admiral

admirals (plural)
Admiral (alternative)
Adm. (alternative)
Adm (alternative)
adml. (alternative)
ADM (alternative)
admyralle (alternative)
amyrall (alternative)
admarall (alternative)
admerell (alternative)
admerolle (alternative)
admirell (alternative)
admyrell (alternative)
amerall (alternative)
ammyrall (alternative)
amral (alternative)
amrell (alternative)
amrelle (alternative)
admirail (alternative)
admiralle (alternative)
admyral (alternative)
admyrall (alternative)
amiral (alternative)
amirall (alternative)
ammiral (alternative)
admeral (alternative)
admerall (alternative)
ammirall (alternative)
admirant (alternative)
amrall (alternative)
ammirant (alternative)
admirall (alternative)
admirante (alternative)
admirel (alternative)

→ Cebuano: admiral

desctree

→ German: Admiral
→ Czech: admirál
Hungarian: admirális
→ Polish: admirał
→ Slovene: admirȃl
→ Ukrainian: адміра́л (admirál)

Swahili: admirali

→ Tagalog: ádmirál

Amir_al-umara#In_Norman_Sicily
Chester Nimitz
Eighth Crusade
Florent de Varennes
George of Antioch
Gervase Alard
Horatio Nelson
Louis IX
Nelson's Column
Norman Sicily
admiral
admiral of France

From Middle English admiral etc., from Anglo-Norman and Old French admiral etc., from Medieval Latin admiralis, admirallus, and admiralius, from irregular modification of amiralis etc. under the influence of the prefix ad- and particularly admiror (“to admire, respect”), from Arabic أَمِير (ʔamīr, “commander”) + -alis (“-al”). The ending is frequently but mistakenly folk etymologized to derive from the article ال (al-), particularly in Arabic أَمِير اَلبَحْر (ʔamīr al-baḥr, “commander of the sea”), first attested as a Fatimid office, or in Arabic أَمِير الْمُؤْمِنِين (ʔamīr al-muʔminīn, “Commander of the Believers, caliph”). It seems instead to have been borrowed from modification of only the first term in Arabic أَمِير الْأُمَرَاء (ʔamīr al-ʔumarāʔ, “emir of emirs, commander-in-chief”) as used as a title for important commanders in Norman Sicily in the mid-12th century. First attested as an English rank in reference to Gervase Alard of Winchelsea as "admiral of the fleet of the Cinque Ports". Doublet of emir, amir, Amir, and amira.
Etymology tree
Middle English admiral
English admiral

cog

أَمِير اَلبَحْر

أَمِير الْمُؤْمِنِين

der

أَمِير الْأُمَرَاء

etymon

(military, now informal) The commander of a naval squadron or fleet, regardless of formal rank.

(military) The appointed commander of a navy, regardless of formal title.

... from my experience in Ours as well as from my former intimacy with many Officers of Note in the British Navy, I am convinced that the Parity of Rank between Sea & land or Marine Officers, is of more consequence to the harmony of the Service, than hath generally been imagined. — in the British Establishment — an Admiral ranks with a Genl a Vice Admiral with a Lieut Genl a Rear Admiral with a Major Genl a Commodore with a Brigadier Genl — a Captain with a Colonel, a master & Commander with a Lieut Colnel — a Lieut. Commanding with a Major, and a Lieutenant in the Navy Ranks with a Captain of Horse, Foot or Marines. — I propose not our Enemies as an Example for our Genl imitation — Yet as their Navy is the best regulated of any in the World, we must in Some degree imitate them and Aim at such further improvement as may one day make ours Vie with and Exceed theirs.

1776 September 4, John Paul Jones, letter to Robert Morris

He has appealed to the navies of Europe to prove, that we ought to have Admirals; then, of course he is willing, or at least ought to be so, to let their rules govern in promoting to that grade. The general principle which governs the navies of the old world is... when the Post is attained, then promotion is by inheritance... If a Post Captain in the English navy lives long enough, he is certain of being an Admiral, though not before he is sixty years of age... Hence it is manifest that the public interest no more requires the new grade of Admiral to be added to the navy, than it does the bestowing of orders of nobility on all the diplomatic agents, who represent the United States at the different courts of Europe.

1836 March 17, 'Candor', "The Navy", Army and Navy Chronicle, Vol. II, No. 11, p. 173

(military) A high rank in the British and American Navies, NATO grade OF-9, equivalent ranks in other navies, in coast guards, etc.

admiraal

high naval rank in the British and American navies or equivalent ranks


admiralty

en-noun

admiralty (countable and uncountable, plural admiralties)

From French amirauté, for an older amiralté (“office of admiral”), from Late Latin admīrālitās. See admiral. Analyzable as admiral + -ty.

(military) The office or jurisdiction of an admiral.

(military) The department or officers having authority over naval affairs generally.

(military) The building in which the lords of the admiralty, in England, transact business.


affair

affairs (plural)
affaire (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English afere, affere, from Old French afaire, from a- + faire (“to do”), from Latin ad- + facere (“to do”). See fact, and compare ado.

(military) An action or engagement not of sufficient magnitude to be called a battle.


maneuver

maneuvers (plural)
manoeuvre (alternative Commonwealth Ireland)
maneuvre (alternative nonstandard)
manoeuver (alternative nonstandard)
manœuver (alternative obsolete)
manœuvre (alternative British)

From Middle French manœuvre (“manipulation, maneuver”) and manouvrer (“to maneuver”), from Old French manovre (“handwork, manual labor”), from Medieval Latin manopera, manuopera (“work done by hand, handwork”), from manu (“by hand”) + operari (“to work”). First recorded in the Capitularies of Charlemagne (800 AD) to mean "chore, manual task", probably as a calque of the Frankish *handwerc (“hand-work”). Compare Old English handweorc, Old English handġeweorc, German Handwerk. The verb is a doublet of the verb manure.

مُنَاوَرَة

a movement, often one performed with difficulty

The army was on maneuvers.

Joint NATO maneuvers are as much an exercise in diplomacy as in tactics and logistics.

(military) The planned movement of troops, vehicles etc.; a strategic repositioning; (later also) a large training field-exercise of fighting units.

مُنَاوَرَة

a large training exercise of military troops


maniple

maniples (plural)
manyple (alternative)
mainipul (alternative)
manypule (alternative)
manaple (alternative)
manipul (alternative)
manipule (alternative)
manuple (alternative)
manipil (alternative)

From Late Middle English maniple, manyple (“scarf worn as vestment, maniple”), borrowed from Middle French, Old French maniple, manipule (“handful; troop of soldiers; scarf worn as vestment”) (modern French manipule), from Latin manipulus (“bundle, handful; troop of soldiers”), from manus (“hand”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon, signal”)) + the weakened root of pleō (“to fill; to fulfil”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill”)). The English word is cognate with Italian manipulo (“scarf worn as vestment”) (obsolete), manipolo (“handful; troop of soldiers; scarf worn as vestment”).
Sense 2 (“part of a priest’s vestments”) is probably from the fact that the item was originally carried in the hand. It may originate from a handkerchief or napkin worn by Roman consuls as an indication of rank.

cog

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

Holonym: legion

[T]hey divided the Haſtati, Principes, and Triaris, each of them into 10 companies, making of thoſe three ſorts of ſouldiers 30 ſmall regiments, which they called Manipuli: And again, they ſubdivided each maniple into two equall parts, and called them Ordines, which was the leaſt company in a legion, and according to the rate ſet down by Polybius, contained 60 ſouldiers. […] By this therefore it may appear that a legion conſiſted of four ſorts of ſouldiers, which were reduced into ten cohorts, and every cohort contained three maniples, and every maniple two orders, and every order had his Centurion marching in the head of the troop, and every Centurion had his Optionem, or Lieutenant, that ſtood in the tail of the troop.

1655, Clement Edmond[e]s, “The Second Commentary of the Wars in Gallia. [Observation.]”, in Julius Caesar, translated by Clement Edmond[e]s, The Commentaries of C. Julius Cæsar, of His Warres in Gallia, and the Civile Warres betwixt Him and Pompey, Translated into English: […], revised edition, London: […] R[oger] Daniel; and are to be sold by Henry Tvvyford, […], Nathaniel Ekins […], and Iohn Place […], →OCLC, book II, page 43:

And preſently changing the Order of his March, made his Flank which was next the Enemy thrice as ſtrong as it was before; plac'd ſeveral Spearmen and Slingers between the Battalions or Maniples of foot; planted all the Cavalry in the Wings; And after a brief Excitation to his Soldiers, caus'd the Army in this Figure to file off to the Left, and towards the Plain.

1709, Caius Crispus Sallustius [i.e., Gaius Sallustius Crispus], “The History of Caius Crispus Sallustius: Containing an Account of the Jurgurthine War”, in John Rowe, transl., Caius Crispus Sallustius the Historian Made English. […], London: […] Richard Sare, […], →OCLC, page 126:

Crossing the ditch, he was followed first by the men of his own maniple, and then by the whole legion.

