarača

type of flatfish of the genus Lepidorhombus


snowbird

Junco hyemalis
Junco hyemalis#Translingual

A bird, Junco hyemalis, the dark-eyed junco.


Pseudo-acronym of canine, by phonetic similarity of the letter and number names with the two syllables of canine.

Police working dogs (K9s) often have extremely close bonds with their handlers.

2003, Nicholas H. Dodman, If Only They Could Speak: Stories About Pets and Their People, page 248:

Originally a K9 dog for the police department, Captain was asked to resign for unknown reasons.

2003, Trevor J. Orsinger, The Firefighter's Best Friend: Lives and Legends of Chicago Firehouse Dogs, page 90:

Apollo, part of the New York Police Department K9 Search and Rescue team was on the scene of the disaster just 15 minutes after the disaster

2005, Priya Kapoor, Nandita Jaishankar, VIPs: Very Important Pets, page 71:

The Saitama Prefectural Police Department, for example, had no K9 units of its own, and relied on contract dogs exclusively.

2006, Asa Nonami, Juliet Winters Carpenter, The Hunter: A Detective Takako Otomichi Mystery, page 134:


strapper

From strap + -er, principally strap + -er (agent noun suffix). The sense referring to a poorly producing milk cow (from strap + -er) came from a dialectal sense of the verb strap as a troponym of milk: not even the most skilful milking action could coax enough milk from the udder.

(electronics) A wire that joins two light switches so that a light can be turned off or on from either switch.


torpedo

* Borrowed from Latin torpēdō (“a torpedo fish; numbness, torpidity, electric ray”), from torpeō (“I am stiff, numb, torpid; I am astounded; I am inactive”) + -ēdō (noun suffix), from Proto-Indo-European *ster- (“stiff”). In the military sense coined by Robert Fulton in 1805. Cognate with Old English steorfan (“to die”), Ancient Greek στερεός (stereós, “solid”), Lithuanian tirpstu (“to become rigid”), Old Church Slavonic трупети (trupeti).
* (type of car): From 1908, after "the Torpedo", a car designed by Captain Theo Masui.

cog

Faire Queene, forbeare to angle for the fiſh, / Which being caught, ſtrikes him that takes it dead, / I meane that vile Torpedo, Gaueſton, / That now I hope flotes on the Iriſh Seas

1594, Christopher Marlow[e], The Troublesome Raigne and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England: […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press] for Henry Bell, […], published 1622, →OCLC, [Act I]:

The man has been changed into an artificial monster by the station in which he is born, and the consequent homage that benumbed his faculties like the torpedo's touch […].

1790, Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Men:

"A childhood Misadventure with a Torpedo," Dixon, with a brief move of his head toward Mason, confides, "— thus his Sensitivity at all References to the,"— whispering,— "electrickal!"

1997, Thomas Pynchon, Mason & Dixon, New York: Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 286:

(zoology) An electric ray of the genus Torpedo.

(military) A cylindrical explosive projectile that can travel underwater and is used as a weapon.

(science fiction) A similar projectile that can travel through space.

In several human neurodegenerative diseases, focal axonal swellings on Purkinje cells – known as torpedoes – have been associated with Purkinje cell loss. Interestingly, torpedoes are also reported to appear transiently during development in rat cerebellum.

2016 November 2, Lovisa Ljungberg, Daneck Lang-Ouellette, Angela Yang, Sriram Jayabal, Sabrina Quilez, Alanna J. Watt, “Transient Developmental Purkinje Cell Axonal Torpedoes in Healthy and Ataxic Mouse Cerebellum”, in Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, volume 10, →DOI, article 248, page 1:

(neuroscience) A focal ovoid swelling on the axons of Purkinje cells, observed in several diseases such as essential tremor and spinocerebellar ataxia.


Gentoo

Of Anglo-Indian origin (17th century), apparently a borrowing from Portuguese gentio (“heathen”) (compare gentile (“pagan”)).

Pygoscelis papua
Pygoscelis papua#Translingual

The gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua), a species of penguin.


trotter

From Middle English trottere, equivalent to trot + -er.

The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 58:

In harness racing, a horse with a gait in which the front and back legs on opposite sides take a step together alternating with the other set of opposite legs; as opposed to a pacer.


halibut

From Middle English *halibutt, equivalent to holy + but (“flatfish”), since the fish was often eaten on holy days. Compare Dutch heilbot, German Heiligbutt, Heilbutt, Heilbutte. Compare also Danish helleflynder, Swedish helgeflundra and Norwegian Nynorsk hellefisk.

[...] she frowned a displeased frown and told me for heaven's sake to stop goggling like a dead halibut.

1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter IV:

A large flatfish of the genus Hippoglossus, which sometimes leaves the ocean floor and swims vertically.


equestrian

en-adj

equestrian (comparative more equestrian, superlative most equestrian)

more equestrian (comparative)
most equestrian (superlative)

Ultimately from Latin equester (“of or pertaining to equestrians/cavalry”) + -ianus (“-ian, related to”, adjective marker), from equus (“horse”).

der

They were an equestrian people.

After his death an equestrian statue was erected.

