punk

punk (countable and uncountable, plural punks)

Uncertain. Possibly from punk ("rotten wood dust used as tinder", attested since 1678; see Etymology 2 below) to anything worthless (attested since 1869) and then to any undesirable person (since 1908).

gl

He said the prisoner called them ‘punk’... He admitted that he shouted ‘punk’ to them.

1908 October 18, New York Times, page 9:

There was nothing so special about the gang, punks are punks.

I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I've kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

1971, Harry Julian Fink et al., Dirty Harry, spoken by Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood):

(countable, US slang) A worthless person, particularly:

(derogatory) A petty criminal, especially a juvenile delinquent.

racaille

collective noun; female only if in the singular

Who else... would have the nerve to actually begin a song with the line ‘Whatchew gonna do, mama, now that the roast beef's gone...?’ Man, that is true punk; that is so fucked up it's got class up the ass.

1972 November, L. Bangs, Creem, page 68:

(uncountable, music) Short for punk rock, a genre known for short, loud, energetic songs with electric guitars and strong drums.

punk rock

(uncountable, science fiction) Any of the punk genres: dieselpunk, solarpunk, steampunk etc.

My girlfriend is a punk and she plays the drums.

But I still felt a fraud. I was like all those people who suddenly shaved their heads and said they'd always been punks, they'd been punks before punk was even thought of […]

1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 22:

(countable) Short for punk rocker, a musician known for playing punk rock or a fan of the genre.


scene

From Middle French scene, from Latin scaena, scēna, from Ancient Greek σκηνή (skēnḗ, “scene, stage”). Doublet of scena and skene.


Scylla

From Latin Scylla, from Ancient Greek Σκύλλα (Skúlla).

I have never yet been able to steer my lovers through the Scylla of presence, or the Charybdis of absence.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Chapter XII. Lady Marchmont’s Journal.”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 85:

between Scylla and Charybdis
between Scylla and Charybdis

A dangerous rock on the Italian coast opposite the whirlpool Charybdis on the coast of Sicily. The passage between Scylla and Charybdis was formerly considered perilous; hence, the saying between Scylla and Charybdis signifies a great peril on either hand.


slime

en-noun

slime (countable and uncountable, plural slimes)

→ French: slime

→ Japanese: スライム (suraimu)

→ Korean: 슬라임 (seullaim)

From Middle English slime, slyme, slim, slym, from Old English slīm, from Proto-Germanic *slīmą, from Proto-Indo-European *sley- (“smooth; slick; sticky; slimy”). Cognates include Danish slim, Saterland Frisian Sliem, Dutch slijm, German Schleim (“mucus, slime”), Latin limus (“mud”), Ancient Greek λίμνη (límnē, “marsh”).

der

As it [the Nile] ebbs, the seedsman / Upon the slime and ooze scatters his grain.

c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]:

Soft, moist earth or clay, having an adhesive quality; viscous mud; any substance of a dirty nature, that is moist, soft, and adhesive; bitumen; mud containing metallic ore, obtained in the preparatory dressing.

This is a nameless blue slime, drawn by Chris Hildenbrand, for a role playing game (RPG) that was never released.

2006, Lawrence Wright, Character Design for Mobile Devices, Gulf Professional Publishing, →ISBN, page 8:

(fantasy, video games) A monster having the form of a slimy blob.


soubrette

Borrowed from French soubrette, from Occitan soubreta (“coy”) (feminine of soubret), from soubra (Provençal sobrar), from Latin superare (“be above”).

At present I have only a soubrette's part, with an apron and pockets, and a ballad; but, as I said before, luck's all in this world, and I have every requisite for being lucky.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Success”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 77:

And then too it was exhilarating to see the baron come sailing in with a pair of soubrettes on his arm—each time a different pair.

1936, Henry Miller, “The Tailor Shop”, in Black Spring, Paris: The Obelisk Press […], →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, 1963, →ISBN, page 98:

This version of the fragile, yet touching story accents the romance and courtship of the schoolmaster, properly called Mr. Chipping, and the music hall soubrette he falls in love with while vacationing in Pompeii.

1969, Film Bulletin, volume 38, page 127:

The servants in the hall tonight are whitely-wigged black slaves in livery of a certain grade of satin and refinement of lace,– black Major-domos and black Soubrettes.

A female attendant or servant, especially one who is cheeky or mischievous, often featuring in theatrical comedies.


sprite

→ Japanese: スプライト (supuraito)

→ Russian: спрайт (sprajt)

From Middle English sprite, spryt, spreyte, from Old French esprit (“spirit”), from Latin spiritus. Doublet of spirit, spiritus, spirytus, spright, and esprit.
(computer graphics): First used by Danny Hillis at Texas Instruments in the late 1970s.
(meteorology): An acronym for Stratospheric Perturbations Resulting from Intense Thunderstorm Electrification.

doublet

(mythology) Any of various supernatural beings, loosely defined:


telepathy

en-noun

telepathy (usually uncountable, plural telepathies)

Gerwin Schalk and Anthony Ritaccio, at the Albany Medical Center, are working under a multimillion-dollar grant from the U.S. military to design and develop devices that enable soldiers to communicate telepathically. Although this seems like something out of a science fiction story, the Pentagon believes that these so-called telepathy helmets are sufficiently feasible that it is devoting more than $6 million to the project. The target date for completion of the prototype device is 2017.

2013, Al Gore, The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change, New York: Random House, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 239:

(parapsychology) The capability to communicate directly by psychic means; the sympathetic affection of one mind by the thoughts, feelings, or emotions of another at a distance, without communication through the ordinary channels of sensation.


troll

Partly:
* from Middle English trol (“demon (?); sorcerer (?)”) [and other forms], from Old Norse trǫll (“conjurer, mage; witch”), from Proto-Germanic *truzlą (“supernatural being; demon, fiend; giant; monster”), probably from *trudaną (“to step on; to tread”) + *-ilą (suffix forming agent nouns); and
* borrowed from Norwegian Bokmål troll, Swedish troll, or Danish trold, from Old Norse trǫll (see above).
Doublet of droll and trow.
Cognates
* Danish fortrylle (“to bewitch”), trylle (“to conjure”)
* Icelandic tröll
* Middle High German trol, trolle (“spook, wraith; ogre, monster”)
* Norwegian fortrylle (“to bewitch”), trylle (“to conjure”)
* Swedish trolla (“to conjure”)

der

He followed their advice, and rode through a rye-field, where the Trolls were unable to follow him, but in their exasperation cried after him, "The red cock shall crow over thy dwelling." And behold! his house stood in a blaze.

1851, Benjamin Thorpe, “Norwegian Traditions. [The Girl at the Sæter.]”, in Northern Mythology, […], volumes II (Scandinavian Popular Traditions and Superstitions), London: Edward Lumley, […], →OCLC, page 7:

The Scandinavian fancied himself surrounded by Trolls,—a kind of goblin men, with vast power of work and skilful production,—divine stevedores, carpenters, reapers, smiths, and masons, swift to reward every kindness done them, with gifts of gold and silver.

1856, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “Ability”, in English Traits, Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson, and Company, →OCLC, page 81:

The bear got so angry that he rushed at the trolls and scratched them all over, while Peter took the other handspike and hammered away at them as if he wanted to beat their brains out. The trolls had to clear out at last, but Peter stayed and enjoyed himself with all the Christmas fare the whole week. After that the trolls were not heard of there for many years.

1881, P. Chr. Asbjörnsen [i.e., Peter Christen Asbjørnsen], “Peter Gynt”, in H. L. Brækstad, transl., Round the Yule Log. Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, →OCLC, page 150:

In these manuscripts we are again in an atmosphere of eotens and trolls, there are traces of even older terrors, when the first Teuton settlers in Europe struggled with the aborigines who lived in caves, hints as elusive as the phantom heroes in the Saxon poems, and as unforgettable.

1922, Eleanour Sinclair Rohde, “The Anglo-Saxon Herbals”, in The Old English Herbals, London: Longmans, Green and Co. […], →OCLC, page 3:

(originally Scandinavian mythology, now also European folklore and fantasy) a giant supernatural being, especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges.

طْرُول

giant supernatural being; grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges

(astronomy, meteorology) An optical ejection from the top of the electrically active core region of a thunderstorm that is red in colour that seems to occur after tendrils of vigorous sprites extend downward towards cloudtops.


troll

en-verb

troll (third-person singular simple present trolls, present participle trolling, simple past and past participle trolled)

trolls (present singular third-person)
trolling (participle present)
trolled (participle past)
trolled (past)
troll (infinitive)

Spanish: trolear

The verb is derived from Late Middle English trollen, trolle (“to go about, wander; to move (something) to and fro, rock; to roll; to turn”) [and other forms], from Old French troller, trôler (“to run here and there; to walk aimlessly, ramble, stroll; (hunting) to wander about looking for game”) (modern French troller); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to Middle High German trollen (“to stroll”) (modern German trollen (“(informal) to move slowly, trundle; to push off, toddle off”)), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *truzlōną (“to lumber”), which is probably related to *trudaną (“to step on, tread”) (see further at etymology 1). Doublet of trull.
Verb sense 4.2.2 (“to fish using a line and bait or lures trailed behind a boat”) is possibly influenced by trail and/or trawl
The noun is probably derived from the verb. Noun sense 3 (“person who makes or posts inflammatory or insincere statements in an attempt to lure others into combative argument”) is possibly influenced by troll (etymology 1).
Cognates
* Middle Low German drullen (“to stroll”) (Low German trullen (“to troll”))

laulaa vuoroin

(transitive, intransitive) to sing the parts of (a catch, round, or similar song) in succession

laulella

to sing (a song) freely or in a carefree way, or loudly

tokaista

(transitive, intransitive) to say (something) lightly and quickly

kalastama

(transitive, intransitive) to fish in (a place) using a running fishing line

(obsolete) Often followed by in: to cause (something) to flow or roll in like a stream.

Their young men […] trolled along the brooks that abounded in fish.

1834–1874, George Bancroft, History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent, volume (please specify |volume=I to X), Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company [et al.], →OCLC:

(fishing, Scotland, US) To fish using a line and bait or lures trailed behind a boat similarly to trawling.


waif

The noun is derived from Late Middle English weif (“ownerless property subject to seizure and forfeiture; the right of such seizure and forfeiture; revenues obtained from such seizure and forfeiture”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman waif, weif [and other forms] (compare Anglo-Latin waivum [and other forms], Medieval Latin waivium), possibly from Old French waif, a variant of gaif, gayf (“property that is lost and unclaimed; of property: lost and unclaimed”) (Norman) [and other forms], probably from a North Germanic source such as Old Norse veif (“flag; waving thing”), from Proto-Germanic *waif-, from Proto-Indo-European *weyp- (“to oscillate, swing”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

nb...

waif, waife, wafe, wayf, wayffe, (Early Middle English) waiph, waive

der

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

waifs and strays

(British, law, archaic) An article of movable property which has been found, and of which the owner is not known, such as goods washed up on a beach or thrown away by an absconding thief; such items belong to the Crown, which may grant the right of ownership to them to a lord of a manor.

