Iris

From Ancient Greek Ἶρις (Îris, “rainbow”).

What's the matter,
 That this distemper'd messenger of wet,
 The many-colour'd Iris, rounds thine eye?

c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

(Greek mythology) A messenger of the gods, and goddess of rainbows.


Joh

How Joh inspired a generation.

Nationals shake off Joh era.

Abolishing compulsory voting would take Queensland back to Joh era, says Wayne Swan.

diminutive of Johannes — notably used in reference to:

(Australian politics) Sir Johannes “Joh” Bjelke-Petersen (1911–2005), Premier of Queensland 1968–1987.


Joker

...grinning like the Joker, Batman's nemesis, a character described in the story as being a favorite of Douglas's.

2007, Joe Layden, The Last Great Fight, page 217:

He started to laugh that maniacal laugh that sounded like the Joker on speed.

2008, Deborah Eden, The Destroyer, page 82:

I would've liked to have learned more, but the lady working the booth was a monstrous titan with dyed black hair, about ten rings on each hand, and a mouth like the Joker (Jack Nicholson version), and she spooked me.

2011, Steve Hely, How I Became a Famous Novelist, page 185:

Wide and taut, fixed and immobile. Like the Joker from Batman, he thought. Or one of his victims.

2014, Tania Carver, The Doll's House, page 22:

He looks like the Joker, the Latino one, what was his name? Cesar Romero.

2015, Manuel Luis Martinez, Drift: A Novel, page 16:

A fictional villain of DC Comics, noted for his insanity and cunning, who either wears clown makeup or is disfigured to appear as such, and who is archenemy of Batman.


Kaiser

Kaisers (plural)
kaiser (alternative)
keasar (alternative)
kesar (alternative)

Inherited from Middle English kayser, from Old High German keisar (“emperor”), from Proto-West Germanic *kaisar, from Proto-Germanic *kaisaraz. The native Old English descendant of that Proto-Germanic word was cāser (“emperor”), but the shape of Middle English kayser (“emperor”) (versus the expected *caser, *coser) suggests it was borrowed from another Germanic language rather than inherited, and the modern English spelling and sense seem to be modified after modern German rather than a direct continuation of Middle English. Compare tsar, which was borrowed from Slavic.
Doublet of Caesar and tsar.

ці́сар

particularly the Austro-Hungarian emperor

An emperor of a German-speaking country, particularly the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), the Austrian Empire/Austria-Hungary (1806–1918), or the German Empire (1871–1918) — often specifically Wilhelm II.


Kale

From Ancient Greek Καλή (Kalḗ, literally “beauty”), see καλός (kalós, “beautiful”).


Kali

From Sanskrit काली (kālī) or कालिका (kālikā).

Kālī is Śiva's "other" wife, as it were, provoking him and encouraging him in his mad, antisocial, often disruptive habits. It is never Kālī who tames Śiva but Śiva who must becalm Kālī.

1986, David R. Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition, published 1988, page 122:

To many Hindu Bengalis, Kālī is the most important divinity. Identified with the great Goddess, Devi Bhagavati, she subsumes all other goddesses.

2000, Sanjukta Gupta, “27: The Worship of Kālī According to the Toḑala Tantra”, in David Gordon White, editor, Tantra in Practice, published 2001, page 463:

A popular form of Kali worshiped in Calcutta is Adya Shakti Kali, or Kali as primordial power. Adya Shakti Kali is also present in some tantras, especially the Mahanirvana Tantra. Because she devours Kala or Time, she is Kali, the original form of all things, and because she is the origin and devourer of all things, she is called Adya Kali.

2011, June McDaniel, “2: Kali: Goddess of Life, Death, and Transcendence”, in Patricia Monaghan, editor, Goddesses in World Culture, volume 1, page 26:

(Hinduism) A goddess in Hinduism, one of the most significant figures within that religion, who destroys evil forces and bestows liberation.

A female given name from Sanskrit used especially in India.


Kali

(Hinduism) A male demon, lord of Kali Yuga and the nemesis of Kalki, tenth avatar of Vishnu.


Kama

Fundamentally, the doctrine and technique of Kāma go back to primitive antiquity.

1956, Heinrich Robert Zimmer, Philosophies of India, page 145:

In Indian mythology, Kāma is the counterpart of Cupid.

1969, Allie M. Frazier, Readings in Eastern Religious Thought: Hinduism, page 35:

On seeing Kāma annihilated there, the Devas and the groups of celestial damsels became frightened.

2001, Jagdish Lal Shastri, Arnold Kunst, G. P. Bhatt, Ancient Indian Tradition & Mythology, volume 63, page 429:

However, when Śiva saw the proud Kāma getting ready to let another arrow fly, he got angry.

2006, Catherine Benton, God of Desire: Tales of Kamadeva in Sanskrit Story Literature, page 52:

(religion, Hinduism) The Hindu god of love, Kamadeva


Krypton

(fiction, DC Comics fictional milieu) A fictional planet, the native world of Superman, named after the element krypton.


Labor

Nevertheless there is a distinct difference of emphasis, in the sense just indicated, between the two sides of Australian politics. There has always been some international isolationism, too, in Labor circles in Australia.

1970, Australian Institute of International Affairs, Institute of Pacific Relations, Australia and the Pacific, page 10:

Labor did not regain office until 1929, and then only for a three-year period.

1984, David Harris Solomon, Australia′s Government and Parliament, page 102:

Labor’s formal reconciliation with the federal Constitution during the postwar decades has been a significant development both for the ALP and for Australian politics generally.

1995, Brian Galligan, A Federal Republic: Australia′s Constitutional System of Government, page 109:

(Australian politics, informal) The Australian Labor Party.

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


Latin

Jamaican Creole: Latn

From Middle English Latyn, Latyne, Latin, from Old French latin, latyn, from Latin latīnus, from Latium (“the region around Rome”) + -īnus (adjective suffix). Displaced or merged with Old English Lǣden. Doublet of Ladino.

Africa was the natural leader because there the number of Christians who were of Roman origin and Latin speech was probably far greater than in so cosmopolitan a city as Rome.

1948, L. E. Elliott-Binns, The Beginnings of Western Christendom, page 257:

Of or relating to Latin: the language spoken in ancient Rome and other cities of Latium.

The Serbo-Croatian incunabula printed in Latin letters are indubitably the products of a very modest establishment.

1968, Mladen Bošnjak, A Study of Slavic Incunabula, page 62:

Of or relating to the script of the language spoken in ancient Rome and many modern alphabets.

The earliest Latin culture of Ireland was heavily indebted to that of Britain[…]

2000, T. M. Charles-Edwards, Early Christian Ireland, page 176:

Of or relating to ancient Rome or its Empire.

The Latin bishop now took the Greek bishop by the hand and conducted him to his throne[…]

1901, John Hackett, A History of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, page 117:

(Christianity) Roman Catholic; of or pertaining to the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.


Latin

en-proper noun

Latin (countable and uncountable, plural Latins)

From Middle English Latin, Latyn, from Old English Lǣden, from Vulgar Latin *ladinum (“Latin”) and Old French latin (“Latin”); all from Latin Latinus (“belonging to Latium”). Later influenced in form by the Latin word. Compare Dutch Latijn (“Latin”), German Latein (“Latin”), Swedish Latin (“Latin”).

Supper being over, the lawyer took his leave, and the doctor began to ſound the learned clerk reſpecting his proficiency in the dead languages. "As to dead languages," replied the ſchoolmafter, "I was once a vaſt pretty ſcholar indeed, but want of exercise has made me main ſlack—I can't get over my ground as I uſed to do. Then as to the t'other dead fellow, I could never greek it at all, that's flat. And, Lord bleſs you! my Latin is of no more uſe to me here than—than—" Here he ſtuck for want of a ſimile; when Mr. Le Dupe helped him out by ſaying, "that it is to a young man at college, where it is conſidered a pedantic inſult, and an unpardonable bore, to utter a Latin ſentence."

1799, Edward Dubois, A Piece of Family Biography, volume II, page 20:

To Hall [Robert A. Hall, Jr.], the development would be something as follows: Latin > Proto-Romance (dated late Republic and Early Empire) > Proto-Continental Romance > Proto-Italo-Western Romance (to which Hall would limit the term "Vulgar Latin") > Proto-Western Romance > Proto-Gallo Romance, etc. Each of these main divisions splits off into further languages: Latin > Classical Latin; Proto-Romance > Proto-Southern Romance > Sardinian, Lucianian, Sicilian; Proto-Continental Romance > Proto-Eastern Romance > Proto-Balkan Romance, etc.

1999, Karl Strecker, transl. by Robert B. Palmer, Introduction to Medieval Latin: English Tranlation and Revision, 2nd ed. (2nd reprint of the ed. Dublin/Zürich 1971 (Berlin 1957)), Weidmann: Zürich & Hildesheim, p. 29

When the Christian Church rose in stature in the Dark Ages, its adoption of Latin as the official language assured its eternal life.

2003, Natalie Harwood, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Latin, 2nd edition, page 13:

Like Copernicus and Galileo, Johannes Kepler was a renowned astronomer who wrote in Latin.

2010, Elizabeth Heimbach, A Roman Map Workbook, page 134:

(uncountable) The language of the ancient Romans, other Latins and of the Roman Catholic church, especially Classical Latin.

ܠܸܫܵܢܵܐ ܠܵܛܝܼܢܵܝܵܐ

liššānā lāṭīnāyā


Latin

رُّومِيَّة

person whose native tongue is one descended from Latin

This appears incontestably from the manner in which the Latins wrote Greek words and names[…]

1833, Philipp Buttmann, translated by Edward Robinson, A Greek grammar for the use of high schools and universities, page 23:

(historical) A person native to ancient Rome or its Empire.


Lava

(Hinduism) One of the twin children of the Lord Rāma and his wife Sita in the Ramayana.


Leto

en:68 Leto
en:Leto
en:Leto (disambiguation)
en:Leto (surname)

Leto (countable and uncountable, plural Letos)

(uncountable, Greek mythology) Leto, in Greek mythology, the mother of Apollo and Artemis.


Liberal

(Canadian politics) A member or supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada, or its predecessors, or provincial equivalents, or their predecessors

(Australian politics) A member or supporter of the Liberal Party of Australia.


Limos

From Ancient Greek Λῑμός (Līmós), from Ancient Greek λῑμός (līmós, “hunger, famine, starvation”).

uder

(Greek mythology) A child of Eris, Limos is the deity/personification of famine and starvation. The Roman counterpart is Fames.


Lords

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


Luna

From Middle English lune, luna (“the moon”), from Latin lūna/Lūna, from Proto-Indo-European *lówksneh₂. Doublet of Roxane.

(Roman mythology) The sister of Aurora and Sol; the goddess of the moon; equivalent to the Greek Selene.


