pie-eater

Wiganers do like pies, but the term Pie-eaters is actually an insult, dating back to a pit strike when Wigan miners were starved back to work before their St Helens counterparts, thereby eating humble pie.

2005, The Observer, "Get past the pies and there's a football team", 7 Aug 2005

(derogatory) A person from Wigan in northern England or the surrounding area.


rhotic

[ˈɹəʊ̯.tʰɪk]

Back-formation from rhotacism, coined in 1968 by John C. Wells.

Rhotic speech is common in Ireland, Scotland, much of the United States, Canada, West Country England, and many parts of the north and west of England.

Rhotic (or r-ful) dialects are linguistic relics in England, as shown in Map 7-5. Nonrhotic or r-less dialects have been displacing them since the seventeenth century. Among the linguistically most conservative population in England, represented by the NORMs of the SED, both rhotic and nonrhotic dialects are found throughout the country. The fact that the rhotic dialects are relics is indicated on Map 7-5 not by the predominance of nonrhotic dialects, but by the discontinuity of the regions where rhotic dialects are found. A century or so earlier, they covered even more of the country, and the three regions probably formed part of a continuous network.

1998, J. K. Chambers, Peter Trudgill, Dialectology, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, page 94:

Except for the Southland area, New Zealand English today is non-rhotic (Wells, 1982: 606). Australian, Tristanian and Port Stanley Falkland Islands English are also non-rhotic, as is South African English (except for some people who are native Afrikaans speakers – Wells 1982: 617). This has often been erroneously ascribed (for instance, in Trudgill, 1986a) to the fact that most of England was non-rhotic at the time of the main immigration to New Zealand. It is now obvious that this is not correct at all: of the eighty-four Mobile Unit speakers analysed, an astonishing 92% are rhotic to some degree.

2004, Peter Trudgill, New-Dialect Formation: The Inevitability of Colonial Englishes, Oxford University Press, page 68:

2009, Ingrid Rosenfelder, Rhoticity in educated Jamaican English, Thomas Hoffmann, Licia Siebers, World Englishes – Problems, Properties and Prospects: Selected Papers from the 13th IAWE Conference, John Benjamins Publishing Company,
Contrary to “traditional” descriptions in the literature, Jamaican English cannot be characterized as predominantly rhotic, exhibiting an overall degree of rhoticity of approximately 20 per cent.

(linguistics, of an English accent) That allows the phoneme /ɹ/ even when not followed by a vowel, as in bar (/bɑːɹ/) and bard or barred (/bɑːɹd/); (of an English speaker) who speaks with such an accent.


thorn

From Middle English thorn, þorn, from Old English þorn, from Proto-West Germanic *þorn, from Proto-Germanic *þurnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥nós, from *(s)ter- (“stiff”).
cognates
Near cognates include West Frisian toarn, Low German Doorn, Dutch doorn, German Dorn, Danish and Norwegian torn, Swedish torn, törne, Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽𐌿𐍃 (þaurnus). Further cognates include Old Church Slavonic трънъ (trŭnŭ, “thorn”), Russian тёрн (tjorn), Polish cierń, Kamkata-viri taňi, tai (“thorn”), Sanskrit तृण (tṛ́ṇa, “grass”).

cog

In Old English manuscripts thorn and eth did not have different phonetic values but were used positionally[.]

1985, Robert Burchfield, The English Language, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 175:

See also Etymology of ye (definite article).

A letter of Latin script (capital: Þ, small: þ), borrowed from the futhark; today used only in Icelandic to represent the voiceless dental fricative, but originally used in several early Germanic scripts, including Old English where it represented the dental fricatives that are today written th (Old English did not have phonemic voicing distinctions for fricatives).


tabernacle

From Middle English tabernacle (14th century), from Old French tabernacle, from Latin tabernāculum (“tent, booth, shed”), the diminutive of taberna (“hut, shed”).

der

Any portable shrine used in heathen or idolatrous worship.

alttari

any portable shrine used in heathen or idolatrous worship

It was over these innocent necessary precautions that the local committees always showed their meanness. They liked giving over only one contribution to the evangelist, but they wanted nothing said about it till they themselves had been taken care of--till the rent of the hall or the cost of building a tabernacle, the heat, the lights, the advertising, and other expenses had been paid.

1927, Sinclair Lewis, chapter 13, in Elmer Gantry:

(originally Methodism) A temporary place of worship, especially a tent, for a tent meeting, as with a venue for revival meetings.

saarnateltta

(by extension) Any house of worship, especially a Mormon meetinghouse.

(figuratively) Any abode or dwelling place, or especially the human body as the temporary dwelling place of the soul, or life.

tomumaja

(nautical) A hinged device allowing for the easy folding of a mast 90 degrees from perpendicular, as for transporting the boat on a trailer, or passing under a bridge.

mastonkaatolaite

nautical: device allowing for the easy folding of a mast


Douglas

en-proper noun

Douglas (countable and uncountable, plural Douglases)

desc

→ Translingual: douglasi, douglasii (learned)

From a place name, Scottish Gaelic dubh (“black”) + glais (“stream”).

(countable) A male given name transferred from the surname.


pee

They have writing samples and examine the back loops of pees and the crosses of tees.

It said, in a whispering, buzzing voice, "Gee-you-ess-ess-ay-dash-em-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-em-eye-en-gee-oh-dash-pee-eye-pee-dash-pee-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-pee-eye-en-gee-oh."

2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170:

The name of the Latin-script letter P/p.


adhere

en-verb

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

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

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

cog

(intransitive, Scots law) To affirm a judgment.


Venus

From Middle English Venus, from Latin Venus.


Ezra

en-proper noun

Ezra (countable and uncountable, plural Ezras)

From the Biblical Hebrew עֶזְרָא (ʿezrā). Doublet of Esdras.

以士拉书

Ī-sê̤ṳ-lá-cṳ̆

A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.


ren

Learned borrowing from Egyptian rn, r:n-A2

For the Ren did not belong to the man, but came out of the Celestial Waters to enter an infant in the hour of his birth and might not stir again until it was time to go back.

(Egyptian mythology) One’s name, as part of the soul in ancient Egyptian mythology.


Big Ben

Ben Caunt
Benjamin Hall, 1st Baron Llanover
Big Ben

Disputed, possibly after Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw the installation of the Great Bell, or after English boxer Ben Caunt.

Houses of Parliament
Houses of Parliament

The hour bell in the Elizabeth Tower (formerly known as the Clock Tower), adjacent to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, United Kingdom.


Polynesian

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

A language group spoken by these people.


World War I

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

第１次世界大戦

だいいちじせかいたいせん


Aaron

/or Celtic languages; it is pronounced /

From Latin Aaron, from Ancient Greek Ἀαρών (Aarṓn), from Hebrew אַהֲרֹן (ʾAhărōn), of unknown meaning, possibly meaning “bearer of martyrs”, or perhaps also, or instead, related to the Ancient Egyptian ꜥḥꜣ rw (“warrior lion”), though it has been suggested to also mean “elevated”, “exalted” or “high mountain”. Doublet of Harun.

- - - the Junior Prom with boys whose names are right out of the grade-school reader, not Aaron and Arnold and Marvin, but Johnny and Billy and Jimmy and Tod. Not Portnoy or Pincus, but Smith and Jones and Brown!

1969, Philip Roth, Portnoy's Complaint, Random House, published 2002, page 145:


Alton

From Old English ǣwell (“river source”) + tūn (“settlement, town”).

...because I have learned something about cartoons from Alton Packard. There are two things about Mr Packard that I keep turning over in my mind. One is that his name sounds like Alton Parker, onetime presidential candidate, and the other is that, to me at least, he looks a little bit like Woodrow Wilson.

1920 The Lyceum Magazine, editor Ralph Albert Parlette, Volume 30, page 15


Afar

A Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti.


Afar

[...] ethnic groups, the Afars. The majority of the Somali-speaking Issas, the other main group, do support President Hassan Gouled and his RPP, though the Prime Minister, Barkat Gourad is an Afar himself.

Shortly thereafter he broke with Aref and supported independence. Aref was an Afar, and Gouled came from the Issa ethnic group, which for years had been at odds with the Afars.

1995, Neil A. Hamilton, Founders of Modern Nations: A Biographical Dictionary:

A member of the people who speak this language and reside in these regions.


Blackfoot

en-noun

Blackfoot (plural Blackfoots or Blackfoot or Blackfeet)

Blackfoots (plural)
Blackfoot (plural)
Blackfeet (plural)

Blackfoot (disambiguation)
Blackfoot Confederacy

A member of a North American confederacy of several tribes.


Blackfoot

The Algonquian language of these people.

A city, the county seat of Bingham County, Idaho, United States.


Jesus

head

Jesus (plural (of male given name) Jesuses or Jesi)

/ˈd͡ʒiːˌzʌs/

From Middle English Jhesus, Iesus, from Latin Iēsūs, from Ancient Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs), from Biblical Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ (yēšū́aʿ), a contracted form of יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (yəhōšúaʿ, “Joshua”). The form יֵשׁוּעַ (yēšū́aʿ) is attested in some of the later books of the Hebrew Bible (Ezra–Nehemiah), and translated as Jeshua or Yeshua in some English editions (the former appearing in the King James Version). The Greek texts make no distinction between Jesus and Joshua, referring to them both as Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs). In the Wycliffe Bible (Middle English), the forms used are Jhesus and Jhesu.

Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary

Frensham opened the door and called a name that sounded like 'Haysus'. Brandy was brought and various other bottles and decanters. When the manservant had gone, Frensham said, 'Odd, aren't they, the Spanish? Calling a boy Jesus.'

1971, Ruth Rendell, No More Dying Then, Random House, published 2009, →ISBN, page 195:

A male given name from Spanish in Spanish culture; an anglicized spelling of Jesús.

Jesus son of Sirach wrote the "Wisdom of Sirach"

A male given name from Aramaic of Semitic origin.


Farsi

Apparently first used widely in English in the late 1960s or early 1970s. From Persian فارسی (fârsi), meaning "relating to Fars", the Arabicized form of the name of the province of Pars (Early Classical Persian پارس (pārs)) which was adopted in Iran following the Arab conquest of Persia in the 7th century. The sense for the hijra argot is from Hindi फ़ारसी (fārsī) from the same word.

That the Farsi or Persian is not a language derived from the Pehlevi, but a collateral and independent tongue, seems to be sufficiently certain.