سَائِبَة

article of movable property found of which the owner is not known

Something found, especially if without an owner; something which comes along, as it were, by chance.

something found, especially if without an owner

مَفْقُود m (mafqūd) (even though it literally means “lost”)


waif

en-verb

waif (third-person singular simple present waifs, present participle waifing, simple past and past participle waifed)

waifs (present singular third-person)
waifing (participle present)
waifed (participle past)
waifed (past)

It is true that Guy, Count of Ponthieu, holds fief under me, but I have no control over the laws of his realm. And by those laws, he hath right of life and death over all stranded and waifed on his coast.

1848, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter I, in Harold, the Last of the Saxon Kings; […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, book IX (The Bones of the Dead), pages 293–294:

(transitive) To cast aside or reject, and thus make a waif.


Santa Claus

Borrowed from Dutch Sinterklaas (“Saint Nicholas”).


mai

(anime, manga, fandom slang, Internet slang) Alternative form of my (used in the expressions mai waifu and mai husbando)


Bond villain

From Bond + villain. A reference to the typical villains of James Bond movies.

Cheney’s turned into a James Bond villain.

One hundred NR employees come under his authority. "Doing some of the frontline roles has enabled me to understand more around my own decision-making and how it affects the frontline. I say to people I'm not this Bond villain, sitting upstairs, stroking a cat!

2023 January 25, Cem Davis tells Nick Brodrick, “A warm 'Waterloo family' welcome”, in RAIL, number 975, page 38:

An evil genius, usually of significant power and means, who attempts to take over (or destroy) the world.


Bond girl

Sam scowled. 'I hate villains who call me Miss Jones,' she told him. 'It makes me feel like a Bond girl.'

1998, Justin Richards, chapter 12, in Option Lock, page 232:

When a lunch companion suggested that she might not want to take the Halle Berry route should she be nominated for an Oscar for "Monster," and win — soul-searching performance followed by a turn as a Bond girl — Theron threw her head back and howled.

One of the beautiful, seductive young women who appear in James Bond movies.


pretender

/pɹɪˈtɛndəɹ/

A person who professes beliefs and opinions that they do not hold.


Star Wars

[ˈstɑɹ ˈwɔɹz]

[ˈstɑ˞ ˈwɔɹz]

From the original name of the science fantasy motion picture Star Wars (1977).

Strategic Defense Initiative
Strategic Defense Initiative

(informal, military) The United States Strategic Defense Initiative.


science fiction

en-noun

science fiction (usually uncountable, plural science fictions)

From science + fiction. First use appears c. 1851. See cite below.

Now this applies especially to Science-Fiction, in which the revealed truths of Science may be given, interwoven with a pleasing story which may itself be poetical and true—thus circulating a knowledge of the Poetry of Science, clothed in a garb of the Poetry of Life.

1851, William Wilson, A Little Earnest Book Upon a Great Old Subject:

Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology.

1975 April 13, Isaac Asimov, “How Easy to See the Future!”, in Natural History, volume 84, number 4, New York: American Museum of Natural History, →ISSN, page 92, column 2:

Fiction in which advanced technology or science is a key element.


sci-fi

(colloquial) Clipping of science fiction.


SF

SF (countable and uncountable, plural SFs)

→ Japanese: エスエフ, SF (SF)

speculative fiction
speculative fiction#English

(fiction) Initialism of science fiction or speculative fiction, often used to avoid having to choose between the two.


speculative fiction

speculative fiction (countable and uncountable, plural speculative fictions)

There are at least two principal ways to write speculative fiction—write about people, or write about gadgets.

1947, Robert A. Heinlein, On the Writing of Speculative Fiction:

And the speculation shows signs of turning into very sophisticated science fiction – science fiction in the purest sense; speculative fiction about science.

1987, Angela Carter, “Bruce Chatwin: The Songlines”, in Shaking a Leg, Vintage, published 2013, page 588:

Stephenson is one of speculative fiction’s most meticulous architects, and here he’s got sheets and sheets of blueprint.

2021 November 16, Omar El Akkad, “Neal Stephenson’s Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(uncountable) A class of fiction involving fantastic, supernatural or futuristic elements, including fantasy, horror, and science fiction, dealing with worlds, themes, and characters not part of everyday life.


love triangle

/ˈlʌv ˌtɹaɪ.æŋɡəl/

La Battaglia di Legnano is a patriotic melodrama with a love triangle theme included.

1961 December 12, The Times, p.5 col. F:

By placing Max and Onno in a love triangle with Ada, Mr. Mulisch achieves an emotional depth that recalls Francois Truffaut's classic film “Jules and Jim.”

1997 January 5, Jack Miles, “On a Mission From God”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

A situation in which two suitors vie or compete for the love of the same person.

liefdesdriehoek

situation in which two people vie for the love of a third


Mickey Mouse

→ Albanian: Miushi Miki (calque)

desc

مِيكِي مَاوْس

→ Arabic: مِيكِي مَاوْس (mīkī māws)

→ Arabic: مِيكِي مَاوْس (mīkī māws)

→ Azerbaijani: Mikki Maus

→ Bulgarian: Мики Маус (Miki Maus)

→ Czech: Mickey Mouse

→ Danish: Mickey Mouse

→ Dutch: Mickey Mouse

→ French: Mickey Mouse

→ Georgian: მიკი მაუსი (miḳi mausi)

→ German: Micky Maus (calque)

→ Greek: Μίκυ Μάους (Míky Máous), μικιμάους (mikimáous)

→ Hebrew: מיקי מאוס (miki maus)

→ Hindi: मिकी माउस (mikī māus)

→ Japanese: ミッキーマウス (Mikkī Mausu)

→ Korean: 미키 마우스 (Miki Mauseu)

→ Macedonian: Мики Маус (Miki Maus)

→ Portuguese: Mickey Mouse

→ Romanian: Mickey Mouse, Miki Maus

Ми́кки Ма́ус

→ Russian: Ми́кки Ма́ус (Míkki Máus)

→ Samoan: Miki Mausi

→ Spanish: Mickey Mouse

มิกกี้ เมาส์

→ Thai: มิกกี้ เมาส์

→ Thai: มิกกี้ เมาส์

From Mickey, a diminutive of the given name Michael, + mouse, referring to the species of the character. The name Mickey Mouse was coined by American animator Walt Disney in 1928 after his wife, Lillian Disney, persuaded him to change the character's original name Mortimer Mouse to Mickey, deeming the former too formal for the playful character. "Mickey" was suggested by Lillian, who preferred its more approachable and lively sound.
The adjective sense developed during the Second World War, after a large quantity of low-quality counterfeit Mickey Mouse watches flooded the UK.

The most famous Disney cartoon character, an anthropomorphic mouse with a falsetto voice and a cheerful disposition.


Mickey Mouse

"They are putting a Mickey Mouse operation on the ice," added Gretzky, who extended apologies to New Jersey goaltenders Ron Low and Chico Resch.

1983 November 21, “Rangers get past Quebec in Overtime”, in Miami Herald:

You mean, somebody who, for example, is a retired Army officer, has been teaching, as you do in the Army about half the time for about 30 years, you mean he couldn't go in and teach in the school' cause he didn't take some Mickey Mouse course in education at a state university?

California (78-67): This is no Mickey Mouse outfit, even though Disney is buying into the team. / The Angels didn't make many changes in personnel during the winter.

1996 February 11, Dave van Dyck, “Braves, Indians Are Teams to Beat Again; Series Repeat Appears Likely As Camps Open”, in Chicago Sun-Times, SPORTS, page 18:

(idiomatic) Of inferior quality, poorly-run; too easy to be taken seriously, trivial.


dieselpunk

Coordinate term: steampunk

In other words, steampunk explores adjustment to an industrial culture from the opposite direction to cyberpunk -- but has very much the same agenda. Me, I'm trying to write dieselpunk ...

2002 November 20, Charlie Stross, “Re: What "steampunk" genre?”, in rec.arts.sf.written (Usenet):

[…] post-apocalyptic dieselpunk action adventure […]

2007, Sean Demory, quoted in Brian McTavish, "Kansas City writer, artist publish digital comic book for cell phones", in The Kansas City Star, 2007 July 25, page F3

BioShock isn't steampunk, it's dieselpunk.

2010 March 19, Teresa Lott, “Re: I hate steampunk...”, in rec.arts.sf.written (Usenet):

A genre of science fiction and art that combines fictional retrofuturistic elements with the technology, culture, and aesthetics of the period of history beginning in the interbellum between World War I and World War II and ending around the 1950s (known as the "diesel era" within the dieselpunk community).


miniature

/ˈmɪn(i)ət͡ʃʊəɹ/

/ˈmɪnɪt͡ʃəɹ/

Borrowed from Italian miniatura (“manuscript illumination”), from miniare (“to illuminate”), from Latin miniō (“to colour red”), from minium (“red lead”).

bor

(chess) A chess game which is concluded with very few moves.


Wookiee

What's this guy tryinna [sic] disappear behind you, a Wookie? [sic]

1985, Stephen King, Peter Straub, The Talisman, page 341:

I backed it out to the dirt road, and the door to the double-wide opened and a big guy, more Wookiee than human being, filled the doorway.

2009, Janet Evanovich, Plum Spooky, page 98:

Kevin whined, his Wookiee face showing hurt somewhere beneath the dark glasses.

2009, Jaqueline Girdner, Murder, My Deer, page 115:

A member of a fictional race of tall, hairy bipeds in the universe of the Star Wars motion pictures.


megalomaniac

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

'Well, I don't know him well enough yet to say, but I will admit that if he is not a mere bullying megalomaniac, and if what he says is true, then he certainly is in a class by himself.'

1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed:

One affected with or exhibiting megalomania.

megalòman

one affected with or exhibiting megalomania


battleship

From battle + ship; shortened from line-of-battle ship, attested 1794.

Schlachtschiff n. Schlachtschiff is used for dreadnought battleships

Linienschiff is used for pre-dreadnought battleships.