The society of colonial Spanish-America was one of the most equestrian in all history, and, to a very great extent, its existence depended on the adaptability of the Old World horse to New World conditions.

1973, Alfred W. Crosby, The Columbian Exchange, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, →ISBN, page 82:

Of horseback riding or horseback riders.

(historical) Of or relating to the ancient Roman class of equites.


equestrian

конник

an equestrian person; one who rides on horseback


ounce

→ Tokelauan: aunehe

From Middle English ounce, unce, from Middle French once, from Latin uncia (“Roman ounce, various similar units”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”). Doublet of a, one, inch, uncia, onça, onza, oka, ouguiya, and awqiyyah.

doublet

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

an ounce of prevention is better than an ounce of cure

an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure

an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

An avoirdupois ounce, weighing ¹⁄₁₆ of an avoirdupois pound, or 28.349523125 grams.

A troy ounce, weighing ¹⁄₁₂ of a troy pound, or 480 grains, or 31.1034768 grams.

A US fluid ounce, with a volume of ¹⁄₁₆ of a US pint, 1.804688 cubic inches or 29.5735295625 millilitres.

A British imperial fluid ounce, with a volume of ¹⁄₂₀ of an imperial pint, 1.733871 cubic inches or 28.4130625 millilitres.

He didn't feel even an ounce of regret for his actions.

(figurative) Any small amount, a little bit.


ounce

From Middle French once, from Old French lonce (“lynx”), by false division (the l was thought to be the article), from Italian lonza, ultimately from Ancient Greek λύγξ (lúnx, “lynx”). Doublet of onza and lynx.

Panthera uncia
Panthera uncia#Translingual

Synonym of snow leopard, Panthera uncia.


narwhal

From Dutch narwal or Danish/Norwegian Bokmål narhval, from Old Norse náhvalr, from nár (“corpse”) + hvalr (“whale”). Compare Icelandic náhvalur.

Moreover, both narwhals and bowheads can occur in late summer in southern Prince Regent Inlet (coming from Lancaster Sound) and may reach Fury and Hecla Strait and northern Foxe Basin.

1986, D. E. Sergeant, “Chapter 16: Sea Mammals”, in I. P. Martini, editor, Canadian Inland Seas, page 337:

Often, in the morning, narwhals played around the boat and reminded me of the dolphins, so far away in the North Atlantic. But these narwhals were not like the Atlantic sea-dogs; they had little of their flashing vibrancy; these Turkish narwhals were much more relaxed, and rolled over lazily, with a sigh, as if they were going to retire to a sofa and smoke a hookah.

1988, Tristan Jones, Somewheres East of Suez:

At over 2.5 m in length, the tusk of the male narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is one the most impressive instruments of male-male competition among mammals.

2000, Richard C. Connor, Andrew J. Read, Richard Wrangham, edited by Janet Mann, Cetacean Societies: Field Studies of Dolphins and Whales, 10: Male Reproductive Strategies and Social Bonds, page 247:

Monodon monoceros
Monodon monoceros#Translingual

Monodon monoceros, an Arctic cetacean that grows to about 20 feet (6 meters) long, the male having a single horn-like tusk, a twisted, pointed canine tooth that projects forward.


ichthyophobia

Ichthyophobia, defined as the fear of fish, is especially strong in the Navajo Indians, who will not eat fish nor have anything to do with articles made in the shape of fish.

1898, Current Literature, volume 23, page 521:

Such ichthyophobia occurred at the time of first European contact among the Tasmanian Aborigines.

1994, Frederick J. Simoons, Eat Not This Flesh: Food Avoidances from Prehistory to the Present, University of Wisconsin Press, published 1994, →ISBN, page 253:

'How dreadful. I could never go under the water. The fish frighten me.'
'My wife has ichthyophobia, you see,' Al-Nassar chimed in. 'The unfortunate condition confines her to swimming pools.'

2011, Miranda Darling, The Siren's Sting, Allen & Unwin, published 2011, →ISBN:


great ape

This wrinkled layer of gray matter that's highly developed in humans and other great apes, as well as whales, dolphins, and elephants, helps coordinate complex cognitive processes.

2014, Laurel Braitman, Animal Madness: How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots, and Elephants in Recovery Help Us Understand Ourselves:

Any member of the taxonomic family Hominidae, including Homo, and also many similar extinct species.


pony

→ Belarusian: по́ні (póni)

→ Danish: pony

→ Dutch: pony
→ Indonesian: poni

→ Finnish: poni

→ French: poney
→ Romanian: ponei

→ Georgian: პონი (ṗoni)

→ German: Pony
→ Estonian: poni

→ Hungarian: póni

→ Irish: pónaí

→ Italian: pony

→ Japanese: ポニー (ponī)

→ Lithuanian: ponis

→ Maltese: poni

→ Norwegian: ponni

desc

→ Portuguese: pónei, pônei (Brazil), poney

→ Russian: пони (poni)

→ Spanish: poni

→ Swedish: ponny

→ Ukrainian: по́ні (póni)

1659 from Scots powny, apparently from Middle French poulenet (“little foal”), ultimately from Late Latin pullanus (“young of an animal”), from pullus (cognate to English foal). Sense “small serving of alcohol” from 19th century, both for small sizes generally and for a quarter pint specifically, from the small size.

uder

How many ponies are under the hood?