1820, William Erskine, “On the sacred books and religion of the Parsis”, in Transactions of the Literary Society of Bombay, volume II, page 315:

In July 1984, Radio Iran Toilers began broadcasting in Farsi from Afghanistan; by the end of 1988 it was transmitting twenty-one hours a week.

1991, Richard Felix Staar, Foreign Policies of the Soviet Union, page 91:

The method of writing Farsi is logical, although reading can be trickier, as one has to guess at the unwritten consonants of unfamiliar words.

1999, Maria O'Shea, Culture shock! Iran, page 75:

We chatted away in Farsi.

2001, Dan Baumann, Imprisoned in Iran: Love's Victory Over Fear, page 20:

For instance, in Farsi pošt means 'back' (noun) as in pošt=am dard mikonad 'my back hurts' […]

2009, Vit Bubenik, "The rise and development of the possessive construction in Middle Iranian with parallels in Albanian", page 97 in Grammatical Change in Indo-European Languages, Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 305


Adi

A diminutive of the male given names Aditya or Adit

A diminutive of the female given name Aditi


Chamorro

/t͡ʃəˈmɒɹəʊ/

/t͡ʃəˈmɔɹoʊ/

An Austronesian language spoken by the indigenous native islanders of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam.


Inuktitut

Transliteration of Inuktitut ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ (inoktitot, “like the Inuit”).

translit

I can hear a swell of laughter and boisterous merriment in Inuktitut.

2018, Tanya Tagaq, Split Tooth, And Other Stories (2023), page 46:


Papago

Borrowed from Spanish Pápago, itself from O'odham Ba꞉bawĭkoʼa (“they eat tepary beans”).

der

In the valley of the Gila and on its tributaries from the northeast are the Pimas, Maricopas, and Papagos.

1895, J[ohn] W[esley] Powell, chapter I, in Canyons of the Colorado, Meadville, PA: Flood & Vincent; republished as The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons, New York: Dover, 1961, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 24:

(historical) A Uto-Aztecan people of southern Arizona and Sonora in northern Mexico. Today they are known as the Tohono O'odham ("the Desert People").


Papiamento

From Papiamentu Papiamento. Compare Portuguese papeamento (“chatter”).

Alternative form of Papiamentu (“creole language”)


America

→ Japanese: アメリカ

→ Malay: Amerika

→ Tokelauan: Amelika

/əˈmɛɹ.ɪ.kə/

/əˈmɛɹ.ə.kə/

/əˈmɛɹ.ɪ.kɔː/

Amerigo Vespucci
Martin Waldseemüller
Naming of the Americas
Richard Amerike

Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *amalaz
Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ-
Proto-Indo-European *-s
Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs
Proto-Celtic *rīxsbor.
Proto-Germanic *rīks
Proto-Germanic *Amalarīksder.
Proto-Indo-European *ḱey-
Proto-Indo-European *-mos
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóymos
Proto-Indo-European *tḱóymos
Proto-Germanic *haimaz
Proto-Germanic *rīks
Proto-Germanic *Haimarīksder.?
Italian Amerigoder.
New Latin Americalbor.
English America
Learned borrowing from New Latin America, feminine Latinized form of the Italian first name of Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512). Amerigo is an Italian name derived from a Germanic language and is etymologically related to Henry and Emmerich. The earliest known use of America for the (South) American continent is on a 1507 map by Martin Waldseemüller; see Naming of the Americas for more.
Although this is the most widely accepted derivation, it has also been suggested that it could originate from the name of the Amerrisque mountains in Nicaragua (from Mayan), and another disputed theory is that it derives from the surname of Richard Amerike (1440–1503), whose surname is an anglicised form of Welsh ap Meurig (“son of Meurig”), from Old Welsh Mouric, which could be a rendition of Latin Mauritius (compare Maurice).


frog

From frog legs, stereotypical food of the French. Compare French rosbif (“English person”), from roast beef, corresponding term for the English, likewise based on stereotypical food; and Kraut for Germans.

(Canada, offensive) A French-speaking person from Quebec.


advise

en-verb

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

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

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

inh

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


Amoy

Latin: amoyensis

From the Postal Romanization of Hokkien 廈門／厦门 (Ēe-mûi), specifically the Zhangzhou Hokkien dialect.


Luganda

/luːˈɡɑːndə/

Then it dawned on her. He did not know any Luganda. All along he had not understood a word she had said.

2020, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, The First Woman, Oneworld Publications, page 48:

A Bantu language spoken mostly in Uganda.


Sepedi

a dialect of the Northern Sotho language.


Mohican

From their self-designation in Mahican [Term?] (literally “people of the estuary”).

bor

The Mohican are an Algonquian-speaking people.

An indigenous people of New England; the Mohicans.


Mohican

(British) A hairstyle where both sides are shaved, with the hair in the centre kept long and made to stand on end.


Romany

Alternative form of Romani (the Indo-Aryan language of this people).


Sranan

Sranan Tongo, the English-based creole of Suriname.


Teresa

First recorded as the name of a fourth-century Spanish saint. Of obscure origin; suggestions include Therasia or Thera, ancient name of the Greek island Thira.

My friends call me Terry. My husband always used my full name, Teresa. He said it made him feel like he was married to a foreign woman.

1980, Laura Furman, The Glass House, a Novella and Stories., Viking Press, →ISBN, page 76:

Cynthia and Melinda, reduced to Cindy and Mindy, as Carella had dreaded would happen from the moment she named them. Her older daughter had fared better. Tess, modern and sleek for Teresa, which conjured up cobblestoned streets in a mountain village in Potenza.

1999, Ed McBain, The Big Bad City, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 139:

A female given name from Ancient Greek, the Spanish and Italian form of Theresa.


katakana

en-noun

katakana (countable and uncountable, plural katakana or katakanas)

/ˌkætəˈkænə/

/ˌkætəˈkɑːnə/

/ˌkɑtəˈkɑːnə/

(uncountable) A Japanese syllabary used when writing words borrowed from foreign languages other than Chinese, specific names of plants and animals and other jargon, onomatopoeia, or to emphasize a word or phrase. Also used to write the Ainu language.


Xhosa

Xhosa (countable and uncountable, plural Xhosas or Xhosa)

Borrowed from Xhosa (ísí)Xhosa (“Xhosa language”) and (úḿ)Xhosa (“Xhosa person”), where the sequence xh denotes a click (/ˈǁʰoːsa/):
*
 Audio: (file)

Xhosa - English & English - Xhosa Translator at Albion College

(uncountable) The language of these people, a Bantu language related to Zulu.


Romansch

Borrowed from Romansch romansch, romontsch, rumantsch et al., from Medieval Latin rōmānicē, from Vulgar Latin rōmānicē (“in the Roman manner; in a Romance language”, adverb), from Latin rōmānicus. Perhaps influenced by the Germanic suffix seen in English as -ish (German -isch, -sch). Doublet of romance.

der

Romansch (Ger. Churwalsch, from the town of Chur), a name applied to the Romance dialect, or rather agglomeration of cognate dialects, spoken from the Grisons to Friuli on the Adriatic. ]

[ 1892, Chambers's Encyclopædia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge: New Edition: Vol. VIII.: Peasant to Roumelia, p. 779, s.v. Romansch

(strict sense) A Rhaeto-Romance language (or dialect continuum) spoken in the Graubünden/Grisons canton of Switzerland; it is one of the four official languages of Switzerland.


Sotho

From Sotho, from Sotho -sotho, from Sotho motho.

A group of closely related Bantu lects spoken in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, and Zambia.

(specifically) Sesotho (“the language”) (Southern Sotho).


Sotho

A Mosotho (“person”); a member of the Basotho (“people”).


Aymara

From Spanish aymara, possibly from Aymara or a Quechuan language. Attested in English since the mid 18th century.

In Potosi, Aymara is spoken in the Llica region, located north of the saltpan, and in the provinces comprising the region known as Norte de Potosi

1988, Xavier Albó, “Bilingualism in Bolivia”, in Christina Bratt Paulston, editor, International Handbook of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education, page 97:


Lombard

en-proper noun

Lombard (countable and uncountable, plural Lombards)

From Middle English Lombard, Lumbard, borrowed from Old French Lombard, Lombart (“a Lombard”), from Late Latin langobardus, longobardus (“a Lombard”), from Germanic, derived from the Proto-Germanic elements *langaz + *bardaz; equivalent to long + beard. Some sources derive the second element instead from Proto-Germanic *bardǭ, *barduz (“axe”), related to German Barte (“axe”). Doublet of Langobard. Compare longbeard. Compare with Old English Langbeardas (“Lombards”).

A Romance language spoken in northern Italy and southern Switzerland.

Broadwater County
Broadwater County#English

A ghost town in Broadwater County, Montana, United States, named after A. G. Lombard.


Tswana

From Tswana Tswana, the stem of Motswana/Batswana/Setswana. See Botswana for more.

A Bantu people living in Botswana and South Africa.


Tswana

The Bantu language of these people; Setswana.


Amerindian

en-adj

Amerindian (comparative more Amerindian, superlative most Amerindian)

more Amerindian (comparative)
most Amerindian (superlative)

/ˌæməˈɹɪndɪən/

/ˌæməɹˈɪndiən/

Blend of American + Indian, attested since about 1900.

The Book of Mormon as Amerindian Apocalypse


Amerindian

/ˌæməˈɹɪndɪən/

/ˌæməɹˈɪndiən/

The Amerindians of South America; female Amerindians in Early Modern Spanish theater.


Asturian

The winning entry was a poem written in Asturian, one of the first such in Asturian literature.

2002, M. Teresa Turell, Multilingualism in Spain, page 167:

In Asturias/Asturies 18.3% of the respondents said they spoke Asturian always or most of the time with friends[…]

2007, Paolo Coluzzi, Minority language planning and micronationalism in Italy, page 272:

A Romance language spoken in Asturias, Spain.

阿斯图里亚斯语

Āsītúlǐyǎsī yǔ


Kongo

A Bantu language (or family of languages) of Central Africa.


Maya

Borrowed from Spanish maya, from Yucatec Maya mayab (“flat”), a self-designation of the northern Maya for themselves, in the form maya’ found in compounds and phrases e.g. maya’ wíinik (“Maya man”).


Maya

From Maria, ultimately from Hebrew, and from Maia, from Latin.