1828, Titus Livius [i.e., Livy], “Book XXV.—Chapter XIV.”, in [anonymous], transl., The History of Rome by Titus Livius, the Twentieth to the Thirtieth Books Inclusive, […], volume I, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] D. A. Talboys and J. Vincent, →OCLC, page 317:

Our Army, besides being of an insignificant strength compared with the physical force of the country, and so detached and scattered as to be mere maniples of men, has been so frequently into its original elements of citizenship, and has at all times so mingled with our social institutions, as to appear a homogeneous part of the grand community, and only a better regulated and more effective body of militia.

1833 June, “Art. II.—Documents Communicated to Congress by the President, at the Opening of the Second Session of the Twenty-second Congress, Accompanying the Report of the Secretary of War.”, in American Quarterly Review, volume XIII, number XXVI, Philadelphia, Pa.: [Henry Charles] Carey, [Isaac] Lea & Blanchard […], →OCLC, page 298:

He [Ignatius of Antioch] was taken to Rome in the custody of a maniple of ten soldiers.

1945, H. Burn-Murdoch, “Ignatius, Bishop and Martyr, a.d. 110”, in Church, Continuity & Unity, 1st paperback edition, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, published 2014, →ISBN, page 120:

There was an insane delight to be taken in their mission. They were but two maniples. If the alarm were raised, thousands of Syracusan defenders would rise from their beds, drunk or not, and annihilate them. If it weren't, the rewards would be immeasurable.

2014, Ben Kane, Hannibal: Clouds of War, London: Arrow Books, Random House, →ISBN, page 426:

(Ancient Rome, military) A division of the Roman army numbering 120 (or sometimes 60) soldiers exclusive of officers; (generally, obsolete) any small body of soldiers.


ambulance

→ Baharna Arabic: عمبلوص (ʕambalūṣ)

→ Chichewa: ambulansi

→ Hindi: एम्बुलेंस (embulẽs)

→ Malay: ambulans

→ Swahili: ambulensi

African-American Vernacular, also Southern American English

Borrowed from French ambulance, which replaced hôpital ambulant (“moving hospital”) via the suffix -ance, from Latin ambulō (“to walk; to go about”).

EtymOnLine

Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “ambulance”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.


spear

From Middle English spere, sperre, spear, from Old English spere, from Proto-West Germanic *speru, from Proto-Germanic *speru, from Proto-Indo-European *sperH-.
Cognates
See also West Frisian spear, Dutch speer, German Speer, Old Norse spjǫr, *sparrô, Middle Dutch sparre (“rafter”), Old Norse sparri (“spar, rafter”), sperra (“rafter, beam”); also Latin sparus (“short spear”), Albanian ferrë (“thorn, thornbush”).

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

(wrestling) In professional wrestling, a running tackle in which the wrestler's shoulder is driven into the opponent's midsection.


pepper

en-noun

pepper (countable and uncountable, plural peppers)

peppers (plural)
piper (alternative archaic)

Tok Pisin: pepa

→ Hawaiian: pepa

→ Marshallese: pepa

From Middle English peper, piper, from Old English piper, from Proto-West Germanic *pipar, from Latin piper, from an Indo-Aryan source; compare Sanskrit पिप्पलि (pippali, “long pepper”). The name was given to the capsicum fruit because of its unusual spicy taste, not unlike the Old World spice. Cognate with Scots pepar, Saterland Frisian Pieper, West Frisian piper, Dutch peper, German Low German Peper, German Pfeffer, Danish peber, Swedish peppar, Icelandic pipar. Doublet of falafel and peepul.

cog

He means to snatch the laurels from his brow, / At all his boasted pluck and prowess smile, / And give him pepper in superior style.

1906, Henry Downes Miles, Pugilistica, page 61:

[T]he Chicken had been tapped, and bunged, and had received pepper, and had been made groggy, and had come up piping, and had endured a complication of similar strange inconveniences, until he had been gone into and finished.

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


grunt

From Middle English grunten, from Old English grunnettan (“to grunt”), from Proto-West Germanic *grunnattjan, from Proto-Germanic *grunnatjaną (“to grunt”), frequentative of Proto-Germanic *grunnōną (“to grunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrun- (“to shout”).
Cognate with German grunzen (“to grunt”), Danish grynte (“to grunt”). The noun senses are all instances of zero derivation from the verb.

der

Coordinate term: pogue

The poges stare at the grunts as though the grunts were Hell's Angels at the ballet.

1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York: Bantam Books, published 1980, →ISBN, page 39:

The events described are those encountered by only 160 men, though the adversity recounted is representative of that experienced by all grunts in Vietnam.

1984, Charles Robert Anderson, The Grunts, Berkley Books, →ISBN, page xii:

He can't make that kind of decision. He's just a grunt!

1986, James Cameron, Aliens, spoken by Burke (Paul Reiser):

(US, military slang) An infantry soldier.


overalls

/ˈoʊvəɹɔːlz/

(UK, military) Trousers traditionally worn by cavalry.


joker

From joke + -er, but in the sense of a playing card possibly by alteration of Jucker, also the origin of the name of the card game euchre.

Joker - A friendly track or contact acting as a "suspect" track for exercise purposes only. (STANAG 1241)

1998, APP-6A: Military Symbols for Land-Based Systems, page 9:

(military) A friendly unit that acts as a suspected hostile unit in a military excercise.


goose-step

An intentionally disparaging alternative name for the "balance step" (German Stechschritt, "cut step") from a fancied resemblance to the waddling of geese.

The balance or goose-step introduced for their practice excites a fever of disgust.

1806 Feb. 11, Robert Thomas Wilson, Journal

A military parade is really a kind of ritual dance, something like a ballet, expressing a certain philosophy of life. The goose-step, for instance, is one of the most horrible sights in the world, far more terrifying than a dive-bomber. It is simply an affirmation of naked power; contained in it, quite consciously and intentionally, is the vision of a boot crashing down on a face. Its ugliness is part of its essence... Why is the goose-step not used in England? There are, heaven knows, plenty of army officers who would be only too glad to introduce some such thing. It is not used because the people in the street would laugh.

1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, Pt. I:

(military, typically derogatory) A style of march in which the legs advance in turn without bending the knee, whether as a low quick march or a rigorous high slow march for ceremonial occasions; the various drills associated with these marches.


goose-step

en-verb

goose-step (third-person singular simple present goose-steps, present participle goose-stepping, simple past and past participle goose-stepped)

goose-steps (present singular third-person)
goose-stepping (participle present)
goose-stepped (participle past)
goose-stepped (past)

(military, typically derogatory) To march with a goose-step.


KIA

KIAs (plural)
K.I.A. (alternative)
K. I. A. (alternative)

(military) A person who is killed in action.


KIA

K.I.A. (alternative)
K. I. A. (alternative)

killed in action
killed in action#English

(military) Initialism of killed in action.


diversion

en-noun

diversion (countable and uncountable, plural diversions)

/daɪˈvɜːʃən/

/daɪˈvɜːʒən/

From Middle English diversion, dyversioun, from Medieval Latin diversiō, from Latin divertō (“to divert”); see divert.

(military) A tactic used to draw attention away from the real threat or action.


guide

→ Hindi: गाइड (gāiḍ)

→ Japanese: ガイド (gaido)

→ Korean: 가이드 (gaideu)

→ Norwegian: guide

→ Swedish: guide

→ Urdu: گائیڈ (gāeḍ)

c. 1325–75. From Middle English guide, from the Old French guide, from Old Occitan guida, from guidar, from Frankish *wītan (“to show the way, lead”), from Proto-Germanic *wītaną (“to see, know; go, depart”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see, know”). Cognate with Old English wītan (“to see, take heed to, watch after, guard, keep”). Related also to English wit.

cog

(military) A member of a group marching in formation who sets the pattern of movement or alignment for the rest.


trench

Borrowed into Middle English from Old French trenche. Doublet of tranche and traunch. Possible doublet of English: truncate

The soldiers in the trenches rely on logistical support.

Following in the tank's wake, the cameliers reached the first line of Turkish trenches, where they confronted a handful of Ottoman soldiers too wounded to retreat.

2015, Eugene Rogan, The Fall of the Ottomans, Penguin, published 2016, page 331:

(military) A narrow excavation as used in warfare, as a cover for besieging or emplaced forces.


trench

en-verb

trench (third-person singular simple present trenches, present participle trenching, simple past and past participle trenched)

trenches (present singular third-person)
trenching (participle present)
trenched (participle past)
trenched (past)

No more shall trenching war channel her fields.

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

Advanc'd upon the field there stood a mound
Of earth congested, wall'd , and trench'd around

1715–1720, Homer, translated by Alexander Pope, “(please specify the book of the Iliad or chapter quoted from)”, in The Iliad of Homer, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC:

(military, infantry) To excavate an elongated pit for protection of soldiers and or equipment, usually perpendicular to the line of sight toward the enemy.


trace

From Middle English trace, traas, from Old French trace (“an outline, track, trace”), from the verb (see below).

der

(fortification) The ground plan of a work or works.