(military, nautical) A large capital warship displacing thousands to tens of thousands of tons, heavily armoured and armed with large-caliber guns; now obsolescent and replaced by smaller vessels with guided missiles.

(science fiction, by extension) A starship of comparable role


summon

en-verb

summon (third-person singular simple present summons, present participle summoning, simple past and past participle summoned)

summons (present singular third-person)
summoning (participle present)
summoned (participle past)
summoned (past)
summon (infinitive)

From Anglo-Norman somoundre, from Old French sumundre, from Latin summonēre, itself from sub + monēre, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *monéyeti, causative from *men- (“to think”).

The cousins separated, and Nain Singh joined a caravan posing as a merchant. This time he crossed the border successfully. Singh eventually entered Jih-k’a-tse, the second-largest city in Tibet. It was in Jih-k’a-tse that he was summoned to meet the country’s second-highest religious authority, the Panchen Lama, who turned out to be only 11 years old.

1995, Explorers & Discoverers, volume 2, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 753:

(transitive) To ask someone to come; to send for.

You can summon groceries, alcohol and medicines to your home: chips and vodka on New Year’s Eve, say, and then aspirin on New Year’s Day.

2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in The Guardian:

призовавам

law: to order someone to appear in court

citer à comparaître (to order someone to appear in court: citer quelqu’un à comparaître; to order someone to appear in court: citer à comparaître en justice)

For securing the attainment of what he considered to be a most desirable end, he summoned all his abilities with a most praiseworthy energy and perseverance.

1866, Pierre Bigandet, The Life or Legend of Gaudama, the Buddha of the Burmese, with annotations and notice on the Phongyies or Burmese monks, page 396:

Joseph needed to summon all his reserve to keep his self-control, for no sooner had Asa voiced his request than Joseph recalled his remark to Aaron about a child being given to this couple in lieu of their giving Mary to him.

2011, Sister Louise Sweigart, cgs, Joseph: A Guiding Light, Inspiring Voices →ISBN, page 61

November 2 2014, Daniel Taylor, "Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk
City will feel nonplussed when they review the tape and Pellegrini had to summon all his restraint in the post-match interviews.

(transitive) To rouse oneself to exert a skill.

“Why won't you teach me to summon water? I can summon fire so easily, it's only logical that I should learn to put out my mistakes.”

2010, Kay Hooper, The Wizard of Seattle, Fanfare, →ISBN:

(fantasy, transitive) To call a resource by magic.


summon

Borrowed from Malay saman (“fine, financial penalty”), which is itself borrowed from English summons (“notice summoning someone to appear in court”). This sense re-emerged in English as summon likely due to the erroneous belief that the original singular English word summons is plural. Doublet of summons and saman.

der

You better pay off the parking summon tomorrow before you kena interest on it.

(Malaysia, colloquial, slang) A fine; a fee or monetary penalty incurred for breaking the law; usually for a minor offence such as a traffic violation.


Tartarus

From Latin Tartarus, from Ancient Greek Τάρταρος (Tártaros).

[…] them with Fire and hoſtile Arms / Fearleſs aſſault, and to the brow of Heav'n / Purſuing, drive them out from God and bliſs, / Into thir place of puniſhment, the Gulf / Of Tartarus, which ready opens wide / His fiery Chaos to receave thir fall.

1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 50–55:

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) A dark and gloomy part of the realm of Hades, reserved for the damned and the wicked, such as the Titans; an equivalent of hell in Greek and Roman mythology.


Hades

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

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ᾍδης (Hā́idēs).

lbor

(Greek mythology) The god of the underworld and ruler of the dead, son of Cronus and Rhea, brother of Zeus and Poseidon.

(Greek mythology) The underworld, the domain of Hades, by transference from its god.

(specifically, chiefly Eastern Orthodoxy) Hell as a waiting place for damned souls before the Last Judgement, after which they may be cast in Gehenna.


Sheol

Borrowed from Hebrew שְׁאוֹל, שְׁאֹל (sheól, “abode of the dead, underworld, netherworld, etc.”).

bor

Hebrew שְׁאוֹל

(Old Testament) The realm of the dead, the common grave of mankind, Hell. In older English translations of the Bible, notably the Authorized Version or King James Bible, this word sheol is translated inconsistently and variously as grave (31 times), pit (3 times) or hell (31 times: e.g., De. 32:22; 2Sa. 22:6; Job 11:8; Ps. 9:17).


Sherlock Holmes

What powers of deduction! . . . And what assurance! . . . A real Sherlock Holmes! I really didn’t think detectives like that existed, except in books!

1978, Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper, Michael Turner, transl., Tintin in America (The Adventures of Tintin), Egmont, published 2012, →ISBN, page 45:

(figuratively, by extension) Any person who has or is considered to have great powers of observation and deduction.


fairy godmother

en-noun

fairy godmother (plural fairy godmothers)

I thought it was clever the director cast the same woman to play both the Wicked Witch and Prince Charming's fairy godmother.

In certain fairy tales, a fictional benevolent woman with magical powers who uses them to help the cause of the protagonist.


ansible

Coined by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin in 1966 in her novella Rocannon's World; Le Guin states that she derived it from answerable. The word was further spread by its adoption into other science fiction worlds, including by Orson Scott Card in Ender's Game (1986), Vernor Vinge in The Blabber (1988) and Dan Simmons in Hyperion (1989).

coin

“You remember the ansible, the machine I showed you in the ship, which can speak instantly to other worlds, with no loss of years– […] ”
“An ansible would theoretically be powered by subatomic particles that have undergone quantum entanglement, which utilizes Einstein's 'spooky action at a distance', allowing the alteration of one particle to instantaneously alter the state of its paired particle. […] ”

1966, Ursula K. Le Guin, Rocannon's World, reprinted in Worlds of Exile and Illusion, Macmillan (1996), page 25

“[…] The master ansible is there, in contact with all our invasion fleet; the ships are all working, ready to fight. […]”

1985, Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game, reprinted by Macmillan, published 2002, →ISBN, page 251:

Ky had allotted two hours here, time to strip the news from the ansible, share it, even discuss it, but she didn’t plan to have everyone clustered and vulnerable.

2008, Elizabeth Moon, Victory Conditions, reprint by Random House, published 2009, →ISBN, page 39:

(science fiction) A hypothetical device that enables users to communicate instantaneously across great distances; that is, a faster-than-light communication device.

Dan Simmons
Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card
Rocannon's World
Vernor Vinge


Wonder Woman

All Star Comics
Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo
DC Comics
Introducing Wonder Woman
William Moulton Marston
fi:Ihmenainen

From wonder + woman. The character, created by William Moulton Marston (1893–1947) and Harry George Peter (1880–1958), first appeared in the story “Introducing Wonder Woman” from DC Comics’ All Star Comics #8 dated December 1941.

It was just Wonder Woman whose secret identity threatened to overwhelm and swallow up the heroic reality. I think I was afraid that one day I'd innocently open that month's comic and find Diana Prince waking up to announce that Wonder Woman was only a dream after all.

2004, Lillian S[ara] Robinson, “The Book of Lilith”, in Wonder Women: Feminisms and Superheroes, New York, N.Y., London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 12:

Wonder Woman is a recognizable figure: gold tiara, invisible jet, fights bad guys, looks like Lynda Carter. She's a role model for many, and the most famous female superhero in a genre dominated by males. She's also been a feminist icon since Gloria Steinem put her on the first cover of Ms. magazine in 1972. […] Wonder Woman was created during the Golden Age of comics, before the temporary workplace gains of World War II, at a time when women were told that their only place was in the home. An Amazon princess and the most powerful warrior of her race, Wonder Woman ignored these expectations. Her comics didn't just suggest equality of the sexes; they flat-out demonstrated that every woman had innate power and that Wonder Woman was superior to her male counterparts.

2014, Tim Hanley, “Introduction”, in Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World's Most Famous Heroine, Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Review Press, →ISBN, pages x–xi:


Earthling

From earth + -ling (suffix indicating a resident); earth is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₁er- (“earth”). Old English ierþling (“farmer, husbandman, ploughman”, literally “one of the earth”) is formed from the same roots but generally did not outlive Old English; all modern uses are historical: see earthling. Compare also human, which is derived from Latin humus (“ground, soil”).

noncog

(chiefly science fiction) An inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet; specifically, a sentient member of any species native to Earth. [from 20th c.]

أَرْضِيّ

Mercurian · Venusian · Lunarian · Marsling

Jupiterian · Saturnian · Uranian · Neptunian · Plutonian


tellurian

[tʰəˈlɝː.iː.ɨ̃n]

From Latin tellūs (“earth, ground; the globe, planet Earth; country, land”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“ground, bottom”), + -ian (suffix meaning "from, related to, or like" when forming an adjective, or "one from, belonging to, relating to, or like" when forming a noun).

suffix

It certainly appears difficult to reconcile with known facts the opinion maintained by [Carl] Linnæus and by [Thomas] Pennant, which is, indeed, a very prevalent one, that all the tribes of tellurian animals now existing have descended from a stock that was preserved in the ark of Noah.

1836, James Cowles Prichard, “Notes on the Contents of the First Book”, in Researches into the Physical History of Mankind, 3rd edition, volume I, London: Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper, […]; and J. and A. Arch, […], →OCLC, book I (On the Origin and Dispersion of Organized Beings: […]), page 97:

Of peaceful mutual Love, the whole mankind / Shall feel the happy power; joyful scenes / Of earthly bliss, tellurian happiness.

1836, [Constantine Samuel Rafinesque], “XIX. Women and Children.”, in The World, or Instability. A Poem. In Twenty Parts, […], Philadelphia, Pa., London: Published by J. Dobson, […]; London: O. Rich, →OCLC, page 206:

But both from experiment and from our first principles, which remain to be more especially explained in our theory of the tellurian vortex, it is evident, that the north magnetic pole moves round the north tellurian pole, sooner than the south magnetic pole moves round the south tellurian; and this is because the distance of the two from the centre of the vortex is not similar, and because also of the spiral contorsion of the vortex.

1846, Emanuel Swedenborg, “On the Causes of the Magnetic Declination”, in Augustus Clissold, transl., The Principia; or, The First Principles of Natural Things, being New Attempts toward a Philosophical Explanation of the Elementary World. … Translated from the Latin, London: W. Newbery, […]; H. Baillière, […]; Boston, Mass.: Otis Clapp, […], →OCLC, paragraph 6, page 147:

For entrophy is the real cosmic wave, and evolution only a momentary tellurian ripple within it. On these grounds, then, I submit that we Christians have as little to fear as anyone from the knowledge actually acquired.