When her little friends asked her what her name was, her father replied that it was Conchita - his diminutive for Maria de la Concepción. "Con-what?" they would ask again, aware, apparently, that con in French is a fool, an idiot. So her parents started calling her Maria, which from the little girl's lips soon began to sound like Maya. "Maya!" exclaimed her father. "It's perfect. It means the greatest illusion on earth." So Maya it was from then on - Maya Walter.

1988, Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington, Picasso, Creator and Destroyer, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 240:

A female given name from Hebrew of modern usage.


Maya

Transliteration of Sanskrit माया (māyā).

Eventually, Pran and Savita decided by correspondence on Maya. Its two simple syllables meant, among other things: the goddess Lakshmi, illusion, fascination, art, the goddess Durga, kindness, and the name of the mother of Buddha. It also meant: ignorance, delusion, fraud, guile, and hypocrisy; but no one who named their daughter Maya ever paid any attention to those pejorative possibilities.
- - - 'Why ever not, Ma?' said Meenakshi.'It's a very Bengali name, a very nice name.'

1993, Vikram Seth, A Suitable Boy, Phoenix House, →ISBN, page 891:

A female given name from Sanskrit used in India.


Manx

Altered from Maniske, from assumed Old Norse *manskr, an adjectival form of Mǫn (“Isle of Man”), from Old Irish Mana; compare with Norwegian Bokmål mansk.
Also influenced by Manx Manninagh, an adjectival form of Mannin (“Isle of Man”), Isle of Man; cf Scottish Gaelic Manainneach and Irish Manannach.

(uncountable) A Goidelic language spoken on the Isle of Man.

մեներեն

a Goidelic language spoken on the Isle of Man

the long-haired version of the Manx cat breed


anglo

I'm not an anglo: my grandparents are from Lithuania.

(Southwestern US, informal, sometimes offensive) A North American, especially a white one (regardless of actual ethnicity), whose native language is English (as opposed to Americans who have another native language).


African

Attested as a noun in early New English Aphricane, Africans (plural), Middle English as Affrican, Aufrican and Old English as Africanas (“Africans”) (only plural). From Latin Āfricānae, from Āfricānus, from Āfricus.
The adjective appears in the 16th century, as Affricane, Africane, African.
Latin Āfricus is from Āfri (singular Āfer), the name of an ancient people of North Africa (near Carthage, in modern Tunisia), with the suffix -icus. Africānus is formed by addition of the -ānus suffix.

Africans constitute significantly growing populations not only in major urban centers such as New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, and Atlanta but also in small and midsize cities in states such as Ohio and Maine.

2007, African Immigrant Religions in America, →ISBN:

But new research suggests another possibility: all Africans may have ancestry from “West Eurasian” populations which moved back into Africa after the “Out of Africa” event ~50,000 years ago.[…]

2019, Razib Khan, Arabia between Africa and Eurasia:

A native of Africa; also one ethnologically belonging to an African race.


nun

Borrowed from the letter’s name in the respective language. Doublet of nu.

The fourteenth letter of many Semitic alphabets/abjads (Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and others).


Apache

From American Spanish apache, most likely from Zuni ˀa˙paču (“Navajos”), or possibly from the Yavapai word ʔpačə, meaning "people". The web server software was named to honor the Apache people, although much has been made of the fact that its design was "patchy" (constructed by assembling software patches). See Apache HTTP Server § Name.

The group of languages used by any of several Athabascan-speaking peoples of the American southwest excluding Navajo, i.e. Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Plains Apache, or Western Apache.

Apache, a town in Oklahoma, United States.


Apache

Away up at the sources of the Gila, where the pines and cedars stand and where creeks and valleys are found, is a part of the Apache land.

Any of several Athabascan-speaking peoples of the American southwest excluding Navajo, i.e., Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Plains Apache, or Western Apache.


Scottish

From Middle English Scottich, from Old English Sċyttisċ, equivalent to Scot + -ish. Compare West Frisian Skotsk (“Scottish”), Dutch Schots (“Scottish”), German schottisch (“Scottish”), Danish skotsk (“Scottish”), Icelandic skoskur (“Scottish”). Doublet of Scotch and Scot.

(uncountable) short for Scottish English, the varieties of English spoken in Scotland.


tri-

(chemistry) Used in combination with a known element name (e.g. 'tri-silicon') to designate an unknown element that would reside three periods lower than the known element on a Mendeleev-type periodic table. See Mendeleev's predicted elements.


Serbo-Croatian

/ˌsɜː(ɹ)bəʊkɹəʊˈeɪʃən/

The South Slavic language of which Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian are literary standards.


Tanya

Borrowed in the twentieth century from the Russian pet form Та́ня (Tánja) of Татья́на (Tatʹjána, “Tatiana”).

“Did Tanya... why, by the way, was she named Tanya? It's not a Southern name, is it?” “No,” said Fanny, “it's as Russian as Vladimir. But only a few people ever pronounced it correctly. I always did. Most people said ‘Tan-ya’, like the color tan. She and her mother hated it when that happened, and complained. I suggested they replace the a in Tan with an o, but they preferred to make a lifelong habit of correcting people.”

1989, Alice Walker, The Temple of My Familiar, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, →ISBN, page 298:

A diminutive of the female given name Tatiana, from Russian.


decimalisation

en-noun

decimalisation (usually uncountable, plural decimalisations)

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


Celt

From Latin Celtae (singular Celta) from Ancient Greek Κελτοί (Keltoí).
English Celts is from the 17th century. Until the mid 19th century, /sɛlt/ is the only recorded pronunciation. A consciously archaizing pronunciation /kɛlt/ was advocated during Irish and Welsh nationalism beginning in the 1850s.

(historical) A member of one of the ancient peoples of Western Europe called Celtae by the Romans.


Thatcher's children

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Thatcherism

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

coin

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

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

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

撒切爾主義

political ideology of Thatcher's governments


Thatcherite

en-adj

Thatcherite (comparative more Thatcherite, superlative most Thatcherite)

more Thatcherite (comparative)
most Thatcherite (superlative)

/ˈθæt͡ʃəɹaɪt/

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

named-after

a Thatcherite policy

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

(UK politics) Of or relating to Thatcherism.

He has a Thatcherite outlook on life.


Thatcherite

/ˈθæt͡ʃəɹaɪt/

(UK politics) An advocate of Thatcherism.


shilling

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

look as if one had lost a shilling and found sixpence

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

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

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


Celtic

en-adj

Celtic (comparative more Celtic, superlative most Celtic)

more Celtic (comparative)
most Celtic (superlative)

Borrowed from French celtique or Latin celticus. First attested in the 17th century.


PDD

People Demand Democracy
w:People Demand Democracy

(UK politics) Initialism of People Demand Democracy.


reduce

en-verb

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

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

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

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


Jorge

Derived from Spanish and Portuguese Jorge, from Ancient Greek Γεώργιος (Geṓrgios). Doublet of George.

A male given name from Spanish or Portuguese, equivalent to English George


Adonis

(rare) A male given name from Ancient Greek


tee

* From Middle English [Term?], from Old English te, from Latin te (the name of the letter T).
* (computing): By analogy with a T-shaped pipe that sends fluids in two directions.

The word length, which contains only four sounds l e ng th, is usually spell'd thus, el ee en gee tee aitch.

1773 October, The Monthly Review Or Literary Journal Enlarged:

They have writing samples and examine the back loops of pees and the crosses of tees.

ETA [is spoken] as "ee-tee-ay" instead of "I SPELL Echo Tango Alfa".

2016 CCEB, Communications Instructions Radiotelephone Procedures: ACP125 (G), p. 3-5

The name of the Latin-script letter T/t.


Holy Grail

the Holy Grail (canonical)
Holy Grails (plural)

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

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


Malay

Recorded in English since 1598; from Malay Melayu, from Malayu, a kingdom on Sumatra's eastern coast (today's Jambi), mentioned by the Chinese Monk Yijing as 末羅瑜國 and during the Yuan (1271-1368) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties as 木剌由, 麻里予兒, 巫來由 and 無來由. The oldest known inscriptions in the Malay language were found at Kedukan Bukit and Talang Tuo, both in the vicinity of Palembang in southern Sumatra, and at Kota Kapur on Bangka island west of Sumatra. They are respectively dated 673, 684 and 686. Exonymous derivation from Malayalam മല (mala, “mountain”) has not been demonstrated.

“I heard the Malay fellas talking at the office.”

2008, Preeta Samarasan, Evening is the Whole Day, Fourth Estate, page 124:

Of or relating to the Malays, a people living in Brunei, on the eastern coast of Sumatra, the islands of Bangka and Belitung, the Riau archipelago and the coastal areas of Kalimantan in Indonesia, in most of Malaysia (states where they are politically dominant), in Singapore and in the southernmost provinces of Thailand.

της Μαλαισίας f (tis Malaisías) (genitive of Malaya)


Malay

en-noun

Malay (countable and uncountable, plural Malays)

(countable) A person of Malay ancestry, referring to a diverse group of Austronesian peoples inhabiting the Malay archipelago and Malay peninsula in Southeast Asia.


Malay

(broad sense) The Malay language, an Austronesian language spoken by most Malay people and by others where it is an official language, including under the name Indonesian.

(strict sense) The Malay language, an Austronesian language spoken by most Malay people and by others where it is an official language, excluding the national standard known as Indonesian.


Semitic

From Semite + -ic (18th century), from German semitisch, from Ancient Greek Σήμ (Sḗm), from the Hebrew שֵׁם (Šēm, “Shem”), the name of the eldest son of Noah in biblical tradition (Genesis 5.32, 6.10, 10.21), considered the forefather of the Semitic peoples. Perhaps derived from Akkadian 𒈬 (šumu, literally “name" or "son”). The word was coined and first applied to the Semitic languages by August Ludwig von Schlözer in 1781.

uder

Of or pertaining to a subdivision of Afroasiatic Semitic languages: Amharic, Arabic, Aramaic, Syriac, Akkadian, Hebrew, Maltese, Tigrigna, Phoenician etc.

semitik

pertaining to the Semitic subdivision of Afroasiatic languages

Of or pertaining to the Semites; of or pertaining to one or more Semitic peoples.

(biblical) Of or pertaining to the descendants of Shem, the eldest of three sons of Noah.

(in particular) Of or pertaining to the Israeli, Jewish, or Hebrew people.

Thus we trace ever and again the similarities which are to be found among the Semitic religions.

1893, George Thomas Bettany, Mohammedanism and Other Religions of Mediterranean Countries, page 45:

The Semitic religions (Christianity and Islam) are nationally honored in much of Africa.

