stork

From Middle English stork, from Old English storc, from Proto-West Germanic *stork, from Proto-Germanic *sturkaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sr̥ǵos (“stork”). Near cognates include Dutch stork, German Storch, Swedish stork, and Icelandic storkur. Compare also Latvian stārķis (“stork”), borrowed from Germanic.

A large wading bird with long legs and a long beak of the family Ciconiidae.

ooievaar

large wading bird of the family Ciconiidae

(children's folklore) The mythical bringer of babies to families, or good news.

(cartomancy) The seventeenth Lenormand card.


kestrel

From Middle English castrel (“staniel, bird of prey”), from Middle French cresserelle, crecerelle (“bird of prey”), usually assumed to be from crecelle (“rattle, wooden reel”) (modern crécelle), of obscure origin.
Cognates possibly include: Medieval Latin clisterella f, French crécerelle f and cristel m, Neapolitan castariello m and crestariello m, all sharing the same meaning.
Derivation from the assumed Vulgar Latin *crepicella, *crepitacillum, a diminutive of crepitāculum, from crepitāre (“to crackle”) is difficult to explain from a morphological point of view.
Instead, possibly from a root *krek-, *krak- (“to crack, rattle, creak, emit a bird cry”), from Middle Dutch crāken (“to creak, crack”), from Old Dutch *krakōn (“to crack, creak, emit a cry”), from Proto-West Germanic *krakōn, from Proto-Germanic *krakōną (“to emit a cry, shout”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerg- (“to shout”). Cognate with Old High German krahhōn (“to make a sound, crash”), Old English cracian (“to resound”), French craquer (“to emit a repeated cry, used of birds”). More at creak, crack.

cog

When she was musing she was a kestrel, which hangs in the air by an invisible motion of its wings.

1878, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native, book 3 chapter 6:

Up on the downs the red-eyed kestrels hover,
Eyeing the grass.
The field mouse flits like a shadow into cover
As their shadows pass.

Any of various small falcons of the genus Falco that hover while hunting.


wild boar

en-noun

wild boar (plural wild boars or wild boar)

The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous deli of exotic meats, where an adventurous shopper can hunt down hard-to-find critters such as ostrich, wild boar and crocodile.

2013 July 26, Nick Miroff, “Mexico gets a taste for eating insects […] ”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 32:

A wild swine native to Eurasia and North Africa (Sus scrofa), now widely distributed elsewhere and ancestor of most domestic pig breeds.


lynx

From Middle English lynx, linx, lenx, lynce, from Latin lynx, from Ancient Greek λύγξ (lúnx), from Proto-Hellenic *lúnks, from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“white; light; bright”), because of the cat's glowing eyes and ability to see in the dark.
Eclipsed English los, loz (“lynx”); Middle English lusk (“lynx”), from Old English lox (“lynx”) as the animal died out in Britain during the Middle Ages.

der

Any of several medium-sized wild cats, mostly of the genus Lynx.


why

From Middle English why, from Old English hwȳ (“why”), from Proto-Germanic *hwī (“by what, how”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey, instrumental case of *kʷis (“who”), *kʷid (“what”).
Cognate with Old Saxon hwī (“why”), hwiu (“how; why”), Middle High German wiu (“how, why”), archaic Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hvi (“why”), Norwegian Nynorsk kvi (“why”), Swedish vi (“why”), Faroese and Icelandic hví (“why”), Latin quī (“why”), Doric Greek πεῖ (peî, “where”), Ukrainian чи (čy, “if”), Polish czy, Czech či (“or”), Serbo-Croatian či (“if”). Compare Old English þȳ (“because, since, on that account, therefore, then”, literally “by that, for that”). See thy.

cog

Why is the sky blue?

Why did you do that?

I don’t know why he did that

Tell me why the moon changes phase.

Why do you have a map of the world?
Audio (US): (file)

2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

(interrogative) For what cause, reason, or purpose.

For what cause, reason, or purpose.
Introducing a complete question.

Why don't you ask her out for dinner?

With a negative, used rhetorically to make a suggestion.

Why spend money on something you already get for free?

Why not tell him how you feel?

Introducing a verb phrase (bare infinitive clause).

Why him? Why not someone taller?

For what cause, reason, or purpose.
Introducing a noun or other phrase.


why

whys (plural)
why's (plural)
whies (plural)

A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how.

Within months of leaving, she became the new owner of Dream Body Recovery in Miami, which has three rooms that can accommodate up to six clients. “Being a part of this journey with other ladies, knowing how it changed my life, that’s my why,” she told me.

2022 May 11, Sandra E. Garcia, “Butt Lifts Are Booming. Healing Is No Joke.”, in The New York Times Magazine:


lark

From Middle English larke, laverke, from Old English lāwerce, lǣwerce, lāuricæ, from Proto-West Germanic *laiwarikā, from Proto-Germanic *laiwarikǭ, *laiwazikǭ (compare dialectal West Frisian larts, Dutch leeuwerik, German Lerche), from *laiwaz (borrowed into Finnish leivo, Estonian lõo), of unknown ultimate origin with no definitive cognates outside of Germanic.

Any of various small, singing passerine birds of the family Alaudidae.

Any of various similar-appearing birds, but usually ground-living, such as the meadowlark and titlark.

(by extension) One who wakes early; one who is up with the larks.


lark

en-verb

lark (third-person singular simple present larks, present participle larking, simple past and past participle larked)

larks (present singular third-person)
larking (participle present)
larked (participle past)
larked (past)

to go larking


dormouse

From Middle English dormowse, of uncertain origin. Possibly from a dialectal *dor-, from Old Norse dár (“benumbed”) + mous (“mouse”). More at doze, mouse.
The word is sometimes conjectured to come from an Anglo-Norman derivative of Old French dormir (“to sleep”) (as *dormouse (“tending to be dormant”), with second element mistaken for mouse), but no such Anglo-Norman term is known to have existed.

(figuratively) A person who sleeps a great deal, or who falls asleep readily (by analogy with the sound hibernation of the dormouse).


turtle dove

From Middle English turtildove, turteldoufe (cognate with Old High German turtultūba, turtulatūba, turtiltūba, Middle High German turteltūbe, türteltūbe, German Turteltaube; German Low German Turtelduuv, Dutch tortelduif, Faroese turtildúgva, Icelandic turtildúfa), Danish turteldue, Norwegian Bokmål turteldue, Norwegian Nynorsk turteldue, Swedish turturduva. The first element is from Latin turtur (“turtledove”) (compare the archaic synonym turtle (“turtle dove (bird)”); the word is not related to turtle (“reptile with a shell”).

Any of several (species of) birds, called by this traditional name, mainly in the genus Streptopelia, of the family Columbidae (doves and pigeons, which also included the extinct passenger pigeon, dodo, and solitaire).


pheasant

en-noun

pheasant (countable and uncountable, plural pheasants)

→ Welsh: ffesant

→ Cornish: fesont

From Middle English fesaunt, fesant, from Old French fesan, from Latin phāsiānus, from Ancient Greek φᾱσιανός (phāsianós), meaning “[bird] of the river Φᾶσις (Phâsis)”, from where, it was supposed, the bird spread to the west. Replaced native Old English wōrhana, a variant of mōrhana. More at moorhen.

The ſpring diſplaying her elegant taſte, the proud walk of the gold-feathered pheaſant, the light tread of the ſmall-hoofed hind, and the dancing of the ſtar-trained peacock, infuſed joy into the ſoul of the ſpectator of the aſtoniſhing works of the Creator.

1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page v:

Or sometimes, passing too near a sequestered copse, the shy tenants were startled, and the superb plumage of the pheasant dashed aside the branches, and the stately bird soared up on rattling wing.

1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 80:

(countable) A bird of family Phasianidae, often hunted for food.


starling

From Middle English starling, sterling, sterlinge, from Old English stærling, from stær (“starling”) + -ling (diminutive suffix). Cognate with Middle Dutch sterlinck (“starling”).

A fish, rock trout (Hexagrammos spp.), of the North Pacific, especially, Hexagrammos decagrammus, found in US waters.


ibex

ibex (plural)
ibexes (plural)
ibices (plural)

From Latin ībex (“chamois”), possibly from Iberian or Aquitanian; akin to Old Spanish bezerro (“bull”) (modern becerro (“yearling”)).

A type of wild mountain goat of the genus Capra, such as the species Capra ibex.


muskrat

Perhaps so called for its musky odour and because it resembles a rat, or perhaps called by an Algonquian name like the Abenaki moskwas, with the spelling altered under the influence of the English words musk and rat.


partridge

partridge (plural partridges or partridge)

/ˈpɑːtɹɪd͡ʒ/

/ˈpɑɹtɹɪd͡ʒ/

From Middle English partrich, partriche, pertriche, perdriz, from Old French perdriz, partriz, from Latin perdīx (“partridge”), from Ancient Greek πέρδιξ (pérdix, “partridge”), probably from πέρδομαι (pérdomai, “to fart”).

partridge-wood

Andira inermis; Millettia stuhlmannii; Stereum frustulosum

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me a partridge in a pear tree.

...and the loudest sound in the lonely fields was when, adventuring too near some late brood, the partridge sought to deceive by a plaintive cry and seeming helplessness, crossing before your very feet, till, when drawn to a sufficient distance, suddenly the air vibrated to the flutter of her active pinions.

(ornithology) Any bird of a number of genera in the family Phasianidae, notably in the genera Perdix and Alectoris.

thëllëzë

any bird of the genera Perdix or Alectoris

鹧鸪 (zhègū) (francolin, but often translated as partridge)


jay

From Middle English jay, from Old French jai ("jay"; Modern French geai), either from Late Latin gaius (“jay”), or from Old French gai (“gay, merry”), so named due to its plumage, from Old Frankish *gāhi (“quick, impetuous”), from Proto-Germanic *ganhuz, *ganhwaz (“sudden”), cognate with Dutch gaai (“jay”). More on the latter etymology at gay.

gloss

"jay"; Modern French <i class="Latn mention" lang="fr">geai</i>

ятгашаазгай (jatgašaazgaj, literally “zither magpie”)

They are the commonality of birddom, who furnish forth the mobs which bewilder the drunken-flighted jay when he jerks, shrieking in a series of blue hyphen-flashes through the air […]

1878, Philip Stewart Robinson, In My Indian Garden:

Any of various other birds of similar appearance and behaviour.

The Indian roller, Coracias benghalensis.


shrew

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

otter shrew

subfamily Potamogalinae in family Tenrecidae

treeshrew

families Tupaiidae and Ptilocercidae in order Scandentia

West Indies shrew

genus †Nesophontes in family Solenodontidae

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

Certain other small mammals that resemble true shrews.

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

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

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

1959, Mordecai Richler, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz:

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


nightingale

Inherited from Middle English nyghtyngale, nightingale, niȝtingale, alteration (with intrusive n) of nyghtgale, nightegale, from Old English nihtegala, nihtegale (“nightingale; night-raven”, literally “night-singer”), from Proto-West Germanic *nahtigalā (“nightingale”), equivalent to a compound of night + gale. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Noachtegoal (“nightingale”), Dutch nachtegaal (“nightingale”), German Low German Nachtigall (“nightingale”), German Nachtigall (“nightingale”), Danish nattergal (“thrush nightingale”), Swedish näktergal (“nightingale”), Icelandic næturgali (“nightingale”).

cog

Nightingales have been spotted in this coppice.

You sing like a nightingale, sport!

Some admired the external beauties of the objects they beheld, like the nightingale in love with the roſe.