1970, C[live] S[taples] Lewis, edited by Walter Hooper, God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics, Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, →ISBN:

The myth therefore records the full gamut of creation, of both gods and men, and is plainly a priestly document. It treats authority as being ultimately celestial, and it dispenses with the concept of the Mother as tellurian and conditioned by the earthly element.

1983, Burr Cartwright Brundage, “The Goddesses”, in The Fifth Sun: Aztec Gods, Aztec World (The Texas Pan American Series), Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, →ISBN, pages 165–166:

(formal or literary) Of or relating to the earth; (specifically, chiefly science fiction) inhabiting planet Earth as opposed to other planets.

երկրային

of or relating to the earth; inhabiting planet Earth


tellurian

Benjamin Martin
Harvard Science Center
Harvard University

[tʰəˈlɝː.iː.ɨ̃n]

Friends are not alone in this magnanimity, that likes truth only when it suits them. But among all tellurians or lunarians of my acquaintance, they are distinguished for liking those like them, and liking no others.

[1833, Samuel Hanson Cox, Quakerism Not Christianity: Or, Reasons from Renouncing the Doctrine of Friends. In Three Parts, Boston, Mass.: Printed by D. Fanshaw; sold by Jonathan Leavitt, […]; and Crocker & Brewster, […], →OCLC, part first, pages 166–167:

But it's well that that bunch of tellurians are dead! Our diamond was the cause of that much good for the earth!" Nega slowed her orbital speed, oscillated a bit, and twinkled: "Are all tellurians like those we've met in the last year?"

1935 May, Joseph William Skidmore, “A Saga of Posi and Nega”, in T[homas] O’Conor Sloane, editor, Amazing Stories, volume 10, New York, N.Y.: Teck Publishing Corporation, →OCLC, page 107:

(chiefly science fiction) Alternative letter-case form of Tellurian (“inhabitant of the planet Earth”)


magistra

Your grandmother must have provided assistance to the magistra at some point.

2002, Evelyn Vaughn, Forest of the Night, →ISBN, page 13:

What the magistra hadn’t said was that a number of the other students were children, some as young as eight or nine.

2007, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Natural Ordermage, →ISBN, page 119:

“You will take the magistra and magister wherever they need to go, please. They have done my household great service tonight.”

2009, Alison Sinclair, Darkborn, New American Library, →ISBN:

The Magistra was waiting for him in the entrance hall, the vast double doors already opened.

2013, R. S. Ford, Herald of the Storm (Steelhaven: Book One), Headline Publishing Group, →ISBN:

It was, after all, addressed to the magistra of the branch, and technically she fit the description.

2013, Daniel Abraham, The Tyrant’s Law (book 3 of The Dagger and the Coin), Hachette, →ISBN:

With some difficulty, the magistra managed to undo the clasp.

2015, Paul E. Horsman, Rhidauna: The Shadow of the Revenaunt, Book 1, Red Rune Books, →ISBN:

Giving the magistra an apologetic nod, he turned to the karanat and observed, “You do speak Esse. Let’s have no more pretense of that kind. I have questions, which I can put to you in civilized fashion here, under Magistra Ilia’s eye, or elsewhere, under no concerned gaze.[…]”

2016, Rachel Neumeier, The Mountain of Kept Memory, Saga Press, →ISBN:

“On the contrary, show them both in, and bring us a can of Tulamyde Gold and some cookies. It will not be said that I am stingy with important guests,” Emmeran Stoerrebrandt proclaimed. Yet another violation of his dietary rules. He regretted it almost at once. At least until the Magistra rushed into the room, her face set in a grim scowl.

2017, Kevin MacGregor, editor, The Dark Eye: Starless Sky, Ulisses Spiele, →ISBN:

The magistra, who came to inspect the cleaning, interrupted her, “Why are you standing there staring at the wall when there’s much work to do, Floriana?[…]”

2019, Eleanor Cripps, The Countess Choir Woman, Christian Faith Publishing, Inc., →ISBN:

She had always been jealous of the Magistras and their proximity to Queen Leona and now she could solve a problem for one of them.

2020, A.N. Sage, Kartega, Cauldron Press, →ISBN:

It didn’t help that Zuri pulled out her saltiest language in Ky’s required meetings with the coven council. He was convinced she did it on purpose. For one thing, she always looked far too smug at the outraged expressions on the magistras’ faces.

2020, E.J. Russell, Witch Under Wraps, Riptide Publishing, →ISBN, page 34:

Our physician is not available, and we have sought aid from the magistra and Leah Sara Garcia.

2022, Esther Erman, Rebecca of Salerno: A Novel of Rogue Crusaders, a Jewish Female Physician, and a Murder, She Writes Press, →ISBN:

(fiction, especially fantasy) A woman with power or authority, such as a teacher or archmage; a mistress.


Earthwoman

One was what had been born in me, what had been inextricably entangled in the structure of the germ cell from which I had been created; the other remembered all the long years on Earth when I, in common with every other Earthman and Earthwoman, had been flexed and shaped by the insistent pounding of the Combine; my brain had been conditioned to believe what it was desired that I should believe, and nothing beyond that.

1934 September, Frank King Kelly, “Famine on Mars”, in Astounding Stories, volume 14, number 1, page 77:

(usually science fiction) A female inhabitant of Earth.


genius

en-noun

genius (countable and uncountable, plural geniuses or genii)

From Latin genius (“inborn nature; a tutelary deity of a person or place; wit, brilliance”), from gignō (“to beget, produce”), Old Latin genō, from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵenh₁-. Doublet of genio. See also genus.

bor

Coordinate term: idiot savant

Marx stand höher, sah weiter, überblickte mehr und rascher als wir andern alle. Marx war ein Genie, wir andern höchstens Talente.

1962 [1888, 1886], Friedrich Engels, chapter IV, in Ludwig Feuerbach und der Ausgang der klassischen deutschen Philosophie (Marx-Engels-Werke; 21), page 292; English translation from Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy (Marx/Engels Collected Works; 26), translation of original in German, 1990, page 382:

(countable) Someone possessing extraordinary intelligence or skill; especially somebody who has demonstrated this by a creative or original work in science, music, art etc.

genie

someone possessing extraordinary intelligence or skill


mage

From Middle English mages (plurale tantum), from Latin magus, from Ancient Greek Μάγος (Mágos), from the hapax Old Persian 𐎶𐎦𐎢𐏁 (m-gu-u-š /maguš/). Doublet of magus.

(chiefly fantasy) A magician, wizard, sorcerer, witch, warlock or mystic.

spiritualist

spiritualist or practitioner of mystic arts

While the liberality of Gelo and his brother Hiero atracted every stranger who could amuse or instruct the court of Syracuse, a Persian Mage related to the former of those princes that he himself had circumnavigated the whole continent of Africa.

c. 1790, Edward Gibbon, On the Position of the Meridional Line, and the supposed Circumnavigation of Africa by the Ancients; republished as The Miscellaneous Works of Edward Gibbon, Esq. […] , volume 5, 1814, pages 186–87:

(obsolete) Synonym of magus: a Zoroastrian priest.

magic user

practitioner of allegedly supernatural magic


Little Red Riding Hood

A fairy tale about a young girl who walks through the forest to visit her grandmother and encounters the Big Bad Wolf (or another vicious wolf, or werewolf in archaic versions).

Mainsak a manlalakbeng makamalutung pandung


Snow White

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

Calque of German Schneewittchen (literally “white as snow”).

calque

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)

A fairy tale, the best-known version of Schneewittchen collected by the Brothers Grimm, in which a beautiful young girl is targeted by a jealous queen and tended by dwarfs.

The discovery of male Cinderellas and Snow Whites in modern Turkish folklore invites further meditations and investigations.

1994, Canadian Children’s Literature, page 29:

Though it is often up to the Prince Charming of each novel to sweep the Austenian Snow Whites and Cinderellas off their feet, it is often up to the Snow Whites and Cinderellas to teach their respective heroes a little sense—or, in the case of Colonel Brandon and his all-but-impassioned Shakespeare reading, a little sensibility.

2008, Carol J. Adams, Douglas Buchanan, Kelly Gesch, The Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Jane Austen, Continuum, →ISBN, page 113:

There is no shortage of little girls dressed as Sleeping Beauties, Snow Whites, Cinderellas, or even any of the princess “rebels” such as Ariel (who gave up her voice for a man) or Belle (who endured captivity as a pathway to love).

2021, Gloria J. Romero, Just Not That Likable: The Price All Women Pay for Gender Bias, Post Hill Press, →ISBN:


Rumpelstiltskin

Tom Tit Tot

from English Fairy Tales, collected & edited by Joseph Jacobs, 1884

A fairy tale about a dwarf who saves the miller’s daughter by spinning straw into gold in exchange for her first-born child, but is foiled when she guesses his name.


laminak

Basque folklore is full of references to a type of creature called the lamiñak, who, as we have seen, are the female counterparts of the cromlech-building Maide.

1989, The Journal of Indo-European Studies, volume 17, page 282:

She smiled, remembering the Basque story Zak had told her about the laminaks — little people who live in caves in the mountains and come into the house during the night, […]

1991, Patricia Edwards, Sweet Promised Land, page 233:

A kind of fairy in Basque mythology, related to the Little People in Celtic lore.


illusionist

One who works with illusion or sleight of hand.

աճպարար

one who works with illusion or sleight of hand


rebel

From Middle English rebel, rebell, from Old French rebelle, from Latin rebellis (“waging war again; insurgent”), from rebellō (“I wage war again, fight back”), from re- (“again, back”) + bellō (“I wage war”).

der

Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America

(US, historical) Synonym of Confederate: a citizen of the Confederate States of America, especially a Confederate soldier.


mon

From Japanese 文 (mon). Cognate to wen, mun and van.

The shimonsen or shimon, originally worth four mon, but debased to two mon.

1902, Walter Del Mar, Around the World Through Japan, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., page 136:

(historical) The former currency of Japan until 1870, before the yen.


mon

From a dialectal variant of man; compare Western Middle English mon (alongside Eastern man).

Ee I'm allus glad to see a mon like thee. That's as welcome lad, as welcome as can be. Fotch thi cheer up t'table. Stop as long as th'art able. Fer I'm allus glad to see a mon like thee.

1974, “A Mon Like Thee”, in Best o't' Bunch, performed by The Oldham Tinkers:

I am a Black Country mon. Yow dow know and the Brummies woh understond.