2011, Makau Mutua, Human Rights: A Political and Cultural Critique, page 114:

In contrast to these Semitic religions some religions of Indian origin like Buddhism and Jainism, are pacifist to the extent of banning the killing of animals even for food.

2005, Xavier William, World Religions, True Beliefs and New Age Spirituality, page 45:

Of or pertaining to any of the religions which originated among the Semites; Abrahamic.

On the other hand, scholars say that the Philistines were an Indo-European people not related to the Semitic Palestinians.

2008, Gary A. Tobin, The Trouble with Textbooks, page 93:

For quotations using this term, see Citations:Semitic.


Joe

Short form (diminutive form) of various names beginning with Jo..., particularly the male names Joseph and, less often, Joel, Josiah and Josias. The spelling Jo is used more often for diminutives of similar female names.

"With a name like Joe," Joe always said, "I had to open a bar and grill, just so I could put up a sign saying 'Joe's Bar and Grill'."

1981 Orson Scott Card, Second Movement, Nebula Winners: Science Fiction Writers of America, Harper&Row, 1981, page 207

A diminutive of the male given names Joseph, Josiah, Joel, or Josias.

(rare) Alternative form of Jo: a diminutive of various female given names.


Wallis

en-proper noun

Wallis (countable and uncountable, plural Wallises)

* (surname): The surname is an Old English byname for a Welshman or Breton, from Old French waleis (“foreign”). The Welsh hamlet may be derived from this.


Uri

A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.


Xavier

/ɪɡˈzeɪ.vɪə/

Toponymic surname of a 16th-century saint born in the Kingdom of Navarre (now partially placed in Spain), Francis de Xavier, from a place name in the Kingdom of Navarre, originally from Basque Xabier. Doublet of Echeverría.

"Full name please." "Maurice Xavier Wu." "Where did you get the Xavier?" "My father was a missionary," he said.

1976, Don DeLillo, Ratner's Star, Knopf, →ISBN, page 337:

'I keep telling you to call me Xavier,' he interjected silkily, aware that her reluctance to do so intrigued him. 'Xavier,' Laura agreed, and then hesitated. How could his name be so...so...enticing? Because it was foreign to her lips―lingering there like the juice of a fruit she had never tasted before? Or because it was impossible to say without first softening your voice?

2007, Sharon Kendrick, The Sheikh's English Bride, Harlequin, →ISBN, page 60:

A male given name from Spanish [in turn from Basque].


George

→ Arabic: جورج (jorj)

→ Cebuano: George

→ Cantonese: 佐治 (zo2 zi6)

→ Chinese: 喬治／乔治 (Qiáozhì)

→ Hawaiian: Keoki

→ Japanese: ジョージ (Jōji)

→ Korean: 조지 (Joji)

→ Maori: Hōri
→ English: hori

→ Persian: جورج (jorj)

→ Swedish: George

Name of an early saint, from Middle English George, from Latin Geōrgius, from Ancient Greek Γεώργῐος (Geṓrgios), from γεωργός (geōrgós, “farmer, earth worker”), from γῆ (gê, “earth”) (combining form γεω- (geō-)) + ἔργον (érgon, “work”) Doublet of Jorge and Geevarghese.
The aircraft autopilot sense is probably from George DeBeeson, who patented an early (1931) autopilot system, and/or a reference to the expression let George do it. The Pullman porter sense derives from George Pullman, who hired Black people to staff his sleeping cars, and the patrons of the service seeing the Black people as servants of George Porter, much like how an enslaved person was named after the enslaver.

Our ancient word of courage faire saint George / Inspire vs with the spleene of fierie Dragons,

c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii], page 203:

George and Charles are unlucky in this respect; they have no diminutives, and what a mouthful of monosyllables they are! names royal too, and therefore unshortened. A king must be of a very rare class who could afford to be called by shorthand;

1830, Mary Russell Mitford, Our Village: Fourth Series: Cottage Names::

George... don't do that!

Roy Davis Stubbs, Eatonton, Judge. Son of Robert D. and Maud (Middleton) Stubbs. [...] Married Miss George Smith Feb. 14, 1918 in Knoxville, Tenn.

1925, [US state of] Georgia's Official Register, page 100:

2004, George Sargent Janes Leubuscher, Douglas W. Patton, A Girl Named George: My First Hundred Years

A diminutive of the female given names Georgina or Georgia; also used in the conjoined name George Ann(e).


Socrates

From Ancient Greek Σωκράτης (Sōkrátēs). Doublet of Sokratis.

A male given name from Ancient Greek of mostly historical use, known after a Greek philosopher.


Geneva

Mentioned in Latin texts as Genava. Probably via a Proto-Celtic *genwā from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénw-eh₂ (“knee”), a derivative of *ǵónu in the sense of a bending river or estuary, possibly akin to Genoa.

/d͡ʒəˈniːvə/

A female given name transferred from the place name or confused with Genevieve or Ginevra.


Yankee

First attested in 1683, as a name applied disparagingly by Dutch settlers in Nieuw Amsterdam (New York) to English colonists in neighboring Connecticut. It may be from Dutch Janke (“Little John”), the old diminutive form of the common personal name Jan, or it may be from Jan Kees, the familiar form of "Johan Cornelius", or a variant of Jan Kaas, literally "John Cheese", the generic nickname the Flemings used for Dutchmen. It originally seems to have been applied insultingly to the Dutch, especially freebooters, before they turned around and applied it to the English. In English it was a term of contempt (1750s) before it came to be used as a general term for "a native of New England" (1765). The shortened form Yank was first recorded in reference to "an American" in 1778. James Fenimore Cooper suggested that it was a corruption of "English" via the intermediate form "Yengeese."

...in a short time, a kind of infectious mirth and pride in their bargains took possession of the place, and every one bought something, holding out their purchases to view, and praising them in the words and phraseology of the young yankees, who, finding their own importance, were not slow to avail themselves of it,...

1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXXIX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 194:

(chiefly outside the US) A native or inhabitant of the United States.

[…]so that I couldn't help telling her, sir, that in our country, leastways in Virginia (they say the Yankees are very pert), young people don't speak of their elders so.

1857–1859, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, chapter XXXIV, in The Virginians. A Tale of the Last Century, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1858–1859, →OCLC:

“So, he is the father of Emmie Slattery’s baby,” thought Scarlett. “Oh, well. What else can you expect from a Yankee man and a white-trash girl?”

1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, 1944, →OCLC, part I, page 71:

(chiefly Southern US) A native or inhabitant of the Northern United States.

я́нкі

native or inhabitant of the Northern USA

(chiefly southern Louisiana) An Anglo, as opposed to someone with French ancestry; a native or inhabitant of the rest of the United States.

(baseball) A player for the New York Yankees.

洋基

(baseball) player that plays for the New York Yankees


Thor

Representing Old Norse Þórr. Cognate with Old English Þunor, Swedish Tor.

A male given name from the Germanic languages occasionally borrowed from Scandinavia.


Thomas

Thomas (countable and uncountable, plural Thomases)

→ Hawaiian: Kamaki

→ Maori: Tāmati

→ Scottish Gaelic: Tòmas

Thomas of Bayeux
Thomas the Presbyter
Thomas the Slav
en:Thomas

From Middle English Thomas, from Latin Thōmās (as in the Vulgate), from Ancient Greek Θωμᾶς (Thōmâs), the Biblical Greek transcription of Aramaic תאומא or תאמא (“twin”), the nickname of one of the Twelve Apostles.
In the gospel of John (11:16, 20:24), the Aramaic nickname is also translated into Greek, as δίδυμος (dídumos). Used as a given name since the Middle Ages, e.g. Thomas the Presbyter (7th century), Thomas the Slav (8th century), Thomas of Bayeux (died 1100).
(infidel or doubter): In reference to the doubting Apostle.

"Good,—that's a whack. What's your name?" / "Becky Thatcher. What's yours? Oh, I know. It's Thomas Sawyer." / "That's the name they lick me by. I'm Tom when I'm good. You call me Tom, will you?"

1876, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter VI, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Hartford, Conn.: The American Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 70:

- - - goodness we scarcely have a name for the baby yet now all of you must take a vote, all of you, but let's have a nice simple name like Thomas don't you think I hate elaborate names, do please all of you vote for Thomas..."

1941, Judith Kelly, Marriage is a Private Affair, Harper, published 1944, page 133:

A male given name from Aramaic of biblical origin, popular since the 13th century.


Bern

Abbreviations
* Clipping of Bernard.
* Clipping of Bernadette.
* Clipping of Bernice.

A diminutive of the male given name Bernard, variant of Bernie

A diminutive of the female given names Bernadette or Bernice, variant of Bernie


Joseph

Joseph (countable and uncountable, plural Josephs)

→ Maori: Hohepa

From Middle English Ioseph, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew יוֹסֵף (Yoséf, literally “(God) shall add”); a son of Jacob.

der

I'm going to call him Joseph / or Josephine if it's a girl. / Why? / Because it's a strong name, / Joe, Joseph. / You give a kid a name like Cameron / or Alfred, or something like that, / and they end up wearing glasses / and looking at computers for the rest of their life. / - - - So Joe it is. / He'll turn out strong. Strong and smart.

1998, Steven Herrick, A Place Like This, Univ. of Queensland Press, →ISBN, page 86:


hiragana

en-noun

hiragana (countable and uncountable, plural hiraganas or hiragana)

/ˌhɪ.ɹəˈɡæ.nə/

/ˌhɪ.ɹəˈɡɑː.nə/

(uncountable) The main syllabary for the Japanese language, used to represent native Japanese words, including particles, and when kanji is used, to represent verb and adjective endings.


family name

Yeah, we named her Mildred. It's an old family name. Don't worry, though. She also has four middle names to choose from.

(uncommon) A given name common within a family or given because of another family member.


Piemontese

Language spoken in Piedmont, region in the Northwest of Italy.


Liliana

A female given name from Latin, a Latinate form of Lilian, or borrowed from Italian or Spanish.


Ecclesiastical Latin

The Latin language as spoken, written, and used in the Christian church and in church services.


Vulgar Latin

(linguistics, historical) The Latin language as spoken by the Roman people, as opposed to Classical Latin as written in formal literature. Developed into Proto-Romance and descendant languages in the Early Middle Ages.


flying saucer

From an interview given by amateur pilot Kenneth Arnold who described seeing nine flying objects that were "moving like saucers being skimmed across a lake". The description was not meant to describe the shape of the objects, only how they maneuvered, yet the misinterpretation took hold and gained popularity.

en:Flying saucer (confectionery)
en:flying saucer

Some connect the recent spate of flying saucer sightings with a rumored top-secret military aviation project.