Lombard

Lombards (plural)
Lumbard (alternative)
Lumbar (alternative)
lombard (alternative)

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

(military, historical) A kind of Spanish cannon of the 16th century.


candlestick

candlesticks (plural)
canstick (alternative)

Sranan Tongo: kandratiki

From Middle English candelstik, candelstikke, from Old English candelsticca (“candlestick”), equivalent to candle + stick. Cognate with Scots candilsteke, candilstik (“candlestick”). Compare Old Norse kertastika, kertistika (“candlestick”).

inh

Inside the shrapnel shell was an iron bar with a flattened, broad nose. When the shell burst in the air this iron object fell to the ground and, since it came often from a great height, its fall was dangerous. The men called these candlesticks, which they much resembled.

1930, Ford Madox Ford, No More Parades, Grosset & Dunlap, page 20:

(British, military slang, historical) The central ignition tube connecting the fuse and charge of a WWI shrapnel shell, shaped like a candle stick.


chandelier

/ˌʃæn.dəˈlɪə(ɹ)/

/ˌʃæn.dəˈlɪɚ/

Borrowed from French chandelier, from Latin candelabrum, from candela (“a candle”). Doublet of candelabrum. See also candle.

llambadar

branched, often ornate, lighting fixture suspended from the ceiling

not the brightest bulb in the chandelier

Chandelier. A wooden frame, whereon are laid fascines or faggots, to cover the workmen in making approaches.

[1747, James Boswell, The Scots Book, volume IX, page 37:

Europeans solved this problem by building a temporary fence with tightly bound sticks ("fascines") stacked into wooden frames ("chandeliers").

1994, Todd A. Shallat, Structures in the Stream: Water, Science, and the Rise of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, University of Texas Press, page 32:

(obsolete, military) A portable frame used to support temporary wooden fences.


conventional

en-adj

conventional (comparative more conventional, superlative most conventional)

more conventional (comparative)
most conventional (superlative)

atypical

antonym(s) of “pertaining to a convention”

weapon of mass destruction
weapon of mass destruction

(weaponry) Pertaining to a weapon which is not a weapon of mass destruction.


carte

en-noun

carte (countable and uncountable, plural cartes)


Apache

Apaches (plural)
Apache (plural)
apache (alternative)

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

(military, plural only "Apaches") AH-64 Apache, a U.S. military helicopter.


strap

strap (countable and uncountable, plural straps)

straps (plural)
strop (alternative)
strope (alternative)

→ Japanese: ストラップ (sutorappu)

From a variant of earlier strope (“loop on a harness”), from Middle English strope, stroppe, from Late Old English strop, stropp (“a band, thong, strap; oar-thong”) and Old French estrope (“strap, loop on a harness”), both from Latin stroppus, struppus (“strap”), from Ancient Greek στρόφος (stróphos, “rope”) (compare strophe), from στρέφω (stréphō, “to twist”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *strebʰ- (compare Proto-West Germanic *stroppōn (“to twist, writhe”)). Cognate with Scots strap, strop (“strap, band, thong”), Dutch strop (“noose, strop, loop”), Low German Strop (“strap”), German Struppe, Strüppe, Strippe (“string, cord”), Danish strop (“strap”), Swedish stropp (“strap, loop”).

lak

a long, narrow, pliable strip of leather, cloth, or the like

kawerapa

part of a bag that goes over the shoulder

ивица

a narrow strip of anything, as of iron or brass

David Arquette was given the belt because he's a celebrity. Period. I wasn't that upset about it because even the on-air product treated it as laughable. It was a "fluke" that Arquette managed to grab the strap, and he held it for less than a week. But there was no point in it....that I do agree with.

2001 January 31, Greg Stinson, “WWF fans actually know the WWF sucks”, in rec.sport.pro-wrestling (Usenet), message-ID <KTUd6.209692$iy3.50200104@news1.rdc1.tn.home.com>:

During 2002, Triple H began this run of title defences of the Big Gold Belt. He'd basically been given the strap earlier in the month and there was a feeling he didn't deserve it.

2015, Arnold Furious, “Unforgiven 2002”, in The Complete WWE Guide Volume #6, →ISBN, page 60:

When people like me were deserting the WWE during the championship reign of JBL, "The Wrestling God", Vince didn't take the strap off of him. He's certainly not going to do anything because of this little piffle.

2017 April 11, Jason Todd!!!, “if multiple people are coming forth saying jbl harassed them, why doesn't vince fire his ass?”, in rec.sport.pro-wrestling (Usenet), message-ID <5ad20526-36c9-4dac-89ba-df011e3d48f9@googlegroups.com>:

(slang, professional wrestling, with "the") A championship belt, or by extension, the title.


piste

(fencing) The field of play of a fencing match.

planš

(fencing) the field of play of a fencing match


drop

en-verb

drop (third-person singular simple present drops, present participle dropping, simple past and past participle dropped or (archaic) dropt)

drops (present singular third-person)
dropping (participle present)
dropped (participle past)
dropped (past)
dropt (archaic participle past)
dropt (archaic past)

From Middle English droppen, dropen (“to fall in drops, drip or trickle down; to scatter, sprinkle; to be covered with a liquid; to give off moisture; of an object: to drop, fall; of a living being: to fall to the ground”) [and other forms], from Old English dropian, droppian (“to drop”), from dropa (“a drop”) (see further at etymology 1) + -ian (suffix forming verbs from adjectives and nouns).

спадам

to decrease, diminish, or lessen in condition, degree, value, etc.

laskea

to move to a lower position; to allow to hang downwards — see also lower

laskea

to lower (a sound, a voice, etc.) in pitch or volume

Drop and give me 20, now!

(US, Singapore, ergative, military, slang) To make someone, or be made to do push-ups or some other form of exercise on the ground as punishment.


AAC

en-noun

AAC (countable and uncountable, plural AACs)

airborne aircraft carrier
airborne aircraft carrier#English

(military, aviation) Abbreviation of airborne aircraft carrier.

aircraft armament change
aircraft armament change#English

(aviation, military) Initialism of aircraft armament change.

(military) Initialism of anti-aircraft command.


AAC

(military) Initialism of Anti-aircraft Corps.


ASA

air sovereignty alert
air sovereignty alert#English

(military) Initialism of air sovereignty alert: refers to fighter jet units that provide aerial defense of the nation via high-readiness aircraft.


RF

RF (countable and uncountable, plural RFs)

If battalion staff were involved, we generally called the insertion an RF, Romeo Foxtrot, or Rat Fuck.

1997, Chuck Carlock, Firebirds: A Harrowing Firsthand Account of Helicopter Combat in Vietnam, Bantam, →ISBN, page 300:

Thinking they actually were supporting the demonstrators, I went up to them and asked why. “No, we're not supporting them. This is just an RF (short for “Rat Fuck”). We're keeping the money," they told me, laughing.

2003, Guy T. Saperstein, Civil Warrior: Memoirs of a Civil Rights Attorney:

(military, engineering, slang) Initialism of ratfuck (“dirty rick or act of sabotage or interference”).


RF

Combination of prefix F and prefix modifier R

(US, military, aviation) reconnaissance fighter; an unarmed fighter modified for photo-reconnaissance (prefix)


AWOL

AWOLs (plural)
awol (alternative)
a.w.o.l. (alternative)
A.W.O.L. (alternative)

Acronym of absent without official leave, originally used in the United States military.

acronym

(military) Absence without proper authority from the properly appointed place of duty, or from unit, organization, or other place of duty at which one is required to be at the time prescribed.

luvaton poissaolo

military: absence without proper authority

unerlaubte Entfernung f unerlaubte Entfernung von der Truppe

(military) A person who holds AWOL status.


naval infantry

(military) An organization of sailors who are trained and equipped to fight as an infantry unit on land.


commodore

→ Italian: commodoro

→ Portuguese: comodoro

→ Spanish: comodoro

Borrowed from Dutch kommandeur, from Middle French commandeur. See command, compare commend (a doublet), and mandate.

(military, nautical) A naval officer holding a rank between captain and rear admiral.

commodore admiral
commodore admiral#English

(military, nautical) Ellipsis of commodore admiral.

rear admiral (lower half)
rear admiral (lower half)

(US, military, nautical) A rear admiral (lower half).


lieutenant

lieutenants (plural)
leftenant (alternative obsolete)
leftenaunt (alternative obsolete)
lieftenant (alternative obsolete)
lieftenaunt (alternative obsolete)
lieutenaunt (alternative obsolete)

→ Irish: leifteanant

→ Malay: leftenan

→ Swahili: luteni

From Middle English lieutenant, lieftenaunt, from Anglo-Norman lieutenant, lyutenaunt, leu tenant, leu tenaunt (“deputy, lieutenant”), from Old French lieu (“place”) + tenant (“holder”). Doublet of locum tenens.

пору́чик

in imperial Russian army (1730–1917), armies of White movement, and in armies of other Slavic nations

по́ру́чник

in certain Slavic armies—a non-dictionary form in limited use instead of поручик to more precisely reproduce local terminology

commissioned officer
commissioned officer

(military) The lowest junior commissioned officer rank(s) in many military forces, often Army and Marines.

(military, US) In the US Army, Air Force and Marines, holding the rank above second lieutenant and below captain. Both ranks may be referred to as "lieutenant" or as the complete forms of the ranks.

lieutenant commander
lieutenant commander

lieutenant junior grade
lieutenant junior grade

(military, US, navy) A naval officer whose rank is above that of ensign in the United States Navy and below that of a lieutenant commander. There are two ranks of lieutenant: lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant.