He suggested a Rose Ballet in which he would use the G. V. Follies chorus girls, chiefly the ponies and mediums.

1941, Thoda Cocroft, Great Names and how They are Made, page 140:

(slang, derogatory, video games) Ellipsis of Sony pony.


cetacean

en-adj

cetacean (comparative more cetacean, superlative most cetacean)

more cetacean (comparative)
most cetacean (superlative)

From translingual Cetacea, from Latin cētus (“whale”), + -an.

The poached blubber was definitely cetacean in origin, but the particular species could not be identified.

She was not as demure as she was in Roanoke; she seemed at the beginning rather like she felt more comfortable in the oceanic atmosphere harpooning her opponent. Indeed, at times, it seemed she was Ahab and the witherwin Allen was her Moby Dick; but while she sails her Pequod just as intently toward a singular goal, her alastor is much less clear and she bears no visible scars of a cetacean attacker.

2012, Hampton Roads Republican US Senate Debate Summary:

Pertaining to the zoologic infraorder Cetacea, or associated with species falling under that taxonomic hierarchy.

The obese woman, ungainly on land, moved with a kind of cetacean grace in the water.

(by extension, sometimes figurative) Resembling or relating to large aquatic mammals.


cetacean

The tour promised spiritual experiences with humpback whales and other cetaceans, but all we saw were seagulls and a dead sea otter.

An animal belonging to the infraorder Cetacea, including dolphins, porpoises, and whales.

morvil

an animal belonging to the infraorder Cetacea


hagfish

en-noun

hagfish (countable and uncountable, plural hagfish or hagfishes)

Any of several primitive eellike fish, of the family Myxinidae, having a sucking mouth with rasping teeth, and sometimes used as food or for eelskin leather.


tusk

From Middle English tusk (also tux, tusch), from Old English tūx, tūsc (“canine tooth, tusk, molar”), from Proto-West Germanic *tų̄sk, *tunsk, from Proto-Germanic *tunþskaz (“canine tooth”), extended form of *tanþs (“tooth”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃dónts (“tooth”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Tusk (“tooth”), West Frisian tosk (“tooth”), Icelandic toskur (“a tusk, tooth”) (whence the Old Norse and Icelandic Ratatoskr and Ratatoskur respectively), Gothic 𐍄𐌿𐌽𐌸𐌿𐍃 (tunþus, “tooth”) and *𐍄𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌹 (*tundi, “thorn, tooth”). Doublet of tush. More at tooth.


Balinese

Balinese (cat)
Balinese language
Balinese people

A car is taking us to a traditional Balinese dance at a nearby temple. It is on a cliff top with scenic views of the Indian Ocean and sheathed in what the internet calls a “peaceful ambience.”

2022 November 26, Virginia Feito, “Sweating Through a Honeymoon in Paradise”, in The New York Times:

Of or relating to Bali, its inhabitants, or their language or culture.

balinès

of or relating to Bali, or its inhabitants, language or culture


Balinese

en-noun

Balinese (countable and uncountable, plural Balinese)


the cat's pyjamas

Popular in the US as early as 1922 around which the bee's knees, cat's whiskers, and numerous other similar phrases gained prominence. Sometimes attributed to cartoonist Tad Dorgan. It is widely believed that the origin of this idiom predates considerably, tracing back to the early 1800s in England. During this period, a tailor named E.B. Katz crafted silk pajamas for members of royalty and the upper class.

That new car was really the cat's pyjamas.

(idiomatic) A highly sought-after and fancy example of something, usually referring to inanimate objects.


curb

From Middle French courbe (“curve, curved object”), from Latin curvus (“bent, crooked, curved”). Doublet of curve.

der

He that before ran in the pastures wild / Felt the stiff curb controul his angry jaws.

1605, Michael Drayton, The Fourth Eclogue:

Captain went out in the cab all the morning. Harry came in after school to feed me and give me water. In the afternoon I was put into the cab. Jerry took as much pains to see if the collar and bridle fitted comfortably, as if he had been John Manly over again. When the crupper was let out a hole or two, it all fitted well. There was no bearing rein—no curb—nothing but a plain ring snaffle. What a blessing that was!

[1877], Anna Sewell, “A London Cab Horse”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC, part III, page 158:

A riding or driving bit for a horse that has rein action which amplifies the pressure in the mouth by leverage advantage placing pressure on the poll via the crown piece of the bridle and chin groove via a curb chain.


walrus

en-noun

walrus (plural walruses or walrus or walrusses or (both nonstandard, proscribed, uncommon and often humorous) walri or walrii)

walruses (plural)
walrus (plural)
walrusses (plural)
walri (humorous nonstandard often plural proscribed uncommon)
walrii (humorous nonstandard often plural proscribed uncommon)

→ Punjabi:

Gurmukhi script: ਵਾਲਰਸ (vālras)

Shahmukhi script: والرس (vālras)

→ Welsh: walrws

Probably borrowed from Dutch walrus, a compound of wal (“whale”) and ros (“horse”). Displaced native Old English horshwæl (literally “horse-whale”). Compare similar constructions in Danish hvalros, Old Norse hrosshvalr, and German Walross.

cog

Of all the Phocine family none present so terrible and grotesque an appearance as the gigantic Walrus, also known as the morse and sea-horse.