An engram is NOT [...] One of the little green men Americans claim have crashed in flying saucers.

1950 December 6, The Sydney Morning Herald, page 3, column 5:

unidentified flying object
unidentified flying object

(informal) A disc-shaped unidentified flying object or UFO; originally in reference to sightings by aviator Kenneth Arnold in Washington in 1947.

թռչող ափսե

tʻṙčʻoġ apʻse


sad

Alternative form of saad (“Arabic letter”)


unidentified flying object

unidentified flying object (plural unidentified flying objects)

The phrase is usually attributed to US Air Force officer Edward J. Ruppelt (1923–1960) who coined it as a replacement of the terms flying saucer and flying disk.


Lingua Franca Nova

Coined by Dr. C. George Boeree, the inventor of the language.

constructed language
constructed language

A constructed language created by C. George Boeree based on French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Catalan using either Latin or Cyrillic alphabets with grammar based on that of Romance Creoles.


Aeneas

From Latin Aenēās, from Ancient Greek Αἰνείας (Aineías).

And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 9:33-34:


ufo

Reading of UFO as a word in its own right.


Scottish Gaelic

The Gaelic language of Scotland, spoken primarily in the northern and western parts of the country, with important communities in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Scottish Gaelic had its widest influence between 800 and 1200 C.E., as place names throughout Scotland attest.


Abkhazian

The Abkhaz language, spoken in Abkhazia, a region in the Caucasus.


Galego

A language spoken in the region of Galicia in the Northwestern corner of the Spanish peninsula and which is related to Portuguese. It is believed to be the parent language of Portuguese and shares many similarities with it, but typically uses Spanish orthography.


Martha

* From Latin Martha, from Ancient Greek Μάρθα (Mártha), from Aramaic מָרְתָא (mārtā, “mistress”), feminine of מרא (mārā). Doublet of Marfa.
* (humidity chamber): From the use of Martha Stewart-branded storage closets in the construction of early units.

They wanted to call her Helen, but I did put my foot down there. Knowing what her mother and father looked like! I tried hard for Martha or Dorcas or something sensible - but it was no good - waste of breath.

1947, Agatha Christie, The Labours of Hercules:

A female given name from Aramaic of biblical origin.


nomen

From Latin nōmen (“name”), a clipping of nōmen gentīle (“family name”). Doublet of name and noun.

Greeks and other provincials who gained Roman citizenship kept their Greek names as cognomens, to which they added Roman nomens and praenomens—usually those of the ones to whom they owed their citizenship.

1990, Richard N. Longenecker, Galatians (Word Biblical Commentary; 41), Zondervan, →ISBN, page 2:

(historical) The family name of an Ancient Roman, designating their gens.


Brithenig

/bɾɪθɛˈniːɡ/

Compare with Breton brezhoneg and Welsh Brythoneg.

An invented language created by Andrew Smith in 1996, based on the premise of Latin being influenced by Old Celtic.


Beeb

Clipping of BBC; possibly popularised by Peter Sellers, who is said to have called the corporation the Beeb Beeb Ceeb on The Goon Show in the 1950s.


diet

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

der

(Scots law) A criminal proceeding in court.


Zazaki

From Zazaki Zazakî, from Zaza, the name of the people who speak the language.

Zazaki has three sub-dialects: Northern, Central, and Southern Zazaki.

The language spoken by the Zaza people of eastern Turkey.


Nessie

A diminutive of the female given name Agnes.


ward

en-noun

ward (countable and uncountable, plural wards)

→ Swahili: wodi

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

inh

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

Protection, defence.
Land tenure through military service.


Paul

From Latin Paulus, from paulus (“small”). Doublet of Pablo and Paolo.

'He will be christened Paul, my - Mrs Dombey - of course.'
She feebly echoed, 'Of course,' or rather expressed it by the motion of her lips, and closed her eyes again.
'His father's name, Mrs Dombey, and his grandfather's! I wish his grandfather were alive this day! There is some inconvenience in the necessity of writing Junior,' said Mr Dombey, making a fictitious autograph on his knee; 'but it is merely of a private and personal complexion. It doesn't enter into the correspondence of the House. Its signature remains the same.'

1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, “Dombey and Son: Chapter 1”, in Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC:

A male given name from Latin of biblical origin.


White Russian

en-noun

White Russian (countable and uncountable, plural White Russians)

(cocktail): The word white refers to the milk, while Russian refers to the vodka.

Coordinate term: Black Russian

Alternative forms: white Russian, white russian

Few cocktails include milk and cream, so the White Russian is a welcome departure from the norm. Already a popular drink in its own right, the White Russian was made famous by Jeff Bridges’ character in “The Big Lebowski.”

2015, Shane Carley, The Mason Jar Cocktail Companion, Cider Mill Press, →ISBN, page 15:

A cocktail consisting of coffee liqueur, vodka, and milk.

The White Guard colony in Harbin is armed and organized along military lines. At the head of this army of counter-revolution—the shock troops of Japanese imperialism—stands the notorious tsarist bandit, "Ataman" Semionov.

[1935, Leon Dennen, White Guard Terrorists in the U.S.A., New York City: Friends of the Soviet Union, page 18:

(history) A White Guardist, a Russian who not supported the Socialists in the 1917 Revolution and the Russian Civil War (1917–1923), and afterward (e.g. as a White émigré).

белы

White Guardist (Russian Civil War 1917–1923)

(obsolete, uncountable) The Belarusian language.


Alsatian

Even the dogs here are restrained, Jesse thought, unlike the feral Alsatians back home that would sprint barking from the bottom of the garden straight through the house and smash themselves against the inside of the door until their owners appeared and locked them away.

2020, Paul Mendez, Rainbow Milk, Dialogue Books (2021), page 56:

(Australia, New Zealand, British, dated US) A German shepherd dog.


Alsatian

The Germanic lect (language or dialect) spoken in Alsace.


Devon

From Old English Defenas, which meant both "Devonians" and "Devon," exemplifying the common Anglo-Saxon practice of naming a place after the people who inhabit it.

Any of a number of places in US and Canada.

An unincorporated community in New Castle County, Delaware, United States.

New Castle County
New Castle County#English

An unincorporated community in Mingo County, West Virginia, United States.

"Is that his real name?" I asked, touching the corner of the picture. "Devil?"
"I named him Devon James Jordan, but my oldest―my girl Sheena―she had trouble saying Devon and it came out Devil, and that stuck […]"

2013, Diane Chamberlain, Necessary Lies, Pan Books, →ISBN, page 59:

A male given name transferred from the place name, or a variant of Devin.

A female given name transferred from the place name, of modern American usage.


UK Independence Party

A Euro-sceptic political party in the United Kingdom.


UKIP

UK Independence Party
UK Independence Party#English


Yale

Ultimately borrowed from Welsh Iâl, from iâl (“clearing, cultivated upland”). The surname is habitational. The university is named for Elihu Yale, a notable early benefactor.

A university in the eastern United States.

A romanisation scheme originating from Yale University.

A romanisation scheme designed for Mandarin.

Coordinate term: Jyutping

A romanisation scheme designed for Cantonese.

A romanisation scheme designed for Japanese.

A romanisation scheme designed for Korean.

A surname transferred from the place name.


Claudia

Make ſpede to come befoꝛe winter. Eubolus gretith the / and Pudes / and Linus / and Claudia / and all the bꝛethꝛen.

1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, 2 Timothy iiij:[21], folio cclxxxij, verso:

Claudia is really Mummy, but she does not like being Mummy so you have to say Claudia. […] Lisa is a better name. Claudia bangs, like the gong in the hall at Sotleigh. Bang – whoom! Lisa makes a nice silky noise, like streams or rain.

1987, Penelope Lively, chapter 4, in Moon Tiger, New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, published 1988, →ISBN, page 45:

A female given name from Latin, feminine form of Claudius.


Slovakian

A person from Slovakia or of Slovakian descent.


friary

en-adj

friary (comparative more friary, superlative most friary)

more friary (comparative)
most friary (superlative)

From friar (“brother”) in a religious order, from Latin frater (“brother”), from Latin.

Saint Francis with his Friery kowle in a corne-field.

1605, M. N. [pseudonym; William Camden], Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine, […], London: […] G[eorge] E[ld] for Simon Waterson, →OCLC:

Like a friar; relating to friars or to a convent.

mönchisch

like a friar; relating to friars or to a convent


zed

→ Greek: ζεντ (zent)

→ Hindi: ज़ेड (zeḍ)

→ Japanese: ゼット (zetto), ゼッド (zeddo)

→ Korean: 제드 (jedeu)

→ Malay: zed

→ Marathi: जेड (jeḍ)

→ Russian: зэд (zɛd)

→ Thai: แซด (sɛ̂t)

→ Welsh: sèd

From Middle English zed, zedde, zede, from Old French zede, from Late Latin zeta, from Ancient Greek ζῆτα (zêta), from Hebrew ז (zayin) with influence from beta, eta and theta. Letter had rare nonstandard usage in Old English, such as in bezt, where it represented "ts" (compare the German, Italian, and Finnish pronunciation of Z). For the sleep sense, see zzz. The zombie sense comes from the initial letter. Doublet of zeta. Cognate to Spanish zeta, German Zett, French zède, Italian zeta, and perhaps Portuguese zê.

Zzz...With all those ʻzedsʼ I'll be sending you to sleep.

2021, Pat Manser, More Than Words: The Making of the Macquarie Dictionary, Sydney: Macquarie Dictionary, page 298:

The name of the Latin-script letter Z/z.


Abdul

From Arabic عَبْد (ʕabd, “servant [of]”) + ال (al-, “the”).

A male given name from Arabic used by Muslims.


Abelard

From French Abélard, an extension of the Abel with an Germanic suffix -(h)ard. Possibly also regarded a variant of the German Eberhard "boar" + "hard", equivalent to English Everett.

(rare) A male given name from the Germanic languages.


Germanic

/d͡ʒɜːˈmæn.ɪk/

Learned borrowing from Latin germānicus.

(linguistics) The early, undocumented ancestral language from which other Germanic languages developed, such as Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Frisian, English, German, Faroese, Icelandic, Yiddish, Norwegian and Swedish.