2020, “Black Country Mon”performed by Johnny Cole:

(colloquial) Man; used in places such as Jamaica, and Lancashire, Shropshire and the Black Country in England.


mon

Clipping of monster, via Japanese モン (mon) in Pokémon, Digimon, etc.

Here they are, the fans voted for them, and here they are, the Mons that can...

2000 November 25, Thomas Conner, “Digimon Top Ten Choice List”, in alt.fan.digimon (Usenet):

When a mon attacks him, he returns the same strike with the world "Reflection" after it, double the original strength.

2003 February 15, sirSTACK, “Digimon #429”, in alt.fan.digimon (Usenet):

And thus did it come to pass that the boy and the two mons, after a brief final discussion began the training.

2011 June 6, Clayton, “PW! - Training Interlude”, in alt.games.nintendo.pokemon (Usenet):

(fandom slang) A creature in a video game, usually one which is captured, trained up and used in battles.

Pokemon, digimon and all other merchandised mons, what good parent will disagree with me that those little invading, mind rotting things should be tolerated... those should be illegal, too...

2001 May 27, Travis Anton, “Cigarette Smoke”, in alt.home.repair (Usenet):

And dont buy Pokemon or Digimon or any other bloody Mons or you will never hear the ned^([sic]) of it :-)

2001 May 24, Horace Wachope, “Kids Toys”, in alt.ozdebate (Usenet):

At any rate Digimon was the best mon/collector series we've seen yet, to the point its popularity was prolly bigger here than its marketing.

2003 December 9, tito, “Main difference between anime and U.S. cartoons?”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):

(fandom slang) A video game or anime in which catching and battling creatures is an important element.


outlaw

From Middle English outlawe, outlagh, utlaȝe, from Old English ūtlaga (“outlaw”), borrowed from Old Norse útlagi (“outlaw, fugitive”), equivalent to out- + law. Cognate with Icelandic útlagi (“outlaw”).

The main character in the play was a bit of an outlaw who refused to shake hands or say thank you.

en:person who operates outside established norms

A person who operates outside established norms.


torpedo

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

cog

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

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


Martian

From Latin Mārtius (“of or relating to the planet Mars”) + -an (adjective-forming suffix). The word is cognate with Middle English marcien, marcyan, mercien (“subject to the influence or power of the planet Mars; relating to the god Mars, that is, warlike”), Middle French martien (“Martian”) (modern French martien), French Martien (“imaginary inhabitant of Mars; any extraterrestrial”), Italian marziano, Latin Mārtiānus (“Martian”), Portuguese marciano, Spanish marciano.

cog

The direct heat of the sun, shining through so thin an atmosphere, must be considerable wherever the sun is at a sufficient elevation; and of course the very tenuity of the air renders vaporization so much the easier, for the boiling point (and consequently all temperatures of evaporation at given rates) would be correspondingly lowered. Accordingly, during the greater part of the Martian day, the hoar frost and whatever light snow might have fallen on the preceding evening would be completely dissolved away, and thus the ruddy earth or the greenish ice-masses of the so-called oceans would be revealed to the terrestral observer.

1873 July, “The Planet Mars: An Essay by a Whewellite”, in The Cornhill Magazine, volume XXVIII, number 163, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 96–97:

Prof. Percival Lowell, the eminent Martian astronomer, said in a recent interview in New York: "The Martian canals are not Panama canals. The word 'canals' you know, really means 'lines.' [...]"

1910 September, H[enry] H[aven] Windsor, editor, Popular Mechanics, volume 14, number 3, Chicago, Ill.: Popular Mechanics Co., →OCLC, page 456, column 1:

Not wishing to lose this great opportunity of being the first to receive Martian signals, we 'phoned to the manager to come over immediately and verify our "startling" discovery. [...] A day later a lineman in the employ of a stock quotation ticker agency happened to be working on the roof. [...] [H]e suggested that we might possibly be troubled with induction from these wires, and that our lead-in would perhaps be better if it ran along the outside of the building. Troubled with induction! In truth, that was the very thing which we had mistaken for Martian signals.

1920 October, Austin C. Lescarboura, “Wireless Fakes and Fakers”, in H[ugo] Gernsback, editor, Radio World, volume 2, number 4, New York, N.Y.: Experimenter Publishing Co., →OCLC, page 217, columns 2–3:

She [Catherine Elise Muller] claimed her astral body was transported to the planet, so she was able to draw detailed Martian landscapes and to speak and write its language.

2004 January 8, Mark Pilkington, “Martian spoken here”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 2014-09-12:

Martian meteorites (Fig. 1.3) are pieces of Mars that have been blasted off the surface, hurtled through space, and delivered to Earth [...]. We know they are from Mars because the noble gases, carbon, and nitrogen measured in shock melt pockets in certain meteorites have the same relative elemental abundances and similar isotopic ratios as the Martian atmosphere—a unique fingerprint [...].

2019, Justin Filiberto, Susanne P. Schwenzer, “Introduction to Volatiles in the Martian Crust”, in Justin Filiberto, Susanne P. Schwenzer, editors, Volatiles in the Martian Crust, Amsterdam, Kidlington, Oxford: Elsevier, →ISBN, section 1.1.1 (Martian Meteorites), page 4:

Of or relating to the planet Mars, or (science fiction) its imagined inhabitants.


Martian

Amazing Stories
Frank R. Paul
H. G. Wells
Hubble Space Telescope
The War of the Worlds

Thus she [one of the moons of Mars] has a disc, always on this assumption be it remembered, equal to about a quarter of our moon's; and being illuminated by the sun, like the other moon, with a light varying from one-half to one-third that which he pours on the earth, it follows that the light she reflects to Martians, or would reflect to them if there were any such beings, varies from one-eighth to one-twelfth of that which we receive from the full moon.

1877 October, Wentworth Erck, “The Moons of Mars”, in The Cornhill Magazine, volume XXXVI, number 214, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, page 424:

Those who have never seen a living Martian can scarcely imagine the strange horror of their appearance. The peculiar V-shaped mouth with its pointed upper lip, the absence of brow ridges, the absence of a chin beneath the wedge-like lower lip, the incessant quivering of this mouth, the Gorgon groups of tentacles, [...]

1895–1897, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Cylinder Unscrews”, in The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, published 1898, →OCLC, book I (The Coming of the Martians), page 28:

[...] M. le Coultre, the distinguished astronomer of Geneva, has once more declared that the Martians are trying to signal to us. [...] How long M. le Coultre's suggestion will stand before it goes the way of other similar conjectures now exploded, no one can say.

1913 November 8, “Signals from Mars”, in The North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette: The Weekly Edition of the North-China Daily News, volume CIX (New Series), number 2413, Shanghai: Printed and published at the offices of the North-China Daily News & Herald, Ld., →OCLC, page 399, column 2:

If the Martian understood and could analyze the character of men and women, he would find in shops, factories, mills, schools, offices, in business, in the professions and arts, multitudes of men and women in the unhappy position of the fish out of water. Floundering hopelessly in vocations for which they have no aptitude, unless some merciful wave carry them to their native element, the place for which nature especially equipped them, their lives will be wrecked.

1921 May, Orison Swett Marden, “Are You a Fish Out of Water?”, in Orison Swett Marden, editor, The New Success: Marden’s Magazine, volume V, number 5, New York, N.Y.: The Lowrey-Marden Corporation, →OCLC, page 54:

Like a philosopher, or rather the hermit crab, he [Hoo Keng Tuck] lives in complete retirement, looking out occasionally from his coign of vantage upon his luckless compatriots who are struggling to make this world a better place to live in for themselves and their children, pretty much as a Martian might watch the social activities of the earth's inhabitants.

1923, Song Ong Siang, “The Third Decade (1839–49)”, in One Hundred Years’ History of the Chinese in Singapore: […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 57:

However, despite a declared interest in Mexico's Indian past, he feels that his country's uneducated and mostly Indian citizens are like creatures of another species. To then, "we are like Martians," Javier says, "We don't speak as they do or think as they do … If we do see them, it's like the zoo … We are their enemies and they know it" [...].

1982, Malva E. Filer, “A Change of Skin and the Shaping of a Mexican Time”, in Robert Brody, Charles Rossman, editors, Carlos Fuentes: A Critical View (Texas Pan American Series), Austin, Tx.: University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 128:

A Martian who landed in Britain in the past few weeks—assuming he managed to get a visa—would take it for a place that dislikes visitors. [...] And yet, if he lingered, the Martian might find himself being asked how health care was organised on his planet, or how its retailers were coping with the internet.

2013 August 24, “Bagehot” [pseudonym], “Go away, we need you: In Britain, xenophilia runs almost as deep as xenophobia”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8850, archived from the original on 2013-08-22:

(chiefly science fiction) An inhabitant of the planet Mars.

Coordinate term: Martianess

An inhabitant of the planet Mars.
A male Martian.


Martian

Although impressed by [Catherine Elise] Muller as a person, [Théodore] Flournoy regarded her experiences as a marvel of psychology rather than spiritualism. One of his key findings was that, while Muller's Martian had a consistent 23 letter alphabet, grammar and syntax, it was in fact a twisted variant of French.

Suvi: Between the Remnant city, Meridian, and however the Scourge fits in... pardon my Martian, but it's all weird as shit.

2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Tempest:

(science fiction) A hypothetical language spoken on Mars.


Venusian

The Venusians, unlike other planetary races, were almost like Earthpeople. There was only one notable difference—they had feathers on their heads instead of hair.

1953 May, Eando Binder, “Interplanetary Tenements”, in Captain Marvel Adventures, volume 24, number 144, page (inside front cover):

(science fiction) An inhabitant of the planet Venus.


Venusian

Near-synonym: Aphrodisian

en:pertaining to the Roman goddess Venus


Venusian

(science fiction) A hypothetical language spoken on Venus.


Dickensian

en-adj

Dickensian (comparative more Dickensian, superlative most Dickensian)

more Dickensian (comparative)
most Dickensian (superlative)

From Dickens (the surname of Charles Dickens (1812–1870)) + -ian (suffix forming adjectives or nouns meaning ‘belonging to, relating to, or like’).

af

Of, pertaining to, or created by the English author Charles Dickens.

dickensià

of, pertaining to, or created by the English author Charles Dickens

a Dickensian name

Similar to Dickens' writing style, especially in commenting on society, or in using emotion, humour, or rich descriptions.

At last the first glimpse from a bridge of an open-top red bus, and a noticeable darkening of the atmosphere from the smoke of London: then the increasingly dingy stations with double-barrel names, set amid what has always been to me the outstanding feature of the "Premier Line" approach to London—the positively marvellous display of crazy chimney-pots on the grey inner suburban houses. As many as twenty, all of varying style, standing together like ranks of jagged teeth, and providing a Dickensian back-cloth which no other route can boast.