(military, US) A commissioned officer in the United States Coast Guard, Public Health Service, or National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration whose rank is above that of ensign and below lieutenant commander. There are two ranks of lieutenant: lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant.

(military, UK) A commissioned officer in the British Army and Royal Marines, holding the rank above second lieutenant and below captain. Both ranks may be referred to as "lieutenant"; however, "second lieutenant" is to specify that the officer is not yet a full lieutenant.

(military, UK) A naval officer whose rank is above that of sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy and below that of a lieutenant commander.

(military, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) A naval Commissioned Officer who holds the rank above sub-lieutenant and below lieutenant commander.


cavalry

en-noun

cavalry (countable and uncountable, plural cavalries)

cavalries (plural)
cavalery (alternative)

From Middle French cavalerie, in turn from Italian cavalleria. Recorded in English from the 1540s. Doublet of chivalry.

Two hundred heavily-armed cavalry rode behind the Audley standard, while close at their heels came the Duke of Lancaster with a glittering train, heralds tabarded with the royal arms riding three deep upon cream-colored chargers in front of him.

1891, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, chapter XXXIII, in The White Company, New York, N.Y., Boston, Mass.: Thomas Y[oung] Crowell & Company […], →OCLC:

(military, usually historical, uncountable) The military arm of service that fights while riding horses.

kavallerie

military service that fights with riding horses

የፈረሰኞች ጭፍራ

yäfäräsäñoč č̣əfra

(military, countable) An individual unit of this arm of service.

(military, countable) The branch of the military transported by fast light vehicles, also known as mechanized cavalry.


reduce

en-verb

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

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

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

(transitive, military) To reform a line or column from (a square).

(transitive, military) To strike off the payroll.


commander

From Middle English comaundour, commaunder, comaunder, borrowed from Old French comandeor, cumandeur, from comander. By surface analysis, command + -er. See command.

(Singapore, military) A soldier who has attained the rank of sergeant or higher


take French leave

take French leave (third-person singular simple present takes French leave, present participle taking French leave, simple past took French leave, past participle taken French leave)

term-label

(idiomatic, intransitive, informal, dated)

takes French leave (present singular third-person)
taking French leave (participle present)
took French leave (past)
taken French leave (participle past)
take a French leave (alternative)

From take + French leave, apparently from a French custom, already recorded in the 18th century, of leaving from receptions or other events without formally announcing one’s departure to the host or hostess.

That officer […] reminded Burton of the necessity there was that all the officers of the Spitfire should hold themselves in readiness, as a court-martial was sure to be ordered relative to the loss of that ship: that order might possibly be telegraphed down, and he must therefore decline granting any leave, except for a few hours. Here was a disappointment with a vengeance. The first suggestion of the moment was one altogether unworthy of him, which was to incur the imputation of adopting Gallican habits, and taking, what is known by the term, "French leave."

1829, [William Nugent Glascock], “The Return”, in Sailors and Saints; or, Matrimonial Manœuvres. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 222–223:

In spite of threats and punishment, many Canadians [in the French army] deserted in order to care for their families and to provide food for the coming winter; more than two thousand are said thus to have taken French leave.

1908, Elroy McKendree Avery, “Wolfe and Saunders before Quebec”, in A History of the United States and Its People from Their Earliest Records to the Present Time, volume IV, Cleveland, Ohio: The Burrows Brothers Company, →OCLC, page 269:

absent without leave
absent without leave

(specifically, chiefly military, euphemistic) To desert or be temporarily absent from duty or service without permission; to go absent without leave (AWOL).

lähteä bundelle

to desert or be temporarily absent from duty or service without permission


Uniform Code of Military Justice

(US, military) The code of military law written for the use of the United States Armed Forces.


greens

From Middle English grenes, equivalent to green + -s. Compare Saterland Frisian Gräinieten (“vegetable”), West Frisian grienten (“vegetables, greens”), Dutch groenten (“vegetables, greens”), German Low German Gröönten (“vegetables, greens”), Danish grøntsager (“vegetables”), Swedish grönsaker (“vegetables”).

բանջար

any vegetable eaten by humans, regardless of colour

Some years ago, moths ruined my greens, and my son, a career Army man, sensed my loss.

(military) The green dress uniform of the United States Marine Corps.


crucifixion

en-noun

crucifixion (countable and uncountable, plural crucifixions)

/ˌkɹuːsɪˈfɪkʃən/

From Middle English crucifixioun, from Late Latin noun of process crucifīxiō, from perfect passive participle crucifīxus (“fixed to a cross”), from crux (“cross”) + fīgō.

kruisiging

execution by being nailed or tied to an upright cross

(military, historical, colloquial) The military punishment of being tied to a fixed object, often with the limbs in a stretched position.


over

From Middle English over, from Old English ofer, from Proto-West Germanic *obar, from Proto-Germanic *uber (“over”), from Proto-Indo-European *upér, related to *upó.
Akin to Scots ower, West Frisian oer, Dutch over, Low German over, över, German ober, über, Danish over, Norwegian over, Swedish över, Icelandic yfir, Faroese yvir, Gothic 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂 (ufar), Latin super, Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér), Albanian upri (“group of peasants”), Sanskrit उपरि (upári).
Doublet of uber, super, and hyper.

(professional wrestling slang) Of a wrestler: generating a reaction from fans.


over

Bravo Six, this is Bravo Six Four. Stand by for ten mike report one dash three, over.

Bravo Six Four, this is Bravo Six Actual. Send your traffic, over.

How do you receive? Over!

(procedure word, military) A radio procedure word meaning that the station is finished with its transmission and is expecting a response.


crotchet

/ˈkɹɑt͡ʃ.ɪt/

From Middle English crochet, from Old French crochet (“small hook”), from croc + -et (diminutive suffix), from Old Norse krókr (“hook”). The musical note was named so because of a small hook on its stem in black notation (in modern notation this hook is on the quaver/eighth note). Doublet of crochet, crocket, and croquet.

doublet

(military, historical) An indentation in the glacis of the covered way, at a point where a traverse is placed.

(military) The arrangement of a body of troops, either forward or rearward, so as to form a line nearly perpendicular to the general line of battle.


punto

From Latin punctum (“point”) via Italian and Spanish punto, from pungō (“to prick, to puncture”). Doublet of point, pointe, ponto, puncto, punctum, and punt.

Alternative form: puncto

To see thee fight, to see thee foin, to see thee traverse, to see thee here, to see thee there, to see thee pass thy puncto, thy stock, thy reverse, thy distance, thy montant.

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:


sleet

en-noun

sleet (countable and uncountable, plural sleets)

From Middle English slete, probably from Old English *slēte, *slȳte, *slīete, from Proto-West Germanic *slautijā, from Proto-Germanic *slautijǭ (“sleet”). Walter W. Skeat, the author of Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, suggests Old Norse slydda (whence Danish slud (“mixture of rain and snow”)). The word appears to be akin to Low German Sloot (“hail”), dialectal German Schloße (“large hailstone”), Old Gutnish sloyta (“slush, sleet”). Doublet of slut.

cog

(firearms) The part of a mortar extending from the chamber to the trunnions.


orb

From Middle English orbe, from Old French orbe, from Latin orbis (“circle, orb”). Compare orbit.

(military) A body of soldiers drawn up in a circle, as for defence, especially infantry to repel cavalry.


tattoo

en-noun

tattoo (countable and uncountable, plural tattoos)

From earlier tap-to, borrowed from Dutch taptoe, from tap (“tap; faucet on a cask”) + toe (“to; shut”). More at tap, to.

(military) A signal by drum or bugle ordering soldiers to return to their quarters.

(military) A military display or pageant.


quart

From Middle English quart, quarte, from Old French quarte, carte, from Latin quartus (“one-fourth”). Cognate with Spanish cuarto (“quarter; room, quarters”).

cog

[W]e behold two men with lion-look, with alert attitude, side foremost, right foot advanced; flourishing and thrusting, stoccado and passado, in tierce and quart; intent to skewer one another.

1837, Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution: A History […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, (please specify the book or page number):

(fencing) The fourth defensive position; quarte.


defect

en-verb

defect (third-person singular simple present defects, present participle defecting, simple past and past participle defected)

defects (present singular third-person)
defecting (participle present)
defected (participle past)
defected (past)

Borrowed from Latin defectus (“a failure, lack”), from deficere (“to fail, lack, literally 'undo'”), from past participle defectus, from de- (“of, from”) + facere (“to do”).

bor+

(military) To desert one's army, to flee from combat.


chapter

en-verb

chapter (third-person singular simple present chapters, present participle chaptering, simple past and past participle chaptered)

chapters (present singular third-person)
chaptering (participle present)
chaptered (participle past)
chaptered (past)
chapiter (alternative)
chapitre (alternative)
chapiture (alternative)
chaptre (alternative)
chapyter (alternative)
chapytre (alternative)
chaptire (alternative)

From Middle English chapitre, from Old French chapitre, from Latin capitulum (“a chapter of a book, in Medieval Latin also a synod or council”), diminutive of caput (“a head”); see capital, capitulum, and chapiter, which are doublets of chapter.

der

If you're a single parent [soldier] and you can't find someone to take care of your children, they will chapter you out [administrative elimination from the service]. And yet if you use someone not certified, they get mad.