1887, James W. Buel, Sea and Land, page 251:

Odobenus rosmarus
Odobenus rosmarus#Translingual

A large Arctic marine mammal related to seals and having long tusks, tough, wrinkled skin, and four flippers, Odobenus rosmarus.

You old walrus, don't you think it is time for you to lop your whiskers off?

2008, James E. Martin, The Chartreuse Mongoose, page 145:

One, a rumpled, whiskered walrus of a man, held a lantern near Mother's face.

(informal, sometimes derogatory) A man with a walrus moustache.


walrus

en-verb

walrus (third-person singular simple present walruses or walrusses, present participle walrusing or walrussing, simple past and past participle walrused or walrussed)

walruses (present singular third-person)
walrusses (present singular third-person)
walrusing (participle present)
walrussing (participle present)
walrused (participle past)
walrused (past)
walrussed (participle past)
walrussed (past)

It's strange to see parties of merrymakers gather where I nearly drowned, and later walrused with David Isaakovich, Father Basil and the rest of them.

2016, Andrey Kurkov, The President's Last Love, Kiev, 9 May 1985:

His untrimmed mustache walrused down and over his hidden mouth

2000, Michael L. McCoy, The Hunter, the Hound and a Rogue:

To be like a walrus
To hang like a walrus's moustache

Where a mammal had its canine teeth, great fangs walrused down from the grezzen's upper jaw, as long as scimitars and as thick as human thighs.

To be like a walrus
To be prominent, like tusks


sore

en-adj

sore (comparative sorer, superlative sorest)

sorer (comparative)
sorest (superlative)

From Middle English sor, from Old English sār (“ache, wound”, noun) and sār (“painful, grievous”, adjective), from Proto-West Germanic *sair, from Proto-Germanic *sairaz (adjective) from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂eyro-, enlargement of *sh₂ey- (“to be fierce, afflict”).
See also Dutch zeer (“sore, ache”), Danish sår (“wound”), German sehr (“very”); also Hittite [script needed] (sāwar, “anger”), Welsh hoed (“pain”), Ancient Greek αἱμωδία (haimōdía, “sensation of having teeth on edge”).

cog

non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger

Malice and hatred are very fretting and vexatious, and apt to make our minds sore and uneasy.

1671, John Tillotson, “Sermon IV. The Advantages of Religion to Particular Persons. Psalm XIX. 11.”, in The Works of the Most Reverend Dr. John Tillotson, Late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: […], 8th edition, London: […] T. Goodwin, B[enjamin] Tooke, and J. Pemberton, […]; J. Round […], and J[acob] Tonson] […], published 1720, →OCLC:

Sensitive; tender; easily pained, grieved, or vexed; very susceptible of irritation.

The school was in sore need of textbooks, theirs having been ruined in the flood.


sore

And they answered Ioshua, and said, Because it was certainely told thy seruants, how that the Lord thy God commanded his seruant Moses to giue you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our liues because of you, and haue done this thing.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Joshua 9:24:

But on that day when Lancelot fled the lists, / His party, knights of utmost North and West, / Lords of waste marches, kings of desolate isles, / Came round their great Pendragon, saying to him / 'Lo, Sire, our knight thro' whom we won the day / Hath gone sore wounded, and hath left his prize / Untaken, crying that his prize is death.'

1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Elaine”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 174–175:

Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out.

1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], “The Old Punt: A Curious ‘Turnpike’”, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 19–20:

(archaic) Very, excessively, extremely (of something bad).

And indeed I blamed myself and sore repented me of having taken compassion on him and continued in this condition, suffering fatigue not to be described, […]

1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night:

[… they] were often sore pressed to follow the trail at all, and at best were so delayed that in the afternoon of the second day, they still had not overhauled the fugitive.

1919, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jungle Tales of Tarzan:


sore

From Middle English sor (“sorrel”), from Old French sor (“sorrel; reddish”). Compare French saur (“(archaic) reddish-brown; describing a young bird of prey”).

Some say a Sore, but not a sore, till now made sore with shooting.
The Dogges did yell, put ell to Sore, then Sorell iumps from thicket:
Or Pricket-sore, or else Sorell, the people fall a hooting.
If Sore be sore, then ell to Sore, makes fiftie sores O sorell:
Of one sore I an hundred make by adding but one more L.

c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:


capuchin monkey

en-noun

capuchin monkey (plural capuchin monkeys)

From the resemblance to the dress of a Capuchin monk.

A New World monkey of the genus Cebus, coloured black on the top of the head.


boomer

(US, mainly 1920–1930) A transient worker who would move from boom town to boom town in search of temporary work.

(UK) A Eurasian bittern (subfamily Botaurinae).

(Appalachia) A red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus).


capuchin

Late 16th c., from French capuchin, from earlier capucin, from Italian cappuccino, ultimately from Late Latin cappa (“cape, hood”).


chaffinch

/ˈt͡ʃæfɪnt͡ʃ/

Given by the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary chaff + finch, but more recently the first element has been argued to derive from the same root as Old English cǣfed 'ornamented' and cǣfing 'hair-ornament', thus meaning 'ornamented finch, colourful finch'.