M

en-noun

M (countable and uncountable, plural Ms)

Coordinate term: H (“Hindu”)

(India, Islam, Internet slang) Initialism of Muslim; mostly used by Hindutva netizens primarily towards Islamist supporters and Muslim militants.


Manu

Transliteration of Sanskrit मनु (manu, “man, mankind”). Doublet of man.

translit

Agni is the one who is introduced by Manu, who is kindled by Manu; one requests him to rule at the present sacrifice, as he had done it for Manu, when he "offered the first oblation, with kindled fire, with his (attentive) heart and soul, along with the seven priests" to the gods (X, 63, 7).

1988, Hermann Oldenberg, Shridhar B. Shrotri, The Religion of the Veda, page 138:

(Hinduism) A title accorded to the progenitor of mankind, first king to rule this earth, who saves mankind from the universal flood.


Marathon

/ˈmæɹə(ˌ)θɔn/

/ˈmɛɹə(ˌ)θɔn/

From Ancient Greek Μαραθών (Marathṓn). Doublet of marathon.

Buena Vista County
Buena Vista County#English

A number of places in the United States:

A minor city in Buena Vista County, Iowa.

A town and village therein, in Cortland County, New York.

An unincorporated community in Jackson Township, Clermont County, Ohio.

census-designated place
census-designated place

A census-designated place in Brewster County, Texas.


Mars

From Middle English Mars, from Latin Mārs (“god of war”), from older Latin (older than 75 BCE) Māvors.

Mars was the lover of Venus, and together they had a daughter called Harmonia.


Melissa

From Ancient Greek μέλισσα (mélissa, “bee, honey, or honeybee”). In Ireland it is sometimes used as a feminine form of the Gaelic male name Maol Íosa (literally “servant of Jesus”).

der

(Greek mythology) Bee-nymph in Greek mythology.


Mercury

Inherited from Middle English Mercurie, from Latin Mercurius.

(Roman mythology) The Roman god associated with speed, sometimes used as a messenger, wearing winged sandals; the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Hermes.


Minotaur

the Minotaur (canonical)
minotaur (alternative)

/ˈmɪnəˌtɔː(ɹ)/

/ˈmaɪnəˌtɑɹ/

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Μινώταυρος (Minṓtauros), from Μίνως (Mínōs, “king of Crete”) + ταῦρος (taûros, “bull”).

bor+

(Greek mythology) A monster, half man and half bull, who dwelled in the labyrinth in Crete and who was killed by Theseus.


Morgan

en-prop

Morgan (countable and uncountable, plural Morgans)

(Arthurian legend) Ellipsis of Morgan le Fay.


Mors

(Roman mythology) The god and personification of death; the Roman counterpart of Thanatos.


Muppet

Diane Sawyer
Elmo
Jim Henson
Kevin Clash
Muppet

Coined by Jim Henson as an alteration of puppet. Henson had claimed the word was a blend of marionette + puppet, but later recanted.

One of a group of established puppet characters acting as a sort of repertory company on The Muppet Show, and/or appearing on Sesame Street.


Muse

From Middle English Muse, from Latin Musa, from Ancient Greek Μοῦσα (Moûsa).

And hears the Muſes in a ring,
Ay round about Joves Altar ſing.

One of the nine Ancient Greek deities of the arts.

մուսա

one of the nine Ancient Greek deities of the arts


Myrmidon

From Latin Myrmidones, from Ancient Greek Μυρμιδόνες (Murmidónes), a tribe of warriors led by Achilles to the Trojan War. Folk etymology in Ovid's time derived the tribe's name from μυρμηδών (murmēdṓn, “ant-nest”), from μύρμηξ (múrmēx, “ant”)).

The Myrmidons were the soldiers of Achilles, in the Trojan war. From them all zealous and unscrupulous followers of a political chief are called by that name, down to this day. But the origin of the Myrmidons would not give one the idea of a fierce and bloody race, but rather of a laborious and peaceful one.

1855, Thomas Bulfinch, chapter XII, in The Age of Fable:

(Greek mythology) One of a fierce tribe or troop who accompanied Achilles, their king, in the Trojan War.

Myrmidone

member of a tribe who accompanied Achilles


Myrmidon

(Greek mythology) The ancestral hero of the Myrmidon tribe, son of Zeus and Eurymedusa.


Narcissus

From Latin Narcissus, from Ancient Greek Νάρκισσος (Nárkissos, “Narcissus”).

der

At the beginning of his narrative, Ishmael mentions Narcissus, the legendary character who plunged into the water and was drowned in the attempt to grasp his own essence (p. 14). Narcissus was unwilling to understand the relationship between himself and “the ungraspable phantom of life” in gradualistic terms and sought to bring that relationship to immediate closure, thus annihilating himself.

1982, Carl G. Vaught, The Quest for Wholeness, page 25:

We may now affirm that Plato's cave is inhabited by Narcissus. He already knows, but the knowledge he possesses is still a bit confused, obscure (this knowledge is situated in the caves of the memory, a dark space much like Narcissus’s place).

1994, Ronald Bogue, Mihai Spariosu, The Play of the Self, page 34:

Narcissus, as the myth has it, died because, unlike Lacan's child, he did not recognize himself; nor did he perceive the mirror for what it was: a boundary between reality and fiction.¹⁵

1999, Mieke Bal, Quoting Caravaggio: Contemporary Art, Preposterous History, page 237:

(Greek mythology) A youth who spurned the love of Echo and fell in love with his own reflection in a pool: in some versions of the myth, he drowned trying to reach it, while in others he sat fixated until a god took pity and transformed him into a flower.


Nemesis

From Ancient Greek Νέμεσις (Némesis, “Nemesis, goddess of retribution”).

bor

Coordinate term: Invidia

(Greek mythology) The goddess of divine retribution.

(astronomy) A hypothetical star postulated to be orbiting the Sun to explain a perceived cycle of mass extinctions in the geological record.


Nix

Named after the mother of Charon, goddess of darkness and night.

(astronomy) One of the moons of Pluto (named 21 June 2006.)


Noman

(Greek mythology) An alias of Odysseus Laërtiadês


North

English surname, from the adjective north. This is also translated from other surnames of the same meaning, such as Irish Mac an Ultaigh (“son of the Ulsterman”), Ulster being the northern part of Ireland.

The North lost most battles early in the war.

The northern part of a region (alternative letter-case form of north), especially:

(US) The Union during the American Civil War.


Not

Nut (alternative)
Nunut (alternative)
Nenet (alternative)
Nuit (alternative)

(Egyptian mythology) Alternative spelling of Nut.


Nox

(Roman mythology) The Roman goddess of night.


Nu

Borrowed from Egyptian nnw (“Nu, the primeval waters”).

(Egyptian mythology) The god who serves as the personification of the primeval waters that existed before the world.


Ottoman

From Middle French Ottoman, from Medieval Latin Ottomanus, from Ottoman Turkish عثمان (osman), from the Arabic personal name عُثْمَان (ʕuṯmān). Osman is the Turkish spelling of the male Arabic given name Uthman, therefore the Ottoman Empire is sometimes referred to as the Osman Empire, Osmanic Empire, or Osmanian Empire, after Osman I.


Oz

After the fictional land in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

etymid

fictional place envisioned by L. Frank Baum

Ellipsis of Land of Oz, the fictional setting created by L. Frank Baum for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and other works. The term has been extended from the original country of Oz to the entire fictional world of Oz. Subsequently used as a setting by other authors and artists.


PH

en-noun

PH (countable and uncountable, plural PHs)


PH

(Malaysian politics) Initialism of Pakatan Harapan.


Pan

From Middle English Pan, from Latin Pān, form Ancient Greek Πάν (Pán).

(Greek mythology) Greek god of nature, often visualized as half goat and half man playing pipes. His Roman counterpart is Faunus.


Panacea

From Ancient Greek Πανακεια (Panakeia, literally “all-curing”).

bor

(Greek mythology) The goddess/personification of healing, remedies, cures and panaceas (medicines, salves, ointments and other curatives). She is a daughter of Asclepius and Epione.


Perse

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Περση (Persē, literally “Persian woman”).

bor+

Persa (alternative)
Perseis (alternative)

(Greek mythology) An Oceanid, (one of the three thousand daughters of the Titans' Oceanus and Tethys), and the wife of the sun god, Helios, by whom she is the mother of Aeetes, Perses, Pasiphae, and Circe. One of her many sisters is Amphitrite, (the wife of Poseidon). Perse is also closely identified with Hecate.


Phaëthon

Borrowed from Latin Phaëthōn, from the Ancient Greek Φᾰέθων (Phăéthōn).

Phaethon (alternative)
Phaéthôn (alternative)
Phaëton (alternative)
Phaeton (alternative)
Phæton (alternative)

(Greek mythology) The son of the sun god Helios who was killed by Zeus while driving his father's chariot uncontrolledly across the sky.


Phoebe

Borrowed from Latin Phoebē, from Ancient Greek Φοίβη (Phoíbē), feminine form of Φοῖβος (Phoîbos, “bright”).

Phœbe (alternative)
Phebe (alternative)
Phœbë (alternative)

(Greek mythology) A Titan, goddess of the moon, sister-wife of Coeus, and daughter of Uranus and Gaia.

(Greek mythology) An epithet and synonym for Selene; Phoebe Selene, after her maternal aunt, Phoebe (see above).

(Greek mythology) An epithet and synonym for Artemis; Phoebe Artemis, after her maternal grandmother, Phoebe (see above).


Phoenix

From Latin phoenīx, from Ancient Greek φοῖνῐξ (phoînĭx), Φοῖνῐξ (Phoînĭx).

(Greek mythology) A character in the Iliad and father of Adonis in Greek mythology or a different character in Greek mythology, brother of Europa and Cadmus.


Pony

Ellipsis of My Little Pony, a cartoon media-franchise based on anthropomorphic equines.


Priapus

From Latin Priāpus, from Ancient Greek Πρίαπος (Príapos).

(Greek mythology) The son of Aphrodite and Dionysus, god of procreation, and guardian of gardens and vineyards; personification of the phallus.


Psyche

From Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, literally “Soul, Spirit”).

uder

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) The personification of the soul. Originally a mortal princess who later married Eros/Cupid, (the god of love), was deified, and bore him a daughter, Hedone/Voluptas.


Q

In this fantasy world, all of the far right’s wildest dreams come true: Q promises that Clinton, Obama, Podesta, Abedin, and even McCain are all either arrested and wearing secret police-issued ankle monitors, or just about to be indicted; that the Steele dossier is a total fabrication personally paid for by Clinton and Obama; and that the Las Vegas massacre was most definitely an inside job connected to the Saudi-Clinton cabal.

2017 December 19, Paris Martineau, “The Storm Is the New Pizzagate — Only Worse”, in New York, archived from the original on 2018-12-26:

In a thread called “Calm Before the Storm”, and in subsequent posts, Q established his legend as a government insider with top security clearance who knew the truth about a secret struggle for power involving Donald Trump, the “deep state”, Robert Mueller, the Clintons, pedophile rings, and other stuff.