1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, page 704:

As though in expiation of their sires' wealth, schoolboys often had to live in conditions that would have disgraced a Dickensian workhouse.

1988, Cecil D. Eby, “Playing the Game”, in The Road to Armageddon: The Martial Spirit in English Popular Literature 1870–1914, Durham, N.C., London: Duke University Press, →ISBN, page 89:

As earlier implied, the planet is threatened on three major fronts: […] (3) by a Dickensian world of wretched excess and wretched despair.

1993, William Sloane Coffin, “A Vision of the Future”, in A Passion for the Possible: A Message to U.S. Churches, Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Knox Press, →ISBN, page 10:

Down in the subway under the roundabout the looming social ordeal started to weigh down on me, […] By the time I pressed a huge and over-polished brass bell I'd devolved into a shifty-eyed, cinder-cheeked Dickensian urchin, and when the door opened I half expected to see Mrs Bridges throw up her fat, floury hands and scream for the cook's boy.

2001 February, Tim Moore, “Prologue”, in Frost on My Moustache: The Arctic Exploits of a Lord and a Loafer, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Griffin, St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 2:

Leaning against piracy fits in with China's desire to cast off its image of a country where exploited workers toil for a pittance in Dickensian factories that turn the air and water black with the pollution they discharge.

2008 September 15, Alan Wheatley, “China getting higher marks for tackling piracy”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 2010-04-23:

Reminiscent of the environments and situations most commonly portrayed in Dickens' writings, such as poverty, social injustice, and other aspects of Victorian England.

dickensià

reminiscent of the environments and situations most commonly portrayed in Dickens’ writings, such as poverty, social injustice, and other aspects of Victorian England


Dickensian

A person who admires or studies the works of Charles Dickens.


Narutard

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

For quotations using this term, see Citations:Narutard.

(Internet slang, fandom slang, derogatory) An obsessive fan of the Japanese manga series Naruto.


feral child

A child who is raised without human contact as a result of being abandoned, allegedly often raised by wild animals.


metamorphosis

en-noun

metamorphosis (countable and uncountable, plural metamorphoses)

/ˌmɛtəˈmɔːfəsɪs/

/ˌmɛtəmɔːˈfəʊsɪs/

/ˌmɛtəˈmɔɹfəsɪs/

First attested in 1533, from Latin metamorphōsis, from Ancient Greek μεταμόρφωσις (metamórphōsis), from μετά (metá, “change”) + μορφή (morphḗ, “form”). Analyzable as meta- + -morph + -osis

der

μεταμόρφωσις

(pathology) A change, usually degenerative, in the structure of a specific body tissue.


tomboy

→ Bikol Central: tomboy

→ Cebuano: tomboy

→ Spanish: tomboy

→ Tagalog: tomboy

From tom + boy. First attested in Ralph Roister Doister (published 1567, written circa 1552), where it is used to describe a boisterous girl; the OED says the citation is however "generally taken" to mean a boisterous boy, and says that a use in The Old Law (published 1656, thought to have been written circa 1599) "certainly" means a boy: "must young court-tits / play tomboys' tricks with her?" By 1579 it was attested in the meaning "an immodest woman", and by no later than 1592 it had developed its modern meaning of a “girl who acts like a boy”.

(Philippines, colloquial) A lesbian; a butch.


genie

From French génie (“genius, genie”), a phono-semantic matching of Arabic جِنِّيّ (jinniyy).

psm

genie in a bottle

(mythology) A fictional magical being that is typically bound to obey the commands of a mortal possessing its container.


curmudgeon

/kɚˈmʌd͡ʒən/

Numerous folk etymologies exist for this word.
An alternative spelling attested in 1600 is cornmudgin, in Holland's translation of Livy, rendering Latin frūmentārius (“corn-merchant”). This has been suggested as the original form of the word, but OED notes that curmudgeon is attested some years before this, concluding that cornmudgin was merely a nonce-word by Holland.
The word is attested from the late 1500s in the forms curmudgeon and curmudgen, and during the 17th century in numerous spelling variants, including cormogeon, cormogion, cormoggian, cormudgeon, curmudgion, curmuggion, curmudgin, curr-mudgin, curre-megient.

Near-synonyms: crank, grump; grumpy pants (often childish)

There's a cranky curmudgeon working at the hospital who gives all the patients and other doctors flak.

John Doe's old age and stubborn aversion to new ideas make him a curmudgeon of a candidate.

After a while, as cultural debates became more polarized, the editorial tone of the New Criterion went from being charmingly curmudgeon to being bitterly shrill.

How to Be a Curmudgeon on the Internet

How should I respond, without appearing to be a curmudgeon?

An ill-tempered person full of stubborn ideas or opinions, often an older man.


physicist

From physics + -ist. Coined by the English polymath William Whewell (1794–1866) in his book The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences (1840): see the quotation.

coinage

Thus we may say, that while the Naturalist employs principally the ideas of resemblance and life, the Physicist proceeds upon the ideas of force, matter, and the properties of matter.

1840, William Whewell, “Aphorisms Concerning the Language of Science. Aphorism VI. When Common Words are Appropriated as Technical Terms, this Must be Done so that They are Not Ambiguous in Their Application.”, in The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences, Founded upon Their History. […], volume I, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […]; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: J. and J. J. Deighton, →OCLC, page lxxi:

Physicists find themselves called in to deal with such varied problems as the reduction of noise in diesel railcars, investigation of the Hertzian stresses set up by wheel-rail contact and improvement of the insulation of fish and banana vans.

1961 February, R. K. Evans, “The role of research on British Railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 95:

A person whose occupation specializes in the science of physics, especially at a professional level.


Orwellian

en-adj

Orwellian (comparative more Orwellian, superlative most Orwellian)

more Orwellian (comparative)
most Orwellian (superlative)

“But they soon find out that an enforced equality, without free individualism to temper it, becomes an Orwellian nightmare-version of the workers' paradise, in which ‘all are equal, but some are more equal than others.’”

1950, Peter Viereck, Public Affairs volume 13, p. 22, published by the Institute of Public Affairs, Dalhousie University (later republished in 1953 in Shame and Glory of the Intellectuals: Babbitt Jr. Vs. the Rediscovery of Values by the Beacon Press p. 204)

“The Orwellian slogan that ‘War is Peace’ was, consciously or unconsciously, from the beginning adopted by both conflicting groups within the U.N.”

1954, Sisley Huddleston, Popular Diplomacy and War:

Largely invisible much of the year, China’s non-Communist parties are thrust to the fore each March for a display of what the official news media calls China’s system of “multiparty cooperation and political consultation.”
The news conference, held in a gilded meeting room in the Great Hall of the People, is an Orwellian affair, with party leaders referring to the wonders of “democratic centralization,” heaping praise on the Communist Party and then answering fawning questions from the state media.

2013 March 12, Andrew Jacobs, Patrick Zuo, Shi Da, “Non-Communist Parties Lend China an Air of Pluralism, Without the Mess”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2013-03-15, Asia Pacific:

In this metropolis that had a prewar population of almost a million, but where the city center now feels like an Orwellian ghost town of propaganda posters and armed patrols, perhaps no one feels more alone than those who still harbor pro-Ukrainian sentiments.

2014 September 25, Anthony Faiola, “An Orwellian nightmare for pro-Ukrainians in rebel-held east”, in The Washington Post, Nash Holdings, LLC, retrieved 2014-09-25:

Just as the Bush administration and the U.S. media re-labelled ‘torture’ with the Orwellian euphemism ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ to make it more palatable, the governments and media of the Five Eyes surveillance alliance are now attempting to re-brand ‘mass surveillance’ as ‘bulk collection’ in order to make it less menacing (and less illegal)... just as it was stunning to watch media outlets refuse to use the term ‘torture’ because the U.S. Government demanded that it be called something else – this Orwellian switch in surveillance language is now predictably (and mindlessly) being adopted by those nations’ most state-loyal media outlets.

2015 March 13, Glenn Greenwald, “The Orwellian Re-Branding of ‘Mass Surveillance’ as Merely ‘Bulk Collection’”, in First Look, The Intercept, archived from the original on 2015-03-14:

To spend several days watching news broadcasts on the main state channels, as well as surveying state-controlled newspapers, is to witness the extent of the Kremlin’s efforts to sanitize its war with the Orwellian term “special military operation” — and to make all news coverage align with that message.

2022 March 8, Neil MacFarquhar, “Two Days of Russian News Coverage: An Alternate Reality of War”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Resembling the totalitarian political methods decried in the works of writer George Orwell, particularly in the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four; characterized by use of misleading terminology, propaganda, censorship, surveillance and repression.

أَرْوَلِيٌّ

of or relating to Orwell, especially his dystopian novels


father figure

Coordinate term: mother figure

Tudjman, the national father-figure, emerged as the improbable and unexpected victor of the wars of the Yugoslav succession of 1991-99.

1999 December 13, Ian Traynor, “Obituary: Franjo Tudjman”, in The Guardian, UK, retrieved 2014-07-08:

Orphaned at a young age, he found a father figure in the confident and committed al-Bahri.

2008 July 21, Jonathan Mahler, “Hamdan: Guantánamo's Mystery Man”, in Time, retrieved 2014-07-08:

One who represents, behaves as, or is regarded as equivalent to a father for another person or group of people.

faderfigur

one who represents, behaves as, or is regarded as a father


CV

en-noun

CV (countable and uncountable, plural CVs)

Abbreviation
* (anime, Japanimation): From Japanese CV (CV), from English character+voice
* (aircraft carrier): Initialism of cruiser (“croiseur”) + French voler (“to fly”).

initialism of

(anime) character's voice (“voice actor”)


counterfactual

Just as counterfactuals employ too much imagination to qualify as historical works, alternate history often labors under too great a load of artificial "facts" to take flight as fiction.

2004 September 5, Laura Miller, “Imagine”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

We can spin out complicated counterfactuals that justify the Iraq invasion, and complicated counterfactuals that make it look even worse.

2010 September 1, Ross Douthat, “Iraq in the Long Run”, in New York Times, retrieved 2021-07-15:

The implicit counterfactual — that these members would support gun control if not for the $1,000 they received from the NRA — seems unlikely to me.

2015 December 3, Lee Drutman, “Here's the real reason we don't have gun reform”, in Vox:

Roese also says counterfactuals can serve emotional purposes. You can think about how things could have been worse, and so feel better about yourself, and grateful for where you are.