Germaans

early language — see also Proto-Germanic


Germanic

Germanic (comparative more Germanic, superlative most Germanic)

more Germanic (comparative)
most Germanic (superlative)

/d͡ʒɜːˈmæn.ɪk/

a Germanic tribe

Relating to the Germanic peoples (such as Germans, Scandinavians or Anglo-Saxons).


Latino sine Flexione

An artificial language based on a simplified version of Latin without inflections; also known as Interlingua


Abner

From Hebrew אבנר (Abner, “father of light”). From אָב (av, “father”) + נור (nur, “light”).


zee

1670s US variant of zed (which see for more), by analogy with other letters such as bee, dee, tee and vee, and standardized by Noah Webster.

Thus first C checks to see if ex and wye are equal. The resulting value of 1 or 0 (true or false) then is compared to the value of zee.

1984 Waite, Prata & Martin, C (Computer Program Language), p. 190


Abdullah

Borrowed from Arabic عَبْدُ ٱللّٰه (ʕabdu llāh, “servant of God”, from عَبْد (ʕabd, “servant”) + اللّٰه (allāh, “God”)).

bor

عَبْدُ ٱللّٰه


koppa

The 18th Ancient Greek letter in early versions of the Greek alphabet, Ϙ (lowercase ϙ).


Blueshirt

(Ireland, derogatory) A member of Ireland's Fine Gael political party, which O'Duffy's followers joined after their own organization was dissolved.


Bosnian

en-noun

Bosnian (countable and uncountable, plural Bosnians)

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina

(uncountable) The standardized variety of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken primarily by Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

gjuha boshnjake

the standardized variety of Serbo-Croatian


shinjitai

Transliteration from Japanese 新(しん)字(じ)体(たい) (shinjitai).

Coordinate term: kyūjitai

However, when a traditional “correct” radical has been obscured by the postwar adoption of a simplified form (shinjitai), that radical is simply ignored.

1992, The Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese, volume 26, issue 1, page 47:

The simplified form of Japanese kanji used after 1947.


ess

1998, Ricardo Corona, "These Esses" ("Eses esses"), in Other Shores (Outras Praias), translated by Ricardo Corona & Charles Perrone
these esses / change in design / and senses themselves / $ // it's as if / the ess / were the sounds / of success

I have drunk en-ee-cee-tee-ay-ar from the ef-ell-oh-doubleyou-ee-ar-ess in his gee-ay-ar-dee-ee-en many a time.

2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170:

The name of the Latin-script letter S/s.


Kashmiri

The Dardic Indo-Aryan language spoken in Kashmir.


Hannah

en-proper noun

Hannah (countable and uncountable, plural Hannahs)

From previous romanizations of Hebrew חַנָּה (Ḥanâ), chiefly for the mother of Samuel, from חַנָּה (ḥanâ, “grace, gracious, graced with child”). As a Wren with the Royal Marines, after Hannah Snell (1723–1792) who disguised herself as a man to serve in the British military. Doublet of Ann, Anne, Anna, and Ana.

"What about Hannah Schreiber?"
He smiled, flashing some gold in his mouth. "How do you like that name? She was only a girl, but she had an old lady's name. - - -

1959, Philip Roth, Goodbye, Columbus, and Five Short Stories, Houghton Mifflin, published 1959, page 116:

She could buy pretty clothes for a girl and plait her hair with ribbons. And she could call her a nice, old-fashioned, middle-class name like Sarah or Emma or Hannah.

2002, Kate Atkinson, Not the End of the World, Doubleday, →ISBN, page 33:

I wish it were like the movies, the name something silly, CanDee or Bambie, something you could roll your eyes at. Misti with two hearts over the I's. But it's Hannah, which is a real woman, presumably like me.

2012, Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl, Phoenix, published 2013, →ISBN, page 77:


tribble

Probably invented for alliteration with trouble; the creatures first appeared in an episode called "The Trouble with Tribbles".

Scales have proliferated like tribbles in quadra-triticale: just intonations, equal temperaments, scales based on overtones, scales generated from a single interval or pair of intervals, scales without octaves, scales arising from arcane mathematical formulas, scales that reflect cosmological or religious structures, scales that "come from the heart."

1998, William A. Sethares, Tuning, Timbre, Spectrum, Scale, page 49:

The Hyper-Producing Playwrights of Edmondton: Or Why Alberta’s Capital Breeds New Plays Like Tribbles.

2008, Robin C. Whittaker, editor, Hot Thespian Action!, page 569:

They were like tribbles, multiplying by the dozens, cackling, giggling their maniacal joy at the game.

2010, Dakota Cassidy, chapter 19, in Accidentally Demonic:

They breed like tribbles, but at least they’re not terrestrial.

2015, Zanzibar 7. Schwarzenegger, Veneri Verbum, page 19:

A fictional alien creature in Star Trek, a fast-breeding, cooing ball of fur.


World War II

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

מִלְחֶמֶת הָעוֹלָם הַשְּׁנִיָּה \ מלחמת העולם השנייה

Great Patriotic War

primarily in a Soviet or Russian context


Tajiki

The dialect of the Persian language spoken in Central Asia, especially in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.


Texas

From Spanish Texas (also Tejas), from Hasinai Caddo táyshaʔ (“friend, ally”), used to refer to the Caddo nation.

Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming

American Samoa · Guam · Northern Mariana Islands · Puerto Rico · United States minor outlying islands · United States Virgin Islands

(rare) A unisex given name transferred from the place name.


Chumash

From Ineseño čʰumaš (“the Island Chumash people”).


Tigrinya

/tɪˈɡɹiːnjə/

From Tigrinya ትግርኛ (təgrəñña). The spelling Tigrigna came via Italian.

A Semitic language of Eritrea and Ethiopia. It is written in the Ge'ez alphabet.

提格利尼亚语

tígélìníyàyǔ


Yamato

From Japanese 大和 (Yamato), itself of uncertain derivation, but likely related to 山 (yama, “mountains”). See Proto-Japonic *yamatə.


Ave Maria

/ˈɑːveɪ̯ məˈɹiːə/

From Middle English Ave Maria, Ave Marie, Ave Mary(e), from Latin Avē Marīa.

Hail Mary (Catholic prayer, part of the rosary)


Faroese

/ˌfɛəɹəʊˈiːz/

From Faroe + -ese, from Faroese Føroyar.

Of or pertaining to the Faroe Islands, Faroese people or language.

ֆարերյան

of or pertaining to the Faroe Islands, Faroese people or language


Faroese

/ˌfɛəɹəʊˈiːz/

A person from the Faroe Islands; a Faroe Islander.


Faroese

/ˌfɛəɹəʊˈiːz/

The language of the Faroe Islands, closely related to Icelandic, and more distantly to Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish.


Hettie

A variant spelling of Hetty, diminutive of the female given names Henrietta, Esther and Hester.


Ryan

en-proper noun

Ryan (countable and uncountable, plural Ryans)

Bryan

linguistically unrelated but often confused in spoken English

A male given name transferred from the surname, popular in English-speaking countries from the 1970s to the 1990s.

رَيَّان ريان#Arabic

A male given name from Arabic رَيَّان (rayyān). Sometimes written and pronounced as Ryan in English due to the phonetic similarity with the Arabic name.

A female given name transferred from the surname, of 1970s and later usage.

A female given name of 1970s and later usage, variant of Rhian.


feu

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


feu

en-verb

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Jackie

A diminutive of the male given name Jack, Jacques (and its cognates) or John.

A diminutive of the female given name Jacqueline or Jacquelyn.


Hally

A rare spelling variant of Hallie, diminutive of the female given name Harriet.


Jacky

A nickname used instead of the male given name Jack, Jacques (and its cognates) or John.

A diminutive of the female given name Jacqueline.


Bergamask

From the Italian bergamasco (“from Bergamo”), itself from German Bergheim (“mountain home”).

A rustic dance, supposedly typical of the region


Pammy

A diminutive of the female given name Pamela.


trans

Borrowed from Latin trāns (“on the other side of”).

bor+

A series of one electron shifts in this complex establish a new trans double bond at carbon ll which transfers the hydrogen to oxygen, forming the hydroperoxide and liberating the enzyme.

1973, Kert F. Ivie, The Effect of Peroxidase on Model Systems of Lipoxidase and Linoleic Acid:

A cis double bond is one where the hydrogen atoms are both on the same side. In contrast, a trans double bond has them on the opposite side.

2015, William P Edwards, The Science of Bakery Products, Royal Society of Chemistry, →ISBN, page 26:

(physical chemistry) In (or constituting, forming, or describing) a double bond in which the greater radical on both ends is on the opposite side of the bond.

The trans effect is the labilization of ligands which are trans to certain other ligands.

coordination compound
coordination compound

(physical chemistry) In (or constituting, forming, or describing) a coordination compound in which the two instances of a particular ligand are on opposite sides of the central atom.


Danny

From Daniel and Danielle, from Hebrew דן, and -y.

A diminutive of the male given name Daniel.

A diminutive of the female given names Danielle, Daniella, or Daniela.


Mozarabic

/məʊˈzæɹəbɪk/

A continuum of closely related Romance dialects spoken in Muslim-dominated areas of the Iberian Peninsula during the early stages of Romance language development in Iberia.


Sammy

A diminutive of the male given name Samuel.

A diminutive of the female given name Samantha.


Michal

(rather rare) A female given name from Hebrew.


Dannie

From Daniel or Daniella; from Hebrew דן, and archaic English -ie.

A male given name, a less common variant of Danny.

A female given name, also used for conjoining names (e.g. Dannie Rae).


Moabite

An extinct Canaanite Semitic language, spoken in Moab (modern-day northwestern Jordan). Extinct since 5th century BCE.


ET

en-noun

ET (countable and uncountable, plural ETs)

(uncountable) Initialism of Eastern Time (-5 hours to GMT).


Brian

"What the deuce is their fancy for calling the young beggar Brian?" he inquired."Is it Brian Boroimhe they have gone back to, or is it some of her people, or what?"
"There was a good Drewitt once," answered Wilhelmina, "- - - and his name was Brian. - - - And Nannie told her, too, how a child always strains after the person it is called after, and how luck follows names, and worked her up to such a pit finally, that nothing would do her but the young gentleman must be called Brian and accordingly Brian he is - Brian Archibald. It is not an easy name to make fun out of; so all I can do is to call him Brin Baldy.