2018 July 31, Julia Carrie Wong, “What is QAnon? Explaining the bizarre rightwing conspiracy theory”, in The Guardian:

At the end of her report, Coaston concluded, “Most people have never heard of QAnon, or Q — and that includes most of Donald Trump’s supporters.” That’s still the case, but the fact that this book is at the top of some of Amazon’s most prominent recommendation lists means that a far larger share of the population will — at a minimum — stumble across these ideas.

2019 March 6, Kaitlyn Tiffany, “How a conspiracy theory about Democrats drinking children’s blood topped Amazon’s best-sellers list”, in Vox, archived from the original on 2019-03-07:

(US politics) Abbreviation of QAnon (“anonymous poster on anonymous online message boards who originated a pro-Trump conspiracy theory”).


R

R-Texas

(US politics) Abbreviation of Republican, especially preceding the constituent location.


Ra

Transcription of Egyptian r:a-ra (rꜥ, “the sun; Ra”).

(Egyptian mythology) The Egyptian god of the Sun.


Rat

The first of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.


Re

Meaning borrowed from Egyptian r:a-ra (rꜥ, “sun, Ra”), with the form of the word borrowed from Coptic ⲣⲏ (rē, “sun”).

bor

<i class="Latn mention" lang="egy">rꜥ</i>

(Egyptian mythology) Alternative form of Ra


Rebel

(US) A Confederate soldier; of the American Civil War.


Reconstruction

Reconstruction (canonical)
the Reconstruction (canonical)

A proper-noun variant of reconstruction.

Fables of the Reconstruction

A period of the history of the United States from 1865 to 1877, during which the nation tried to resolve the status of the ex-Confederate states, the ex-Confederate leaders, and the Freedmen (ex-slaves) after the American Civil War.


Republican

en-adj

Republican (comparative more Republican, superlative most Republican)

more Republican (comparative)
most Republican (superlative)

There are Libertarian, Republican and Democratic nominees running for office right now.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah both confirmed that a bipartisan group of lawmakers will have a series of video meetings starting in the next several days to see if they could agree on a deal soon.

2022 January 20, Lauren Fox, Morgan Rimmer and Clare Foran, “Senate votes to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general”, in CNN:

(US politics) Of or pertaining to the Republican Party of the United States.


Republican

Famine, pestilence, war… War! I like it!
When did you become a Republican.

1998 November 27, Danita Jones, “Sabrina and the Beast”, in Sabrina the Teenage Witch, season 3, episode 1, spoken by Sabrina Spellman (Beth Broderick as Zelda Spellman and Melissa Joan Hart), Paramount Domestic Television, via ABC:

At one point in the debate, the moderator asked a tough question that had the candidates stumped.
Moderator: "This question is for both of the candidates. Those ever-important independent voters who haven’t decided who to vote for would like to know what the real differences between you two are."
Gore: "I think the real difference between Governor Bush and I is that he is in fact a Republican, and I am currently a Democrat."
Moderator: "That doesn’t really answer the question, I am talking about issues."
Bush: "No, he is right. I am a Republican, and he is a Democrat."

2000 October 3, Tim Paluch, “Gore vs. Bush: That's Debatable”, in Iowa State Daily:

The vote was 54-46. The vote was mostly along party lines though Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania joined Republicans in supporting Bondi.

2025 February 4, Shania Shelton and Morgan Rimmer, “Senate votes to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general”, in CNN:

(US politics) A member or supporter of the Republican Party, the more right-wing of the two main political parties in the United States.

جُمْهُورِيّ

supporter of the Republican Party of the U.S.

Republicunt

Member or supporter of the US Republican Party


Rhea

(Greek mythology) A Titan, the daughter of Uranus and Gaia, the mother of Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon, and Zeus.


Robin

* (masculine given name): From Middle English Robin, from Old French, diminutive of Robert
* (feminine given name): From the bird, robin
* (given name): From Germanic

They ſay hee is already in the Forreſt of Arden, and a many merry men with him; and there liue like the old Robin Hood of England

c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 186, column 1:

This waly boy will be nae coof: /I think we'll call him Robin./ Robin was a rovin' boy, / Rantin', rovin', rantin', rovin', /Robin was a rovin' boy, / Rantin', rovin' Robin.

1785, Robert Burns, Rantin', Rovin' Robin:

Some names simply aren't appropriate after a while. Say you were called Robin, for instance. Well that's a perfectly good monicker up to the age of about nine, but pretty soon you'd have to do something about it, wouldn't you? Change your name by deed-poll to Samson, or Goliath, or something.

1991, Julian Barnes, Talking It Over, Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 12:

A male given name from the Romance languages or the Germanic languages.

"We'll name her Robin," her mother said, and it was as though at her words something of that spring and the bird's song and his gay and friendly and impudent spirit entered into the child.

1949, Adela Rogers St. John, Never Again, and Other Stories, Doubleday, page 25:

A female given name from the Germanic languages, also associated with the bird robin.

(rare compared to given name) A surname originating as a patronymic.


Robin

(soccer) Someone connected with any number of sports teams known as the Robins, as a fan, player, coach, etc.


Roe

From a Middle English nickname meaning a roe.

Ultimately, Ms. Bottone said she just wanted to know whether she could keep driving in the H.O.V. lane for the remainder of her pregnancy, as she said she had in her previous pregnancies, long before the overturning of Roe.

2022 July 12, Luke Vander Ploeg, “Can You Drive Alone in the H.O.V. Lane if You’re Pregnant? A Post-Roe Quandary.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US, law, US politics, informal) Ellipsis of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 US Supreme Court case which legalized abortion and reaffirmed the existence of a right to privacy under due process following the 14th Amendment.


Roman

Roman (comparative more Roman, superlative most Roman)

more Roman (comparative)
most Roman (superlative)

From Old French Romain, from Latin Rōmānus. In reference to the Byzantine Empire, via the Byzantine Greek endonym Ῥωμαῖος (Rhōmaîos). By surface analysis, Rome + -an. Doublet of Romano.

(historical) Of or from the Roman Empire.


Sadh

Sadhs (plural)
Saadh (alternative)
Saadhu (alternative)

From Hindi साध (sādh, “member of the Sadh sect; Sadh”), from Sanskrit साधु (sādhu).

bor

A person who belongs to a monotheistic sect of Hinduism, having beliefs similar to those of Quakers.


Set

Borrowed from Coptic ⲥⲏⲧ (sēt), from Egyptian s-t:X (stẖ).

(Egyptian mythology) An ancient Egyptian god, variously described as the god of chaos, the god of thunder and storms, or the god of destruction.


Sia

(Egyptian mythology) An ancient Egyptian god, the personification of perception.


Sol

(Roman mythology) The sun god; equivalent of the Greek Helios. Brother of Luna and Aurora.


Soma

(Hinduism) The soma juice, capitalized usually when mentioned in personified, deified form.


South

en-proper noun

South (countable and uncountable, plural Souths)

English surname, from the adjective south. Compare Southern.

Many sincere white people in the South privately oppose segregation and discrimination, but they are apprehensive lest they be publicly condemned.

1963, Martin Luther King, Jr., “Transformed Nonconformist”, in Strength to Love, New York: Pocket Books, published 1964, →OCLC, page 13:

Just when the blacks had had their hopes for equality and justice raised, after centuries of misery and despair, they awoke one morning to discover that their future was in the hands of a President born in the South.

1971, Lyndon B. Johnson, “"I feel like I have already been here a year"”, in The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 18:

Of course, living in the South was never an option—the main problem being they have too much respect for authority; they're soldier-sniffers and cop lovers. I don't respect that, and I could never live with it. There's also way too much religion in the South to be consistent with good mental health.

1997, George Carlin, “WELL, YA GOTTA LIVE SOMEPLACE”, in Brain Droppings, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 16:

In the discussions we had sitting around church basements, I learned that, despite the obvious differences in our environments, these kids were more like me than I ever could have imagined. They also knew more about what was happening in the civil rights movement in the South. I had only vaguely heard of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, but these discussions sparked my interest.

2003, Hillary Rodham Clinton, “University of Life”, in Living History, →ISBN, →OCLC, pages 22–23:

Tohti described a situation then current in Yeyiq Yezisi (Yeyike) township which is reminiscent of share-cropping in the post-bellum American south.

[2007, James A. Millward, Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang, London: Hurst & Company, published 2021, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 365:

I should add a story, you know in the South at that time, Governor Barnett was sort of known as a bit of a dim bulb. And two years before, during the presidential campaign, one of the flashpoints in the debates that fall involved two Nationalist Chinese islands just off the coast of China: Quemoy and Matsu. And right after this argument erupted in the campaign, Ross Barnett was out politicking one day and the reporters asked him, "Governor, what about Quemoy and Matsu?" And he looked around sort of lost and said to one of his aides, "Them those two fellers I put on the Fishing and Game Commission last year?"

2012, 42:09 from the start, in Listening In: JFK's Secret Tapes, Thomas Oliphant (actor), John F. Kennedy Library Foundation:

(US) The south-eastern states of the United States, including many of the same states as formed the Confederacy.


Sphinx

From Middle English Spynx, from Ancient Greek Σφίγξ (Sphínx), perhaps from σφίγγω (sphíngō, “bind tightly, to strangle”). The appurtenance of Egyptian Szp:p-A53 (šzp, “image, statue, sphinx”) or Szp:p-A53-anx-n:x (šzp-ꜥnḫ, “living image”) remains unclear.

cog

<i class="Latn mention" lang="egy">šzp</i>

(Greek mythology) One of the many offspring of Typhon and Echidna, a winged lion-like creature with a woman's face, who committed suicide out of frustration after Oedipus managed to solve her riddles.


Stella

(US, numismatics) A gold coin with a face value of $4.00 proposed for use in the United States in the 19th century.


Superman

en-proper noun

Superman (countable and uncountable, plural Supermen)

DC Comics
Dragon Con
Jerry Siegel
Joe Shuster

From super- + man. The character, created by Jerry Siegel (1914–1996) and Joe Shuster (1914–1992), first appeared in DC Comics’ Action Comics #1 dated June 1938. The ice-cream flavor is named in reference to the red, yellow and blue of the superhero's costume.

[…] hoping against hope that she, with something like Superman's X-ray vision, might see through the photograph and behind it to the truth about Harris's architecture.

2000, Lisa Germany, Harwell Hamilton Harris, Univ of California Press, →ISBN, page vii:

But here's the big question: can this rip-snorting derivative lay 210 bhp down through its front wheels without forcing you to maintain Superman levels of grip on the steering wheel? Yes.

In fact, everyone was used to her Superman-like strength. She made her way through the circuit of machines Mr. Connors had marked for them and ended up at the squat station. As she was placing the weight on the bar, she noticed[…]

2010, Michael Sullivan, The Alliance, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 149:

For quotations using this term, see Citations:Superman.