2016 February 11, Noah Berlatsky, quoting Neal Roese, “'What if?': Why we can't get enough of counterfactual shows”, in The Guardian:

Imagine a counterfactual in which we started relaxing restrictions at an even earlier time, just as the cases began to trend downward.

2021 May 14, Dashiell Young-Saver, “The Math of Ending the Pandemic: Exponential Growth and Decay”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

A hypothetical state of the world, used to assess the impact of an action.


heroine

From Latin hērōīna, from late Ancient Greek ἡρωΐνη (hērōḯnē) (2nd century), a feminine equivalent of ἥρως (hḗrōs, “hero, demigod”), equivalent to hero + -ine (suffix forming feminine nouns).
* English from 1587. The sense of "female lead character" is from 1715.

suf

Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels.

1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Affair at the Novelty Theatre”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:


sorcery

en-noun

sorcery (countable and uncountable, plural sorceries)

From Middle English sorcery, borrowed from Middle French sorcerie, ultimately derived from Latin sors (“fate”), from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind”). Cognate with serō, seriēs, sermō. Compare also French sorcier.

Sorcery in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)


Xena

Possibly a variant of Xenia, from Latin Xenia, from Ancient Greek ξενία (xenía, “hospitable”), the assumed name of a fifth-century saint venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church, from ξένος (xénos, “foreign, strange”).

der

A female given name from Ancient Greek of modern usage.


meh

en-adj

meh (comparative more meh, superlative most meh)

more meh (comparative)
most meh (superlative)

Popularized by the American television show The Simpsons; first used on the show in the episode titled "Sideshow Bob Roberts" (1994).
Possibly ultimately from Yiddish מע (me, “so-so”). First attested in 1928.

They redeemed themselves with this show. The first song or two was meh, but they were on fire after that.

2003, steve-o, “Jam On The River Mini-Review”, in rec.music.phish (Usenet):

The voice is excellent as always, but the overall effect was meh until the end, where he became a little bit awesome.

2006, Suzanne D., “Recaps: Finals Week 8 Performances, 5/2/2006”, in alt.tv.american-idol (Usenet):

Nothing that was supposed to be big and exciting came off as such and the rest was meh at best.

2006, FunkyM, “Turned on RAW for the first time in forever last night…”, in rec.sport.pro.wrestling (Usenet):

Mediocre; lackluster; unexceptional; uninspiring.

nic moc

mediocre; lackluster; unexceptional; uninspiring

Both shows left me feeling, meh.

2003, Dana, “10/18/03 Shows”, in alt.tv.trading-spaces (Usenet):

I’m a huge Clay fan, love Ruben’s voice, and have become quite a fan of Kelly’s, as well. Fantasia just leaves me feeling meh.

2004, jennifer, “The FANtasia thing: I don’t get it…”, in alt.gossip.celebrities (Usenet):

I liked it but I wasn’t feeling it for some reason that day, again, I was feeling meh toward video games in general.

2006, ettie...@hotmail.com, “Steve’s impressions on random Genesis games”, in rec.games.video.sega (Usenet):


meh

“What do you want for dinner?” — “Meh. I’m not really hungry.”

“That film was awesome!” — “Meh. I’ve seen better.”

Marge: [weaving on a loom] “Hi Bart, I’m weaving on a loom!”
Bart: “Meh”.

1995 March 19, “Lisa's Wedding”, in The Simpsons:

Scientists say that while the public may think of the moon as a problem solved and a bit retro – the place astronauts visited a half-dozen times way back before Watergate and then abandoned with a giant "meh" from mankind – in fact, lunar studies is a vibrant enterprise that is yielding a wealth of surprises.

2014 September 7, Natalie Angier, “The Moon comes around again [print version: Revisiting a moon that still has secrets to reveal: Supermoon revives interest in its violent origins and hidden face, International New York Times, 10 September 2014, p. 8]”, in The New York Times:

(slang) Expressing indifference or lack of enthusiasm.

hm

slang: expressing indifference or lack of enthusiasm


meh

(informal) A judgement marked by indifference; lack of impression.


meh

Really meh? ― Really? I don’t think so.

This one your one meh? ― Is this really yours?

You got send [e-mail] meh? I never receive leh.

2010 August 22, Fiona Chan, The Sunday Times, Singapore, page 13:

“Nice meh?” I would think sourly.

2013 October 7, Tee Hun Ching, The Sunday Times, Singapore, page 12:

"Huh? At this hour? Really meh?" He couldn't believe his own ears.

2020, Yasser Khan, Property Agent Secrets: The Underground Playbook For Growing Your Property Agent Business in 2021 & Beyond, →ISBN, page 123:

Not pain, meh. When you have eczema and do tattoos?

2024 March 28, Benjamin Tan, “In Their Own Skin: Portraits of Eczema in Singapore”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 2024-11-26:

(interrogative) Final question particle expressing skepticism.


slithy

Blend of lithe + slimy, coined by Lewis Carroll in 1871.

The squid wrapped its slithy tentacles around its prey.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves / Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.

She wanted to wear these slithy, snaky gowns you see in the pictures in the hallways of the $3 photographers.

1906, Good Housekeeping, volume 43, page 130:

Such a carriage is known as “an araba,” or alternatively as an yaili—a name which is probably onomatopœic, for it is about the “slithiest” thing that runs on wheels.

1914, Edgar Thomas Ainger Wigram, The Cradle of Mankind: Life in Eastern Kurdistan:

Falling roof, hidden shafts, slithiest snakes could not have stopped me after that. I arrived in the sparkling area.

1917, Gertrude Singleton Mathews, Treasure, page 126:

He sweeps down; a frog is pinioned / Swift arrives his faithful soul-mate / True-loves share their slithy dinner.

2013, Jane Wilson-Howarth, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows:

The Beast, slithier even than the Jabberwock and certainly a deal more manxsome as a foe, grips in its claws a dreaded P45 from Piers marking the end of employment at Gussage Court.

2014, Timothy Edward, Lessons in Humiliation, page 157:

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There


organic

From Middle English organic, organik, from Old French organique, from Latin organicus.

Pitiful organics.

2016, Paradox Interactive, Stellaris (video game), scene: Anomaly Event 3089:

(science fiction) A living organism, as opposed to a robot or hologram.


stun

en-noun

stun (countable and uncountable, plural stuns)

From Middle English stunien, stonien, stounien, from Old English stunian (“to crash, make a loud sound, resound, roar, strike with a loud sound, dash, impinge, knock, confound, astonish, stupefy”), from Proto-West Germanic *stunōn, from Proto-Germanic *stunōną, *stunjaną (“to sound, crash, bang, groan”), from Proto-Germanic *stenaną (“to moan, shout”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tona-, *(s)tena- (“to thunder, roar, groan”) (compare thunder). Cognate with Middle Low German stonen (“to groan”), Middle High German stunen, stunden (“to drive, push, knock, strike”), Swedish stöna (“to moan, groan”), Danish stønne (“to moan, groan”), Icelandic stynja (“to moan”). Related also to Dutch steunen (“to groan; support”), German stöhnen (“to groan, moan”), German staunen (“to be astonished, be amazed, marvel at”), Russian стонать (stonatʹ), стена́ть (stenátʹ, “to moan, groan”). See also Occitan estonar, Old French estoner, English astonish.

cog

Captain James Kirk: "Set your phaser on one quarter. I'll leave mine on stun."

1966 September 8, George Clayton Johnson, The Man Trap (Star Trek), season 1, episode 1:

(science fiction, uncountable) A low-range setting for an energy weapon that will stun its target but not injure or kill it.


Area 51

→ German: Area 51

desc

→ Mandarin: 51區 /51区 (Wǔshíyī qū) (calque)

Unclear, but perhaps from a grid numbering system of the area by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). While Area 51 is not part of this system, it is adjacent to Area 15.

Nevada Test and Training Range
w:Nevada Test and Training Range

(science fiction or ufology, informal) A secret military facility, airport, and airbase in Nevada Test and Training Range, Nevada, United States.

Atomic Energy Commission
en:Area 51
en:Area 51 (disambiguation)


beamer

From beam (“project, transmit”) + -er (agent noun suffix), or, for the ball, + -er (patient suffix).

suf

For several days he went about his charge with disgust, trying everything he could to avoid the stench of rotting vegetation and of human feces, which was overpowering even as it all burned under the plasma from his beamer.

2013, Paul Alcorn, The Rhoedraegon Chronicles: Book Two:

(science fiction) A device that projects or transmits matter, information, or energy.


Hollywood

en-proper noun

Hollywood (countable and uncountable, plural Hollywoods)

(Hollywood, L.A., CA, USA): Coined by real estate developer H. J. Whitley, from holly + wood. The name of the place became the name of the industry, and eventually also a name for decadence, by metonymy.

Bollywood

for more similarly formed names, see Category:en:Film industries

Other places in the United States:
A town in Jackson County, Alabama.

Jefferson County
Jefferson County#English

A neighborhood and historic district in Homewood, Jefferson County, Alabama.

Other places in the United States:
A city in Broward County, Florida.

Habersham County
Habersham County#English

An unincorporated community in Habersham County, Georgia.

St. Mary's County
St. Mary's County#English

An unincorporated community in St. Mary's County, Maryland, named for a large holly tree.

An unincorporated community and township in Carver County, Minnesota.

An unincorporated community in Tunica County, Mississippi.

An unincorporated community in Dunklin County, Missouri.

A neighborhood of Ruidoso, Lincoln County, New Mexico.

A neighborhood in north-east Portland, Oregon.

A neighborhood of Hazleton, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

Montgomery County
Montgomery County#English

An unincorporated community in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

Charleston County
Charleston County#English

A town in Charleston County, South Carolina.

A neighborhood in north Memphis, Tennessee.

Appomattox County
Appomattox County#English

An unincorporated community in Appomattox County, Virginia.

Pittsylvania County
Pittsylvania County#English

An unincorporated community in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.

An unincorporated community in Monroe County, West Virginia.

Former name of MacArthur, West Virginia.


horror

en-noun

horror (countable and uncountable, plural horrors)

hoar (some rhotic American accents with the horse–hoarse merger)

From Middle English horer, horrour, from Old French horror, from Latin horror (“a bristling, a shaking, trembling as with cold or fear, terror”), from horrere (“to bristle, shake, be terrified”). Displaced native Old English ōga.

der

Those who enjoy horror, stories overflowing with blood and black mystery, will be grateful to Richard Marsh for writing ‘The Beetle.’