Fringilla coelebs
Fringilla coelebs#Translingual

A small passerine bird, Fringilla coelebs, of the finch family, found throughout Europe and eastward to Iran and eastern Mediterranean coastlands.


cobbler

Fished for cobblers in the evening. The warbler sings its night-song.

1831 November 10, George Fletcher Moore, “The Journey”, in Martin Doyle, editor, Extracts from the Letters and Journals of George Fletcher Moore, Esq. […], London: Orr and Smith, […]; Dublin: W. Curry, Jun. & Co. […], published 1834, →OCLC, page 122:

The South Australian catfish (Cnidoglanis macrocephalus), a species of catfish native to Australia which has dorsal and pectoral fins bearing sharp, venomous spines.

The soldier or South Australian cobbler (Gymnapistes marmoratus), a brown fish native to southern Australian estuaries which is not closely related to Cnidoglanis macrocephalus, but also has venemous spines on its dorsal and pectoral fins.


chuck

(Scotland, obsolete, slang, in the plural) Money.


poll

From Middle English pol, polle ("scalp, pate"), from or cognate with Middle Dutch pol, pōle, polle (“top, summit; head”), from Proto-West Germanic *poll, from Proto-Germanic *pullaz (“round object, head, top”), from Proto-Indo-European *bolno-, *bōwl- (“orb, round object, bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“to blow, swell”).
Akin to Scots pow (“head, crown, scalp, skull”), Saterland Frisian pol (“round, full, brimming”, adj), German Low German Polle, Poll (“round object, ball”), German Low German Poller (“head, tree-top, bulb”), Danish puld (“crown of a hat”), Swedish dialectal pull (“head”).
Meaning "collection of votes" is first recorded 1625, from the notion of "counting heads".

cog

The polls close at 8 p.m.

A polling place (usually as plural, polling places)

The pollard or European chub, a kind of fish.


bandicoot

Ultimately from Telugu పందికొక్కు (pandikokku), from పంది (pandi, “pig, boar”) + కొక్కు (kokku, “bandicoot”); first used of the Asian murids, thence applied to the Australian marsupials which bear some resemblance.

compound

Any of various small Australian marsupials with distinctive long snouts, of the family Peramelidae (with the exception of genus Macrotis, called bilbies).

Any of several rat-like rodents of the genera Bandicota and Nesokia of southeast Asia.

intianrotta

rat-like rodent of the genera Bandicota or Nesokia


bandicoot

en-verb

bandicoot (third-person singular simple present bandicoots, present participle bandicooting, simple past and past participle bandicooted)

bandicoots (present singular third-person)
bandicooting (participle present)
bandicooted (participle past)
bandicooted (past)

(Australia, informal) To steal growing root vegetables from a garden by digging the vegetable out but leaving the tops undisturbed.


fault

From Middle English faute, faulte, from Anglo-Norman faute, Old French faute, from Vulgar Latin *fallita (“shortcoming”), feminine of *fallitus, in place of Latin falsus, perfect passive participle of fallō (“deceive”). Displaced native Middle English schuld, schuild (“fault”) (from Old English scyld (“fault”)), Middle English lac (“fault, lack”) (from Middle Dutch lak (“lack, fault”)), Middle English last (“fault, vice”) (from Old Norse lǫstr (“fault, vice, crime”)). Compare French faute (“fault, foul”), Portuguese falta (“lack, shortage”) and Spanish falta (“lack, absence”). More at fail, false.

cog

If the horse refuses an obstacle, the rider will receive four faults.

(equestrianism) A penalty point assessed in horseback events such as show jumping.


kitty

From kit (“kitten”) + -y (“diminutive suffix”). Compare Dutch katje (“kitty”).

af

Here Kitty Kitty! Nice Kitty Kitty!

(childish, sometimes capitalized) A pet name for a cat.


telltale

From tell + tale, perhaps dissimilated from earlier taleteller, from Middle English tale tellere (literally “tale teller”).

der

"Metamorphoses . . ." is the title of a book of telltales (or serialised fables) written by Lucius Apulei¡us, a neo-platonist priest in the second century A.D.

2012, Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, The Origins of Life, page 130:

This telltale is not like the story that you put in the hands of your children, or those narrated by mothers in their children's bedrooms in Western Europe before sleep. This is a telltale that is not welcome but is forbidden to be distributed.

2018, Dawood Kaloti, The Telltale Leaflet: From Palestine to Stockholm:

A story or fable that has a moral or message.


Shropshire

/ˈʃɹɒp.ʃə(ɹ)/

From Old English Sċrobbesbyriġscīr, from Sċrobbesburh (“Shrewsbury”) + sċīr (“shire”).

Telford and Wrekin
Telford and Wrekin#English

Shropshire Council, a local government unitary authority which replaced the county council in 2009 in all of Shropshire except Telford and Wrekin.


bumper

Dutch: bumper

Japanese: バンパー (banpā)

Korean: 범퍼 (beompeo)

Russian: ба́мпер (bámper)

(horse racing) In National Hunt racing, a flat race for horses that have not yet competed either in flat racing or over obstacles.


columbine

From the Latin colombina herba (“dove-like plant”), the flower being likened to five clustered pigeons.