A fictional comic-book superhero with superhuman strength and speed, X-ray vision, and the ability to fly.

سُوبَرْمَان

a fictional character with superhuman powers


Tang

The imperial dynasty of China which reigned from 618 to 907.

Empress Liu (ca. 890-926 A.D.), whose birthplace was Chenan in Wei (now Chenan county, Hebei province), was the wife of Li Cunxu, who reigned as Emperor Zhuangzong, during the Tang dynasty.

2000, Notable Women of China: Shang Dynasty to the Early Twentieth Century, M.E. Sharpe, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 235:

The Turkic dynasty of China which lasted from 923 to 936.

A kingdom in China which existed between 937 and 975.

A biography of Hu claims that Hu's attitudes changed in 1961, after he was sent to supervise agricultural policy changes in Tang county, Hebei province.

1996, Jasper Becker, Hungry Ghosts: Mao's Secret Famine, The Free Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 328:

Any of a number of places in China.
A county of Baoding, Hebei, China.


Te

From Coptic ⲧⲏ (tē), from Egyptian d-wA-t:dwAt (“dwꜣt”). Doublet of Duat.

der

<i class="Latn mention" lang="egy">dwꜣt</i>

(Egyptology, Egyptian mythology) The realm of the dead in Egyptian mythology.


Tellus

Borrowed from Latin tellus (“Earth, globe, world”), from Proto-Italic *telnos, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *telnos ~ *telnes-, from *telh₂- (“flat ground”), but reshaped after rūs. Otherwise, could derive from Etruscan 𐌕𐌖𐌋𐌀𐌓 (tular, “earth”).

bor+

Perhaps the Custome of the Beggars, throwing the remainder of drinke out of the Dish on the Ground, may be derived from an Ethnick sacrifice to Tellus.

1687, John Aubrey, Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme, page 37:

Now they could see what the guide was telling them: that the pillars supporting the frontage were of red granite, mined in Sweden, flanked at either end by golden statues of Atlas and Tellus, bearing on their shoulders spheres depicting the heavens and the earth.

1992, Robert Harris, Fatherland, London: Hutchinson, →ISBN, page 27:

(Roman mythology) The goddess of the Earth in Roman mythology.


Terminus

Learned borrowing from Latin terminus (“a boundary or border, a limit or point”). Doublet of terminus and term.

lbor

(Roman mythology) The god of boundaries and landmarks, focus of the important Roman festival of Terminalia.


Terra

From Latin Terra (“goddess of the earth; the land itself”).

uder

interpretatio graeca
interpretatio graeca

(Roman mythology) The Roman earth goddess, equivalent in the interpretatio graeca to Gaea.


Tiger

(soccer) Someone connected with Hull City Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.


Titan

(Greek mythology) Any of the race of giant gods in Greek mythology that preceded and was overthrown by the Olympian gods.


Titan

(Greek mythology) Another name for Helios, a personification of the Sun.


Trivia

(Roman mythology) An aspect of the Roman goddess Diana, pertaining to her role as guardian of trivia (crossroads or forks where three roads meet); used as an epithet.


Tánaiste

From Irish tánaiste (“second-in-command, tanist”). Doublet of tanist.

bor

On Thursday, the tánaiste, or deputy prime minister, Micheál Martin, described the personal abuse directed at lawmakers and their staff as “absolutely vile” and said some of the behaviour was “fascist-like”, Irish media reported.

2023 September 21, Emma Graham-Harrison, “Alarm over ‘fascist-like’ protest at Ireland’s seat of government”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland


Union

(locomotive): Derived from the name of the only U.S. company to use that configuration.

threats to secede from the Union

United States of America
United States of America

(US, with determiner, dated, especially 19th century) The United States of America.

Union troops at Gettysburg

en:United States of America against secessionist CSA

(US, with determiner, historical) Those of the United States that did not secede at the time of the Civil War (of the United States of America).


Veda

Borrowed from Sanskrit वेद (veda, “knowledge”).

(Hinduism) Any of a large body of texts originating in Ancient India. They form the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism.


W

Abbreviations of various words beginning with W.

(US politics, informal) George W. Bush (born 1946), the 43rd president of the United States (2001–2009).


Wall

Wall (disambiguation)#Places
Wall (surname)

en-proper noun

Wall (countable and uncountable, plural Walls)

Of various origins, principally from Old English wælisc etc. ("non-Germanic speaker, stranger") from Proto-Germanic *walhaz (“foreigner, stranger”), the source of numerous other surnames such as Walsh and Wales and from Middle English wall, from Old English weall (“wall, dike, rampart”), from Proto-Germanic *wallaz or *wallą (“wall, rampart”), from Latin vallum (“wall, rampart, palisade”), from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to turn, wind, roll”). Also from transcribed foreign surnames such as German Wahl and Swedish Wahlberg.

der

A township in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Allegheny County
Allegheny County#English

A borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Pennington County
Pennington County#English

A town in Pennington County, South Dakota.

Tom Green County
Tom Green County#English

An unincorporated community in Tom Green County, Texas.


Whig

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

whig

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

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

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

(US politics, historical) An advocate of war against, or independence from, Britain during the American Revolution.

(US politics, historical) A member of a 19th-century US political party opposed to the Democratic Party.


White

en-proper noun

White (countable and uncountable, plural Whites)

Whites (plural)
Whyte (alternative)
Wight (alternative)

* As an English surname, from Middle English White, as a nickname for someone with white hair or pale complexion; in some cases from a personal name of the same meaning. See the modern adjective white.
* Also as an English surname, from Old English *wiht (“bend”), found only in placenames, a derivative of the verb wican (“to yield, bend”); compare Wight.
* As a Scottish Gaelic and Irish surname, used as a translation of several Gaelic names containing the element bán and geal, including Mac Giolla bháin (McElwain, Kilbane), Ó Gealagáin (Galligan), Bán (Bane), and Ó Banáin (Bannon).
* Also as a Scottish and Irish surname, an Anglicization of Irish de Faoite, itself from Anglo-Norman le White, le Whyte, from the same source as the English surname.

White (disambiguation)#Places in the United States

A minor city in Bartow County, Georgia; named for its first postmaster.


Yoga

(Hinduism) One of the six schools of Hindu philosophy.


Zephyr

For a Tempeſt. Take Eurus, Zephyr, Auſter and Boreas, and caſt them together in one Verſe. Add to theſe of Rain, Lightning, and of Thunder (the loudeſt you can) quantum ſufficit. Mix your Clouds and Billows well together till they foam, and thicken your Deſcription here and there with a Quickſand. Brew your Tempeſt well in your Head, before you ſet it a blowing.

1714 June 10, [Alexander Pope], The Guardian, volume I, number 78, London: Printed for J[acob] Tonson, at Shakespear's-Head over-against Catherine-street in the Strand, page 332:

(Greek mythology) The god of the West Wind.


Zeppelin

Zeppelins (plural)
zeppelin (alternative)

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

(aviation, by extension, informal) A rigid airship dirigible, not restricted to Germany nor the early 20th century.


louis

Borrowed from French louis, from Louis, the name of the French kings who first issued these coins and whose images appeared on their obverses.

(historical numismatics) Any gold or silver coin issued by the French kings from Louis XIII to Louis XVI and bearing their image on the obverse side, particularly the gold louis d'ors, originally a French form of the Spanish doubloon but varying in value between 10 and 24 livres.


uncia

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

From Latin uncia (“various Roman units”). Doublet of ounce, inch, onça, onza, oka, ouguiya, and awqiyyah.

doublet

(historical) A bronze coin minted by the Roman Republic, 1/12 of an as.


Hyperion

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

(Greek mythology) A Titan, the son of Gaia and Uranus and the father of Helios, Selene and Eos.

(Greek mythology) Helios himself, the incarnation of light and beauty.


Theia

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Θεία (Theía).

(Greek mythology) A Titan, the sister-wife of Hyperion.

(Greek mythology) An Oceanid nymph (daughter of Oceanus and Tethys), the mother of the Cercopes by Oceanus.


Coeus

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Κοῖος (Koîos, “Coeus”).

(Greek mythology) The Titan of intelligence; the father of Leto and Asteria.


Mnemosyne

From Ancient Greek Μνημοσύνη (Mnēmosúnē).

(Greek mythology) A Titaness and the personification of thought, intellect and memory. She is the daughter of Gaia and Uranus, and the mother of the Muses by Zeus.


Themis

(Greek mythology) A Titan, the embodiment of divine order, law and custom. She was the daughter of Gaia and Uranus.


Crius

(Greek mythology) A Titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia.


Iapetus

From Ancient Greek Ἰαπετός (Iapetós).
* (moon): Named after the titan.
* (ocean): The Iapetus Ocean was the predecessor to the Atlantic Ocean, so this name was chosen because Iapetus is the father of Atlas (see Atlantic).

Alternative forms: Japetus, Iapetos

(Greek mythology) A Titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia, and father of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius.


Reaganomics

Blend of Reagan + economics, equivalent to Reagan + -nomics.

Many opponents of Reaganomics, in fact, don't contend that the program can't work over the long run. But they argue that the program can not work the way the President promised and that the resulting social cost isn't worth it.

1982 January 3, Jonathan Fuerbringer, “Reaganomics: The Report Card for 1981, and the Prospects”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

However, until the wheels came off the wagon in 2008, no doubt existed as to the efficacy of Bush's Reaganomics redux in feathering the nests of his wealthy “base.”

supply-side economics
supply-side economics

trickle-down hypothesis
trickle-down hypothesis

The neoliberal, free market economic ideas and policies of the American president Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) and his two administrations (1981–1989), with a focus on reduced government spending, taxation, and regulations (supply-side economics) and granting potential benefits and encouragement to wealthy people and businesses in particular to drive the rest of the economy (trickle-down hypothesis).


interdict

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

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

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

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

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


Titaness

(Greek mythology) A female Titan, any of the daughters of Uranus and Gaia.


papyrology

en-noun

papyrology (usually uncountable, plural papyrologies)

The study of papyrus, particularly the branch of archeology concerning ancient texts written on papyrus.

علم البرديات

the study of ancient texts written on papyrus


papyrologist

From papyro- + -ologist, after the model of earlier papyrology.

A student of or expert in papyrology, the study of papyrus and ancient writings on papyrus.


palatine

From late Middle English palatyne, from Old French palatin, from Medieval Latin palātīnus (“relating to the palace”), from palātium (“palace”) + -īnus (“-ine”, adjectival suffix). Doublet of paladin.

af

Of or relating to a palace especially of a Roman or Holy Roman Emperor.


palatine

A feudal lord (ellipsis of count palatine.) or a bishop possessing palatine powers.

A palace official, especially in an imperial palace.