2001, John Palmer Hawkins, Army of Hope, Army of Alienation: Culture and Contradiction in the American Army Communities of Cold War Germany, page 117:

"He also wanted me to give you a message. He said that if you don't get your shit ready for this deployment, then he will chapter you out of his freakin' army."

2006, Thomas R. Schombert, Diaries of a Soldier: Nightmares from Within, page 100:

(military, with "out") To use administrative procedure to remove someone.


correction

en-noun

correction (countable and uncountable, plural corrections)

corrections (plural)
correxion (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English correccioun, correction, from Old French correccion (French correction), from Latin corrēctiō. Doublet of correctio.

I have four T-80 tanks at grid Three-niner-niner-four-eight-eight, Correction: Grid Three niner-niner-four-eight-five. How copy? Over.

(procedure word, military) a station's indication that previous information was incorrect and will continue with correct information from the last correct transmitted


sock

sock (plural socks or (informal, nonstandard) sox)

socks (plural)
sox (informal nonstandard plural)

desctree

→ French: socquette
→ Portuguese: soquete

Japanese: ソックス (sokkusu) < socks

Swahili: soksi < socks (plural)

From Middle English socke, sokke, sok, from Old English socc (“sock, light shoe, slipper”), a West Germanic borrowing from Latin soccus (“a light shoe or slipper, buskin”), from Ancient Greek σύκχος (súkkhos, “a kind of shoe”), probably from Phrygian or from an Anatolian language. Beekes compares Avestan 𐬵𐬀𐬑𐬀 (haxa, “sole of the foot”). Cognate with Scots sok (“sock, stocking”), West Frisian sok (“sock”), Dutch sok (“sock”), German Socke (“sock”), Danish sok, sokke (“sock”), Swedish sock, socka (“sock”), Icelandic sokkur (“sock”). Doublet of zocco; also related to zoccolo, socle, and zocalo.

der

(firearms, informal) Ellipsis of gun sock.


spoon

From Middle English spoon, spoune, spone, spon (“spoon, chip of wood”), from Old English spōn (“sliver, chip of wood, shaving”), from Proto-West Germanic *spānu, from Proto-Germanic *spēnuz (“chip, flake, shaving”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peh₂- (“chip, shaving, log, length of wood”).
Cognate with Scots spun, spon (“spoon, shingle”), West Frisian spoen, Dutch spaan (“chip, flinders”), German Span (“chip, flake, shaving”), Swedish spån (“chip, flake”), Norwegian Nynorsk spon (“chip, spoon”), Faroese spónur (“wood chip; spoon”), Ancient Greek σφήν (sphḗn, “wedge”)(though the connection to the Greek is likely impossible by modern reconstructions of PIE). Eclipsed non-native Middle English cuculer, coclear (“spoon”), from Old English cuculer, cuceler, cucler, borrowed from Latin cochlear (“spoon”).
The "metaphoric unit of personal energy" sense was coined by writer and disability advocate Christine Miserandino in 2003 (see spoon theory).

coinage

he who sups with the devil should have a long spoon

(US, military) A safety handle on a hand grenade, a trigger.


provost

From Middle English, from late Old English prōfost, prāfost, from Late Latin prōpositus, variant of Latin praepositus (“[one] placed in command”). In some senses, via Anglo-Norman provolt; via Anglo-Norman and Old French provost (modern French prévôt). As a Central European ecclesiastical office, via German Propst, Danish provst, etc.

steward

deputy overseeing medieval estates or fees

police officer

deputy overseeing medieval law enforcement; military police

A senior deputy, a superintendent, particularly:

(military) An officer of the military police, particularly provost marshal or provost sergeant.

(fencing, historical) An assistant fencing master.

A senior deputy, a superintendent
An assistant fencing master.

(UK, military slang, obsolete) A provost cell: a military cell or prison.


provost

en-verb

provost (third-person singular simple present provosts, present participle provosting, simple past and past participle provosted)

provosts (present singular third-person)
provosting (participle present)
provosted (participle past)
provosted (past)

Around the time of the Rebellions of 1837 and the First Anglo-Afghan War, British servicemen spoke of being provosted.

(UK, transitive, used in passive, obsolete, military slang) To be delivered to a provost marshal for punishment.


battle

battles (plural)
batail (alternative)
battel (alternative)
battell (alternative)

From Middle English batel, batell, batelle, batayle, bataylle, borrowed from Old French bataille, from Late Latin battālia, variant of battuālia (“fighting and fencing exercises”) from Latin battuō (“to strike, hit, beat, fight”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from a Gaulish or Proto-Germanic root from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- (“to stab, dig”), related to Old English beado (“battle”); or possibly from a Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to hit, strike, beat”). Doublet of battalia and battel. Displaced native Old English ġefeoht, beado, camp, and wīg (“battle”), among others.

պայքար

struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life

Father Charles goes down and ends battle

no battle plan survives contact with the enemy

no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy

(military) A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; a combat, an engagement.

betejë

general action, fight, or encounter; a combat

Thenne kyng Arthur made redy his hooſt in x batails and Nero was redy in the felde afore the caſtel Tarabil with a grete hooſt / & he had x batails with many mo peple than Arthur had […]

[1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum x”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book II (in Middle English), [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC, leaf 43, verso; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC, page 86, lines 28–31:

Then King Arthur made ready his host in 10 battles and Nero was ready in the field before the castle Tarabil with a great host / and he had 10 battles with many more people than Arthur had […]

They ſay, that the King diuided his Armie into three Battailes; whereof the Vant-guard onely well ſtrengthened with wings, came to fight.

1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret, →OCLC, page 35:

Already Cæſar
Has ravaged more than half the Globe, and ſees
Mankind grown thin by his deſtructive Sword:
Should he go further, Numbers would be wanting
To form new Battels, and ſupport his Crimes.

1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 1:

No gentleman would appear in the field but on horſeback. To ſerve in any other manner he would have deemed derogatory to his rank. The cavalry, by way of distinction, was called The battle, and on it alone depended the fate of every action. The infantry, collected from the dregs and refuſe of the people, ill armed and worſe diſciplined; was of no account.

1769, William Robertson, “Section II. View of the Progress of Society in Europe, with Respect to the Command of the National Force Requisite in Foreign Operations.”, in The History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles V. With a View of the Progress of Society in Europe, from the Subversion of the Roman Empire, to the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century. In Three Volumes, volume I, London: Printed by W. and W. Strahan, for W[illiam] Strahan; T[homas] Cadell, […]; and J. Balfour, […], →OCLC, page 87:

Once I link up with Lord Bolton and the Freys, I will have more than twelve thousand men. I mean to divide them into three battles and start up the causeway a half-day apart.

2000 November, George R[aymond] R[ichard] Martin, A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire; book 3), New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, →ISBN; Bantam Spectra mass market edition, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Dell, March 2003, →ISBN, page 634:

(military, now rare) A division of an army; a battalion.

batalla

(obsolete) a division of an army; a battalion

Iohn Duke of Norfolke, Thomas Earle of Surrey,
Shall haue the leading of the Foot and Horſe.
They thus directed, we will fllow ^([sic])
In the maine Battell, whose puiſſance on either ſide
Shall be well-winged with our cheefeſt Horſe:
This, and Saint George to boote.

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

hovering aloofe in the fields he suffered Wyat his Van and main Battell (cutting off some of the Reare) to march undisturbed save with one shot, from Knights-Bridge to Charing Chrosse.

1655, Thomas Fuller, The church-history of Britain from the birth of Jesus Christ until the year M.DC.XLVIII, Book VIII, Century XVI, Section I, §36

The artillery, under Waldmann, with whom Herter rode in company, was divided between the vanguard and the “battle,” or main body, which comprised the bulk of the army.

1868, John Foster Kirk, A History of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, volume 3, page 395:

(military, obsolete) The main body of an army, as distinct from the vanguard and rear; the battalia.


approach

en-verb

approach (third-person singular simple present approaches, present participle approaching, simple past and past participle approached)

approaches (present singular third-person)
approaching (participle present)
approached (participle past)
approached (past)

From Middle English aprochen, borrowed from Old French aprochier (modern French approcher), from Late Latin appropiāre, a verb based on Latin prope (“near”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pro- (a variant of *per- (“before, in front; first”)) + *-kʷe (“suffix forming distributives from interrogatives”)).

(transitive, military) To take approaches to (a place); to move towards (a place) by using covered roads, trenches, or other works.

обръ́щам се

(military) to take approaches to (a place); to move towards (a place) by digging trenches


ward

en-noun

ward (countable and uncountable, plural wards)

→ Swahili: wodi

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

inh

Thou knowest my old ward; here I lay, and thus I bore my point.