Any plant of the genus Aquilegia, having distinctive bell-shaped flowers with spurs on each petal.


erinaceous

en-adj

erinaceous (comparative more erinaceous, superlative most erinaceous)

more erinaceous (comparative)
most erinaceous (superlative)

/ˌɛ.ɹɪˈneɪ.ʃəs/

/ˌɛ.ɹəˈneɪ.ʃəs/

Of, pertaining to, or resembling a hedgehog.


Sussex

en-proper noun

Sussex (countable and uncountable, plural Sussexes)

Inherited from Old English Sūþseaxan (literally “South Saxons”), which stood for both Sussex and its people.
The town in New Brunswick may have been named after Sussex, New Jersey. The civil parish is named after the town.

inh+

A civil parish of Kings County, New Brunswick, Canada.


Berkshire

From Middle English Berchesire, Barrokshyre, Berrucsire, from Old English Bearrocscire, Berrocscire, Bearrucscire, taken from the Bearroc woods, possibly from Proto-Brythonic *barrọg, perhaps meaning “hilly” (compare *barros (“hill, peak, top”)) + Old English sċīr (“shire, county”).

Berkshire
Berkshire (disambiguation)#Other places
Berkshire pig

Fairfield County
Fairfield County#English

A community of Sandy Hook, Newtown, Fairfield County, Connecticut.

A place in the United States:
A town in Tioga County, New York.

An unincorporated community and township in Delaware County, Ohio.

A place in the United States:
A town in Franklin County, Vermont.


bunny boiler

From a scene in the 1987 film Fatal Attraction where a scorned woman (played by Glenn Close), seeking revenge on her ex-lover (played by Michael Douglas), places his family’s beloved pet rabbit in a pot of boiling water when he is away from the house.

Witness such media events as the Great Old Maid Scare of '86 (sparked by a study suggesting that a woman who hasn't married by age forty has less chance of doing so than of being shot by a terrorist); and the Fatal Attraction Syndrome (the notion that unmarried career women are so unfulfilled they turn into homicidal bunny-boilers).

[1988, Glamour, volume 86, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 159:

There's nothing like portraying a psychopathic bunny-boiler to boost one's self-esteem, Glenn Close tells Ladies' Home Journal.

[1990 December 6, The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Tex.: The Dallas Morning News, →ISSN, →OCLC, page A2, column 3:

The bad news is that a small percentage of women are obsessive stalker types or "Bunny Boilers." Bunny Boilers will continue to call and may even wait for hours outside your home or office trying to see you, even though you have made it clear that it was just a one night stand. Bunny Boilers take the fun out of shagging.

2001, Sam Priest, “Beware of ‘Bunny Boilers’”, in Shagging for America: (Unwritten Rules for Unrepentant Males), New York, N.Y.: Hangover Media, →ISBN, page 51:

And I tried a couple of traditional dating agencies, but after parting with a small fortune and being introduced to one nymphomaniac and a couple of bunny boilers, I felt it was better to trust my own judgment and use the Internet.

2005, Jane Moore, Love @ First Site: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Broadway Books, →ISBN, page 149:

The 1980s bunny-boiler was perceived to be infinitely more dangerous than the bra-burner; whereas the latter confined herself to a rejection of feminine accoutrements, the bunny-boiler – bolstered by the successes of the women's movement – did not hesitate to assert her rights and use violent means to achieve her goals.

2009, Stéphanie Genz, “Boiling the Bunny: The Backlash and Macho Feminism”, in Postfemininities in Popular Culture, Basingstoke, Hampshire, New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan, →DOI, →ISBN, part I (From “Feminine Mystique” to “Girl Power”), page 66:

He wondered why he always landed bunny-boilers who started out cool and calm but speedily went into the pursuit mode of deadly missiles.

2009, Lynne Graham, The Ruthless Magnate’s Virgin Mistress (Harlequin Presents; 2787), Toronto, Ont., New York, N.Y.: Harlequin, →ISBN, page 10:

Neither should we think that Bunny Boilers are always female—this is not the case. However, I think females view the male version in a different light. [...] Women regard him as the cheeky chappie. They seem resigned to his bad behaviour.

2014 March 5, Rosie Andrews, “Foreword”, in Strange Creatures, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, pages 4–5:

(slang, humorous, derogatory) A person who acts (or may supposedly act) obsessively or even dangerously towards another person with whom they were previously, or wish to be, in a relationship.

Fatal Attraction
Glenn Close
Michael Douglas


lemming

From Danish and Norwegian lemming, from Old Norse lómundr, læmingi, læmingr (“lemming”), perhaps from Sami luomek. Sense 2 derives from a longstanding myth that they exhibit so much herd mentality that populations jump off cliffs to their deaths together.

Lemmings are strongly cohesive, but could be, in organisational terms, highly destructive for the business.

2004, Ilse Hobbs, Jan Havenga, A Practical Guide to Strategy, →ISBN, page 127:

Like a lemming, I followed the crowd, got to the right line and was concentrating hard when queried by the customs officer.