(historical) Ellipsis of county palatine.


palatine

Borrowing from French palatin, from New Latin palātīnus, from palātum (“the palate”) + -īnus (“-ine”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to palate + -ine.


napoleon

en-noun

napoleon (countable and uncountable, plural napoleons)

napoleons (plural)
Napoleon (alternative)

/nəˈpəʊlɪən/

Borrowed from French Napoléon (“given name, usually in reference to Napoleon Bonaparte”). In reference to coins, via French napoléon (“(slang) a coin that originally had the appearance of Napoleon's face in the obverse”). In reference to guns and possibly cards, in reference to Napoleon III.

bor

(historical numismatics, slang) The franc germinal: a 20-franc gold coin issued under Napoleon I of France.

Always an eloquent speaker, Polk became known as the Napoleon of the stump.

2011, Robert Morgan, Lions of the West::

(fashion, obsolete) Clipping of Napoleon boot: a form of topboot worn by officers during the Napoleonic Wars.

Napoleon boot

(historical weaponry) Clipping of Napoleon gun: a 12-pounder cannon first used by the Second French Empire.

наполео́н

12-pounder cannon of the Second French Empire

Fascinated, Miss Manvers thrust aside a garnished plate, took a gulp of the decoction called coffee, and attacked her napoleon.

1914 November, Louis Joseph Vance, “An Outsider […]”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LIII, number II, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew] Munsey Company, […], published 1915, →OCLC, chapter I (Anarchy), page 373, column 1:

(food, originally US slang) Clipping of Napoleon cake: another name for a millefeuille pastry.


CSA

Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America#English

(US) Initialism of Confederate States of America.


lamia

From Latin lamia, from Ancient Greek Λάμια (Lámia).

Apollonius […] by some probable conjectures, found her out to be a serpent, a lamia, and that all her furniture was like Tantalus' gold described by Homer, no substance, but mere illusions.

1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition III, section 2, member 1, subsection i:

(Greek mythology) A monster preying upon human beings, who sucked the blood of children, often described as having the head and breasts of a woman and the lower half of a serpent.


lustre

en-noun

lustre (countable and uncountable, plural lustres)

From Middle French lustre. See luster (etymology 1).

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

Various kinds of minerals differ in their lustre; iron pyrites are described as having a metallic lustre, glassy materials a vitreous lustre; others, such as opal, look resinous, and the lustres of yet others are described as being either pearly, or silky, or dull, like earth.

(geology) The way in which the surface of any particular type of mineral reflects light differently from other minerals, which is helpful in telling minerals apart.


Taoist

en-adj

Taoist (comparative more Taoist, superlative most Taoist)

more Taoist (comparative)
most Taoist (superlative)
Daoist (alternative)
Tauist (alternative)
Taouist (alternative)

Taoist medicine follows the maxim of "first do no harm".


Ixion

From Latin Ixīōn, from Ancient Greek Ἰξίων (Ixíōn, literally “strong native”).

der

As to fitfulness, I have never learnt the art of binding myself to any of the wheels on which the Ixions of these days are turning round and round.

1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:

The complicated conjunction and adverb “ut” also looms. Mr. Butterfield said that it is “the sort of infernal business that would make Sisyphus and Ixion smile kindly on the job satisfaction they got from their daily toil,” referring to figures from classical mythology forced to labor in pain for eternity.

2019 November 30, Annalisa Quinn, “Latin Dictionary’s Journey: A to Zythum in 125 Years (and Counting)”, in New York Times:

(Greek mythology) King of Lapiths, who was punished by Zeus for trying to seduce Hera by being bound to a winged fiery wheel that was always spinning.


adharmic

en-adj

adharmic (comparative more adharmic, superlative most adharmic)

more adharmic (comparative)
most adharmic (superlative)

Anything that represents itself as a method of liberation, and yet promotes that which leads to the opposite of liberation is adharmic.

(Hinduism, Buddhism) unrighteous; contrary to universal law


Arthurian

Arthurian (comparative more Arthurian, superlative most Arthurian)

more Arthurian (comparative)
most Arthurian (superlative)

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

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

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


quincunx

en-noun

quincunx (plural quincunxes or quincunces)

(historical, numismatics) A bronze coin minted during the Roman Republic, valued at five-twelfths of an as.


Styx

A bold bad man, that dar'd to call by name / Great Gorgon, prince of darknes and dead night, / At which Cocytus quakes and Styx is put to flight.

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 13:

For two-and-twenty years he [Doctor Guillotin], unguillotined, shall hear nothing but guillotine, see nothing but guillotine; then dying, shall through long centuries wander, as it were, a disconsolate ghost, on the wrong side of Styx and Lethe; his name like to outlive Cæsar’s.

1837, Thomas Carlyle, chapter IV, in The French Revolution: A History […], volume I (The Bastille), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, book IV (States-General):

Bornless one / As darkness bright / Found not in tongues / Found not in light / Bring down the rain / Drain waters of Styx / Faustian luminary / Redeem blaspheme / Like a day without the dawn / Like a ray void of the sun / Like a storm that brings no calm / I'm most complete yet so undone

2014, “O Father O Satan O Sun!”, performed by Behemoth:

(Greek mythology) The river, in Hades, over which the souls of the dead are ferried by Charon.


defender

defenders (plural)
defendor (alternative)
defendour (alternative)

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

(Scots law) A defendant in a civil action.


ER

(US politics) Initialism of Eleanor Roosevelt.


King Arthur

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


FLOTUS

First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States#English

(US politics) Acronym of First Lady of the United States.


krone

Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austro-Hungarian Empire

(historical) The currency of German-Austria and Liechtenstein after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1919) until the introduction of the Austrian schilling and, in Liechtenstein, the Swiss franc.


Neptunian

From Latin Neptūnius (“of or pertaining to the Roman god Neptune”), from Neptūnus (“the Roman god Neptune”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nebʰ- (“to become damp, cloudy”)) + -ius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns); analysable as Neptune + -ian. The English word is cognate with French neptunien (“pertaining to the Roman god Neptune, pertaining to the sea, pertaining to Neptunism, Neptunian; proponent of Neptunism, Neptunist”), German Neptunier (“proponent of Neptunism, Neptunist”).

cog

Near-synonym: Poseidonian

The Tomb disburd'ning, whence the Ghoſt aroſe / Of great Achilles; Such when Thracian Foes / (The Prelude of thy Fates, Troy!) he o'rethrew, / And the white hair'd Neptunian Cycnus [i.e., Neptune's son] ſlew.

1679, Lucius Annaeus Seneca [i.e., Seneca the Younger], translated by Edward Sherburne, Troades: Or The Royal Captives. A Tragedy, Written Originally in Latin, […], London: Printed by Anne Godbid, and John Playford, for Samuel Carr, […], →OCLC, act II, scene i, page 21:

(Roman mythology) Of or pertaining to Neptune, the Roman god of fresh water and the sea, the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon.


fakir

fakirs (plural)
faquir (alternative)
faqir (alternative)
faquir (alternative)
faqueer (alternative)

Borrowed from Arabic فَقِير (faqīr, “poor man”).

The preposterous altruism too![…]Resist not evil. It is an insane immolation of self—as bad intrinsically as fakirs stabbing themselves or anchorites warping their spines in caves scarcely large enough for a fair-sized dog.

1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVI, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

(Hinduism, more loosely) An ascetic mendicant, especially one who performs feats of endurance or apparent magic.


mogwai

From Cantonese 魔怪 (mo1 gwaai3), 魔鬼 (mo1 gwai2).

(Chinese mythology) A kind of demon held to be harmful to humans.


Hamas

Borrowed from Arabic حَمَاس (ḥamās, literally “enthusiasm”), an acronym for حَرَكَة اَلْمُقَاوَمَةِ الْإِسْلَامِيَّةِ (ḥarakat al-muqāwama l-ʔislāmiyya, “Islamic Resistance Movement”). The pronunciation with /x/ is from or influenced by Hebrew חַמַאס.

der

Hebrew חַמַאס

Hamas knew there would be massive retaliations.

2009 January 13, “'Never again,' says survivor”, in Toronto Star:

[W]hen a Hamas spokesman recently stood by his statement that Jews used the blood of non-Jewish children for their matzos – one of the oldest anti-Semitic canards around – European elites were largely silent.

2014 August 20, “Why Jews are worried [print version: International New York Times, 22 August 2014, p. 8]”, in The New York Times:

A militant Palestinianist and Sunni Muslim movement that presses for an independent, Palestinian Islamic state and the Palestinian right of return.


PT

(Egyptology) Initialism of Pyramid Texts.


COA

(Australian politics) Clipping of coalition. (Liberal–National coalition)


Japanimation

en-noun

Japanimation (countable and uncountable, plural Japanimations)

Japanimations (plural)
japanimation (alternative)

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

(anime, dated) Synonym of anime (“Japanese animated cartoons”).


meretrix

Nomus Marcellus has pointed out the difference between this class of prostitutes and the prostibula. "This is the difference between a meretrix (harlot) and a prostibula (common strumpet): a meretrix is of a more honorable station and calling; for meretrices are so named a merendo (from earning wages) because they plied their calling only by night; prostibulu because they stand before the stabulum (stall) for gain both by day and night."

a. 100 CE, Petronius, translated by W. C. Firebaugh, Satyricon, published 1922:

Hands grasped me like a doll, and as I dandled thus between the meretrices of Abaia, I was lifted from my broad-armed chair in the inn of Saltus; yet still, for perhaps a hundred heartbeats more, I could not rid my mind of the sea and its green-haired women.

1981, Gene Wolfe, chapter VIII, in The Claw of the Conciliator (The Book of the New Sun; 2), New York: Timescape, →ISBN, page 72:

Of the two ritually important female categories, matrona and meretrix, it was the matrona that was held at a strict ritual distance. […] The domain of the meretrix was not held at a ritual distance. The boundary between male and female was not quite so stark when the female belonged to the category of prostitute.

2013, Ariadne Staples, From Good Goddess to Vestal Virgins, Routledge, →ISBN:


Epicureanism

Epicureanism (usually uncountable, plural Epicureanisms)

Epicureanisms (plural)
epicureanism (alternative)

From Epicurean + -ism. As a pejorative synonym of atheism, both from the philosophy's rejection of deontological morality and from Epicurus's specific belief that the Greek gods—if they did exist—did not concern themselves at all with mankind, its actions, or any system of reward or punishment for them. Doublet of epicurism.

(ethics) The philosophical belief that pleasure is the highest good, particularly as advocated by Epicurus with a focus on mental pleasures and on avoidance of pain (ataraxia) through moderation and common virtue.

epicureisme

system of philosophy based upon the teachings of Epicurus


Upanishad

Borrowed from Sanskrit उपनिषद् (upaniṣad).

Any of a set of authorless Hindu religious and philosophical texts considered to be an early source of the religion, found mostly as the concluding part of the Brahmanas and in the Aranyakas.


COBRA

Cabinet Office Briefing Room A
w:Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms

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

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


COBRA

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

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


AAP

(Indian politics) Initialism of Aam Aadmi Party, a political party.