1865, Charlotte Eliza L. Riddell, Maxwell Drewitt, London: Tinsley Brothers, pages 255–256:

Why oh why had his parents even considered Brian? Brian is someone who works in a hardware shop or fixes the U bend. What chance did Sir Lovesdaslutalot have in life with a name like Brian? You can't even shorten Brian to Bri without it sounding like a kind of cheese!

2008, Phill Young, FarArc, Author House, →ISBN, page 145:


Andreas

From Ancient Greek Ἀνδρέᾱς (Andréās), cognate with ἀνδρεῖος (andreîos, “manly”), both from ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”). Doublet of Andrew.

A male given name from Ancient Greek from the Latin form of Andrew.

Ανδρέας Ανδρέας#Greek

A transliteration of the Greek male given name Ανδρέας (Andréas).


Richard

From Middle English Rycharde, from Old French Richard, from Medieval Latin Richardus and Ricohardus, from Frankish *Rīkahard, from Proto-Germanic *Rīkaharduz, a construction of *rīks (“king, ruler”) + *harduz (“hard, brave”). Cognate with Old High German Rīcohard (“Richard”). A hypothetical Old English equivalent *Rīċheard would also yield an identical "Richard" in Modern English, though it is unknown if the Old English equivalent existed.

compound

What! do I fear myself? there's no one else by; / Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I.

c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

But we have known Williams and Richards, names not found in sacred story, but familiar to our country, prove as gracious saints as any Safe deliverance, Fight the good fight of faith, or such like,

1629, Thomas Adams, Meditations upon Creed: The Works of Thomas Adams, James Nichol (1862), volume 3, page 212:

I'd love to live in our castle. First I'd change my name from Dickie to Richard. That's my real name and it's a good king name. I don't like being called Dickie anyway, and I don't want to be Dick Junior either because everybody starts calling you Junior. What I'd like to be called is Rich but I don't know how to start people doing it.

1985, William Wharton, Pride, →ISBN, page 97:

A male given name from the Germanic languages.


Old English

(linguistics, history) The ancestor language of Modern English, also called Anglo-Saxon, spoken in most of Britain from about 400 to 1100.


Mary

→ Cantonese: Mary

→ Cebuano: Mary, Marie

→ Danish: Mary

→ Faroese: Marý

→ Hawaiian: Mele, Mere

→ Japanese: マリー (Marī)

desc

→ Mandarin: 瑪麗／玛丽 (Mǎlì), 瑪莉／玛莉 (Mǎlì), 瑪利／玛利 (Mǎlì)

→ Manx: Mayree

→ Maori: Mere, Meri

→ Norwegian: Mary

→ Scottish Gaelic: Màiri

→ Swedish: Mary

→ Tahitian: Mere

→ Tok Pisin: meri

→ Thai: แมรี (mɛɛ-rii)

From Middle English Marie, from Old French Marie, from Latin Maria, from Ancient Greek Μαρία (María), Μαριάμ (Mariám), from Aramaic מַרְיָם (maryām) or Biblical Hebrew מִרְיָם (miryām), of uncertain meaning (see the Hebrew entry for more). Doublet of Miriam, Marie, and Maria.

Maria

Mary, mother of Jesus — see also Madonna, Mother of God, Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, Saint Mary, Theotokos, Virgin Mary
Note: Translations for Mary's various titles and appellations should go in the respective entries.

I have a passion for the name of Mary,
For once it was a magic sound to me:
And still it half calls up the realm of fairy
Where I beheld what never was to be.

1821, Lord Byron, Don Juan, Canto the Fifth: IV:

Mary, which is as common as a white violet, and like that has something indestructibly sweet and simple, and fit for all wear, high or low, suits the cottage or the palace, the garden or the field, the pretty and the ugly, the old and the young;

1830, Mary Russell Mitford, Our Village: Cottage Names:

For it was Mary; Mary / Plain as any name can be / But with propriety, society / Will say "Marie". / But it was Mary; Mary / Long before the fashions came / And there's something there that sounds so square / It's a grand old name.

1905 George M.Cohan, Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway, Mary is a Grand Old Name ( a song)

They had called their children Ann, Mary, and John as a reaction against their own fancy tricksy names. Both mothers thought these names sadly unimaginative and each blamed the child of the other for the lack of vision and style.

1996, Maeve Binchy, This Year It Will Be Different: A Christmas Treasury, Hachette UK, published 2008, →ISBN:

A female given name from Aramaic or Hebrew.


Chechen

From Russian чечен- (čečen-), the root in чече́нец (čečénec, “a Chechen man”) or чече́нский (čečénskij, “Chechen (adjective)”).

The language of the Chechens, a member of the Nakh family.


shrine

From Middle English shryne, from Old English scrīn (“reliquary, ark of the covenant”), from Medieval Latin scrīnium (“reliquary”), “case or chest for books or papers” in Classical Latin. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Compare Old Norse skrín, Old High German skrīni (German Schrein).

der

Entering the tunnel, we pass a small shrine above our heads which contains a statue of St Barbara, the patron saint of tunnellers. It is traditional to have such shrines on every tunnel site.

2022 March 23, Paul Bigland, “HS2 is just 'passing through'”, in RAIL, number 953, page 41:

A holy or sacred place dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, or similar figure of awe and respect, at which said figure is venerated or worshipped.

shenjtë

a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect


patronymic

/ˌpætɹəˈnɪmɪk/

From Ancient Greek πατήρ (patḗr, “father”) + ὄνυμα (ónuma, “name”) (a variant form of ὄνομα (ónoma, “name”)). Also patronym + -ic, from patri- + -onym.

According to the applicant, for many years she had been living as part of a family with her stepfather, mother and half-brother and wanted to associate herself more closely with them by taking the surname of her stepfather and also a patronymic derived from his forename.
On 24 March 2004 the applicant lodged a request with the Civil Status Registration Office in Bila Tserkva (hereinafter “the Registration Office”) seeking to change her patronymic from Volodymyrivna (Володимирівна) to Yuriyivna (Юріївна).
By a letter of 27 March 2004 the Registration Office refused the applicant’s request, referring to the Rules on Civil Status Registration in Ukraine, approved by the Ministry of Justice, which provided that the patronymic of a physical person could only be changed in the event of a change of forename by his or her father.
On 23 April 2004 the applicant challenged this refusal in the Bila Tserkva Local Court. She complained that her patronymic, along with her forename and family name, was part of her full name and she had the right to change it. She maintained that the refusal violated her constitutional rights, was unconstitutional and was not based on law. She further contended that she had good reasons for changing her patronymic - to disassociate herself from her biological father and associate herself more closely with her stepfather and half-brother.

2013 May 16, European Court of Human Rights, Garnaga v. Ukraine, number 20390/07, marginal 7–10:

(by extension) A name acquired from one's father's, grandfather's or earlier (male) ancestor's first name. Some cultures use a patronymic where other cultures use a surname or family name; other cultures (like Russia) use both a patronymic and a surname.


Sodom

Partially from Old English Sodome, Sodoma, partially from Ancient Greek Σόδομα (Sódoma), from the Biblical Hebrew סְדֹם (s'dóm).
(Wadham College): Chosen for the rhyme.

(biblical, Quranic) A city in the Middle East which, according to the Bible and Islamic tradition, but not specifically named in the Qur'an, was destroyed by God (along with Gomorrah) for the sins of its inhabitants.


aitch

→ Arabic: إِتْش (ʔitš)

→ Greek: έιτς (éits)

→ Japanese: エイチ (eichi), dated エッチ (etchi)

→ Korean: 에이치 (eichi)

→ Malay: hec

desc

→ Persian: اِچ (eč, “English letter H”), اِیچ (eyč, “English letter H”)

→ Russian: эйч (ejč, “English letter H”)

→ Tagalog: eyts

→ Thai: เอช (éech), เฮช (héech)

From Middle English ache, borrowed from Old French ache, from Vulgar Latin *acca. (Compare Italian acca.) The source is unclear, but may descend from the vowelless alphabetic sequence ha ka 'H, K' (becoming [aka] when the [h] ceased to be pronounced), as K had low frequency in Late Latin. Doublet of ecchi.

The word length, which contains only four sounds l e ng th, is usually spell'd thus, el ee en gee tee aitch.

1773 October, The Monthly Review Or Literary Journal Enlarged:

"If you've got any drawing-room manners, or a dislike to eating peas with a knife or dropping aitches, you'd better chuck 'em away. They ain't no further use."

1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 257:

She frowned, hearing Lim Cheng Po's voice, so English, so refined, so very English upper-class. And often she had had to tell Joe about his aitches.

1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 469:

The word hour is written with a silent aitch.

Cockneys drop their aitches.

The name of the Latin-script letter H/h.


Juliet

/ˈd͡ʒuːlɪɛt/

Borrowed from Italian Giulietta, diminutive of Giulia, from Latin Iūlia, feminine of Iūlius, a Roman family name. Cognate with French Juliette.

"All I ask," she says, fitting the cigarette into a holder, "is that you don't call me Juli-et. I cannot abide Juli-et. It maddens me!" "Yes, ma'am." "Here, we say Joolyut. Joolyut. Joolyut. Say it for me."

1977, Timothy Findley, The Wars, Delacorte Press/S. Lawrence, →ISBN, page 110:


Togarmah

From Biblical Hebrew תּוֹגַרְמָה (tōḡarmā).

(rare) A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.


Peter

en-proper noun

Peter (countable and uncountable, plural Peters)

From Middle English Peter, from Old English Petrus, from Latin Petrus, from Ancient Greek Πέτρος (Pétros), from πέτρος (pétros, “stone, rock”). Doublet of Pedro, Piers, and Boutros.

She knew of no Peter, and yet he was here and there in John and Michael's minds, while Wendy's began to be scrawled all over with him. The name stood out in bolder letters than any of the other words, and as Mrs Darling gazed she felt that it had an oddly cocky appearance.

1911, J. M. Barrie, chapter I, in Peter Pan, Wordsworth Editions Ltd, published 1993:

What splendid names for boys there are! / There's Carol like a rolling car, / And Martin like a flying bird, / And Adam like the Lord's First Word, / And Raymond like the Harvest Moon, / And Peter like a piper's tune,

1933, Eleanor Farjeon, “Boys' Names”, in Over the Garden Wall, Faber and Faber, page 90:


ay

→ Rohingya: ee

→ Tagalog: ey

It said, in a whispering, buzzing voice, "Gee-you-ess-ess-ay-dash-em-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-em-eye-en-gee-oh-dash-pee-eye-pee-dash-pee-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-pee-eye-en-gee-oh."