2014, M.P. Fedunkiw, A Degree of Futility, page 61:

follow a leader off a cliff
follow someone off a cliff

(figuratively) Any member of a group given to conformity or groupthink, especially a group poised to follow a leader off a cliff.


sucker

From Middle English souker, sokere, sukkere, soukere, equivalent to suck (verb) + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Suuger, West Frisian sûker (“sucker”), Dutch zuiger (“sucker”), German Sauger (“dummy; vacuum”).

(ichthyology) Any fish in the family Catostomidae of North America and eastern Asia, which have mouths modified into downward-pointing, suckerlike structures for feeding in bottom sediments.

(US, obsolete) A migrant lead miner working in the Driftless Area of northwest Illinois, southwest Wisconsin, and northeast Iowa, working in summer and leaving for winter, so named because of the similarity to the migratory patterns of the North American Catostomidae.

One poor sucker had actually given her his life’s savings.

This ſucker thinks nane wiſe. / But him that can to immenſe riches riſe:

1728, Allan Ramsay, “The General Mistake”, in The Poems of Allan Ramsay, new edition, volume 1, published 1800, page 352:

They had sorcerized me, and I were a done-over sucker; so I jist gin up. No sooner had we ’rove at the boat, instead o’ feastin’ me on gully-whompin oysters, they nabbed me quick as a snappin’ turtle

1859, Oliver Stanley, “The Escape from the Whale”, in Hardin E. Taliaferro, editor, Fisher's River (North Carolina): Scenes and Characters, page 126:

“George, them fellows took me for a sucker. Do I look like a sucker?” ¶ “No, Bill; you look like a nice, smart counter-hopper,” I replied.

1887, George Devol, Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi, page 221:

Then he burst into a stream of horrible profanity. "What's the game?" he cried, glaring round him. "Do you think I am easy and that you can play me for a sucker? Is it a frame-up, or what?

1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

“After twenty years you’re still a sucker for her lies? […]”

1934, Dashiell Hammett, chapter 13, in The Thin Man, New York: Vintage, published 1972, page 59:

(US, slang) A person who is easily deceived, tricked or persuaded to do something; a naive or gullible person.


fence

en-verb

fence (third-person singular simple present fences, present participle fencing, simple past and past participle fenced)

fences (present singular third-person)
fencing (participle present)
fenced (participle past)
fenced (past)

From Middle English fence, fens, short for defence, defens (“the act of defending”), from Old French defens, defense (see defence).
The sense "enclosure" arises in the mid 15th century.
Also from the 15th century is use as a verb in the sense "to enclose with a fence". The generalized sense "to defend, screen, protect" arises ca. 1500. The sense "to fight with swords (rapiers)" is from the 1590s (Shakespeare).
Displaced native Old English heġe (compare Modern English hedge).

(intransitive, equestrianism) To jump over a fence.


Tennessee

From Cherokee ᏔᎾᏏ (tanasi), believed to mean “winding river”.

McDonough County
McDonough County#English

A village in McDonough County, Illinois.


stable

From Middle English stable, borrowed from Anglo-Norman stable, singular derived from the plural Latin stab(u)la (“dwellings, stables”).

close the stable door after the horse has been stolen

close the stable door after the horse has bolted

lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen

lock the stable door after the horse has bolted

shut the stable door after the horse has bolted

There were stalls for fourteen horses in the squire's stables.

We made an odd party before the arrival of the Ten, particularly when the Celebrity dropped in for lunch or dinner. He could not be induced to remain permanently at Mohair because Miss Trevor was at Asquith, but he appropriated a Hempstead cart from the Mohair stables and made the trip sometimes twice in a day.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

A building, wing or dependency set apart and adapted for lodging and feeding (and training) ungulates, especially horses.

حَظِيرَة

building for managing ungulates, normally horses

A group of people who are looked after, mentored, or trained in one place or for a particular purpose or profession.


stable

stable (third-person singular simple present stables, present participle stabling, simple past and past participle stabled)

stables (present singular third-person)
stabling (participle present)
stabled (participle past)
stabled (past)

S.R. Pacific No. 34010 Sidmouth leaves Wembley Central to stable the stock of its excursion from the S.R. at North Wembley; the train was run in connection with a Wembley football event on April 30, 1960.

1960 July, Trains Illustrated, page 385, photo caption:

Great Western Railway has placed its Class 143 Pacer fleet into warm storage, with the majority stabled at Exeter.

2020 April 22, “Fleet News: Passenger operators put parts of fleet into warm storage...”, in Rail, page 25:

(rail transport, transitive) To park (a rail vehicle).


stable

en-adj

stable (comparative stabler or more stable, superlative stablest or most stable)

stabler (comparative)
more stable (comparative)
stablest (superlative)
most stable (superlative)

From Middle English stable, from Anglo-Norman stable, stabel, from Latin stabilis (“firm, steadfast”) (itself from stare (“stand”) + -abilis (“able”)). Displaced native Old English staþolfæst.

You should download the 1.9 version of that video editing software: it is the latest stable version. The newer beta version has some bugs.

(computing) Of software: established to be relatively free of bugs, as opposed to a beta version.


permit

From Middle English permitten, borrowed from Middle French permettre, from Latin permittō (“give up, allow”), from per (“through”) + mittō (“send”).