NRC

N.R.C. (alternative)
N. R. C. (alternative)

Coordinate term: NPR (“National Population Register”)

He promised to do so by implementing the National Registry of Citizens nationwide. The NRC is a hugely controversial policy mooted last year in Assam, a region of India which shares a porous border with Bangladesh.

2019 April 12, James Griffiths and Manveena Suri, “Outrage over BJP promise to ‘remove every single infiltrator’ from India”, in CNN:

National Register of Citizens
w:National Register of Citizens

(Indian politics) Initialism of National Register of Citizens.


AMC

Air Mobility Command
w:Air Mobility Command

(US military) Initialism of Air Mobility Command.


CPS

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

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

Centre for Policy Studies
w:Centre for Policy Studies

(UK politics) Initialism of Centre for Policy Studies.


BW

Pokémon Black and White
w:Pokémon Black and White

(fandom slang) Initialism of Pokémon Black and White.


FOIA

First use appears c. 1968, in the publication Administrative Law Review.

FOIA is what enables regular people to pester powerful federal agencies into handing over information about what they’ve been up to. FOIA’s website calls it “the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government.”

2017 July 23, Michelle Cottle, “The War on the Freedom of Information Act”, in The Atlantic:

w:Freedom of Information Act (United States)

(law, US politics) Acronym of Freedom of Information Act.


NCP

Nationalist Congress Party
w:Nationalist Congress Party

(Indian politics) Initialism of Nationalist Congress Party.


comitia

(historical) A popular legislative assembly in ancient Rome.

comicis

a popular legislative assembly in ancient Rome


JP

(Indian politics) Initialism of Janata Party.

Justice Party (India)
w:Justice Party (India)

(Indian politics) Initialism of Justice Party (India).


SDI

The new sales pitch for S.D.I. runs smack up against the recommendations of Mr. Reagan's own Commission on Strategic Forces, the panel that so effectively closed the window of vulnerability back in 1983.

1987 August 31, Howard Ris, “Don't Buy the S.D.I. Soap”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Strategic Defense Initiative
Strategic Defense Initiative#English

Initialism of Strategic Defense Initiative.


Jovian

en-adj

Jovian (comparative more Jovian, superlative most Jovian)

more Jovian (comparative)
most Jovian (superlative)

From Latin Iovis, genitive of Iuppiter, analysable as Jove + -ian.

Near-synonym: Zeusian

He did not admit of equals. But as a patron he was superb. With his Jovian air, his colossal condescension, his amused smile, his general suggestion of the god descending to the mortal, he could be quite overpowering in his amiability.

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

(Roman mythology) Pertaining to the Roman god Jove or Jupiter (the counterpart of the Greek god Zeus); Jove-like; befitting Jupiter.


UC

en-noun

UC (countable and uncountable, plural UCs)

(India, Hinduism) Initialism of upper caste.


KP

KP (countable and uncountable, plural KPs)

(countable, India, Hinduism) Initialism of Kashmiri Pandit.


DP

DP (countable and uncountable, plural DPs)

displaced person
displaced person#English


CR

CR (countable and uncountable, plural CRs)

Most continuing resolutions are temporary measures that expire on the date specified in the CR, or are superseded by enactment of the regular appropriations act.

2004, Allen Schick, The Federal Budget: Politics, Policy, Process, →ISBN, page 228:

A few days later in a meeting with the president, Clinton asked Gingrich for a continuing resolution (CR) to continue funding the government until they could work out a compromise. “If I go back and try to get a longterm CR without a budget from you, the next time you'll be dealing with Speaker Armey," he said.

2008, Steven M. Gillon, The Pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the Rivalry that Defined a Generation, →ISBN:

CRs are a common occurrence because it is highly unusual for Congress and the president to pass all 13 appropriations bills by the start of the new fiscal year.

2014, Robert E. Dewhirst, John David Rausch, Encyclopedia of the United States Congress, →ISBN, page 149:

continuing resolution
continuing resolution#English

(US politics, law) Initialism of continuing resolution.


SAD

Shiromani Akali Dal
w:Shiromani Akali Dal

(Indian politics) Initialism of Shiromani Akali Dal (Indian political party)


DDS

DDS (countable and uncountable, plural DDSs or DDSes)

DDSs (plural)
DDSes (plural)
D.D.S. (alternative)

(Philippine politics) Initialism of Davao Death Squad.

Diehard Duterte Supporters
w:Diehard Duterte Supporters

(Philippine politics, potentially, derogatory) Initialism of Diehard Duterte Supporters.


PAC

A PAC may contribute no more than $5,000 to a federal candidate in a general or primary election. PACs have grown to become the second-largest source of campaign funds, trailing only individuals (Herrnson 2004).

2006, Peter L. Francia, The Future of Organized Labor in American Politics, Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 81:

The new group, called Save America, is a federal fund-raising vehicle known as a leadership PAC that has donation limits of $5,000 per donor per year. […] In that sense, his PAC could become a fan-subsidized machine to perpetuate his agenda and plot his next moves.

2020 November 10, Shane Goldmacher, Maggie Haberman, Rachel Shorey, “Trump Starts PAC for Future Endeavors, Biden Will Speak on Obamacare Case”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

political action committee
w:political action committee

(US politics) Initialism of political action committee.


Aristotle

/ˈæɹɪˌstɒtəl/

[ˈæɹɪˌstɒtᵊɫ̩]

/ˈæɹɪˌstɑtəl/

[ˈæɹɪˌstɑɾɫ̩]

/ˈɛɹɪˌstɑtəl/

[ˈɛɹɪˌstɑɾɫ̩]

From Ancient Greek Ἀριστοτέλης (Aristotélēs).

An ancient Greek philosopher, logician, and scientist (382–322 BCE), student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.

أَرِسْطُوطَالِيس

ʔarisṭūṭālīs


FCO

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

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

Foreign and Commonwealth Office
w:Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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


TD

TD (countable and uncountable, plural TDs)

Fianna Fáil TD Jim O'Callaghan, whose Dublin constituency is home to one of Accenture's office here, said: […]

2023 August 1, “Accenture cuts 890 more job from Irish operation”, in The Irish Times, page 1:

(Irish politics) Initialism of Teachta Dála, a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower chamber of the Parliament of the Republic of Ireland.


PSI

Policy Studies Institute
w:Policy Studies Institute

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


SS

Pokémon Sword and Shield
w:Pokémon Sword and Shield

(fandom slang) Initialism of Pokémon Sword and Shield.


DNC

The DNC organized the petition drive when it became clear this week that the network was prepared to ignore criticism of its decision to air a right-wing, factually inaccurate mocudrama that dishonors the memory of 9/11 victims in order to serve a cheap, callous political agenda two months before the election.

2006, Bruce R. Lindsey, Douglas J. Band, Comments About ABC Entertainment's 9/11 Film, ABC News, page 1:

Democratic National Committee
w:Democratic National Committee

(US politics) Initialism of Democratic National Committee.


DNC

Coordinate term: RNC

Undoubtedly, there were some who thought that the party, once defined and consolidated, would appeal to “Reagan Democrats,” but there were also many who thought that the liberal groups dominating the party could easily splinter into diverse interest groups if not afforded the opportunity to come together as one. The 1984 DNC was going to be that opportunity.

2020, Theodore F. Sheckels, The Rhetoric of the American Political Party Conventions, 1948–2016, Lexington Books, →ISBN, page 103:

Democratic National Convention
w:Democratic National Convention

(US politics) Initialism of Democratic National Convention.


Nat

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

(slang, informal, New Zealand politics) A member or supporter of the New Zealand National Party.

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


Majorism

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


domino effect

An allusion to a row of dominoes in which the fall of one leads to a cascade of falling pieces.

(politics, historical) The theory that, if South Vietnam became communist, it would be followed by Cambodia, Laos, additional Southeast Asian countries, other Asian countries, and likely even elsewhere.


Whitehall

en-proper noun

Whitehall (countable and uncountable, plural Whitehalls)

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

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

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

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

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

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


RSS

R.S.S. (alternative)
R. S. S. (alternative)

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
w:Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

(Indian politics, Hindutva) Initialism of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (“Indian nationalist volunteer organization”).


PLO

Palestine Liberation Organization
w:Palestine Liberation Organization

Initialism of Palestine Liberation Organization.


Vishnu

Transliteration of Sanskrit विष्णु (viṣṇu).

translit

(Hinduism) One of the Trimurti (trinity) in Hindu mythology, and the most venerated god in Hinduism.

A male given name from Sanskrit used in India.


Disney

English surname of Norman origin, from Old French de (“of, from”) + Isigny (a place in Calvados). For the placename, see Isigny-sur-Mer. In modern use, it is also derived from the name of Walt Disney, whose surname has the aforementioned origin.

A town in Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States, named after Wesley E. Disney.


amphora

en-noun

amphora (plural amphoras or amphorae or amphorai)

amphoras (plural)
amphorae (plural)
amphorai (plural)

/æmˈfɔ(ː)ɹə/

From Latin amphora (“large wine vessel, Roman unit of liquid measure”), from Ancient Greek ἀμφορεύς (amphoreús, “two-handled pitcher, Greek units of liquid measure”), ultimately from Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀠𐀡𐀩𐀸 (a-pi-po-re-we, “carried on both sides”).

der

By concurrent use of panel decoration and concentric-circle ornament, and by free employment of red paint, the fully developed style of the Geometric Period attains a wide range of rich and elaborate effects. These are best displayed on the necks and shoulders of the very large amphorai which are characteristic of this period.

1914, John L[inton] Myres, Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus, New York, N.Y., page 76:

A complete set for a ten-man symposion (an ordinary size) with ten deep cups, ten shallow cups, two mixing-bowls, two wine-jugs, two hydriai, two amphorai would cost in the neighbourhood of forty drachmai, and that would not be an unreasonable price for a rich man for a special occasion.

1973, T[homas] B[ertram] L[onsdale] Webster, Athenian Culture and Society, London: Batsford, →ISBN, page 137:

Traditionally, the style of an artefact has been separated from its function. Thus, the function of a Greek pot – defined in terms of whether it was intended for transportation (hydriai or large amphorai), storage (pithoi and some kraters), distribution (oinokhoai) or consumption (cups, skyphoi and plates) – tends to be treated separately from any painted decoration on its surface.

1997, Jonathan M[ark] Hall, Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity, Cambridge University Press, published 2004, →ISBN, page 133:

(chiefly historical) A large vessel, especially a thin-necked clay vat used in ancient Greece and Rome for storing and transporting wine and oil.

ܐܘܦܪܐ

large clay vessel used in ancient Greece and Rome for storing wine and oil

(historical) A Roman unit of liquid measure reckoned as the volume of 80 Roman pounds of wine and equivalent to about 26 L although differing slightly over time.

(historical) A Roman unit of ship capacity, similar to tonnage.