2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170:

ETA [is spoken] as "ee-tee-ay" instead of "I SPELL Echo Tango Alfa".

2016 CCEB, Communications Instructions Radiotelephone Procedures: ACP125 (G), p. 3-5

The name of the Latin-script letter A/a.


Sappho

(rare) A female given name from Ancient Greek.


Adam

From Middle English Adam, from Old English Adam, from Latin Adam, Adamus, from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ (Adám), Ἄδαμος (Ádamos), from Biblical Hebrew אָדָם (adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”), from אדמה (adamah, “red earth, ground”).

In his tall stalwartness Adam Bede was a Saxon, and justified his name; but the jet-black hair, made the more noticeable by its contrast with the light paper cap, and the keen glance of the dark eyes that shone from under strongly marked, proninent, and mobile eyebrows, indicated a mixture of Celtic blood.

1859, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “The Workshop”, in Adam Bede […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book first, page 3:

Since then I have deciphered some more of Adam’s hieroglyphics, and think he has now become sufficiently important as a public character to justify this publication.

1904, Mark Twain, Extracts from Adam's Diary:

What splendid names for boys there are! / There's Carol like a rolling car, / And Martin like a flying bird, / And Adam like the Lord's First Word,

Adami

surname derived from Adam or its equivalents in other languages


coupon

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

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


Alice

From Middle English Alice, from Old French Alys, Alice, from Old High German Adalheidis, proposed to derive from Proto-Germanic *aþalaz (“noble”) + *haiduz (“character”). Doublet of Adelaide.

af

"My name is Alice, but—"
"It's a stupid name enough!" Humpty Dumpty interrupted impatiently. "What does it mean?"
"Must a name mean something?" Alice asked doubtfully.
"Of course it must," Humpty Dumpty said with a short laugh, "my name means the shape I am—and a good handsome shape it is, too. With a name like yours, you might be any shape, almost."

1871, Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There, Chapter 6:

She was heavenly to look at, and graceful, both in and out of water. She was a sculptress. She was christened 'Alice', but she used to deny that she was really an Alice. I agreed. Everybody agreed. Sometime in a dream maybe I will find out what her real name was.

1968, Kurt Vonnegut, Welcome to the Monkey House, Delacorte Press, page xiv:

A female given name from the Germanic languages popular in England since the Middle Ages.


Romeo

From Italian Romeo, from Ancient Greek Ῥωμαῖος (Rhōmaîos, “Roman”).

der

A male given name from the Romance languages.


Saul

From Hebrew שָׁאוּל (shaúl, “asked for”). Doublet of Silas, which derived from Aramaic.

“You got an uncle named Saul?” “I never mentioned him?” “What are you saying —you got some Jewish guy for an uncle?” “He's not Jewish. It's just a name they have back in the old country.”

2000, Peter Abrahams, Crying Wolf, Ballantine Books, →ISBN:


Scots

Borrowed from Scots Scots, from Middle Scots Scottis, from Old English Scottysċ, a late variant of earlier Scyttisċ (“Scottish”). Doublet of Scottish.

A Germanic language closely related to English and descended from northern dialects of Middle English, spoken in parts of Scotland, now especially in the northeastern and southern regions of the country.


Kerry

* As an English surname, from a personal name derived from Old Norse Kári.
* As an Irish surname, from Ó Ciardha (“descendant of Ciardha”), from ciar (“black”).

A ticket of John Kerry and John Edwards with, effectively, four first names, would send the wrong message to the world. Also no candidate has ever been elected president, with a girl's name like "Kerry" for a "surname".

2004 The Bulletin, Australia, "Hustling Hustings", February 25, 2004

A surname from Middle English derived from the place name, or from the Middle English given name Kendrick.

Kerry O'Leary - for so was he called to distinguish him from those of the name in the adjoining county - soon made his appearance in the court-yard beneath.

1845, Charles James Lever, The O' Donoghue: A Tale of Ireland Fifty Years Ago, W. Curry, published 1845, page 26:

A male given name transferred from the surname or place name.

A female given name transferred from the surname or place name, originally of Australian usage, also spelled Keri, Kerri and Kerrie.


Tigger

From the initials of The Independent Group + -er.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Cinderella

/ˌsɪndəˈɹɛlə/

From cinder + -ella, as in little cinder girl. Compare French Cendrillon.

(rare) A female given name originating as a coinage.


Francie

A diminutive of the female given names Frances and Francine.


Ms

Found since the 1600s as an abbreviation of mistress (whence also Miss and Mrs), a title which initially did not indicate marital status. Suggestions that the term be revived began in 1901, and referenced the fact that dialects such as Southern US English already made no distinction between Miss and Mrs (/ˈmɪz/) in speech. With the founding of Ms. magazine in 1971, the term quickly became widespread as an alternative to Miss and Mrs., which require knowing (and publicizing) the referent's marital status.

Ms Jane Doe, Ms. Roe

Title used before an adult woman's name or surname, especially when it is not desired or possible to indicate her marital status with Miss or Mrs.


Middle English

The ancient or older language of Modern English, spoken in England and parts of Scotland (where it became Lowland Scots) from about 1100 AD to 1500 AD.


James

en-proper noun

James (countable and uncountable, plural Jameses)

⇒ English: Jim (diminutive)

⇒ English: Jimmy, Jimmie, Jimmi, Jimi (diminutive)

⇒ English: Jimbo (diminutive)

→ Hindi: जिम्बो (jimbo)

→ Hawaiian: Kimo

⇒ English: Jem (diminutive)

⇒ English: Jemmy (diminutive)

⇒ English: Jamie, Jamey (diminutive)

⇒ English: Jay (diminutive)

desc

→ Chinese: → 詹姆斯 (Zhānmǔsī) (transliteration)

→ Cornish: Jammes, Jamma

→ Danish: James

→ Fijian: Semesa

→ Icelandic: James

desctree

→ Irish: Séamas, Séamus, Seumas
→ English: Seamus

→ Manx: Jayms

→ Maori: Hemi

→ Samoan: Semisi

→ Scottish Gaelic: Seumas
→ English: Hamish

→ Swedish: James

→ Welsh: Siâms

The English New Testament form of Jacob, from Middle English James, from Old French James, from Vulgar Latin Iacomus, spoken and altered pronunciation of Latin Iacobus, from Ancient Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōbos), from Ἰακώβ (Iakṓb), from Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (Yaʿăqōḇ). Doublet of Jacques, Jacob, jacuzzi, Iago, Jago, Yago, Hamish, Seamus, and Santiago. In reference to the Ecuadorian island, a modification of the earlier name Duke of York's Island after its eponymous duke's coronation as James II of England.
See Occitan Jacme for an intermediary between Old French James and Catalan Jaume.

der

Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (Yaʿăqōḇ)

doublet

[…] And Normans call me James Fitz-James. / Thus watch I o'er insulted laws, / Thus learn to right the injured cause. […]

1810, Walter Scott, “Canto VI. The Guard-room.”, in The Lady of the Lake; […], Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for John Ballantyne and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, and William Miller, →OCLC, stanza XXVIII, page 286:

Heaven only knows why a man with a strong biblical name like James wants to be a president named Jimmy.

1979 Charles Kuralt, Dateline America, Harcourt Brace Jovanocich, page 184

A male given name from Hebrew popular since the Middle Ages. Also a common middle name.


Jacob

From Middle English Iacob, from Late Latin Iācōbus, from Ancient Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōbos), from Biblical Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (yaʿăqōḇ, literally “he will/shall heel”), from עָקֵב (ʿāqēḇ, “heel”). Doublet of James and jacuzzi.

der

"Georgette. How are you called?" "Jacob." "That's a Flemish name." "American too." "You're not a Flamand?" "No, American." "Good, I detest Flamands." - - -
Brett smiled at him. "I've promised to dance this with Jacob," she laughed. "You've a hell of a biblical name, Jake."

1927, Ernest Hemingway, chapter III, in The Sun Also Rises:


Dubya

Representing a southern United States pronunciation of W, the middle initial of George W. Bush.

(often derogatory) A nickname for and abbreviation of George W. Bush.


sobriquet

Borrowed from French sobriquet (“nickname”), from Middle French soubriquet (“a chuck under the chin”).

“The Bard” is a sobriquet of English playwright William Shakespeare.

The sobriquet of Johnny Appleseed attached to him, though his real name was Chapman, in consequence of his being ever engaged in gathering and planting appleseed and cultivating nurseries of apple trees.

1862, A. Banning Norton, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

They turned out to be speedy machines and earned the sobriquet "Greyhounds", giving excellent performances on the Exeter run.

1951 November, David R. Webb, “The Drummond 4-4-0 Locomotives”, in Railway Magazine, page 774:

A familiar name for a person or thing; a nickname (sometimes assumed by the person, but often given by others), that is descriptive.


Leah

"I'm Leah Brennan. How can I help you...Gideon?" He gave a short laugh. "Leah! Nice name. Between the two of us, we sound like the Old Testament, don't we?"

2010, Cavn Wright, Bedtime Tales, Strategic Book Publishing, →ISBN, page 113:


Arab

From Arabic عَرَب (ʕarab, “Arabs”) or back-formation from Arabic.

A Semitic person, whose forebears were from the Arabian Peninsula

Having taken a very early breakfast, I mounted about eight o'clock my grey Arab, and without anything occurring worthy of note, killed the first three boars in the space of an hour, […]

1887, Edward B. Baker, Sport in Bengal: and How, When, and where to Seek it, page 61:

a. 1892, Charles Spurgeon, a sermon
You Christian people often see the little gutter children — the poor little arabs in the street — and you feel much pity for them, as well you may.

The other day I heard you complaining of the nuisance that small ragged street-boys are to you whenever you go out. […] You wished that some one would do something to clear away these little Arabs, as you are pleased to call them, so that a fine old English gentleman—as you are pleased to think yourself—might take his exercise in peace.


Old Church Slavonic

The first literary and liturgical Slavic language.

Ou Kerkslawies

the first literary and liturgical Slavic language

古代教会スラヴ語

こだいきょうかいスラブご

Old Slavonic

may also refer to Old East Slavonic or Proto-Slavic


-ium

From Latin -um (neuter singular morphological suffix), based on Latin terms for metals such as ferrum (“iron”).

systematic element name
systematic element name#English

(chemistry) Used to form the temporary systematic element name of a metallic or nonmetallic element which is postulated to exist, or which has been newly synthesized and has not yet been assigned a permanent name.