1917 February 11, New York Times, Book reviews, page 52:

A well-received Johnny Fuller R & B horror called "Haunted House."

1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, →ISBN, page 156:

[…] there were hastily produced B movies, such as the peplums, the spaghetti westerns, the detective stories, the horrors.

(uncountable) A genre of fiction designed to evoke a feeling of fear and suspense.

(countable) An individual work in this genre.

`My belief is that he had the horrors without knowin' it.'

1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1965, →OCLC, page 53:

Delirium tremens
delirium tremens#English

(in the plural, informal) Delirium tremens.


Cupid

From Latin Cupīdō, personification of cupīdō (“desire, desire of love”), from cupidus (“eager, greedy, passionate”), from cupere (“to desire”).


not in Kansas anymore

From the film The Wizard of Oz (1939), in which Dorothy states, “Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.”

As soon as I walked into that party I thought, "I'm not in Kansas anymore."

John Crosbie? A Tory government? You could be forgiven if your first reaction was the feeling that you weren't in Kansas anymore.

1986 April, Gerald Hannon, “Leaving Kansas”, in The Body Politic, number 125, Pink Triangle Press, page 8:

The police action is rough and raw, like Hill Street Blues. But when a courtroom jury, asked for its verdict, breaks into song, we know we're not in Kansas anymore.

1990 October 1, “Critics' Voices”, in Time, archived from the original on 2013-03-05:

C++ meets all three of these classic criteria of object-orientedness, but once you really start to take advantage of them in your programs, you'll find you're definitely not in Kansas anymore.

1991 July, Ray Duncan, “Power Programming”, in PC Magazine, page 444:

(idiomatic, colloquial, US) No longer in quiet and comfortable surroundings.


terminator

[ˈtɜː.mɪ.næɪ.ɾə]

* Partly from post-classical Latin terminator (5th century), from Latin terminō; partly from terminate + -or.
* (android that kills humans): After the 1984 film The Terminator.

Opposite of natural monsters there are technological monsters such as terminators, cyborgs, and robocops—all of which undermine dichotomies between the artificial and the organic, the prosthetic and the natural.

2010, Tyson E. Lewis, Richard Kahn, Education Out of Bounds, page 1:

(science fiction) An intelligent android created to destroy humans.


dedicate

From Latin dēdicātus, past participle of dēdicō (“I dedicate, proclaim”).

Glancing at the crowd of onlookers, she said, “I know that service at the dining hall will be over soon”—instantly a few dedicates and all of the novices hurried away—“and some of us here would like to prepare our own meal.” […] Out of sight of the dedicates, she climbed over the short fence and escaped to Winding Circle's biggest library.

2011 September 1, Tamora Pierce, Circle of Magic #1: Sandry's Book, Scholastic Inc., →ISBN:

Initiation—When a dedicate is seen on all levels to be learning and doing more as they participate in the circle and aids with rituals and/or divination, an initiation is decided on with the priest or priestess and dedicate.

2015 April 8, Dracaena Paxx, The Sacred Spiral: Unlocking Ones Infinite Potential, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN:

Through this rune of compassion, feelings of pain are transferred from the dedicates to Fallion. Lord Despair then proceeds to torture the dedicates so that Fallion would feel the pain of the tortures without being physically harmed[…]

2019 November 14, Charul Palmer-Patel, The Shape of Fantasy: Investigating the Structure of American Heroic Epic Fantasy, Routledge, →ISBN:

Rowan Cortak stood with the rest of the dedicates.

2022 September 27, Chad Corrie, The Wizard King Trilogy Boxed Set, Dark Horse Books, →ISBN, page 24:

(chiefly fantasy and paganism) One who dedicates themselves, or who is dedicated, to the service of some leader, religion, etc.


Woop Woop

Thou froward varlet; must I say again, / That on the Woop Woop course he ran a mile

1923, Banjo Patterson, Shakespeare on the Turf:

(Australia, informal) An extremely remote area, the middle of nowhere.


Gretel

A fictional character in the German fairy tale Hansel and Gretel.

غْرِيتِل

character in the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel


drabble

Margaret Drabble
Monty Python
Monty Python's Big Red Book

From a game in Monty Python's Big Red Book in which the first player to write a novel wins; possibly derived in turn from the surname of the author Margaret Drabble.

A short fictional story, typically in fan fiction, sometimes exactly 100 words long.


bogeyman

/ˈbəʊ.ɡɪˌmæn/

Before the Internet it was television. And, if not that, it was radio, films, or games. All have taken their turn as the popular bogeyman, blighting the minds of the young.

2013, Frances Booth, The Distraction Trap:

(by extension) Any make-believe threat, especially one used to intimidate or distract.


villain

Probably from Middle English vilein, from Old French vilein (modern French vilain), in turn from Late Latin villanus, meaning serf or peasant, someone who is bound to the soil of a Latin villa, which is to say, worked on the equivalent of a plantation in late Antiquity, in Italy or Gaul. Doublet of villein.

Count Dracula
Darth Vader
Dracula
Harry Potter
Lady Macbeth
Macbeth
Macbeth (character)
Othello
Sauron
Star Wars
The BFG
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings
The Merchant of Venice

Note the preſumption of this Scythian ſlaue:
I tel thee villaine, thoſe that lead my horſe
Haue to their names tytles of dignitie,
And dar’ſt thou bluntly cal me Baiazeth?

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

(archaic, derogatory) A low-born, abject person.

Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels.

1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Affair at the Novelty Theatre”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:

July 18 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Dark Knight Riseshttp://www.avclub.com/articles/the-dark-knight-rises-review-batman,82624/
As The Dark Knight Rises brings a close to Christopher Nolan’s staggeringly ambitious Batman trilogy, it’s worth remembering that director chose The Scarecrow as his first villain—not necessarily the most popular among the comic’s gallery of rogues, but the one who set the tone for entire series.

(fiction) In fiction, a character who has the role of being bad, especially antagonizing the hero; an antagonist who is also evil or malevolent.


La-La Land

Blend of LA (initialism for Los Angeles) and La La Land (metaphorical dreamland).

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

... back to her new home in Calabassas, near Los Angeles. Her years in Phoenix, where she started her own zoo, ended in divorce, "and now I'm back in La La Land," […]

1958, TV Guide, volume 35, numbers 36–39:

(slang, US, figuratively, humorous or derogatory) Los Angeles, California (or Hollywood).


siren

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

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

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

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

(music) A musical instrument, one of the few aerophones in the percussion section of the symphony orchestra (patented as Acme Siren in 1895).

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


bunny boiler

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fatal Attraction
Glenn Close
Michael Douglas


pixie

Uncertain; 17thC, originally in the folklore of southwest England; perhaps diminutive of Swedish pysk (“fairy”); perhaps Puck + -sy; see Wikipedia.

Then she saw pixies — dozens and dozens of pixies — dancing and singing.

2005, Dan Keding, “The Pixies’ Bed”, in Dan Keding, Amy Douglas, editors, English Folktales, page 98:

When she looked around, Mary saw four pixies flying toward her. She had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. Then the pixies turned around and attacked again.

2005, Kathryn Reyes, Mystery Door Manor and the Dragon Realm, page 72:

The servant that had raised him, an elderly pixie called Rolog, had died. On his deathbed he had called the young Captain to his side. Seeing the pixie dying had had no effect on him.

2007, Jeremy Phillips, The Wizardon Star, page 165:

Tiffy froze as the two pixies looked directly into each other's eyes.
Then Tiffy raised her hand and said, “Hi, I'm Tiffy the Tooth Fairy.” Even though the other pixie lifted her hand too, she didn't answer.

2010, Sandra A. Filbin, The Enchanted World: A Tooth Fairy's Tale, page 49:

(mythology, fantasy literature, fairy tales) A playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature.

بِيكْسِي

(astronomy, meteorology) An upper-atmospheric optical phenomenon associated with thunderstorms, a short-lasting pinpoint of light on the surface of convective domes that produces a gnome.

“Have you thought about a haircut? A pixie or a bob?”

2016, Susan Wiggs, Starlight on Willow Lake, page 114:

In a picture posted to Instagram on June 28, the stylish star [Lizzo] showed off her new, lighter brows and a blonde pixie that we suspect comes courtesy of a wig but can't be sure.

2021 June 29, Elizabeth Logan, “Lizzo Just Got a Blonde Pixie and Bleached Her Eyebrows”, in Glamour:


Akela

Borrowed from Hindustani اَکیلَا (akelā) / अकेला (akelā, “alone”).

Many packs have a sixer's council where the sixers, and sometimes the seconds, meet with Akela and some of the other leaders.

1995, Boy Scouts of Canada. National Council, The Cub Book:


nemesis

From the Greek goddess of retribution Nemesis (Ancient Greek Νέμεσις (Némesis)).

“And then, while he's devouring you with his stare, thinking about how much he wants to lick you up, along comes his antithesis, his polar opposite, his nemesis for want of a better word—” “Nemesis?” I interrupted, eyebrows journeying up my forehead. “—who swoops you off your feet and away from him,” Heather continued, ignoring my incredulous expression.

2020 January 13, Lexxie Couper, Unconditional, Lexxie Couper, →ISBN:

Polar opposite, especially of a literary character.


mutant

From Latin mūtāns, present participle of mūtō. By surface analysis, muta- + -ant.

Furthermore, it is possible that there occasionally arises what may be called a mutant of very desirable character from a eugenic point of view.

1918, Paul Popenoe, Roswell Hill Johnson, Applied Eugenics:

There does seem to have been some mutation among plants[…]but in animal life where are the mutants? When or where has a new species originated in this way?

"How did I ever get such ability?" he wondered. "No one else in our family has it. Am I some sort of a mutant? But if so, how or why? I never heard Dad or Mother mention it."

1953, E. Everett Evans, Man of Many Minds:

(genetics) That which has mutated, with one or more new characteristics from a mutation.

Your neighbor seems to be a mutant; he’s so cringy!

(informal) Someone or something that seems strange, abnormal, or bizarre.


mutant

mutant DNA

Scientists have created a mutant enzyme that breaks down plastic drinks bottles—by accident.

2018 April 16, Damian Carrington, “Scientists accidentally create mutant enzyme that eats plastic bottles”, in The Guardian:

Researchers at the SSI found that antibodies from people who recovered from coronavirus were less effective at neutralising the mutant strain, but have not made details of their experiments public.

2020 November 8, Ian Sample, “UK scientists seek mutant Covid samples from Danish mink farms”, in The Guardian:

(genetics) Of, relating to, undergoing (i.e. mutating), or resulting from change or mutation; that has undergone mutation.