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:

(fencing) A guarding or defensive motion or position.


corn

en-noun

corn (usually uncountable, plural corns)

Kashubian: kòrné (Canada)

Tok Pisin: kon

→ Maori: kānga

Inherited from Middle English corn, from Old English corn, from Proto-West Germanic *korn, from Proto-Germanic *kurną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm (“grain; worn-down”), from *ǵerh₂- (“grow old, mature”). Cognate with Dutch koren, German Low German Koorn, German Korn, Danish korn, Norwegian Bokmål korn, Norwegian Nynorsk korn and Swedish korn; see also Albanian grurë, Russian зерно́ (zernó), Czech zrno, Latin grānum and Lithuanian žirnis. Doublet of grain, gram, granum, and grao.
The sense maize (Zea mays) is an ellipsis of Indian corn that developped in 18th century North America.

doublet

what does that have to do with the price of corn

R.I.P Scumpy ah you did say Popcaan
And if a boy diss we clap corn.

2014 June 9, Andrae Hugh Sutherland respectively Popcaan of Popcaan, “Where We Come From” (track 13), in Where We Come From:

We got spinners and dotties
We got .40s and MACs
We got nuff live corn
[…] See the four-door pausing
Skengs out, everyone runnin
But the corn just slapped and floored em
50 shots in that mop

2016 September 9, Liquez respectively Dimzy of 67, “Jump Out Gang” (track 7), in Let’s Lurk:

(Jamaica, MLE, slang, firearms, uncountable) Bullets, ammunition, charge and discharge of firearms.


shotgun

en-noun

shotgun (countable and uncountable, plural shotguns)

shotguns (plural)
shot-gun (alternative)

desc

Japanese: → 散弾銃 (sandanjū) (calque), → ショットガン (shottogan)

→ Tok Pisin: sot gan

From shot + gun. Front passenger seat sense comes from ride shotgun.

Meat was cooked up within hours after the hunter killed the deer with his shotgun.

You can't talk to a man / With a shotgun in his hand

1971, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, “Smackwater Jack”, in Tapestry, Ode Records:

An unusual custom is followed at Llangennith, when shotguns are fired at a wedding - to scare off evil spirits from the newlyweds.

1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 258:

(firearms) A gun which fires loads typically consisting of small metal balls, called shot, from a cartridge.


bogie

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

(aviation, military, slang) An unidentified aircraft, especially as observed as a spot on a radar screen and suspected to be hostile.


bogey

bogeys (plural)
bogie (alternative)
bogy (alternative)

Probably related to or alteration of bogle, akin to or from a variant of Middle English bugge (“frightening specter, scarecrow”) (whence bug), itself of uncertain origin: perhaps from obsolete Welsh bwg (“ghost, hobgoblin”); compare Welsh bwgwl (“threat”, older “fear”), Irish bagairt (“threat”), but perhaps the root was borrowed from Germanic. Otherwise from Proto-Germanic *bugja- (“swollen up, thick”); compare Norwegian bugge (“big man”), dialectal Low German Bögge and Alemannic German Böögg (“goblin”, “snot”).
See also Proto-Germanic *pūkô (“a goblin, spook”), Old English pūca (“goblin, mischievous spirit”), Icelandic púki Swedish puke (“small devil, spook”), whence obsolete English puck. Perhaps the Middle English and Welsh words come from a word related to buck and originally referred to a goat-shaped specter. Compare also booger.
The golf sense is from the devil as an imaginary player.

cog

He stood on the sand near the gravel road that passed within two miles of the site of the disintegrated bogey, binoculars hanging on a leather strap from his neck, face streaming with sweat under the brim of his hat... Army and government trucks passed along the road every few minutes, some bearing radiation stickers; many of those outward bound, he knew, carried fragments of the bogey. He was not privy to what they were finding.

1987, Greg Bear, “Lacrimosa Dies Illa!”, in The Forge of God (science fiction), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 83:

United States Department of Defense Air Land Sea Application Center

(military, aviation) An unidentified aircraft, especially as observed as a spot on a radar screen and suspected to be hostile.

God dammit, Mustang! This is Ghost Rider 117. This bogey is all over me. He's got missile lock on me. Do I have permission to fire?

1986, Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., Top Gun (motion picture), spoken by Cougar:

(military, aviation, slang) Synonym of bandit: an enemy aircraft.


sprog

en-noun

sprog (countable and uncountable, plural sprogs)

1940s, originally service slang. Perhaps from obsolete sprag (“lively young man”), of unknown origin.

(UK, military, RAF, slang, derogatory) A new recruit.


yuck

Amy tells us that her husband, Jim Nelson, is deployed to Afghanistan […] as a nuclear operations officer — a result of graduating from the Naval Postgraduate School in December 2007 with a master's in Applied Physics. I guess I should have been looking for Jim to partner up with for physics help as a Yuck!

2008, United States Military Academy. Association of Graduates, Assembly (volume 67, issues 1-4, page 126)

(US, military, slang) Synonym of yearling (“a sophomore at West Point military academy”)


office

Tok Pisin: opis

→ Belarusian: о́фіс (ófis)

→ Bulgarian: о́фис (ófis)

→ Cebuano: opis

→ Chichewa: ofesi

→ Central Dusun: upis

→ Iban: opis

→ Japanese: オフィス

→ Marshallese: wōpij

→ Malay: opis

→ Russian: о́фис (ófis)

→ Scottish Gaelic: oifis

→ Swahili: afisi

→ Tausug: upis

→ Ukrainian: о́фіс (ófis)

Microsoft Office
office (disambiguation)

From Middle English office, from Old French office, from Latin officium (“personal, official, or moral duty; official position; function; ceremony, esp. last rites”), contracted from opificium (“construction: the act of building or the thing built”), from opifex (“doer of work, craftsman”) + -ium (“-y”, forming actions), from op- (“work”) + -i- (connective) + -fex (combining form of faciō (“to do, to make”)).
The use in reference to office software is a genericization of various proprietary program suites, such as Microsoft Office.

zyrë

room(s) or building used for non-manual work

I withdraw into ‘the office’, otherwise the observer's cockpit.

1917, Alan Bott, An Airman's Outings, page 161:

In the slang of the Royal Air Force man, the cockpit of his plane is the ‘pulpit’ or ‘office’, the glass covering over it the ‘greenhouse’.

‘Up in the office they too knew it.’ ‘The office? You mean the flight deck?’ ‘Just that. No more. No less. The office.’

(UK military slang, dated) A plane's cockpit, particularly an observer's cockpit.


Jim Crow

/ˌdʒɪm ˈkɹoʊ/

From the minstrel show song Jump Jim Crow, written in 1828 by Thomas D. Rice, the originator of blackface performance.

… flying cannon equipped Spitfires V’s mainly on ‘Jim Crow’ operations (operational Patrols along the home coastline intercepting any hostile aircraft and looking out for any invasion forces).

2008, Simon Muggleton, The Battle of Britain Monument in London:

(military, historical) A World War II code name for patrols along the British coastline to intercept enemy aircraft, originally intended to warn of invasion in 1940.


frock

en-verb

frock (third-person singular simple present frocks, present participle frocking, simple past and past participle frocked)

frocks (present singular third-person)
frocking (participle present)
frocked (participle past)
frocked (past)

From Middle English frok, frokke, from Old French froc (“frock, a monk's gown or habit”), perhaps via Medieval Latin hrocus, roccus, rocus (“a coat”), from Frankish *hrokk (“skirt, dress, robe”), from Proto-Germanic *hrukkaz (“robe, jacket, skirt, tunic”), from Proto-Indo-European *kreḱ- (“to weave”).
Cognate with Old High German hroch, roch (“skirt, dress, cowl”) – whence German Rock (“skirt, coat”) –, Saterland Frisian Rok (“skirt”), Dutch rok (“skirt, petticoat”), Old English rocc (“an overgarment, tunic, rochet”), Old Norse rokkr (“skirt, jacket”), whence Danish rok (“garment”).

cog

MajGen Richard G. Schulze […] was selected for two-star rank by members of the January selection board. He was frocked on 27 Jan and assigned new duties as CG, MCRD, San Diego.

1976, The Marine Corps Gazette, volumes 61-62, page 4:

(US military, transitive) To grant to an officer the title and uniform of a rank he will soon be promoted to.


jacket

Chinese:

→ Mandarin: 夾克 /夹克 (jiākè), 茄克 (jiākè)

→ Irish: seaicéad

→ Japanese: ジャケット (jaketto)

→ Korean: 재킷 (jaekit)

→ Scottish Gaelic: seacaid

→ Turkish: ceket

→ Welsh: siaced

From Middle French jacquet, diminutive of Old French jaque.

(military) In ordnance, a strengthening band surrounding and reinforcing the tube in which the charge is fired.


frag

Police up your extra ammo and frags, don't leave nothing for the dinks.

1986, Oliver Stone, Platoon, spoken by Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe):

fragmentation grenade
fragmentation grenade

(military slang) A fragmentation grenade.


frag

en-verb

frag (third-person singular simple present frags, present participle fragging, simple past and past participle fragged)

frags (present singular third-person)
fragging (participle present)
fragged (participle past)
fragged (past)

One guy? I fragged a couple of hundred in 'Nam.

1974 January 13, Peter S. Fischer, “Publish or Perish” (00:03:23 from the start), in Columbo, season 3, episode 5, spoken by Eddie Kane:

Cowboy says in a low voice: “Never turn your back on Mother. Never cut him any slack. He fragged Mr. Shortround.”