The oaks around were the home of a tribe of nightingales.

1826, [Mary Shelley], chapter V, in The Last Man. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC:

And David's Lips are lock't; but in divine
High piping Péhlevi, with "Wine! Wine! Wine!
Red Wine!" — the Nightingale cries to the Rose
That yellow Cheek of her's to'incarnadine.

1859, Edward Fitzgerald, The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám: The Astronomer-Poet of Persia, page 2:

The air, too, was heavy with perfume, and a nightingale, high in the heavens, gave out a cheery song of welcome.

1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter XXII, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, published 1940, page 222:

Luscinia megarhynchos
Luscinia megarhynchos#Translingual

A Eurasian and African songbird, Luscinia megarhynchos, family Muscicapidae, famed for its beautiful singing at night; a common nightingale.


woodpecker

From wood + pecker. Compare Middle English wod spek (“woodpecker”), Middle English wodehake (“woodpecker”), Middle English wodewale (“woodpecker”). Displaced speight.

On its summit towered aloft the fir tree which has often been referred to, like a mighty mast, full of woodpeckers' holes.

1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 89:

Any bird of species-rich family Picidae, with a strong pointed beak suitable for pecking holes in wood.


marten

From Middle English martren, martryn, from Old French martrine (“marten fur”), from Old Dutch *marthrīn (“of marten fur”), from *marthar (“marten”). Displaced Old English mearþ, from Proto-Germanic *marþuz.

Any carnivorous mammal of the genus Martes (family Mustelidae).

نِمْس m (nims, literally “mustelid”) (many distinguish not further)

nyest

beech marten and other species of the genus Martes


vole

Borrowed from Norn vollj, from Old Norse vǫllr (“field”), from Proto-Germanic *walþuz (“forest”). The Orkney dialectal term vole mouse, lit. “field mouse”, was introduced to general English by George Barry in 1805; John Fleming in 1828 was first to refer to the creature by the epithet vole alone. Displaced earlier names for these species which also classified them as mice, e.g. short-tailed field mouse.

Any of a large number of species of small rodents of the subfamily Arvicolinae of the family Cricetidae which are not lemmings or muskrats.

hryzec

(every genus from Arvicolinae has got its specific Czech name); genus Arvicola


ferret

From Middle English furet, ferret, from Old French furet, from Vulgar Latin *furittum (“weasel, ferret”), diminutive of Latin fūr (“thief”).

der

Mustela putorius furo
Mustela putorius furo#Translingual

An often domesticated mammal (Mustela putorius furo) rather like a weasel, descended from the polecat and often trained to hunt burrowing animals.

A black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes).


ferret

en-verb

ferret (third-person singular simple present ferrets, present participle ferreting, simple past and past participle ferreted)

ferrets (present singular third-person)
ferreting (participle present)
ferreted (participle past)
ferreted (past)

Master Fer! I'll fer him, and firk him, and ferret him.

1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]:

I confess that we were so unpopular with the outrageous mob, that I only got away from England at the risk of being ducked to death, and that Cly was so ferreted up and down, that he never would have got away at all but for that sham.

1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities:

He had been piqued by the failure of all his endeavors to ferret out the assassins.

1842, Edgar Alan Poe, The Mistery of Marie Roget:

She ferreted in her bag; then held it up mouth downwards; then fumbled in her lap, all so vigorously that Charles Steele in the Panama hat suspended his paint-brush.

1922, Virginia Woolf, chapter 1, in Jacob's Room:

(by extension, transitive, intransitive) To uncover and bring to light by searching; usually to ferret out.


dromedary

→ Welsh: dromedari

/ˈdɹɒmɪdəɹi/

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

/ˈdɹɑməˌdɛɹi/

From Middle English dromedari, dromedarie (“dromedary; any camel”) [and other forms], from Old French dromedaire, from Late Latin dromedārius (“kind of camel”), from Latin *dromadārius, from dromas, dromadis (“dromedary”) + -ārius (suffix forming nouns denoting agents of use). Dromas and dromadis are derived from Ancient Greek δρομᾰ́ς (dromás, “running; dromedary”), an ellipsis of δρομὰς κάμηλος (dromàs kámēlos, “running camel”), from δρόμος (drómos, “race, running; race course, track”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *drem- (“to run”).

nb...

dromadary, dromadayr, drombodary, dromendari, dromidare, dromidarie, dromider, dromodari, dromodarie, dromodarye, dromondari, dromondarie, dromondary, dromounday, dromydary, dromyder, drowmondere

der

The duke in his schelde and dreches no lengere, / Drawes hym a dromedarie, with dredfulle knyghtez; [...]

[c. 1400, Edmund Brock, editor, Morte Arthure, or The Death of Arthur: Edited from Robert Thornton’s MS. […], new edition (in Middle English), London: Published for the Early English Text Society, by N[icholas] Trübner & Co., […], published 1871, page 87, lines 2940–2941:

The Dromedarie, Camell, Horſe, and Aſſe, / For loade and carriage doth a Sheepe ſurpaſſe: [...]

1630, John Taylor, “Taylors Pastorall, being Both Historicall and Satyricall. […]”, in All the Workes of Iohn Taylor the Water-poet. […], London: […] Iames Boler; […], →OCLC, page 52; republished in The Works of John Taylor the Water Poet […] (Publications of the Spenser Society; no. 2), [Manchester]: […] Spenser Society, 1868, →OCLC, page 536, column 2:

[T]he Dromedarie [...] who is marvellous ſwift, and will run an hundred miles in a day; but the Germanes call a dull and ſlow man a Dromedary, [...]

1650, Edward Leigh, “Δρόμος [Drómos]”, in Critica Sacra in Two Parts: The First Containing Observations on All the Radices, or Primitive Hebrevv Words of the Old Testament, in Order Alphabetical. […] The Second Philologicall and Theologicall Observations upon All the Greek Words of the New Testament, in Order Alphabetical. […], 3rd edition, London: […] Thomas Underhill […], →OCLC, page 74, column 2:

I went to see a Dromedarie, a very monstrous beaste, much like the Camel but larger.

1651 February 3 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 24 January 1651]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC, page 249:

Oh, thou Dromedary, thou Founder'd Mule, without a Pack-ſaddle; or what other foul Beaſt ſhall I call thee, for Man thou art not, nor haſt not been to me, Heaven knows the time when? Art not thou aſham'd to ſee me, thou Nincompoop?

1694, [Thomas] d’Urfey, The Comical History of Don Quixote. […], part I, London: […] Samuel Briscoe, […], →OCLC, Act I, scene ii, page 6:

Here we alighted, drank ourſelves, and gave our dromedaries to drink as much as they would; then we filled all our veſſels, made on purpoſe for carriage, and took in a much greater proportion of water than we had done proviſions.

1765, [Simon Berington], The Adventures of Sig. Gaudentio di Lucca. […], Glasgow: […] James Knox, […], →OCLC, page 66:

[T]he camel has two bunches upon his back, whereas the dromedary has but one; the latter alſo, is neither ſo large, nor ſo ſtrong, as the camel. Theſe two races, however, produce with each other, and the mixed breed formed between them is conſidered the beſt, the moſt patient, and the moſt indefatigable of all the kind.

1791, Oliver Goldsmith, “The Camel, and the Dromedary”, in An History of the Earth, and Animated Nature. […], new edition, volume IV, London: […] F[rancis] Wingrave, successor to Mr. [John] Nourse, […], →OCLC, page 280:

Camelus dromedarius
Camelus dromedarius#Translingual

The single-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius).

جَمَل عَرَبِيّ m (jamal ʕarabiyy, literally “Arabian camel”)

[T]hou art like a ſwift dromedarie, that runneth by his wayes.

1560, [William Whittingham et al., transl.], The Bible and Holy Scriptures Conteyned in the Olde and Newe Testament. […] (the Geneva Bible), Geneva: […] Rouland Hall, →OCLC, Ieremiáh II:23, folio 306, verso:

Thou art like a swift dromedary, that runs in his ways.

The untreated cases have been arranged in three groups according to the clinical course. The first group, called the dromedary group, shows the curious phenomenon of two different periods of illness with an interval of well-being. […] Because of the two distinct groups or humps of symptoms, the analogy to the arrangement of the dromedary’s back was taken to express the type figuratively.

1917 April 21, George Draper, “Acute Poliomyelitis: Early Diagnosis and Serum Therapy”, in The Journal of the American Medical Association, volume 68, number 16, Chicago, Ill., →DOI, page 1153:

central nervous system
central nervous system#English

(medicine, dated, attributively) Referring to a biphasic clinical course of poliomyelitis, typically occurring in children, characterized by a minor illness, followed by an asymptomatic period of several days before the onset of a major illness involving the central nervous system.


sparrow

From Middle English sparwe, sparowe, from Old English spearwa, from Proto-West Germanic *sparwō, from Proto-Germanic *sparwô, from Proto-Indo-European *spḗr (“sparrow”).
Cognate with Dutch spreeuw (“starling”), Alemannic German Spar (“sparrow”), German Sperling (“sparrow”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål spurv (“sparrow”), Norwegian Nynorsk sporv (“sparrow”), Swedish sparv (“sparrow”), Breton frao (“crow”), Tocharian A spārāñ, Ancient Greek ψάρ (psár, “starling”).

Man progresses generally, not both legs at once like a sparrow, but by putting one leg forward first, and then the other.

1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 192:

Passer domesticus
Passer domesticus#Translingual

The house sparrow, Passer domesticus; a small bird with a short bill, and brown, white and gray feathers.

A member of the family Passeridae, comprising small Old World songbirds.

A member of the family Emberizidae, comprising small New World songbirds.

cockney sparrow

I take it there 's scarcely a happier fellow alive than your honest town-bred smoke-dried cockney sparrow.

1878, Charles Henry Ross, Ally Sloper's guide to the Paris exhibition, page 54:

Professional cockney sparrow Martine has acted since childhood.

2005, Drama Faces: Martine McCutcheon, BBC:

(UK, chiefly London) A quick-witted, lively person.


rooster

From roost + -er. In the regions where it is used, displaced cock through taboo avoidance.

Their other dish […] contain'd a number of roast fowls—half a dozen, we suppose, & all roosters at this season no doubt.

The produce of two hens and a cock, or rooster, as the Yankees term that bird.

1836, Catharine Parr Traill, The Backwoods of Canada, page 308:

Chalk a circle for a rooster.

1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 16]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part III [Nostos], page 616:

(Canada, US, Kent, Australia, New Zealand) A male domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) or other gallinaceous bird.


sandhill crane

Grus canadensis
Grus canadensis#Translingual

A crane native to North America and parts of Siberia (Antigone canadensis, syn. Grus canadensis).


whooping crane

Grus americana
Grus americana#Translingual

Grus americana, a species of crane native to North America.


otter

From Middle English oter, otir, otur, otyre, from Old English otor, from Proto-West Germanic *otr, from Proto-Germanic *utraz, from Proto-Indo-European *udrós (“aquatic, water-animal”), from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (“water”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Otter, Dutch otter, German Otter, Swedish utter, Norwegian oter, Icelandic otur, Sanskrit उद्र (udrá), Russian вы́дра (výdra), and Ancient Greek ὕδρα (húdra, “water snake”). Doublet of Hydra and hydra. More etymology under English water.

cog

An aquatic or marine carnivorous mammal in the subfamily Lutrinae of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, polecats, badgers, and others.