(botany) A lower valve of a fruit that opens transversely.


tsarist

czarist (alternative)
tzarist (alternative)


perestroika

en-noun

perestroika (countable and uncountable, plural perestroikas)

Borrowed from Russian перестро́йка (perestrójka, “restructuring”).

bor+

перестро́йка

(historical, uncountable) The period of time in the Soviet Union during which these reforms were carried out and in effect.


proletariat

proletariats (plural)
proletariate (alternative)

/ˌpɹəʊ.lɪˈtɛə.ɹɪ.ət/

From French prolétariat (“proletariats as a class; state of being a proletariat”), from Latin prōlētārius (“belonging to the lowest class of citizens, whose only contribution to the state was their offspring; member of this class”) + French -at (suffix denoting actions or the results of actions). Prōlētārius is derived from prōlēs (“offspring, posterity”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, or forming nouns denoting agents of use from other nouns); prōlēs is from pro- (prefix meaning ‘bringing forth or into being; bringing into the open’) + *olēs (a variant of *oleō (“to grow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- (“to grow, nourish”)).

proletaro

lowest class of citizens in Ancient Rome and elsewhere

(chiefly Ancient Rome, historical) The lowest class of citizens, who had no property and few rights, and were regarded as contributing only their offspring to the state.


glasnost

en-noun

glasnost (countable and uncountable, plural glasnosts)

Borrowed from Russian гла́сность (glásnostʹ, “openness”).

bor

Gorbachev would introduce glasnost (openness and freedom) and perestroika (economic restructuring) to Russia under his tenure, ultimately freeing thousands of political prisoners and dissidents and trying to address the shortages in food and goods that had become the hallmarks of the failing Soviet economy.

2004, Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage:

(historical) 1980s and early 1990s policy of the Soviet Union under Gorbachev to allow more government transparency; often paired with perestroika

glasnost (usually accompanied by translation)


Blairite

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

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

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


Blairite

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


Helen

en-proper noun

Helen (countable and uncountable, plural Helens)

→ Danish: Helen

→ Estonian: Helen

→ Hawaiian: Helena

→ Norwegian: Helen

→ Swedish: Helen

From French Hélène, from Latin Helena, from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē). Doublet of Elaine.

Evelyn De Morgan
Helen of Troy (painting)

Fools on both sides! Helen must needs be fair,
When with your blood you daily paint her thus.

c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

(Greek mythology) The daughter of Zeus and Leda, considered to be the most beautiful woman in the world; her abduction by Paris brought about the Trojan War.

Հեղինե

(Greek mythology) the daughter of Zeus and Leda


TCA

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

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

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

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


SAP

(South Africa, obsolete) Initialism of South Africa Party.


AV

From Japanese AV(アダルトビデオ) (adarutobideo), from English adult video.

(Japanese pornography) Initialism of adult video (“video pornography”).


cunny

en-noun

cunny (countable and uncountable, plural cunnies)

cunnies (plural)
cute and funny (alternative)

(countable, fandom slang, chiefly anime and manga) The vulva or vagina of a child or childlike character (loli).

(countable, synecdochically) A child or childlike character, especially when considered sexually attractive; a loli.

(uncountable, metonymically) Lolicon-themed media, especially when erotic (hentai).


Caesar

Caesars (plural)
Caesares (plural)
Cæsar (alternative)
Cesar (alternative)

From Latin Caesar. Displaced Old English cāsere, which would have yielded *caser, *coser, and Middle English keiser, kaiser, from Old Norse and continental Germanic languages. All ultimately from the same Latin root. (See also Kaiser and tsar.)

The Caesars were an ancient and aristocratic family, which for eight generations had been prominent in the commonwealth.

1891, William Rainey Harper, Herbert Cushing Tolman, Eight Books of Caesar’s Gallic War, New York, N.Y., Cincinnati, Oh., Chicago, Ill.: American Book Company, page 2:

Habel, 63 ff., believes that up to 51 the emperors bestowed priesthoods on the Caesares, using their special power of commendation; but that these Caesares were forced to wait until a place in a college was vacant; that after 51 the Caesares were elected by the senate.

1955, Papers and Monographs of the American Academy in Rome, volume 16, page 100:

To the powerful, the Caesares were flattering, deferential, sincerely devoted, self-sacrificing, loyal, eagerly serving.

1965, Taylor Caldwell, A Pillar of Iron, Doubleday, →ISBN, page 128:

Five of the Caesares were killed during the years 90-85 (D. G., 3, 114).

1975, Collection Latomus, volume 142, page 39:

[…] Off. 1.133 and Att. 13.19.4 do not establish the uterine relationship of Catulus and the Caesares, merely the fact that Catulus and the Caesares were regarded as fratres.

1996, Antichthon, volumes 34–36, page 56:

Of the two plebeian candidates Silanus obviously counted on the assistance of Manlius, who was in office and to whom he was related from the grandfather, but his rival, a Minucius who had become a Marcius, counted on the patrician rival Caesar and on the other consul, L. Aurelius Cotta, because the Caesares were related by marriage both with the Marcii and the Cottae; in fact, Silanus was defeated by their coalition.

1999, Friedrich Münzer, translated by Thérèse Ridley, Roman Aristocratic Parties and Families, Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 319:

The Pulchri were a branch of the Clodius family, just as the Caesares were of the Julii.

2000, Richard W[alter] Hooper, Representative Chapters in Ancient History: From Romulus to Justinian, University Press of America, →ISBN, page 542:

He was joined on this commission by C. Caesar Strabo (RE Iulius no. 135), of another branch of the Caesares, who had stressed his heritage by adding the old Julian praenomen Vopiscus (see the cos. 473, MRR 1.29) to his name as a cognomen.

2009, Ernst Badian, “From the Iulii to Caesar”, in Miriam Griffin, editor, A Companion to Julius Caesar, Wiley Blackwell, →ISBN, page 15:

By about the middle of the 2nd cent., the Caesares were claiming descent from *Ascanius and, through him, from his grandmother Venus (see the coins Crawford, RRC 258, 129 bc, and 320, 103 bc, the latter with a symbolic reference to Apollo, the ancient god of the gens).

2012, Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, Esther Eidinow, editors, The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th edition, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 755:

An ancient Roman family name, notably that of Julius Caesar.


Ceres

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

Learned borrowing from Latin Cerēs, goddess of the bounty, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“to grow, to nourish”). More at create.

der

(Roman mythology) The Roman goddess of agriculture; equivalent to the Greek goddess Demeter.


liner

From line (noun) + -er (relational suffix) or -er (measurement suffix) (sense 5).

94 liner

(South Korean idol fandom) person born in a certain year (XX liner); person who belongs to a certain line


New Labour

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

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


October surprise

en-noun

October surprise (plural October surprises)

(US politics) An occurrence that unexpectedly comes to public attention just prior to a November election, especially a presidential election, and that is likely to affect the outcome.


HUAC

w:House Un-American Activities Committee

(US, historical) Acronym of House Un-American Activities Committee.


alicorn

Term already associated with unicorns and reinterpreted as a blend of Latin āla (“wing”) with unicorn, popularized by Bearing an Hourglass (1984) and other fantasy novels by Piers Anthony.

The Alicorn. He be a winged unicorn, the finest equine flesh extant, the adoration of every fair and innocent maiden. For that steed I would give anything.

1984 August, Piers Anthony, Bearing an Hourglass, Del Rey Books, published 1992, →ISBN, →OL, page 171:

A silver portal opens in the sky and a^([sic]) ebony alicorn stallion gallops from it the silver tips on his black wings shine in the sun's light.

1999 May 15, Twyligtsky <twyligtsky@aol.comSKYMAGE>, “Re: RP: First appearence!^([sic])”, in alt.mythology.mythic-animals (Usenet), message-ID <19990515145319.05236.00000939@ng-fs1.aol.com>:

Rarity: Why, you've become an alicorn! I didn't even know that was possible.
Pinkie Pie: [wearing a costume horn and wings] Alicorn party!

2013 February 16, M.A. Larson, “Magical Mystery Cure” (16:32), in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, season 3, episode 13, spoken by Rarity and Pinkie Pie (Tabitha St. Germain and Andrea Libman):

(fantasy, proscribed) A mythological creature, a mixture of pegasus and unicorn: a winged horse with a single horn on its head.


Aghori

From Sanskrit अघोर (aghora, “fearless”).

A tribe of Hindu ascetics who are or were thought to eat the flesh of corpses.


chela

In fact, Gilgamesh's instructions are still-valid directions from the guru to the chela.

1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 184:

The guru had insight. He understood his chela. The relationship between a guru and his chela was as a father to a son, as a whole person to a whole person, individual and unique.

1987, Phirozshah Dorabji Mehta, The Heart of Religion, page 36:

The guru-chela relationship was a theme in many of Nicholas's paintings. In Pearl of Searching, the guru is looking thoughtfully at a pearl necklace with his chela. This symbolizes the "pearl of great price" that gives purpose to life.

2002, Warrior of Light: The Life of Nicholas Roerich: Artist, Himalayan Explorer, and Visionary, page 52:

This, of course, is done by the guru as the result of a long process in which his consciousness must merge with that of the chela and wherein the chela is absorbed essentially into the guru.

2007, Michael Bertiaux, The Voudon Gnostic Workbook: Expanded Edition, page 455:

A pupil or disciple, especially in Hinduism. [from 19th c.]


Tailtiu

Tailte (alternative)
Tailltiu (alternative)
Talti (alternative)

(Irish mythology) A presumed goddess who was the survivor of the invasion of Tuatha Dé Danann and was the foster mother of Lugh.


Lugh

Borrowed from Irish Lugh, from Old Irish Lug, from Primitive Irish ᚂᚒᚌ (lug), from Proto-Celtic *Lugus.

(Irish mythology) A pre-Christian Irish deity represented in mythological texts as a hero and High King of the distant past: the son of Cian and Ethniu.

Samh-ildánach ()

Summer-multi-talented; skilled in many arts


Midir

Mider (alternative)
Midhir (alternative)

(Irish mythology) The son of the Dagda of the Tuatha Dé Danann who fell in love with Étaín, receiving Aengus's help to make her his new bride.


Étaín

(Irish mythology) The lover of Midir whose rejected first wife Fuamnach became jealous and cast three spells on her, turning her into a pool of water, then into a worm, and then into a fly.


Fuamnach

(Irish mythology) Midir's rejected first wife, who became jealous of Midir's lover Étaín, casting three spells on Étain, turning her into a pool of water, then into a worm, and then into a fly.


Triton

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

(Greek mythology) A god of the sea, son of Poseidon.


Maoism

Maoism (usually uncountable, plural Maoisms)

From Mao (surname of Mao Zedong) + -ism.

Some of the farmers were arrested in Wuhan parks where they allegedly spoke against Maoism and the Communist dictatorship, the report said.

1973 March 4, “Starving farmers given jail terms”, in Free China Weekly, volume XIV, number 8, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3:

The philosophy espoused by Chinese leader Mao Zedong, a form of Marxism-Leninism that focuses on the peasantry as the revolutionary vanguard.