1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York: Bantam Books, published 1980, →ISBN, page 173:

(transitive, US military slang) To deliberately kill (one's superior officer) with a fragmentation grenade.

I fragged him once and then meleed him for the kill.

(transitive, military and video games, slang) To hit with the explosion of a fragmentation grenade.


raise

raise (third-person singular simple present raises, present participle raising, simple past and past participle raised)

raises (present singular third-person)
raising (participle present)
raised (participle past)
raised (past)

From Middle English reysen, raisen, reisen, from Old Norse reisa (“to raise”), from Proto-Germanic *raisijaną, *raizijaną (“to raise”), causative form of Proto-Germanic *rīsaną (“to rise”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rey- (“to rise, arise”). According to Kroonen (2013), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to stir, rise”).
Cognate with Old English rāsian (“to explore, examine, research”), Old English rīsan (“to seize, carry off”), Old English rǣran (“to raise”). Doublet of rear.

whakahī

Referring to lifting the pitch of a musical note

hāpai

Of lifting an object to a higher elevation

hī

Refers to raising an eyebrow in scepticism

raise oneself up by one's own bootstraps

(physical) To cause to rise; to lift or elevate.

(military) To remove or break up (a blockade), either by withdrawing the ships or forces employed in enforcing it, or by driving them away or dispersing them.

aradan qaldırmaq

(military) to remove or break up (a blockade); to relinquish (a siege), or cause this to be done

(military, transitive) To relinquish (a siege), or cause this to be done.


chamber

From Middle English chambre, borrowed from Old French chambre, from Latin camera, from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “vaulted chamber”). Doublet of camera.

der

Dianne loaded a cartridge into the chamber of the rifle, then prepared to take aim at the target.

(firearms) The area holding the ammunition round at the initiation of its discharge.

حُجْرَة

part of a firearm holding the round before firing

(firearms) One of the bullet-holding compartments in the cylinder of a revolver.

патронник

compartment holding a bullet of a revolver


chamber

en-verb

chamber (third-person singular simple present chambers, present participle chambering, simple past and past participle chambered)

chambers (present singular third-person)
chambering (participle present)
chambered (participle past)
chambered (past)
chambre (alternative)

Bob chambered his fist for a blow, but Sheila struck first.

(martial arts, transitive) To prepare an offensive, defensive, or counteroffensive action by drawing a limb or weapon to a position where it may be charged with kinetic energy.


nunchaku

en-noun

nunchaku (countable and uncountable, plural nunchakus)

Borrowed from Okinawan 双節棍 (nunchaku) (compare Japanese 双節棍 (nunchaku)), probably from Hokkien 兩節棍 /两节棍 (nn̄g-chat-kùn, literally “two-segment cudgel”), from 兩 /两 (nn̄g, “two”) + 節 /节 (chat, “joint; link; segment”) + 棍 (kùn, “cudgel; stick”).

der

(countable) A weapon originating from Okinawa, Japan, consisting of two sticks joined by a chain or cord.

tsako

weapon consisting of two sticks joined by a chain or cord

(uncountable) The skill of using this weapon in martial arts.


para

Family of dead para launch legal challenge to Northern Ireland legacy legislation [title]

2023 September 26, Dan Sabbagh, “Family of dead para launch legal challenge to Northern Ireland legacy legislation”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:


vampire

vampires (plural)
vampyre (alternative archaic)
wampyr (alternative)

desc

ভ্যাম্পায়ার

→ Bengali: ভ্যাম্পায়ার (bhêmpaẏar)

→ Irish: vaimpír

→ Japanese: ヴァンパイア (vanpaia), バンパイア (banpaia)

→ Marathi: व्हॅम्पायर (vhĕmpāyar)

→ Thai: แวมไพร์ (wɛm-paai)

→ Scottish Gaelic: bhampair

→ Swahili: vampiri

→ Turkish: vampir

→ Welsh: fampir

From French vampire, from German Vampir, via Hungarian from a Slavic word, probably Serbo-Croatian вампир (vàmpīr), proposed to be a variant of unattested *upir, from Proto-Slavic *ǫpyrь, ultimately from Proto-Turkic *ōpur (“witch, gluttonous beast”) q.v. Compare Russian упы́рь (upýrʹ), Polish upiór, Polish wąpierz, Turkish obur, Chuvash вупӑр (vup̬ăr), Kazakh обыр (obyr, “tumor, cancer”) etc. Doublet of oupire.

der

Vampire. Vampire. Vampire. Battle stations.

anti-ship missile
anti-ship missile#English

(US naval jargon) Synonym of anti-ship missile (ASM), particularly an incoming hostile one.


dismount

en-verb

dismount (third-person singular simple present dismounts, present participle dismounting, simple past and past participle dismounted)

dismounts (present singular third-person)
dismounting (participle present)
dismounted (participle past)
dismounted (past)

From dis- + mount, probably a calque of Old French desmonter.

(military, transitive) To throw (cannon) off their carriages.


refuse

refuse (third-person singular simple present refuses, present participle refusing, simple past and past participle refused)

refuses (present singular third-person)
refusing (participle present)
refused (participle past)
refused (past)
refuse (infinitive)
refuse (first-person present singular)
refused (first-person past singular)
refuse (present second-person singular)
refusest (archaic present second-person singular)
refused (past second-person singular)
refusedst (archaic past second-person singular)
refuses (present singular third-person)
refuseth (archaic present singular third-person)
refused (past singular third-person)
refuse (plural present)
refused (past plural)
refuse (present subjunctive)
refused (past subjunctive)
refuse (imperative present)
refusing (participle present)
refused (participle past)

From Middle English refusen, from Old French refuser, from Vulgar Latin *refūsāre, a blend of Classical Latin refūtāre (whence also refute) and recūsāre (whence also recuse).

to refuse the right wing while the left wing attacks

(military) To throw back, or cause to keep back (as the centre, a wing, or a flank), out of the regular alignment when troops are about to engage the enemy.


forty-five

The robber brandished a forty-five at the cashier to make her empty the till for him.

The phoenix he helped create
Out of control boy without a dad
Shot the gun that startled my life
While I drove him with a forty-five

1998, “Soil”, in Serj Tankian (lyrics), Daron Malakian (music), System of a Down, performed by System of a Down, Track 7:


zap

zap (third-person singular simple present zaps, present participle zapping, simple past and past participle zapped)

zaps (present singular third-person)
zapping (participle present)
zapped (participle past)
zapped (past)

Catalan: zàping

Dutch: zappen

Esperanto: zapi

French: zapping, zapper

Galician: zapear, zapping

German: zappen

Portuguese: zapear, zapar, zapping

Spanish: zapping, zapear

Swedish: zappa

1920s, American English, of imitative origin.

onomatopoeic

imitative

Says a U. S. officer: "We zapped the enemy, now we intend to stick around. […]

1966, U.S. News & World Report, volume 61, page 32:

(US, military, slang, transitive) To kill; to eliminate.


royal

en-adj

royal (comparative royaler or royaller, superlative royalest or royallest)

royaler (comparative)
royaller (comparative)
royalest (superlative)
royallest (superlative)
r. (alternative abbreviation)
roial (alternative obsolete)
roiall (alternative obsolete)
royall (alternative obsolete)
royaler (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English royal, from Old French roial (Modern French royal), from Latin rēgālis, from rēx (“king”). Doublet of regal (“befitting a king”), real (“unit of currency”), ariary, and riyal. Cognate with Spanish real. Displaced native Old English cynelīċ.

doublet

(boxing, military) Free-for-all, especially involving multiple combatants.


royal

royals (plural)
r. (alternative abbreviation)
roial (alternative obsolete)
roiall (alternative obsolete)
royall (alternative obsolete)
royaler (alternative obsolete)


broomstick

broomsticks (plural)
broom-stick (alternative)

(military slang) A control stick of an airplane or other vehicle.


palisade

Borrowed from Middle French palissade, from Old French, from Old Occitan palissada, from palissa (“stake”), probably from pal (“stake”), or possibly from Gallo-Romance *pālīcea, from Latin pālus (“stake”) + -ade.

We had soon touched land in the same place as before and set to provision the blockhouse. All three made the first journey, heavily laden, and tossed our stores over the palisade.

1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:

I realize how universal the desire to injure your fellow man is. … Only hear the government of laws and lawyers puts a palisade up. They can injure you a lot, make your life hideous, but they can't actually do you in.

1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 261:

(military) A wall of wooden stakes, used as a defensive barrier.


retrograde

en-verb

retrograde (third-person singular simple present retrogrades, present participle retrograding, simple past and past participle retrograded)

retrogrades (present singular third-person)
retrograding (participle present)
retrograded (participle past)
retrograded (past)

From Middle French retrograder (“to (cause to) go back, return; to (cause to) move backwards; of a celestial object: to show retrograde motion; to date to an earlier period”) (modern French rétrograder), and from its etymon Latin retrōgradī (“to go or step back or backwards; of a celestial object: to show retrograde motion”) (compare Late Latin retrogradare, retrogradari, retrogredere), from retrō (“back, backwards; behind; before, formerly”) + gradior (“to step, walk; to advance, go”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰredʰ- (“to go; to walk”)).

der

/ˈɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ɡɹeɪd/

/ˈɹɛtɹəˌɡɹeɪd/

(military) To retreat or withdraw from a position.

vetäytyä

(military) to retreat or withdraw from a position


quiver

From Middle English quiver, from Anglo-Norman quivre, from Old Dutch cocare (source of Dutch koker, and cognate to Old English cocer (“quiver, case”)), from Proto-West Germanic *kokar (“container”), said to be from Hunnic, possibly from Proto-Mongolic *kökexür (“leather vessel for liquids”); see there for more. Replaced early modern cocker, the inherited reflex of that West Germanic word.
The mathematical sense originated as German Köcher in a 1972 paper by Pierre Gabriel; it was likely chosen because a quiver contains arrows, while a digraph contains directed edges (also called "arrows").