(gay slang) A hairy man with a slender physique, in contrast with a bear, who is more thickset.


falcon

From Middle English faucoun, falcon, faulcon, from Old French falcun, from Late Latin falcō (“falcon”), of Germanic origin, probably via Frankish *falkō (“falcon, hawk”), from Proto-Germanic *falkô (“falcon”), from Proto-Indo-European *pol̑- (“pale”), from *pel- (“fallow”).
cognates
Cognate with Old English *fealca, fealcen (“falcon”), Dutch valk (“falcon, hawk”), German Falke (“falcon, hawk”), Norwegian and Swedish falk (“falcon”), Icelandic fálki (“falcon”), French faucon (“falcon”), Italian falco (“falcon”), Spanish halcón (“falcon”), Portuguese falcão (“falcon”), Latin falco (“falcon”), Lithuanian pálšas (“pale”), Latvian bāls (“pale”), Latgalian buolgs (“pale”). More at fallow.

Any bird of the genus Falco, all of which are birds of prey.


roebuck

From Middle English roobukke; equivalent to roe + buck (“male deer”). Doublet of rhebok.

From the thick copse the roebucks bound,
The startled red-deer scuds the plain […]

1807, “Cadyow Castle”, in The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, volume 4, Walter Scott:


blackbird

From Middle English blakebird, blacbrid (“ouzel; Eurasian blackbird”), equivalent to black + bird.

Turdus merula
Turdus merula#Translingual

A common true thrush, Turdus merula, found in woods and gardens over much of Eurasia, and introduced elsewhere.

A variety of New World birds of the family Icteridae (26 species of icterid bird).


badger

From Middle English bageard (“marked by a badge”), from bage (“badge”), referring to the animal's badge-like white blaze, equivalent to badge + -ard. Displaced earlier brock, from Old English brocc.

inh

A native or resident of the American state, Wisconsin.


tit

From Middle English tit, titte, tette, from Old English tit, titt, from Proto-West Germanic *titt, from Proto-Germanic *tittaz (“teat; nipple; breast”), of expressive origin.
Perhaps related to an original meaning “to suck”; compare Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-y-. Doublet of teat, which was borrowed from Old French.
Cognates
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Tit, Dutch tiet, dialectal Dutch tet, German Zitze, Titte, Hunsrik Ditz, Yiddish ציצע (tsitse).

onomatopoeic

expressive

I have enjoyed taking to my writing bureau and writing about poverty, benefit reform and the coalition government in the manner of a shit Dickens, or Orwell, but with tits.

2012, Caitlin Moran, Moranthology, Ebury Press, published 2012, page 13:

Sanch tossed his head back, threw open his shirt, cupped his beanbag-shaped male breasts and jiggled them at us. Ford and I were laughing but Kat said, "I think they're the most beautiful tits."

Sun readers don't care who runs the country as long as she's got big tits.

1987, “A Conflict of Interest”, in Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, directors, Yes, Prime Minister, season 2, episode 4, spoken by Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds), BBC2:

(slang, vulgar, chiefly in the plural) A person's breast or nipple.

Look at that tit driving on the wrong side of the road!

I know a lot of tits, Guv'nor. But I don't know any quite as fucking stupid as these two.

2000, Guy Ritchie, Snatch (motion picture), spoken by Errol (Andy Beckwith):

“What did you say to the cops?”
“I told them everything about the smuggling ring.”
“Why the fuck did you do that?”
“They were nice to me.”
“They’re always nice to people they want to get information from, you dumb tit.”

2002, Dick Plamondon, Have You Ever Been Screwed, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 234:

John Watson (to Sherlock Holmes): It's Lestrade. Says they're all coming over here right now. Queuing up to slap on the handcuffs, every single officer you ever made feel like a tit. Which is a lot of people.

2012 January 15, Stephen Thompson, "The Reichenbach Fall", episode 2-3 of Sherlock, 00:52:46-00:52:55

“I asked Nandor and Colin Robinson to come with me on the first day because I didn't want the class to look too empty. But now I cannot get those two tits to leave.”

2023 August 17, Jeremy Levick & Rajat Suresh, “Hybrid Creatures” (5:12 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 5, episode 7, spoken by Nadja of Antipaxos (Natasia Demetriou):

(UK, Ireland, derogatory, slang) An idiot; a fool.

(UK, Ireland, slang, derogatory) A police officer; a "tithead".


tit

Probably of North Germanic/Scandinavian origin; found earliest in titling and titmouse; compare Faroese títlingur, dialectal Norwegian titling (“small stockfish”).
Wikispecies

A chickadee; a small passerine bird of the genus Parus or the family Paridae, common in the Northern Hemisphere.

Any of various other small passerine birds.


gull

Inherited from Middle English gulle, from a Brythonic language (compare Breton gouelan, Welsh gwylan, and Cornish goolan), from Proto-Brythonic *gwuɨlann, from Proto-Celtic *wēlannā (“seagull”).
Cognate with Old Irish faílenn, Scottish Gaelic faoileag. Compare French goéland, a borrowing from Breton. Eclipsed Middle English lare (borrowed from Latin larus) and Middle English mewe (from Old English mæw).

The tide was out, and we drew up amid the strong bracing smell of seaweed, with gulls screeching, wheeling around, and gliding on the wind.

1947 January–February, O. S. Nock, “‘The Aberdonian’ in Wartime”, in The Railway Magazine, volume 93, number 567, page 8:

Most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight—how to get from shore to food and back again.[…]For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight.

1970, Richard Bach, “Part One”, in Jonathan Livingston Seagull: A Story, Macmillan; republished as complete edition, Scribner, 2014 October 21, →ISBN, page 4:

A seabird of the genus Larus or of the family Laridae.


weasel

From Middle English wesele, from Old English weosule, from Proto-West Germanic *wisulā, from Proto-Germanic *wisulǭ.
The verb is from c. 1900, from the supposed cunningness of the weasel.

Any of the carnivorous mammals of the genus Mustela, having a slender body, a long tail and usually a light brown upper coat and light-coloured belly.

mustela

any of the carnivorous mammals of the genus Mustela


ermine

en-noun

ermine (countable and uncountable, plural ermines or ermine)

From Middle English ermine, ermin, ermyn, from Old French ermin, ermine, hermine.
There are two main theories for the origin of Old French ermine. Germanic origin is suggested via Old Dutch *harmino (“stoat skin”), from *harmo (“stoat, weasel”) (compare Dutch hermelijn and dialectal herm), from Proto-Germanic *harmǭ, *harmô (compare Old English hearma, Old High German harmo (harmin (adjective), obsolete German Harm), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱormō (compare Romansch carmun, obsolete Lithuanian šarmuõ). Romance sources identify the animal with the corresponding word for Armenian, possibly from Medieval Latin mūs Armenius (“Armenian mouse”) or a posterior compound.

der

Mustela erminea
Mustela erminea#Translingual

A weasel found in northern latitudes (Mustela erminea in Eurasia, Alaska, and the Arctic, Mustela haidarum in Haida Gwaii, Mustela richardsonii in the rest of North America); its dark brown fur turns white in winter, apart from the black tip of the tail.

ermelina

Mustela erminea, M. richardsonii, M. haidarum


buffalo

en-noun

buffalo (plural buffaloes or buffalos or buffalo)

buffaloes (plural)
buffalos (plural)
buffalo (plural)

From Portuguese or Spanish búfalo (“buffalo”), from Late Latin būfalus, from Latin būbalus, from Ancient Greek βούβαλος (boúbalos, “antelope, wild ox”). Doublet of bubale and buffle.


magpie

From Mag, a nickname for Margaret that was used to denote a chatterer, + archaic pie (“magpie”), from Old French pie, from Latin pīca, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peyk- (“woodpecker, magpie”). Displaced native Old English agu, "magpie".

One of several kinds of bird in the family Corvidae, especially Pica pica.


human

en-adj

human (comparative more human, superlative most human)

more human (comparative)
most human (superlative)

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

der

hope springs eternal in the human breast

human seminal plasma protein hypersensitivity

Some powers diuine, or els infernall, mixt / Their angry ſeedes at his conception: / For he was neuer ſprong of humaine race, / Since with the ſpirit of his fearefull pride, / He dares so doubtleſly reſolue of rule.

c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene vi:

[N]o attempt is made to call in God to their reſcue, as if he vvere an idle unconcern'd ſpectator of humane affairs, or ſo inconſiderable an ally, as not to be vvorth the care of engaging him on their ſide.

1660, [Richard Allestree], “Sect[ion] V. Of the Second Advantage, Wealth.”, in The Gentlemans Calling, London: […] T[imothy] Garthwait […], →OCLC, page 83:

Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.

2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:

(not comparable) Of or belonging to the species Homo sapiens or its closest relatives.

mens

of or belonging to the species Homo sapiens


human

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

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

1994 March 29, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes:

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

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

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

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

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

Humans share common ancestors with other apes.

Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola.

2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193:

If I ever have to choose between a future where killer robots hunt humans or a future where bacon supplies have run out ... Let's just say you better start running.

2013 April 18, Rock Paper Cynic (webcomic):

(broadly) Any hominid of the genus Homo.


donkey

en-noun

donkey (plural donkeys or (obsolete) donkies)

donkeys (plural)
donkies (obsolete plural)

→ Afrikaans: donkie

→ Northern Sotho: tonki

→ Tok Pisin: donki

desc

→ Urdu: ڈَنْکی (ḍaṅkī)

→ Urdu: ڈَنْکی (ḍaṅkī)

The origin is uncertain. Originally a slang term from the late eighteenth century. Perhaps from Middle English *donekie (“a miniature dun horse”), a double diminutive of Middle English don, dun, dunne (a name for a dun horse), equivalent to modern English dun (“brownish grey colour”) + -ock (diminutive suffix) + -ie (diminutive suffix). Compare Middle English donning (“a dun horse”), English dunnock. Became more common than the original term ass due to the latter's homophony and partial merger with arse (compare similar development between coney and rabbit).


peacock

→ Hawaiian: pīkake
→ English: pikake

→ Maori: pīkake

From Middle English pecok, pekok, pocok, pacok, equivalent to pea (“peafowl; peacock”) + cock. Compare Old Norse páfugl (“peacock”, literally “pea-fowl”), and English peahen, peachick, etc.

cog

(entomology) Any of various Asian species of papilionid butterflies of the genus Papilio.


cuckoo

en-noun

cuckoo (countable and uncountable, plural cuckoos)

From Middle English cokkou, kokkow, cukkuk, gokkouȝ, probably from Old French cocu, coquu, cucu (whence French coucou); ultimately onomatopoeic of the song of the male Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), perhaps via Latin cucūlus (“cuckoo”). Compare dialectal English gowkoo (“cuckoo”). Displaced Middle English gnokken (“cuckoo”) and native Middle English yeke, ȝek (from Old English ġēac (“cuckoo”)), see English gowk.

He knows me, as the blind man knows the cuckoo, / By the bad voice.

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

Cuculus canorus
Cuculus canorus#Translingual

Any of various birds, of the family Cuculidae, famous for laying its eggs in the nests of other species; but especially a common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), that has a characteristic two-note call.


vulture

Borrowed into Middle English from Anglo-Norman vultur, from Old French voutoir, voutre, from Latin vultur, voltur.

