See spad in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for spad meaning in English (5.1kB)
{
"etymology_number": 1,
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"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "special adviser"
},
"expansion": "special adviser",
"name": "m"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Shortening of special adviser.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "spads",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "spad (plural spads)",
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"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "UK politics",
"orig": "en:UK politics",
"parents": [
"Politics",
"United Kingdom",
"Society",
"British Isles",
"Europe",
"All topics",
"Islands",
"Earth",
"Eurasia",
"Fundamental",
"Places",
"Nature",
"Names",
"Proper nouns",
"Terms by semantic function",
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}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1997 November 2, Reddy Hannah with Wimbush, Angela and Linesberry, Debbie, “Abbreviations and Acronyms”, in Dr. Russell G. Swenson, editor, Defense and Intelligence Abbreviations and Acronyms, Washington, DC: Joint Military Intelligence College, archived from the original on 2017-09-18, page 192",
"text": "SPAD Special Advisor",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2009, Ben Wright, Hidden world of the political advisers, BBC",
"text": "A successful stint as a spad can be a crucial political apprenticeship - as many of the current crop of professional politicians including the Miliband brothers, David Cameron and George Osborne can testify - so long as they stay in the dark.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2012, Avoid The Thick of It-style spad appointments, ministers told, The Guardian",
"text": "The hit BBC sitcom satirising the inner workings of Whitehall and the so-called spads contains \"more than a grain of truth\", the head of the cross-party public administration select committee has warned."
}
],
"glosses": [
"A government adviser, often in a political or media role."
],
"id": "en-spad-en-noun-APWgId1W",
"raw_glosses": [
"(UK politics, informal) A government adviser, often in a political or media role."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "SpAd"
},
{
"word": "SpAD"
}
],
"tags": [
"UK",
"informal"
],
"topics": [
"government",
"politics"
]
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Special adviser (UK)"
],
"word": "spad"
}
{
"etymology_number": 2,
"forms": [
{
"form": "spads",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
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{
"args": {},
"expansion": "spad (plural spads)",
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"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Mining",
"orig": "en:Mining",
"parents": [
"Industries",
"Business",
"Economics",
"Society",
"Social sciences",
"All topics",
"Sciences",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"_dis": "23 46 31",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A nail one or two inches long, of iron, brass, tin, or tinner iron, with a hole through the flattened head, used to mark stations in underground surveying."
],
"id": "en-spad-en-noun-RIpatisM",
"links": [
[
"mining",
"mining#Noun"
],
[
"nail",
"nail"
],
[
"station",
"station"
],
[
"underground",
"underground"
],
[
"surveying",
"surveying"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(mining) A nail one or two inches long, of iron, brass, tin, or tinner iron, with a hole through the flattened head, used to mark stations in underground surveying."
],
"topics": [
"business",
"mining"
]
}
],
"word": "spad"
}
{
"etymology_number": 3,
"forms": [
{
"form": "spads",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "spad (plural spads)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"alt_of": [
{
"word": "spadona/spadone"
}
],
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1911 September, contributed by Cyphers Incubator Co., “Ostrich Farming in South Africa”, in American Poultry World, volume II, number 11, Buffalo, N.Y.: American Poultry Publishing Co., page 966",
"text": "No. 6.—Spadonas or spads, the first wing-quills of the chick, clipped at about six months.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1921 September 7, The New York Times, volume LXX, number 23,237, New York, N.Y., page 24, column 6",
"text": "RAW OSTRICH FEATHERS / Primes, Wings, White Feminas, Spads, Etc.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1924 February 12, “On Ostrich Feathers”, in The Manchester Guardian, number 24,175, page 6, column 4",
"text": "“What d’you mean—‘feathers’,” asked the tanned young public school man who volunteered to trot me round, “spads, second-after-chicks, fancies, natals, black butts, adults, juvenals, byocks, chicks, primes, feminas, or what?”[…]The first white ones we call spads.[…]Two or three months after that clipping we pull out the spad quills.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1959, The Standard Bank Review, The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, page 15",
"text": "An improvement was noted in the demand for femina wings, spads and long bodies;",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Clipping of spadona/spadone."