رخصة

an artifact or document rendering something allowed or legal

learner's permit
learner's permit#English

An artifact or document rendering something allowed or legal.


fox terrier

One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, pages 46–47:

After our fox-terrier had killed several of the Stationmaster's chickens and a peace offering had been made by my father in the form of cigars, I found that the way had been made clear for me to visit the junction box, and what a thrill it was.

1948 March and April, 'Aella', “First Steps in a Railway Career”, in Railway Magazine, page 91:

Either of two breeds of dog (the smooth fox terrier and the wire fox terrier) bred for fox hunting.


anatine

anatine (comparative more anatine, superlative most anatine)

more anatine (comparative)
most anatine (superlative)

From Latin anatīnus, from anas, anatis (“a duck”) + -inus (“-ine”).

(zoology) Being of the family Anatidae, comprising the swans, geese, and ducks.


fielder

From Middle English feldere (“one who works in the field; rustic”), from Old English feldeware (“field-dweller”), equivalent to field + -er. The baseball sense is from 1832.

inh

A dog trained in pursuit of game in the field.


fielder

(cricket) A player of the fielding side, whose task is to gather the ball after the batsman has hit it, to catch the batsman out, or to prevent him from scoring.


sierra

en-noun

sierra (countable and uncountable, plural sierras)

Borrowed from Spanish sierra, from Latin serra, "saw," referring to the saw-tooth profile of the crestline of the range seen from a distance.


northern

en-adj

northern (comparative more northern, superlative most northern)

more northern (comparative)
most northern (superlative)

From Middle English northerne, from Old English norþerne, from Proto-West Germanic *norþrōnī, from Proto-Germanic *nurþrōnijaz. Cognate with Old High German nordrōni and Old Norse norrœnn.
Morphologically north + -ern.

Les Dawson was a famous northern comedian.

(British) Characteristic of the North of England (usually capitalised)


have kittens

en-verb

have kittens (third-person singular simple present has kittens, present participle having kittens, simple past and past participle had kittens)

has kittens (present singular third-person)
having kittens (participle present)
had kittens (participle past)
had kittens (past)

(literal) Usually of a female cat, to give birth to kittens.


siren

From Middle English siren, from Old French sereine and Latin Sīrēn, Sīrēna, from Ancient Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn). The mammalian sense was first attested in French in Dominique Bouhours, Les entretiens d'Ariste et d'Eugène, in 1671. The aquatic salamander sense was originally introduced by Linnaeus in 1766, for a genus of his reptiles. Doublet of serin.

Now give ear to what I'm about to say to you , and a god himself will bring it before your mind . First , you will come to the Sirens . These beings enthrall all men who arrive before them . Whoever draws near without knowledge and ...

2008 October 7, Homer, The Odyssey, North Atlantic Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 278:

(Greek mythology) One of a group of nymphs who lured mariners to their death on the rocks.

A member of Sirenia, an order of mammals.

A member of a genus of aquatic salamanders of the family Sirenidae, commonly used for all species in the family Sirenidae.

An instrument for demonstrating the laws of beats and combination tones.


shank

From Middle English schanke, from Old English sċanca (“leg”), from Proto-West Germanic *skankō, from Proto-Germanic *skankô (compare West Frisian skonk, Low German Schanke, German Schenkel (“shank, leg”), Danish skank, Norwegian skank, Swedish skänkel), from *skankaz (compare Old Norse skakkr (“wry, crooked”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- (compare Middle Irish scingim (“I spring”), Ancient Greek σκάζω (skázō, “to limp”).

The metal part on a curb bit that falls below the mouthpiece, which length controls the severity of the leverage action of the bit, and to which the reins of the bridle are attached.

The end or remainder, particularly of a period of time.

the shank of the morning

AMANDA: Going now? You're joking! Why, it's only the shank of the evening, Mr. O’Connor!

1945, Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie, page 92:

The main part or beginning of a period of time.


drum

Perhaps back-formation from drumslade (“drummer”), from Middle Dutch trommelslach (“drumbeat”), from trommel (“drum”) + slach (“beat”) (Dutch slag).
Or perhaps borrowed directly from a continental Germanic language; compare Middle Dutch tromme (“drum”), Middle Low German trumme (“drum”) et al. Compare also Middle High German trumme, trumbe (“drum”), Old High German trumba (“trumpet”).

back-form

construction barrel
construction barrel#English


porker

From pork + -er.
* (obese person; police officer): Carried over from the same senses of pig.
* (a lie): Extension of the rhyming slang pork pie.

Jerry Lynch, a pig's head pickled. Term usually applied to the long Irish heads which are sent over here for sale in the poorer districts of London, and which are vastly different from the heads of “dairy-fed” porkers.

1873, John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary:

Again, when Harold was locked up in his room all day, for assault and battery upon a neighbour's pig, - an action he would have scorned, being indeed on the friendliest terms with the porker in question, - there was no handsome expression of regret on the discovery of the real culprit.

1895, Kenneth Grahame, The Golden Age, London, page 6:

All the other male pigs on the farm were porkers.

1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:

A pig, especially a castrated male, being fattened and raised for slaughter.