Any of several carrion-eating birds of the families Accipitridae and Cathartidae.


empress

From Middle English emperice, emperesse, from Anglo-Norman and Old French empereriz, from Latin imperatrix, equivalent to emperor + -ess. Doublet of imperatrix. Compare modern French impératrice.


monarch

From Middle French monarque, from Late Latin monarcha, from Ancient Greek μονάρχης (monárkhēs), variant of μόναρχος (mónarkhos, “sole ruler”), from μόνος (mónos, “only”) + ἀρχός (arkhós, “leader”), equivalent to mono- + -arch.
* (butterfly): See monarch butterfly.

But I know the monarchs are close by, their orange-and-black wings folded, dusted, and baked by heat, ready to flee south.

2019, Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Jonathan Cape, page 223:

Danaus plexippus
Danaus plexippus#Translingual

A monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and others of genus Danaus, found primarily in North America.


wildcat

From Middle English wyld cat, wylde cat (in the plural as wild cattes, wylde catis, wyle cattes), equivalent to wild + cat. Cognate with Middle Low German wiltkatte, German Wildkatze, Swedish vildkatt.
Its adjectival senses were originally American and derived from the "wildcat banks" of Michigan, following its elevation to statehood in 1837. Two laws—one easing the requirements for establishing a new bank and another occasioned by the Panic of 1837 that removed the need for payment in specie—led to the creation and collapse of around 50 banks within two years. The term is apocryphally derived from a wildcat supposedly featured on the currency printed by one of these banks, but more probably derived from the remote locations "where the wildcats roamed" chosen by these banks to avoid oversight and minimize redemption of notes.

John Audubon
bobcat
wildcat
wildcat (disambiguation)
wildcat cartridge

wildcat cartridge
wildcat cartridge#English

(firearms) Clipping of wildcat cartridge.


hedgehog

/ˈhɛd͡ʒ.hɒɡ/

/ˈhɛd͡ʒ.hɔɡ/

From Middle English heyghoge; equivalent to hedge + hog. Eclipsed non-native Middle English yrchoun, irchoun (“hedgehog”), from Old French hirchoun, herichon (“hedgehog”); and Middle English il, from Old English īl, iġil (“hedgehog”).

(informal, military, historical) A spigot mortar-type of depth charge weapon from World War II that simultaneously fires a number of explosives into the water to create a pattern of underwater explosions intended to attack submerged submarines.


cattle

cattle pl (normally plural, singular cattle)

From Middle English catel, from Anglo-Norman catel (“personal property”), from Old Northern French (compare French cheptel, Old French chetel, chatel, also English chattel) from Medieval Latin capitāle, from Latin capitālis (“of the head”) (whence also capital, from caput (“head”) + -alis (“-al”)). For the sense evolution, compare pecuniary and fee. Also compare Russian поголо́вье (pogolóvʹje, “total number of livestock”) from Russian голова́ (golová, “head”). Doublet of capital and chattel.

m+

Do you want to raise cattle?

Domesticated animals of the species Bos taurus (cows, bulls, steers, oxen etc).


beaver

en-noun

beaver (countable and uncountable, plural beavers or (senses 1 and 4) beaver)

From Middle English bever, from Old English befer, from Proto-West Germanic *bebru, from Proto-Germanic *bebruz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰébʰrus (“beaver”).
Cognate with West Frisian bever, Dutch bever, French bièvre, German Biber, dialectal Swedish bjur. Non-Germanic cognates include Welsh befer, Latin fiber, Lithuanian bẽbras, Russian бобр (bobr), Avestan 𐬠𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬭𐬀 (bauura), and Sanskrit बभ्रु (bábhru, “mongoose; ichneumon”).

cog

Then, for the safeguard of his personage,
He did appoint a warlike equipage
Of foreign beasts, not in the forest bred,
But part by land and part by water fed;
For tyranny is with strange aid supported.
Then unto him all monstrous beasts resorted
Bred of two kinds, as Griffons, Minotaurs,
Crocodiles, Dragons, Beavers, and Centaurs:
With those himself he strengthened mightily,
That fear he need no force of enemy.

1591, Edmund Spenser, “Prosopopoia; or, Mother Hubberd’s Tale”, in Edmund Spenser, edited by Charles Cowden Clarke, The Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser, Edinburgh: William P. Nimmo, published 1868, page 112, lines 1117–1126:

(countable) A semiaquatic rodent of the genus Castor, having a wide, flat tail and webbed feet.


beaver

en-noun

beaver (countable and uncountable, plural beavers)

(uncountable, historical) A game, in which points are scored by spotting beards.


rabbit

rabbit (countable and uncountable, plural rabbits)

From Middle English rabet, rabette, from Anglo-Latin rabettus, from dialectal Old French rabotte, probably a diminutive of Middle Dutch or West Flemish robbe (“rabbit, seal”), of uncertain origin; possibly some imitative verb, maybe robben, rubben (“to rub”) is used here to allude to a characteristic of the animal. See rub.
Related forms include Middle French rabouillet (“baby rabbit”) and in French rabot (“plane”)), coming via Walloon Old French (reflected nowadays as Walloon robète (“rabbit”)), from Middle Dutch robbe ("rabbit; seal"; whence Modern Dutch rob (“seal", also "rabbit”)); also Middle Low German robbe, rubbe (“rabbit”), and the later German Low German Rubbe, Robb (“seal”), West Frisian robbe (“seal”), Saterland Frisian Rubbe (“seal”), North Frisian rob (“seal”), borrowed into German Robbe (“seal”).
Meant "young rabbit" until the 19th c., when it came to replace the original general term coney, owing to the latter's resemblance to and use as a euphemism for cunny, "vulva" (compare ass and donkey).

onomatopoeic

imitative

gl

"rabbit; seal"; whence Modern Dutch <i class="Latn mention" lang="nl">rob</i> (“seal", also "rabbit”)

The pioneers survived by eating the small game they could get: rabbits, squirrels and occasionally a raccoon.

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. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.

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

A mammal of the family Leporidae, with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail.

тхьэкӏумэкӏэхьы

tḥɛkʷʼumɛkʼɛḥə

Glenn McGrath dismissed Michael Atherton a record 19 times; hence Atherton is McGrath's rabbit.

(cricket) A batsman who is frequently dismissed by the same bowler (said to be that player's rabbit).

The cheese mixture may be served with toast on the side or poured on top of toast and grilled until golden brown and bubbling. Other variations include Buck rabbit, a Welsh rabbit with a poached egg on top, and Yorkshire rabbit with bacon ...

2018, Helen Saberi, Teatimes: A World Tour, Reaktion Books, →ISBN:

CHEESE TOASTED, OR RABBIT.

1858, Mrs. N. K. M. Lee, The American Family Cook Book, page 47:

Hannah Glasse offered recipes for Scotch, Welsh, and English rabbit. This is her Scotch rabbit: Toast a piece of bread very nicely […] Cut a slice of cheese, […]

2019, Mark Kurlansky, Milk: A 10,000-Year History, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

Rarebit; Welsh rabbit or a similar dish: melted cheese served atop toast.


rabbit

en-verb

rabbit (third-person singular simple present rabbits, present participle rabbitting or rabbiting, simple past and past participle rabbitted or rabbited)

rabbits (present singular third-person)
rabbitting (participle present)
rabbiting (participle present)
rabbitted (participle past)
rabbitted (past)
rabbited (participle past)
rabbited (past)

onomatopoeic

imitative


green-backed firecrown

en-noun

green-backed firecrown (plural green-backed firecrowns)

A South American hummingbird, Sephanoides sephaniodes.


tissue

tissue (countable and uncountable, plural tissues)

From Middle English tissu, from Old French tissu (“woven”), past participle of tistre (“to weave”), from Latin texō (“to weave”).

Pricing the first show is a matter of the bookmaker's individual judgment, relying upon advice from all quarters, particularly the tissue; but very soon in the betting exchanges it becomes clear that the sole criterion for the fixing of a horse's price is demand.

2016, Gerald Hammond, The Language of Horse Racing:

(horse racing, slang) The scratch sheet or racing form.


stick

stick (countable and uncountable, plural sticks)

→ Catalan: estic

→ Italian: stick

→ Korean: 스틱 (seutik)

→ Portuguese: stique, estique

→ Sranan Tongo: tiki

From Middle English stikke (“stick, rod, twig”), from Old English sticca (“rod, twig”), from Proto-West Germanic *stikkō, from Proto-Germanic *stikkô, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to pierce, prick, be sharp”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Stikke (“stick”), West Flemish stik (“stick”). Related to stigma.

der

better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick

better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick

better than a poke in the eye with a shitty stick

it is easy to find a stick to beat a dog

(horse racing) The short whip carried by a jockey.

A stick-like item:
The short whip carried by a jockey.


camel

→ Coeur d'Alene: keemel

→ Eastern Arrernte: kamule

→ Tsonga: kamela

From Middle English camel, through Old English camel and Old Northern French camel (Old French chamel, modern French chameau), from Latin camēlus, from Ancient Greek κάμηλος (kámēlos), from a Semitic source, ultimately from Proto-Semitic *gamal-; compare Arabic جَمَل (jamal), Hebrew גמל (gamál), Aramaic ܓܡܠܐ (gamlā), Coptic ϭⲁⲙⲟⲩⲗ (camoul). As a marine device, from Dutch. As an ethnic slur, short for camelfucker, camel jockey, etc.

a camel is a horse designed by a committee

it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God

(ethnic slur) A person of Middle Eastern origin.


blower

From Middle English blowere, blower, from Old English blāwere; equivalent to blow + -er.

Any device that blows; often, especially, a furnace component or a supercharger.

A ducted fan, usually part of a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning system.

A small fish of the Atlantic coast, Sphoeroides maculatus; the puffer.


flat

From Middle English flat, a borrowing from Old Norse flatr (compare Norwegian and Swedish flat, Danish flad), from Proto-Germanic *flataz, from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- (“flat”); akin to Saterland Frisian flot (“smooth”), German Flöz (“a geological layer”), Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús), Latvian plats, Sanskrit प्रथस् (prathas, “extension”). Doublet of plat and pleyt.
The noun is from Middle English flat (“level piece of ground, flat edge of a weapon”), from the adjective.
The algebraic sense was coined by Serre in a 1956 paper, originally as French plat.

inh

This horse will do better over the flat.

flat racing, the flat season

In light of Horse Racing Ireland's Covid-19 contingency plan announcement, that whenever racing resumes the Flat will be given priority, Elliott has decided to keep a number of talented jumpers on the go during the summer, with a view towards a dual-purpose campaign.

2020, Brian Sheerin, Racing Post, "Gordon Elliott maps out summer Flat campaigns for talented jumpers" (article) https://www.racingpost.com/news/gordon-elliott-maps-out-summer-flat-campaigns-for-talented-jumpers/431475

2021 (retrieved), racing365.com, "Flat Racing Explained" https://racing365.com/flat-racing-explained/
In British horse racing, the classics are a series of horse races run over the flat (i.e. without jumps).

An area of level ground (sometimes covered with shallow or tidal water).

(horse racing, with 'the' or attributively, sometimes with capital) Level horse-racing ground, as contrasted with courses incorporating jumps, or the racing done on such ground.

As forecast, Joe suspected nothing as he pottered round the flat in the sunshine, absorbed in the task of picking winners.