],
"id": "en-spad-en-noun-WSlHifjV",
"links": [
[
"spadona",
"spadona#English"
],
[
"spadone",
"spadone#English"
]
],
"tags": [
"abbreviation",
"alt-of",
"clipping"
]
}
],
"word": "spad"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns"
],
"etymology_number": 1,
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"args": {
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"2": "special adviser"
},
"expansion": "special adviser",
"name": "m"
}
],
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"forms": [
{
"form": "spads",
"tags": [
"plural"
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],
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{
"args": {},
"expansion": "spad (plural spads)",
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{
"categories": [
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"examples": [
{
"ref": "1997 November 2, Reddy Hannah with Wimbush, Angela and Linesberry, Debbie, “Abbreviations and Acronyms”, in Dr. Russell G. Swenson, editor, Defense and Intelligence Abbreviations and Acronyms, Washington, DC: Joint Military Intelligence College, archived from the original on 2017-09-18, page 192",
"text": "SPAD Special Advisor",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2009, Ben Wright, Hidden world of the political advisers, BBC",
"text": "A successful stint as a spad can be a crucial political apprenticeship - as many of the current crop of professional politicians including the Miliband brothers, David Cameron and George Osborne can testify - so long as they stay in the dark.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2012, Avoid The Thick of It-style spad appointments, ministers told, The Guardian",
"text": "The hit BBC sitcom satirising the inner workings of Whitehall and the so-called spads contains \"more than a grain of truth\", the head of the cross-party public administration select committee has warned."
}
],
"glosses": [
"A government adviser, often in a political or media role."
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(UK politics, informal) A government adviser, often in a political or media role."
],
"tags": [
"UK",
"informal"
],
"topics": [
"government",
"politics"
]
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "SpAd"
},
{
"word": "SpAD"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Special adviser (UK)"
],
"word": "spad"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns"
],
"etymology_number": 2,
"forms": [
{
"form": "spads",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
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{
"args": {},
"expansion": "spad (plural spads)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"en:Mining"
],
"glosses": [
"A nail one or two inches long, of iron, brass, tin, or tinner iron, with a hole through the flattened head, used to mark stations in underground surveying."
],
"links": [
[
"mining",
"mining#Noun"
],
[
"nail",
"nail"
],
[
"station",
"station"
],
[
"underground",
"underground"
],
[
"surveying",
"surveying"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(mining) A nail one or two inches long, of iron, brass, tin, or tinner iron, with a hole through the flattened head, used to mark stations in underground surveying."
],
"topics": [
"business",
"mining"
]
}
],
"word": "spad"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns"
],
"etymology_number": 3,
"forms": [
{
"form": "spads",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "spad (plural spads)",
"name": "en-noun"
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],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"alt_of": [
{
"word": "spadona/spadone"
}
],
"categories": [
"English clippings",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1911 September, contributed by Cyphers Incubator Co., “Ostrich Farming in South Africa”, in American Poultry World, volume II, number 11, Buffalo, N.Y.: American Poultry Publishing Co., page 966",
"text": "No. 6.—Spadonas or spads, the first wing-quills of the chick, clipped at about six months.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1921 September 7, The New York Times, volume LXX, number 23,237, New York, N.Y., page 24, column 6",
"text": "RAW OSTRICH FEATHERS / Primes, Wings, White Feminas, Spads, Etc.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1924 February 12, “On Ostrich Feathers”, in The Manchester Guardian, number 24,175, page 6, column 4",
"text": "“What d’you mean—‘feathers’,” asked the tanned young public school man who volunteered to trot me round, “spads, second-after-chicks, fancies, natals, black butts, adults, juvenals, byocks, chicks, primes, feminas, or what?”[…]The first white ones we call spads.[…]Two or three months after that clipping we pull out the spad quills.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1959, The Standard Bank Review, The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, page 15",
"text": "An improvement was noted in the demand for femina wings, spads and long bodies;",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Clipping of spadona/spadone."
],
"links": [
[
"spadona",
"spadona#English"
],
[
"spadone",
"spadone#English"
]
],
"tags": [
"abbreviation",
"alt-of",
"clipping"
]
}
],
"word": "spad"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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