PN

(Malaysia, politics, uncountable) Initialism of Perikatan Nasional (“National Alliance”).


CPM

Communist Party of India (Marxist)
w:Communist Party of India (Marxist)

(Indian politics) Initialism of Communist Party of India (Marxist), a political party.


Pamyat

Borrowed from Russian Па́мять (Pámjatʹ), ultimately Russian па́мять (pámjatʹ, “memory”).

A right-wing Russian political movement.


centenary

From Latin centēnārius (“containing 100; local official overseeing a hundred”) either directly or via French centenaire, from centēnī (“100 each”) + -ārius (“-ary”), from centum (“hundred”). Doublet of centenarian, centenarize, kantar, and quintal.

doublet

Of or related to the number one hundred, particularly

Lasting or aged 100 years, 100-year-old.

(historical, obsolete) Of or relating to hundreds, the administrative unit.


centenary

(historical) Synonym of hundredman: a position in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms overseeing local administration.


nenia

Nam vinci in amore turpissimum putant, not only living, but when their friends are dead, with tombs and monuments, nenias, epitaphs elegies, inscriptions, pyramids, obelisks, statues, images, pictures, histories, poems, annals, feasts, anniversaries, many ages after (as Plato's scholars did) they will parentare still, omit no good office that may tend to the preservation of their names, honours, and eternal memory.

1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Honest Objects of Love”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:

The corpse of L’Escuyer, stretched on a bier, the ghastly head girt with laurel, is borne through the streets; with many-voiced unmelodious Nenia; funeral-wail still deeper than it is loud!

1837, Thomas Carlyle, “Avignon”, in The French Revolution: A History […], volume II (The Constitution), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, book V (Parliament First):

And as I nodded, with forehead propped on my left hand, and the packet of pemmican cakes in my right, there was in my head, somehow, an old street-song of my childhood: and I groaned it sleepily, like coronachs and drear funereal nenias, dirging; and the packet beat time in my right hand, falling and raising, falling heavily and rising, in time.

(Ancient Rome) A funeral song; an elegy.


ming

From Chinese 命 (mìng, “destiny, fate; luck”).


Uranian

en-adj

Uranian (comparative more Uranian, superlative most Uranian)

more Uranian (comparative)
most Uranian (superlative)
Ouranian (alternative)
ouranian (alternative)
uranian (alternative)

Aphrodite Pandemos
Aphrodite Urania
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs
Louvre
Plato

From Latin Ūrania (“muse of astronomy in Greek mythology”) + -an (suffix forming agent nouns). Ūrania is derived from Ancient Greek Οὐρᾰνῐ́ᾱ (Ourănĭ́ā, “muse of astronomy”), from οὐράνιος (ouránios, “of or relating to the sky, celestial, heavenly”) (from οὐρανός (ouranós, “the sky; heaven, home of the gods; the universe”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁wers- (“rain”)) + -ιος (-ios, suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘pertaining to’).
The alternative form Ouranian is derived from Ancient Greek οὐράνιος (ouránios).
Adjective sense 2 (“homosexual”) and the noun sense (“a homosexual”) refer to Plato’s work Symposium (c. 385–370 B.C.E.), where the goddess Aphrodite, in her heavenly aspect Aphrodite Urania (see adjective sense 3) is described as inspiring a noble form of affection between older and younger men. Compare German Urning (“a homosexual, Uranian”), Urnigtum (“homosexuality”), also referring to Aphrodite Urania, coined by the German writer Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (1825–1895) in 1864. By the 1900s, the use of the word in this sense had largely been supplanted by homosexual (see further at that entry). The term is no longer mainstream and is almost never used in modern contexts, though it has enjoyed a slight revival as a term for "gay man" as an analogue to lesbian.

der

/jʊˈɹeɪnɪən/

For assuredly are there two Venuses; one, the eldest, the daughter of Uranus, born without a mother, whom we call the Uranian; the other younger, the daughter of Jupiter and Dione, whom we call the Pandemian;—of necessity must there also be two Loves, the Uranian and Pandemian companions of these goddesses. [...] [T]he attendant on the other, the Uranian, whose nature is entirely masculine, is the Love who inspires us with affection, and exempts us from all wantonness and libertinism.

a. 1822, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Banquet. Translated from Plato.”, in Mrs. Shelley [i.e., Mary Shelley], editor, Essays, Letters from Abroad, Translations and Fragments, … In Two Volumes, volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lea and Blanchard, published 1840, →OCLC, page 86:

That this is indeed the general tendency of his [Pausanias of Athens'] speech is made clear by two remarks that follow immediately upon his differentiating the Pandemian from the Uranian gods. [...] But what is true for Aphrodite seems to be a contradiction in terms: she is both one and two and all gods must be praised—both Uranian and Pandemian—and yet only the Uranian ought to be praised [...].

2010, Steven Berg, “Pausanias: Noble Lies and the Fulfillment of Greekness”, in Eros and the Intoxications of Enlightenment: On Plato’s Symposium (SUNY Series in Ancient Greek Philosophy), Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, →ISBN, part 1 (Athens and Enlightenment), page 27:

(not comparable, Greek mythology, Roman mythology) Of Aphrodite Urania, the heavenly aspect of the Greek goddess of beauty and love Aphrodite and her Roman counterpart Venus, as contrasted with the earthly aspect known as Aphrodite Pandemos: heavenly, spiritual.

Graced by nurses (art's nurse highly grac'd him) / Who fed him with pure marrow of the Muses; / And when he list, with moisture to refresh him, / He drunke cleare Helicon: cleare from abuses, / He bent his mind to pure Vranian vses, / Vranianie him did to heau'n vpreare: / And made to man, him demi-god appeare.

1600, Cyril Tourneur, The Transformed Metamorphosis, [London]: Printed by Valentine Sims, […], →OCLC; republished in John Churton Collins, editor, The Plays and Poems of Cyril Tourneur: […] In Two Volumes, volume II, London: Chatto and Windus, […], 1878, →OCLC, page 213:

Actually, this little girl-child should have been as happy as a lark. But, she wasn't. This is because her Bengali genes had her continually wish to be a Sarasvati, or Uranian Muse, to all the males who came within her ambit – incessantly inspiring them to great works of Art or Scientific discoveries.

2007, Vivek Iyer, chapter 8, in Samlee’s Daughter: A Novel, Great Britain: Polyglot Publications, →ISBN, section I:

(not comparable, Greek mythology, dated) Relating to Urania, the Muse of astronomy.


luster

en-verb

luster (third-person singular simple present lusters, present participle lustering, simple past and past participle lustered)

lusters (present singular third-person)
lustering (participle present)
lustered (participle past)
lustered (past)
lustre (alternative)

From Middle French lustre, from Old Italian lustro, from Old Italian lustrare (“brighten”), from Latin lūstrō (“to purify, to brighten”), from Latin lūstrum (“purification ritual”).

(transitive, obsolete) To shed light on, to illustrate, to show.


testudo

en-noun

testudo (plural testudos or testudoes or testudines)

testudos (plural)
testudoes (plural)
testudines (plural)

Unadapted borrowing from Latin testūdō (“tortoise, turtle, lyre, type of military shelter”).

ubor

(Ancient Rome, military, historical) A shelter formed by a body of troops holding their shields or targets close together over their heads.


Gordian knot

/ˈɡɔːdɪən ˈnɒt/

/ˈɡoʊɹdɪən ˈnɑt/

From the name of a legendary knot tied to a pole near the temple of Zeus in Gordium. It was prophesied that whoever loosed the knot would become ruler of all Asia. Alexander the Great solved the puzzle by slicing through the knot and took it as a sign of Zeus' favor. He then proceeded to conquer much of the known world.

(Greek mythology) The legendary knot tied to a pole near the temple of Zeus in Gordium.


vrata

Transliteration of Sanskrit व्रत (vratá). Related to the group word, verb, and verve, from the same Proto-Indo-European root, *werh₁- (“to speak, say”).

transliteration

(Hinduism, Jainism) A pious observance such as fasting and pilgrimage.


Eochaid Feidlech

(Irish mythology) The High King of Ireland in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, who deposed the former High King Fachtna Fáthach at the battle of Battle of Leitir Ruadh.


Fachtna Fáthach

(Irish mythology) The High King of Ireland in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology who was deposed by Eochaid Feidlech at the Battle of Leitir Ruadh.


Fráech

From Middle Irish Fráech, from Old Irish Fróech, from fróech (“heather”), from Proto-Celtic *wroikos.

(Irish mythology) The Connacht hero in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology who wooed Findabair and Treblann, but was drowned in a river in a duel with Cúchulainn.


Nera

(Irish mythology) A warrior of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.


Rt Hon

Right Honourable
Right Honourable#English

Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament

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


galvanize

en-verb

galvanize (third-person singular simple present galvanizes, present participle galvanizing, simple past and past participle galvanized)

galvanizes (present singular third-person)
galvanizing (participle present)
galvanized (participle past)
galvanized (past)
galvanise (alternative)

From French galvaniser, from galvanisme, named after Italian physiologist Luigi Aloisio Galvani (1737–1798). By surface analysis, galvano- + -ize.

named-after

Reenactors called this “galvanizing,” the Civil War term for soldiers who switched sides during the conflict.

1998, Tony Horwitz, Confederates in the Attic, 1st Vintage Departures edition, Vintage Books, →ISBN, page 10:

(historical, US) To switch sides between Union and Confederate in the American Civil War.


Trojan horse

the Trojan horse (canonical)
Trojan Horse (alternative)

(Greek mythology) The hollow wooden horse by which the Greeks allegedly gained access to Ilium/Troy during the Trojan War.


Trojan horse

Trojan horses (plural)
Trojan Horse (alternative)

Russia thinks of an atomic authority as a Trojan horse to get behind the iron curtain and impair her defense, and there is some reason historically for this view.

1946 October, John Foster Dulles, quotee, American Bar Association Journal, volume 32, number 10, page 681:

Seen like this, huge western companies function like a Trojan horse when they are invited inside the boundaries of LDCs.

1995, Peter Saunders, Capitalism, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, →ISBN, page 38:

Had the Israelis and the Americans realized that the Oslo accords were merely a “Trojan horse” designed to promote the higher goal of Palestine’s complete liberation, he argued, “they would never have opened their fortified gates and let it inside their walls.”

2003, Efraim Karsh, Arafat's War, New York: Grove Press, →ISBN, page 64:

Indeed, it may turn out to be a Trojan horse that finally allows conservative ideologues, who have unsuccessfully laid siege to Medicare since the days of Barry Goldwater, to breach its political defenses.

2003, Krugman, Paul R., The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century, W. W. Norton & Company, published 2004, →ISBN, page 449:

(politics) A person, organization, social movement, piece of legislation, or ideology with a negative agenda or evil intentions under the guise of positive values or good intentions.

Troijan hevonen

politics: movement etc. with evil intentions