1963, George Blaikie, Scandals of Australia's Strange Past, Adelaide: Rigby Limited, page 117:

(Australia, horse racing, with 'the' or attributively, sometimes with capital) the area in the centre of a racecourse.


filly

From Old Norse fylja (whence Danish føl), related to foal. Cognate with Dutch veulen, German Fohlen.


hare

en-noun

hare (countable and uncountable, plural hares)

Sranan Tongo: hei

From Middle English hare, from Old English hara (“hare”), from Proto-West Germanic *hasō ~ *haʀ-, from Proto-Germanic *hasô, from *haswaz (“grey”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂s-én-.
Cognates
See also West Frisian hazze, Dutch haas, German Hase, Norwegian and Swedish hare, Icelandic heri), Old English hasu, Middle High German heswe (“pale, dull”); also Welsh cannu (“to whiten”), ceinach (“hare”), Latin cānus (“white”), cascus (“old”), Old Prussian sasnis (“hare”), Pashto سوی (soe, “hare”) and Sanskrit शश (śaśa, “hare”).

hold with the hare and run with the hounds

you can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds

(countable) Any of several plant-eating animals of the family Leporidae, especially of the genus Lepus, similar to a rabbit, but larger and with longer ears.

(countable) The player in a paperchase, or hare and hounds game, who leaves a trail of paper to be followed.


hare

en-verb

hare (third-person singular simple present hares, present participle haring, simple past and past participle hared)

hares (present singular third-person)
haring (participle present)
hared (participle past)
hared (past)

But Wales somehow snaffled possession for fly-half Jones to send half-back partner Mike Phillips haring away with Stoddart in support.

2011 February 4, Gareth Roberts, “Wales 19-26 England”, in BBC:

Desperate, Kim hurls his phone overarm at the creature's forehead. It's a solid chunk of metal and it's a dead hit. Grey reels backwards and cracks his skull against the wall. By the time he recovers, Kim is out of sight, haring away down the left corridor, just echoing, fading footsteps on concrete.

2015–2021, qntm, “Introductory Antimemetics”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 21:


ram

From Middle English ram, rom, ramme, from Old English ramm (“ram”), from Proto-Germanic *rammaz (“ram”), possibly from *rammaz (“strong”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Rom (“ram”), Dutch ram (“a male sheep”), German Ramm, Ramme (“ram”). Possibly akin also to Danish ram (“sharp; acrid; rank”), Swedish ram (“strong; perfect”), Faroese ramur (“strong; competent”), Icelandic rammur (“strong; sturdy”).

(zoology, agriculture) A male sheep, typically uncastrated.

A battering ram; a heavy object used for breaking through doors.

He describes the operation thus: "The heavy ram employed to impart the finishing strokes, hoisted up with double purchase and snail's pace to the summit of the Piling Engine, and then falling down like a thunderbolt on the head of the devoted timber, driving it perhaps a single half inch in to the stratum below, is well calculated to put to the test the virtue of patience, while it illustrates the old adage of—slow and sure."

1952 July, W. R. Watson, “Sankey Viaduct and Embankment”, in Railway Magazine, page 487:

A weight which strikes a blow, in a ramming device such as a pile driver, steam hammer, or stamp mill.


ram

en-adj

ram (comparative more ram, superlative most ram)

more ram (comparative)
most ram (superlative)

Likely from Old Norse ramr, rammr (“strong, rank, bitter”), from Proto-Germanic *rammaz (“strong, overbearing; acrid, rank”), perhaps ultimately related to Etymology 1 above. Compare Scots ram (“a rank odour”). Compare also Middle English rammish (“rank, offensive in smell”).

cog

(Northern England) Rancid; offensive in smell or taste.


goat

en-noun

goat (countable and uncountable, plural goats)

→ Abenaki: kots (from "goats")

→ Marshallese: koot

→ Rotokas: goti

→ Tongan: koti, kosi

desctree

→ Samoan: ʻoti
→ Rotuman: ʻoti
→ Tokelauan: oti

From Middle English goot, got, gat, from Old English gāt, from Proto-West Germanic *gait, from Proto-Germanic *gaits, from a substrate language.
The sense of lecherous man derives from the slang expression "horny as a goat".

(acronym) Alternative letter-case form of GOAT (“Greatest of All Time”)


stallion

From Middle English stalion, from Middle French estalon (whence modern French étalon), of Germanic origin, akin to stall. Displaced native Old English henġest.

An adult male horse.
A male horse kept primarily as a stud.


handle

→ Japanese: ハンドル (handoru)
→ Hokkien: 捍多路 (hăn-tó͘-luh)
→ Sakizaya: handulu

From Middle English handel, handle, from Old English handle (“a handle”), from handlian (“to handle, feel, deal with, discuss”). See verb below. Cognate with Danish handel (“a handle”).

(horse racing, gambling) The amount wagered in the various pari-mutuel pools for a particular event or events.


squirrel

From Middle English squirel, squyrelle, from Anglo-Norman esquirel and Old French escurel (whence French écureuil), from Vulgar Latin *scūriolus, diminutive of *scūrius, variant of Latin sciūrus, from Ancient Greek σκίουρος (skíouros) "shadow-tail", from σκιά (skiá, “shadow”) + οὐρά (ourá, “tail”).
Displaced native Middle English acquerne, aquerne, from Old English ācweorna.

even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while

even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then

even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in a while

One of the small rollers of a carding machine which work with the large cylinder.


dojo

Borrowed from Japanese 泥鰌 (dojō, “pond loach”).

[ˈdəʊ̯d͡ʒəʊ̯]

/ˈdoʊˌd͡ʒoʊ/

[ˈdoʊ̯ˌd͡ʒoʊ̯]

The head of the dojô is small, the mouth is surrounded by six or eight barbules as is the case with several species of fish which inhabit muddy streams. [...] A microscopic examination showed them [the barbules] to be rich in muscular fibres for movement, and through the centre run a thick bundle of very delicate nerve fibres which spread out on the surface of each barbule's tip. These, I suppose from the manner which the dojô dips its head down, assist in the search for food, [...]

1878 January 26, H[enry] Faulds, “Remarks on the Dojô”, in Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, volume VI, part I, Yokohama: Printed at the “Japan Mail” Office, →OCLC, page 183:

[A] comparative test on susceptibility to E1-43, 064 between the goldfish and ‘Dojo’ fish was made by dipping method. The result has shown that the ‘Dojo’ fish is 5.32 times as susceptible as the goldfish to E1-43, 064.

1971, Robert M. Howland, editor, Sport Fishery Abstracts, volume 16, number 1, Narragansett, R.I.: Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, →ISSN, →OCLC, abstract 13071, page 68:

All of us kids used to swim in the stream and fish for dojo, funa, and goby.

2007, John R. K. Clark, “Jizo the Protector”, in Guardian of the Sea: Jizo in Hawaiʻi (Latitude 20 Book), Honolulu, Hi.: University of Hawaiʻi Press, →ISBN, page 51:

Misgurnus anguillicaudatus
Misgurnus anguillicaudatus#Translingual

The dojo loach, Japanese weather loach, or pond loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus), a freshwater fish native to East Asia.


owl

From Middle English oule, owle, from Old English ūle, from Proto-West Germanic *uwwilā, from Proto-Germanic *uwwalǭ (compare West Frisian ûle, Dutch uil, Danish and Norwegian ugle, German Eule), diminutive of *uwwǭ (“eagle-owl”) (compare German Uhu), of imitative origin or a variant of *ūfaz, *ūfǭ (compare Old English ūf or hūf, Swedish uv (“horned owl”), Bavarian Auf), from Proto-Indo-European *up- (compare Latvian ũpis (“eagle-owl”), Czech úpět (“to wail, howl”), Avestan 𐬎𐬟𐬌𐬌𐬈𐬌𐬨𐬌 (ufiieimi, “to call out”). A Germanic variant *uwwilǭ was the source of Old High German ūwila (German Eule).

cog

Any of various birds of prey of the order Strigiformes that are primarily nocturnal and have forward-looking, binocular vision, limited eye movement, and good hearing.


chicken

en-noun

chicken (countable and uncountable, plural chickens)

→ German: Chicken

→ Irish: sicín

→ Japanese: チキン (chikin)

→ Korean: 치킨 (chikin)

From Middle English chiken (also as chike > English chick), from Old English ċicen, ċycen (“chicken”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from Proto-West Germanic *kiukīn (“chicken”), or alternatively from Proto-West Germanic *kukkīn, equivalent to cock + -en.
Compare North Frisian schückling (“chicken”), Saterland Frisian Sjuuken (“chicken”), Dutch kuiken (“chick, chicken”), German Low German Küken (“chick”), whence German Küken (“chick”), (elevated, obsolete) German Küchlein (“chick”) and Old Norse kjúklingr (“chicken”).

run around like a chicken with its head cut off

Some chickens lay eggs almost every day. […] Chickens are kept for their meat, too.

1997, Beverley Randell, Clive Harper, Chickens, Nelson Thornes, →ISBN, page 8:

(countable) A domesticated subspecies of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus domesticus), especially so-called when young.

Don't play chicken with a freight train; you're guaranteed to lose.

The Mini surged forward too. The cars were hurtling towards each other across the pitch. This was a dangerous game of chicken. Who would crumble first?

2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

A confrontational game in which the participants move toward each other at high speed (usually in automobiles); the player who turns first to avoid colliding into the other is the chicken (that is, the loser).


chicken

en-adj

chicken (comparative more chicken, superlative most chicken)

more chicken (comparative)
most chicken (superlative)

Why do you refuse to fight? Huh, I guess you're just too chicken.

(informal, sometimes derogatory) Cowardly.


pull

en-verb

pull (third-person singular simple present pulls, present participle pulling, simple past and past participle pulled)

pulls (present singular third-person)
pulling (participle present)
pulled (participle past)
pulled (past)

push

antonym(s) of “apply force to (something) so it comes towards one”

-ʊl (accents with foot–goose merger or full–fool merger)

Verb from Middle English pullen, from Old English pullian (“to pull, draw, tug, pluck off”), of uncertain ultimate origin. Related to West Frisian pûlje (“to shell, husk”), Middle Dutch pullen (“to drink”), Middle Dutch polen (“to peel, strip”), Low German pulen (“to pick, pluck, pull, tear, strip off husks”), Icelandic púla (“to work hard, beat”).
Noun from Middle English pul, pull, pulle, from the verb pullen (“to pull”).

cog

it's not the whistle that pulls the train

pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire

'I never liked Bowler, and I had my suspicions when Captain Ferndale persuaded you to put him up in that race. I did not discover until some time after that he pulled the horse.'

1897, Nat Gould, Not So Bad After All, page 200:

(horse racing, transitive) To impede the progress of (a horse) to prevent its winning a race.


fire

en-verb

fire (third-person singular simple present fires, present participle firing, simple past and past participle fired)

fires (present singular third-person)
firing (participle present)
fired (participle past)
fired (past)
fire (infinitive)

From Middle English firen, fyren, furen, from Old English fȳrian (“to make a fire”), from the noun (see above). Cognate with Old Frisian fioria (“to light a fire”), Saterland Frisian fjuurje (“to fire”), Middle Dutch vûren, vueren, vieren (“to set fire”), Dutch vuren (“to fire, shoot”), Old High German fiuren (“to ignite, set on fire”), German feuern (“to fire”).

udløse

computer sciences, software engineering: to initiate an event


slimy

From Middle English slymy, slimi, either derived from the noun Old English slīm or an unattested *slīmiġ, replacing Old English slipig (“slippy”). Equivalent to slime + -y. Cognate with Dutch slijmig, slijmerig (“slimy”), German schleimig (“slimy; smarmy”), Swedish slemmig (“slimy”).


ebb

en-verb

ebb (third-person singular simple present ebbs, present participle ebbing, simple past and past participle ebbed)

ebbs (present singular third-person)
ebbing (participle present)
ebbed (participle past)
ebbed (past)

From Middle English ebben, from Old English ebbian, from Proto-West Germanic *abbjōn (“to ebb”).

(intransitive) to fish with stakes and nets that serve to prevent the fish from getting back into the sea with the ebb


ewe

From Middle English ewe, from Old English eowu, from Proto-West Germanic *awi, from Proto-Germanic *awiz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ówis (“sheep”).
Cognates
See also Old English ēow (“sheep”), West Frisian ei, Dutch ooi, German Aue); also Old Irish oí, Latin ovis, Tocharian B ā(ᵤ)w, Lithuanian avìs (“ewe”), Russian овца́ (ovcá).

This twentie yeeres haue I bene with thee: thy ewes and thy ſhee goates haue not caſt their yong, and the rammes of thy flocke haue I not eaten.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 31:38, column 2:


clutch

→ Dutch: kluts (“clutch”)

From Middle English clucchen, clicchen, cluchen, clechen, cleken, from Old English clyċċan (“to clutch, clench”), from Proto-West Germanic *klukkjan, from Proto-Germanic *klukjaną, from Proto-Germanic *klu- (“to ball up, conglomerate, amass”), from Proto-Indo-European *glew- (“to ball up; lump, mass”).
Cognate with Swedish klyka (“clamp, fork, branch”). The noun is from Middle English cleche, cloche, cloke ("claw, talon, hand"; compare Scots cleuk, cluke, cluik (“claw, talon”)), of uncertain origin, with the form probably assimilated to the verb.
Alternative etymology derives Old English clyċċan from Proto-Germanic *klēk- (“claw, hand”), from Proto-Indo-European *glēk-, *ǵlēḱ- (“claw, hand; to clutch, snatch”). If so, then cognate with Irish glac (“hand”).

gloss

The pedal in a car that disengages power and torque transmission from the engine (through the drivetrain) to the drive wheels.

enbrage

The pedal in a car that disengages power transmission

cloche

Caribbean Islands, Colombian Atlantic Coast

Any device for gripping an object, as at the end of a chain or tackle.


clutch

Variant form of cletch, from Middle English cleken (“to hatch”), perhaps from Old Norse klekja (“to hatch”).

For instance, baby chicks influence their mother’s behaviour by giving high piercing cheeps when they are lost or cold. This usually has the immediate effect of summoning the mother, who leads the chick back to the main clutch.

1976, Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, Kindle edition, OUP Oxford, published 2016, page 82:

A brood of chickens or a sitting of eggs; a sitting.


colt

en-verb

colt (third-person singular simple present colts, present participle colting, simple past and past participle colted)

colts (present singular third-person)
colting (participle present)
colted (participle past)
colted (past)

From Middle English colt, from Old English colt, from Proto-Germanic *kultaz (“plump; stump; thick shape, bulb”), from Proto-Indo-European *gelt- (“something round, pregnant belly, child in the womb”), from *gel- (“to ball up, amass”). Cognate with Faroese koltur (“colt, foal”) Norwegian kult (“treestump”), Swedish kult (“young boar, boy, lad”). Related to child.

der

Never talk on't: / She hath been colted by him.

1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv], line 133:

(obsolete, transitive) To horse; to get with young.


foal

From Middle English fole, from Old English fola, from Proto-West Germanic *folō, from Proto-Germanic *fulô, from pre-Germanic *pl̥Hon-, from Proto-Indo-European *pōlH- (“animal young”) (cognate with Saterland Frisian Foole, West Frisian fôle, foalle, Dutch veulen, German Low German Fohl, German Fohlen, Fohle, Swedish fåle; compare also Ancient Greek πῶλος (pôlos), Latin pullus, Albanian pelë (“mare”), Old Armenian ուլ (ul, “kid, fawn”). Related to filly.

inh

(mining, historical) A young boy who assisted the headsman by pushing or pulling the tub.


perch

From Middle English perche, from Old French perche, from Latin perca, from Ancient Greek πέρκη (pérkē, “perch”), cognate with περκνός (perknós, “dark-spotted”).

Any of the three species of spiny-finned freshwater fish in the genus Perca.

Any of the about 200 related species of fish in the taxonomic family Percidae, especially:

(Ghana) Distichodus engycephalus, Distichodus rostratus

(Australia) Johnius belangerii, Macquaria ambigua, Macquaria colonorum, Macquaria novemaculeata, Nemadactylus macropterus

Tautogolabrus adspersus
Tautogolabrus adspersus#Translingual

(UK) Lateolabrax japonicus, Tautogolabrus adspersus


mandarin

→ Irish: mandairín

From Portuguese mandarim, mandarij, from Malay menteri, manteri, and its source, Sanskrit मन्त्रिन् (mantrin, “minister, councillor”), from मन्त्र (mantra, “counsel, maxim, mantra”) + -इन् (-in, an agent suffix). In Chinese folk etymology, the word originates from Mandarin 滿大人／满大人 (Mǎndàrén, literally “Manchu important man”).

com

LIKE THE MANDARINS of old, the rulers of China live behind high walls. When they emerge, which they rarely do, they travel in cars with rear windows curtained like sedan chairs.
They live in the Chung Nan Hai, a walled park adjacent to the Forbidden City from where ancient dynasties ruled the Celestial Empire.

1991, Chris Mullin, The Year of the Fire Monkey (Fiction), London: Chatto & Windus, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 252:

(historical) A high government bureaucrat of the Chinese Empire.


mole

Calqued from German Mol; spelled as if it had come directly from molecule or Latin moles (the ultimate source of Mol and molecule in any event).

International System of Units
International System of Units

(chemistry, physics) In the International System of Units, the base unit of amount of substance; the amount of substance of a system which contains exactly 6.02214076×10²³ elementary entities (atoms, ions, molecules, etc.). Symbol: mol. The number of atoms is known as Avogadro’s number. [from 1897]


bass

en-noun

bass (countable and uncountable, plural basses or bass)

From Middle English bace, bas, alteration of bars, from Old English bærs (“a fish, perch”), from Proto-West Germanic *bars, from Proto-Germanic *barsaz (“perch”, literally “prickly”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰórsos (“prickle, thorn, scale”). Cognate with Dutch baars (“perch, bass”), German Barsch (“perch”). More at barse.

inh

The perch; any of various marine and freshwater fish resembling the perch, all within the order of Perciformes.


hoop

en-noun

hoop (countable and uncountable, plural hoops)

From Middle English hoop, hoope, from Old English hōp (“mound, raised land; in combination, circular object”), from Proto-Germanic *hōpą (“bend, bow, arch”) (compare Saterland Frisian Houp (“hoop”), Dutch hoep (“hoop”), Old Norse hóp (“bay, inlet”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kāb- (“to bend”) (compare Lithuanian kabė (“hook”), Old Church Slavonic кѫпъ (kǫpŭ, “hill, island”)). More at camp.


drill

]
Probably of African origin; compare mandrill.

An Old World monkey of West Africa, Mandrillus leucophaeus, similar in appearance to the mandrill, but lacking the colorful face.


box

From Latin bōx, from Ancient Greek βῶξ (bôx, “box (marine fish)”), from βοῦς (boûs, “ox”) + ὤψ (ṓps, “eye, view”), a reference to the large size of the fish's eyes relative to its body.

nb...

The Engravings by J􂀿oseph􂁀 W􂀿ilson􂁀 Lowry and Thomas Landseer, from Original Drawings by Sowerby, Varley, Holmes, Bone, Pyne, Lowry, and Charles Landseer; with Descriptive Letter-press Embracing a Systematic View of the Animal Kingdom, according to Cuvier, with Characteristic Anecdotes and Narratives Selected from the Works of Recent Naturalists.

BOX. Box (Boops), […] In both jaws a single anterior series of broad incisors, notched at the cutting margin; no molars.

1859, Albert Günther, “Fam. 7. SPARIDÆ”, in Catalogue of Acanthopterygian Fishes in the Collection of the British Museum, volume I (Gasterosteidæ, Berycidæ, Percidæ, Aphredoderidæ, Pristipomatidæ, Mullidæ, Sparidæ), London: Printed [by Taylor and Francis] by order of the trustees [of the British Museum], →OCLC, page 418:

The Bogue. […] Box or Boops. Generic Character.—Body elongated, rounded, the dorsal and ventral profiles alike, and the general aspect peculiarly trim.

1860, William Yarrell, “The Bogue”, in John Richardson, editor, Second Supplement to the First Edition of the History of British Fishes, […], London: John Van Voorst, […], →OCLC, page 6:

BOGUE. BOX. OXEYE. […] In some parts of the European side of the Mediterranean the Bogue is a common fish, and where it frequents it is in great abundance.

1862, Jonathan Couch, A History of the Fishes of the British Islands, volume I, London: Groombridge and Sons, […], →OCLC, page 225:

(dated) A Mediterranean food fish of the genus Boops, which is a variety of sea bream; a bogue or oxeye.


ball

en-noun

ball (countable and uncountable, plural balls)

→ Cantonese: 波 (bo¹)

→ Japanese: ボール (bōru)

→ Makah: ba·la

→ Yoruba: bọ́ọ̀lù

From Middle English bal, ball, balle, from an unattested Old English *beall, *bealla (“round object, ball”) or Old Norse bǫllr (“a ball”), both from Proto-Germanic *balluz, *ballô (“ball”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰol-n- (“ball, bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to blow, inflate, swell”). Cognate with Old Saxon ball, Dutch bal, Old High German bal, ballo (German Ball (“ball”); Ballen (“bale”)). Related forms in Romance are borrowings from Germanic. See also balloon, bale.

ампыл

object, generally spherical, used for playing games

туп

ballistics: a solid nonexplosive missile

cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey

The laxative alterative has not this advantage, the aloes, of which it is composed, being extremely bitter, and therefore requiring to be given in the form of a ball.

1842, James White, A compendium of the veterinary art:

(farriery, historical) A large pill, a form in which medicine was given to horses; a bolus.


penguin

→ Assamese: পেঙ্গুইন (peṅguin)

→ Burmese: ပင်ဂွင် (panggwang)

→ Hawaiian: penekuina

→ Japanese: ペンギン (pengin)

→ Khmer: ភេនឃ្វីន (pheinkhviin)

→ Korean: 펭귄 (penggwin)

→ Thai: เพนกวิน (pen-gwîn)

→ Welsh: pengwin

Etymology tree
Proto-Celtic *kʷennom
Proto-Brythonic *penn
Welsh pen?
Proto-Indo-European *weyd-der.?
Proto-Celtic *windos
Proto-Brythonic *gwɨnn
Welsh gwyn?
Proto-Indo-European *peyH-der.
Proto-Indo-European *bʰenǵʰ-influ.?
Latin pinguisder.?
English penguin
Unknown; first attested in the 16th century in reference to the auk of the Northern hemisphere; the word was later applied to the superficially similar birds of the Southern hemisphere (as was woggin). Possibly from Welsh pen (“head”) and gwyn (“white”), or from Latin pinguis (“fat”). See citations and the Wikipedia article.
(nun): Because of the often black-and-white habit, resembling the bird's colors.

etymon

Here are also birds cal'd Pen-gwins (white-head in Welch) like Pigmies walking upright, their finns or wings hanging very orderly downe like sleeves […]

1638, Thomas Herbert, Some Yeares Travels, section I:

Any of several flightless sea birds, of order Sphenisciformes, found in the Southern Hemisphere, marked by their usual upright stance, walking on short legs, and (generally) their stark black and white plumage.


swallow

en-noun

swallow (countable and uncountable, plural swallows)

From Middle English swolowen, swolwen, swolȝen, swelwen, swelȝen, from Old English swelgan, from Proto-West Germanic *swelgan, from Proto-Germanic *swelganą (“to swallow, revel, devour”), from Proto-Indo-European *swelk- (“to gulp”). Cognate with Dutch zwelgen (“to revel, carouse, guzzle”), German schwelgen (“to delight, indulge”), Swedish svälja (“to swallow, gulp”), Icelandic svelgja (“to swallow”), Old English swillan, swilian (“to swill, wash out, gargle”). See also swill.
The noun is from Middle English swelwe, swolwe, from Old English swelh, swelg (“gulf, chasm”) and ġeswelge (“gulf, chasm, abyss, whirlpool”), both from Proto-West Germanic *swelg, *swalgi, from Proto-Germanic *swelgaz, *swalgiz. Cognate with Old English swiliġe (“pit”), Scots swelch, swellie, swallie (“an abyss in the sea, whirpool”), Middle Low German swelch (“whirlpool, eddy”), Dutch zwelg (“gorge, chasm, gullet, throat”), Old Norse svelgr (“whirlpool, current, stream”).

cog

In addition, j-lock shackles can pass through the swallow of a modern genoa track even with a sheet in tension already there, and this is very useful when preparing a sail change on the same tack.

2008, Danilo Fabbroni, Rigging: Rig Your Boat Right for Racing or Cruising:

Blocks are made in a great variety of patterns. All are designed to be used one way. The rope goes through the swallow.

2012, Percy W. Blandford, Practical Knots and Ropework, page 350:

When specifying blocks, excessive friction is avoided by ensuring (a) that the diameter of the sheave is at least twice the circumference of the rope or six times its diameter (preferably more), and (b) that the 'swallow' of the block is substantially wider than the diameter of the rope, to avoid rubbing against the inside of the cheeks.

2012, H.G. Hasler, J.K. McLeod, Practical Junk Rig, page 171:

(nautical) The opening in a pulley block between the sheave and shell through which the rope passes.


maskinonge

en-noun

maskinonge (plural maskinonge or maskinonges)

maskinonge (plural)
maskinonges (plural)


fox

fox (plural foxes or (nonstandard, dialectal) foxen)

foxes (plural)
foxen (dialectal nonstandard plural)

→ Cheyenne: vóhkéso

→ Japanese: フォックス (fokkusu)

→ Maori: pōkiha

From Middle English fox, from Old English fox (“fox”), from Proto-West Germanic *fuhs, from Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz (“fox”), from Proto-Indo-European *púḱsos (“the tailed one”), possibly from *puḱ- (“tail”).
Cognate with Scots fox (“fox”), West Frisian foks (“fox”), Fering-Öömrang North Frisian foos and Sölring and Heligoland fos, Dutch vos (“fox”), Low German vos (“fox”), German Fuchs (“fox”), Icelandic fóa (“fox”), Tocharian B päkā (“tail, chowrie”), Russian пух (pux, “down, fluff”), Sanskrit पुच्छ (púccha) (whence Torwali پوش (pūš, “fox”), Hindi पूंछ (pūñch, “tail”)).

inh

the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog


squash

en-noun

squash (countable and uncountable, plural squashes)

→ Catalan: esquaix

→ Czech: squash

→ Dutch: kwast

Afrikaans: kwas

→ Finnish: squash

→ French: squash

→ Japanese: スカッシュ (sukasshu)

→ Korean: 스쿼시 (seukwosi)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: squash

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: squash

→ Polish: squash

→ Portuguese: squash

→ Russian: сквош (skvoš)

→ Swedish: squash

From Middle English squachen, squatchen, from Old French esquacher, escachier, from Vulgar Latin *excoāctiāre, from Latin ex + coāctāre. Probably influenced by Middle English quashen, quassen, from Old French esquasser, escasser (“to crush, shatter, destroy, break”), from Vulgar Latin *exquassare, from Latin ex- + quassare (“to shatter”) (see quash).

Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall.

1922, Michael Arlen, “3/19/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

(uncountable) A sport played in a walled court with a soft rubber ball and bats like tennis racquets.


squash

squash (countable and uncountable, plural squash or squashes)

Shortening of Narragansett askutasquash (“[a vegetable] eaten green (or raw)”), from askut (“green, raw”) + asquash (“eaten”).

wasawa

plant and its fruit of the genus Cucurbita

Cucurbita maxima
Cucurbita maxima#Translingual

(botany, countable) A plant and its fruit of any of a few species of the genus Cucurbita, or gourd kind.

Cucurbita maxima, including hubbard squash, great winter squash, buttercup squash, and some varieties of pumpkins.

Cucurbita moschata
Cucurbita moschata#Translingual

Cucurbita moschata, butternut squash, Barbary squash, China squash.

Cucurbita pepo
Cucurbita pepo#Translingual

Cucurbita pepo, most pumpkins, acorn squash, summer squash, zucchini.


run

en-verb

run (third-person singular simple present runs, present participle running, simple past ran, past participle run or (nonstandard, colloquial) ran)

runs (present singular third-person)
running (participle present)
ran (past)
run (participle past)
ran (colloquial nonstandard participle past)
run (infinitive)

From Middle English runnen, rennen (“to run”), alteration (due to the past participle runne, runnen,
yronne) of Middle English rinnen (“to run”), from Old English rinnan, iernan (“to run”) and Old Norse rinna (“to run”), both from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną (“to run”) (compare also *rannijaną (“to make run”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH- (“to boil, churn”).
Cognate with Scots rin (“to run”), West Frisian rinne (“to walk, march”), Dutch rennen (“to run, race”), Alemannic German ränne (“to run”), German rennen (“to run, race”), rinnen (“to flow”), Rhein, Danish rende (“to run”), Swedish ränna (“to run”), Swedish rinna (“to flow”), Icelandic renna (“to flow”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian rend (“to run, run after”). See random.

purjehtia myötätuuleen

to sail a boat with the wind coming from behind

the course of true love never did run smooth

you don't miss the water till the well runs dry

you never miss the water till the well runs dry

you never miss the water until the well runs dry

(intransitive) Of fish, to migrate for spawning.

To move swiftly.
Of fish, to migrate for spawning.


run

rise

antonym(s) of “horizontal part of a step”

rise

antonym(s) of “horizontal distance of a set of stairs”


run

The temperature of the water is consequently much higher than in either England or Scotland, and many newly run salmon will be found in early spring in the upper waters of Irish rivers where obstructions exist.

1889, Henry Cholmondeley-Pennell, Fishing: Salmon and Trout, fifth edition, page 185:

It may be very much a metallic appearance as opposed to the silver freshness of a recently run salmon.

1986, Arthur Oglesby, Fly fishing for salmon and sea trout, page 15:

Thus, on almost any day of the year, a fresh-run salmon may be caught legally somewhere in the British Isles.

2005, Rod Sutterby, Malcolm Greenhalgh, Atlantic Salmon: An Illustrated Natural History, page 86:

(of a zoology) Travelled, migrated; having made a migration or a spawning run.


pig

en-noun

pig (countable and uncountable, plural pigs)

Torres Strait Creole: pig

Tok Pisin: pik

→ Abenaki: piks (from "pigs")

→ Malecite-Passamaquoddy: piks (from "pigs")

Pronunciation example of the word Pig in British English.ogg

From Middle English pigge (“pig, pigling”) (originally a term for a young pig, with adult pigs being swyn), apparently from Old English *picga (attested only in compounds, such as picgbrēad (“mast, pig-fodder”)), from Proto-West Germanic *piggō, *puggō (“piglet”). Compare Middle Dutch pogge, puggen, pigge, pegsken (“pigling”), Middle Low German pugge, pûke (“piglet”). Pokorny suggests this root might be somehow related to *bū-, *bew- (“to blow; swell”), which could account for the alternation between "pig" and "big".
A connection to early modern Dutch bigge (contemporary big (“piglet”)), West Frisian bigge (“pigling”), and similar terms in Middle Low German is sometimes proposed, "but the phonology is difficult". Some sources say the words are "almost certainly not" related, others consider a relation "probable, but not certain".
The slang sense of "police officer" is attested since at least 1785.

cuto (Northern Spain - specifically Aragon, La Rioja and Navarra)

even a blind pig can find an acorn once in a while

The man kept a pen with two pigs that he fed everything from carrots to cabbage.

[…]and at the back a rambling courtledge of barns and walls, around which pigs and bare-foot children grunted in loving communion of dirt.

1855, Charles Kingsley, “How Salvation Yeo Slew the King of the Gubbings”, in Westward Ho!: Or, The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, […], volume II, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, page 113:

Any of several mammalian species of the genus Sus, having cloven hooves, bristles and a nose adapted for digging; especially the domesticated animal Sus domesticus.

Weanlings grow into feeder pigs, and feeder pigs grow into slaughter hogs. […] Ultimately the end use for virtually all pigs and hogs is to be slaughtered for the production of pork and other products.

2005 April, Live Swine from Canada, Investigation No. 731-TA-1076 (Final), publication 3766, April 2005, U.S. International Trade Commission, →ISBN, page I-9:

(specifically) A young swine, a piglet (contrasted with a hog, an adult swine).


massasauga

/ˌmasəˈsɔːɡə/

/ˌmæsəˈsɔɡə/

Possibly from the Mississagi River (Ontario, Canada), from French Mississague, Missisague (also Oumisagai, Michisaguek), from Ojibwe misiza:gi: (“inhabitant of the great river mouth, that is, the Mississagi River”). Doublet of Mississauga.

der

I hope in this paper to contribute something to the knowledge of the Prairie Rattlesnake, or Massasauga (Caudisona tergemina).

1887 March, “The Massasauga and Its Habits”, in The American Naturalist, volume XXI, number 3, Salem, Mass.: Essex Institute, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 212:

The Massasauga is emphatically a species of the prairies and their swamps and marshes.

1895, Leonhard [Hess] Stejneger, “The Massasauga. Sistrurus catenatus, (Rafinesque).”, in The Poisonous Snakes of North America. … From the Report of the U.S. National Museum for 1893, pages 337–487. With plates 1–19, and figures 1–70, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 414:

According to the zoologist, the massasaugas were found abroad from mid-April to late October, chiefly during the daylight hours and for an average 197 days annually during the study period.

2010, John E. Werler, James R[ay] Dixon, “Western Massasauga”, in Texas Snakes: Identification, Distribution, and Natural History, Austin, Tx.: University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 407, column 1:

The rattlesnake Sistrurus catenatus (formerly Crotalinus catenatus) in the family Viperidae, found in three subspecies.


rhinoceros

en-noun

rhinoceros (plural rhinoceros or rhinoceroses or (uncommon) rhinocerosses or (nonstandard) rhinoceri or (nonstandard) rhinoceroi or (now rare) rhinocerotes)

rhinoceros (plural)
rhinoceroses (plural)
rhinocerosses (plural uncommon)
rhinoceri (nonstandard plural)
rhinoceroi (nonstandard plural)
rhinocerotes (archaic plural)

/ɹɑɪˈnɔs.ə.ɹəs/

From Latin rhīnocerōs, from Ancient Greek ῥῑνόκερως (rhīnókerōs, “nose-horned”), composed of ῥῑ́ς, ῥῑνός (rhī́s, rhīnós, “nose, of (the) nose”) + κέρας (kéras, “horn”).

Rhinos

cf. also the homophones: RINO, RINOs, Republican(s) In Name Only

Rhinoceros Party English Wikipedia has an article on:Rhinoceros Party

Herein therefore to draw up our determinations beside the several pieces of Scripture mentioning this Animal (which some may well contend to be only meant of the Rhinoceros) we are so far from denying there is any Unicorn at all, that we affirme there are many kinds thereof. In the number of Quadrapedes we will concede no less then five; that is the Indian Oxe, Indian Ass, Rhinoceros, the Oryx, and that which is more eminently termed Monoceros, or Unicornis.

1658, Thomas Brown, “Of Unicorns Horn”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: Or Enquiries Into Very many Received Tenents And commonly Presumed Truths. The Fourth Edition, page 203:

Any of several large herbivorous ungulates native to Africa and Asia of the five extant species in the three extant genera in the family Rhinocerotidae, with thick, gray skin and one or two horns on their snouts.

(paleontology) A member of the superfamily Rhinocerotoidea, including hornless members of the extinct genus Paraceratherium.


calf

en-noun

calf (plural calves or (nonstandard) calfs)

calves (plural)
calfs (nonstandard plural)

From Middle English calf, kælf, kelf, from Old English cælf, ċealf;
also cognate with German Kalb (“calf”), Dutch kalf (“calf”) and Danish kalv (“calf”), from Proto-Germanic *kalbaz, further etymology unknown.

Leather made of the skin of the calf; especially, a fine, light-coloured leather used in bookbinding.

A young deer, elephant, seal, whale or giraffe (also used of some other animals).

دَغْفَل

young deer, elephant, seal or whale (also used of some other animals)

kalv

of other animals, e.g., moose or antelope

1915 (published), 1848 (first written), Elisha Kent Kane, Adrift in the Arctic Ice Pack
Our swell ceases with this wind, and the floes seem disposed to come together again; but the days of winter have passed by, and the interposing calves prevent the apposition of the edges

A chunk of ice broken from a larger glacier, ice shelf, or iceberg.

kalv

chunk of ice broken off of a larger glacier, ice shelf, or iceberg

the Calf of Man


calf

From Middle English calf, kalf, from Old Norse kalfi, possibly derived from the same Germanic root as English calf (“young cow”) (above). Cognate with Icelandic kálfi (“calf of the leg”).

Sure, his calves are a little weak, but the rest of his physique is so overwhelming, he should place high.

1988, Steve Holman, “Christian Conquers Columbus”, in Ironman, 47 (6): 28-34:

The muscle in the back of the leg below the knee.


upeygan

Diceros bicornis
Diceros bicornis#Translingual

(zoology) A borele or two-horned black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis).


rodent

From Latin rōdēns, rōdēnt- (“gnawer; one who gnaws”), present participle of rōdō (“I gnaw”).

uder

(dated, bulletin board system slang, leetspeak, derogatory) A person lacking in maturity, social skills, technical competence or intelligence; lamer.


want

en-noun

want (countable and uncountable, plural wants)

From Middle English wanten (“to lack”), from Old Norse vanta (“to lack”), from Proto-Germanic *wanatōną (“to be wanting, lack”), from *wanô (“lack, deficiency”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“empty”). Cognate with Middle High German wan (“not full, empty”), Middle Dutch wan (“empty, poor”), Old English wana (“want, lack, absence, deficiency”), Latin vanus (“empty”). See wan, wan-.

cog

(UK, mining) A depression in coal strata, hollowed out before the subsequent deposition took place.


mare

Borrowed from Latin mare (“sea”). Doublet of mar and mere.

Kraken Mare (a lake of liquid hydrocarbons on Titan which is slightly larger than the Caspian Sea)

(planetology) On Saturn's moon Titan, any of several lakes which are large expanses of what is thought to be liquid hydrocarbons.


hapuku

(zoology) A large and valuable food fish, Polyprion oxygeneios, in the family Serranidae of New Zealand.


hart

From Middle English hert, from Old English heorot (“stag”), from Proto-West Germanic *herut, from Proto-Germanic *herutaz (compare Dutch hert, German Hirsch, Danish/Norwegian/Swedish hjort), from Pre-Germanic *kerudos, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“horn”).
cognates
Compare Welsh carw (“deer”), Latin cervus (“deer”), cervīx (“nape of the neck”), Lithuanian kárvė (“cow”), Russian коро́ва (koróva, “cow”), Ancient Greek κόρυδος (kórudos, “crested lark”), κορυφή (koruphḗ, “summit, crown of the head”), κορύπτω (korúptō, “to butt with horns”), Avestan 𐬯𐬭𐬏 (srū), 𐬯𐬭𐬎𐬎𐬁 (sruuā, “horn; claw, talon”), Sanskrit शरभ (śarabhá, “mythical antelope”). More at horn.

Coordinate term: hind (the female)

With milke-white Hartes vpon an Iuorie ſled,
Thou ſhalt be drawen amidſt the froſen Pooles,
And ſcale the yſie mountaines lofty tops:
Which with thy beautie will be soone reſolu’d.

c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:

Then, finding Herds of luſtie Deare, / She Huntreſſe-like the Hart purſues; […]

1612, Michael Drayton, “The thirteenth Song”, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great Britaine, […], London: […] H[umphrey] L[ownes] for Mathew Lownes; I[ohn] Browne; I[ohn] Helme; I[ohn] Busbie, published 1613, →OCLC, page 213:

A male deer, especially the male of the red deer after his fifth year.


hun

Clipping of honey with pronunciation spelling.

This corporate love-bombing can serve a hun well, bagging them new downlines and potentially more money (MLMs are renowned for extremely low pay).

2019 July 10, Jessica Lindsay, “Hunzoning is the trend that sees you going from friend to MLM recruit”, in Metro:

Instead of blaming MLM "huns," we should direct our anger at the companies that are knowingly putting so many people in debt and alienating them from their communities.

2024 April 18, Aimee Pearcy, “Why Reddit and TikTok are hating on MLM 'huns'”, in Business Insider:

multi-level marketing
multi-level marketing

(slang) A woman involved in a multi-level marketing scheme, especially one who pushes it on social media.


sarnie

From sarn- (“perhaps from a dialectal pronunciation of the first syllable of sandwich”) + -ie. Alternatively, perhaps a misreading or an intentional dissimilation of samie (i.e. sammie), where the 'm' is mistaken for or replaced with 'rn'.

suffix

perhaps from a dialectal pronunciation of the first syllable of <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">sandwich</i>


brat

en-noun

brat (countable and uncountable, plural brats)

Early Modern English (c. 1500) slang term meaning "beggar's child". Possibly from Scots bratchet (“bitch, hound”). Another possibility is that it was originally a dialectal word, from northern and western England and the Midlands, for a "makeshift or ragged garment," from Old English bratt (“cloak”), which is from a Celtic source (Old Irish brat (“cloak, cloth”)). In the sense "characteristic of a confident and assertive woman", coined by English singer and songwriter Charli XCX in her 2024 album Brat.

coinage

Here are the people and the styles at the DNC that embodied the brat ethos.

2024 August 23, Lauren Bulbin, Annaliese Nurnberg, “The best brat styles of DNC”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-08-23:

Brat is being lazy until 10 P.M., at which point you construct a château using discarded scraps of pleather, finish it by morning, and immediately win the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

2024 August 26, Lena Dunham, “A Guide to Brat Summer”, in The New Yorker, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-08-27:

My favorite touch is how each of her Nike shoes has its own little bow, which is just the perfect amount of brat.

2024 August 27, Brooke LaMantia, “Naomi Osaka Is Having a Brat U.S. Open”, in The Cut, archived from the original on 2024-08-28:

(uncountable, neologism) The qualities possessed by a confident and assertive woman.

an army brat

Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt, Commander of the Fourth Army, was an army “brat,” which means his father was an army officer. But he went into the army from Princeton, not from West Point.

1941 June 5, Gerry Dick, “They Practiced Art of War, Then They Studied It”, in Hope Star, Hope, Arkansas, page 5:

(slang) A child (at any age) of an active member of the military or the diplomatic service.

For the crabby awd dealers in ling, cod, and brats / And the vurgins that tempt us wi' nice maiden skyet...

1843, Thomas Wilson, The Movement^([The Pitman's Pay: And Other Poems]):


brat

Clipping of bratwurst, from German Bratwurst.

There are many people loitering, eating ice cream, talking, eating brats.

2020, Brandon Taylor, Real Life, Daunt Books Originals, page 267:

(informal, Upper Midwestern US) Bratwurst.


brat

(mining) A thin bed of coal mixed with pyrites or carbonate of lime.


wolverine

1619; alteration of earlier wolvering (1574), diminutive of wolver (“ravenous or savage animal; person who behaves like a wolf”) (1593), ultimately from wolf.

“Wish I'd been more polite to that girl,” the sheriff remarked regretfully. “ I ain't had a bite to eat since four o'clock this morning, and I'm hungry as a wolverine. … I know she'd have give me another drink of that old moonshine she has.”

1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter IV, in The Understanding Heart:

A solitary, fierce mammal of the Mustelidae family, Gulo gulo.


cardinal

en-adj

cardinal (comparative more cardinal, superlative most cardinal)

more cardinal (comparative)
most cardinal (superlative)

From Middle French cardinal, from Latin cardinālis (“pertaining to a hinge, hence applied to that on which something turns or depends, important, principal, chief”), from cardin-, cardō (“hinge”) + -ālis, adjectival suffix.

der

a cardinal mark

(nautical) Of or relating to the cardinal directions (north, south, east and west).

главен

of or relating to the cardinal directions


cardinal

en-noun

cardinal (countable and uncountable, plural cardinals)

Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.

1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “Afterglow”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 168:

Any of various species of New-World passerine songbird in the genus Cardinalis, or in the family Cardinalidae more generally, or of similar appearance and once considered to be related to the former; so called because of their red plumage. (See Wikipedia article for taxonomical information.)

кардинал

bird of the genus Cardinalis or family Cardinalidae

The sweet-briar rose with perfume good, / And the violet grows in the Milton wood, / The cardinal red—a queen is she, / But the sweetest flower is Mary Lee.

1844–1857, Marion D. Sullivan (lyrics and music), “Mary Lee: A Romance of the Milton Wood” (sheet music), Boston: Oliver Ditson, page 2, verse 3:

Short for cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), a flowering plant.

Short for cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi), a freshwater fish.


classic

From French classique, from Latin classicus (“relating to the classes of Roman citizenry, especially the highest”), from classis. By surface analysis, class + -ic.

der

The goal of the top horses was to win a Classic (or preferably three, thus claiming the Triple Crown) or the Ascot Gold Cup, […]

2012, Dr Joyce Kay, Professor Wray Vamplew, Encyclopedia of British Horse Racing, page 316:

(horse racing) Any of the British Classic Races, five long-standing Group 1 horse races run during the traditional flat racing season.


passage

From French passager, from Italian passeggiare.

(dressage) A movement in classical dressage, in which the horse performs a very collected, energetic, and elevated trot that has a longer period of suspension between each foot fall than a working trot.


passage

en-verb

passage (third-person singular simple present passages, present participle passaging, simple past and past participle passaged)

passages (present singular third-person)
passaging (participle present)
passaged (participle past)
passaged (past)

After a spring or two, the horse passaged and reared, and lighting on a flat slab of rock which cropped up in the middle of the road, slipped sideways and fell with a loud crash […]

1915, Cunninghame Graham, Hope, page 18:

(intransitive, dressage) To execute a passage movement.