դող

shaking or moving with a slight trembling motion

Don Pedro: Nay, if Cupid have not spent all his quiver in Venice, thou wilt quake for this shortly.

1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], line 271:

Arrows were carried in quiver, called also an arrow case, which served for the magazine, arrows for immediate use were worn in the girdle.

1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 39:

(weaponry) A container for arrows, crossbow bolts or darts, such as those fired from a bow, crossbow or blowgun.


eliminate

en-verb

eliminate (third-person singular simple present eliminates, present participle eliminating, simple past and past participle eliminated)

eliminates (present singular third-person)
eliminating (participle present)
eliminated (participle past)
eliminated (past)

Borrowed from Latin ēlīminātus, perfect passive participle of ēlīminō (“to turn out of doors, banish”), from ē- + līmen (“a threshold”, līmin- in compounds) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), akin to Latin līmes (“a boundary”); see also English limit and limen.

af

(transitive, military) To render (a facility) unusable, to destroy it; to disable (a soldier), make them unable to fight (typically but not necessarily by killing)


tour

From Old French tour, tourn, from the verb torner, tourner.

tor (pour–poor merger, horse–hoarse merger)

taw (pour–poor merger, horse–hoarse merger, non-rhotic)

Among those released were two Americans who had been held captive for more than three months: Alex Drueke, a former U.S. Army staff sergeant who served two tours in Iraq, according to his aunt, Dianna Shaw; […]

2022 September 21, Carly Olson, Dan Bilefsky, “Ten prisoners, including Americans, have been released as part of a Russia-Ukraine exchange, Saudi Arabia says.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:


jab

Originally a Scottish (unclear if Scots or Scottish English) form of English job (“peck, poke, thrust”), from Middle English jobben.

American Ward was too quick and too slick for his British rival, landing at will with razor sharp jabs and hooks and even bullying Froch at times.

2011 December 18, Ben Dirs, “Carl Froch outclassed by dazzling Andre Ward”, in BBC Sport:


det

(military, US) Abbreviation of detachment.


bacon

en-noun

bacon (usually uncountable, plural bacons)

→ Bulgarian: бекон (bekon)

→ Chinese: 培根 (péigēn)

→ Finnish: pekoni

→ French: bacon

desc

→ Hebrew: בייקון

→ Hebrew: בייקון

→ Italian: becon

→ Japanese: ベーコン (bēkon)

→ Maori: pēkana

→ Maltese: bejken

→ Norwegian Bokmål: bacon, beiken

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: bacon, beiken

→ Polish: bekon

→ Portuguese: bacon

→ Russian: бекон (bekon)

→ Spanish: bacon, beicon

→ Swedish: bacon

From Middle English bacoun (“meat from the back and sides of a pig”), from Anglo-Norman bacon, bacun (“ham, flitch, strip of lard”), from Old Low Frankish *bakō (“ham, flitch”), from Proto-Germanic *bakô, *bakkô (“back”), an extension of *baką, whence English back, which see for more. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“back, buttocks; to vault, arch”).
Cognate with Old Saxon baco (“back”), Dutch bake (“ham, side of bacon”), Old High German bahho (“ham, side of bacon”), whence German Bache f (“wild sow”), Alemannic German Bache m (“bacon”).
(police): Extension of pig (“police”).


evolution

en-noun

evolution (countable and uncountable, plural evolutions)

extinction

antonym(s) of “survival through adaptation”

/ɛvəˈlʉːʃən/

Borrowed from Latin ēvolūtiō, ēvolūtiōnis (“the act of unrolling, unfolding or opening (of a book)”), from ēvolūtus, perfect passive participle of ēvolvō (“unroll, unfold”), from ex + volvō (“roll”).
Compare typologically Czech vývoj, Serbo-Croatian развој, Russian разви́ть (razvítʹ), развива́ть (razvivátʹ), разви́ться (razvítʹsja), развива́ться (razvivátʹsja), Russian разви́тие (razvítije), related to Proto-Slavic *viti (whence Czech vít, Russian вить (vitʹ)).

تَطَوُّر

general: a gradual process of development

Mean while, he never failed to be present, when any regiment, or corps of men, were drawn out to be exercised and reviewed, and accompanied them in all their evolutions […].

1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:

Major Holroyd, who acted as the General, was extremely polite, and attentive, and came to us between every evolution, to explain and talk over the manoeuvres.

1779, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters, Penguin, published 2001, page 117:

(military) A manoeuvre of troops or ships.

A change of position.
A manoeuvre of troops or ships.


dread

en-noun

dread (countable and uncountable, plural dreads)

From Middle English drede, dred, from the verb (see above). Cognate with Old Frisian drēd, drēde (“fear, dread”).

The Royal Navy sent six dreads and four BCs to intercept the German raiding force.

(military, nautical, historical, slang) Clipping of dreadnought.


greenhouse

From green + house ("house for growing greens"), in reference to the produce grown within.

In the slang of the Royal Air Force man, the cockpit of his plane is the ‘pulpit’ or ‘office’, the glass covering over it the ‘greenhouse’.

(UK military slang, dated) The glass of a plane's cockpit.


caltrop

From Middle English calketrappe, from Old English calcatrippe, from Medieval Latin calcatrippa (“thistle”), from Latin calx or calcare + trappa.

Alternative forms: caltrap, calthrop; galtrop, galthrap, galtrap, galthrop

[…] her father, the emperor Alexius, who reigned AD 1081-1118, ordered caltrops to be cast in front of his archers […]

1858, The journal of the British Archaeological Association:

By Sung times, several different types of caltrops had been developed. As in earlier times, both caltrops could be made from both wood and iron...

1954, Joseph Needham, Ling Wang, Science and civilisation in China:

Caltrops, tetrahedrons, and similar devices are designed to puncture vehicle tires or limit foot traffic. The standard design has four points.

2000, Alan Vick, Aerospace operations in urban environments: exploring new concepts:

(weaponry) A metal object, usually small, with spikes arranged so that, when thrown onto the ground, one always faces up as a threat to pedestrians, horses, and vehicles (also used as a heraldic charge).


furniture

furniture (usually uncountable, plural furnitures)

From Middle French fourniture (“a supply, or the act of furnishing”), from fournir (“to furnish”).

uder

(firearms) The stock and forearm of a weapon.


dough

en-noun

dough (usually uncountable, plural doughs)

doughs (plural)
dow (alternative)
doff (alternative)
duff (alternative)

From Middle English dow, dogh, dagh, from Old English dāg, from Proto-Germanic *daigaz (“dough”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to knead, form, mold”). Cognate with Scots daich, dauch, doach (“dough”), West Frisian daai (“dough”), Dutch deeg (“dough”), Low German Deeg (“dough”), German Teig (“dough”), Norwegian Bokmål deig (“dough”), Danish dej (“dough”), Swedish deg (“dough”), Icelandic deig (“dough”).
The derivation of the second meaning (of money) is obscure, but dates to the mid 19th century.

inh

(US military slang, countable) Clipping of doughboy (“an infantryman”).


P.O.W.

Gaston Huet, the proprietor, whose story is recounted in “Wine and War,” had returned after five years in a German P.O.W. camp. He was in a gravely weakened condition but was able to make the ’45, a great vintage in France.

2022 October 6, Eric Asimov, “Echoes of a World War in Wines From the Early 1940s”, in The New York Times:

(military) Initialism of prisoner of war; also POW.


present

presents (plural)
præsent (alternative archaic)
ps. (alternative abbreviation)

→ Japanese: プレゼント (purezento)

From Middle English presenten, from Old French presenter, from Latin praesentāre (“to show”), from praesent-, praesens, present participle of praeesse (“be in front of”).

The platoon stands at present.

He was at present near the headquarters gates.

(military) The position of a soldier in presenting arms.


present

en-verb

present (third-person singular simple present presents, present participle presenting, simple past and past participle presented)

presents (present singular third-person)
presenting (participle present)
presented (participle past)
presented (past)
præsent (alternative archaic)
ps. (alternative abbreviation)

(transitive, military) To point (a firearm) at something, to hold (a weapon) in a position ready to fire.


dope

en-noun

dope (countable and uncountable, plural dopes)

From Dutch doop (“thick dipping sauce”), from Dutch dopen (“to dip”), from Middle Dutch dopen, from Old Dutch *dōpen, from Frankish *daupijan, from Proto-Germanic *daupijaną.
“Doop” in the sense “narcotic drug” ultimately refers to viscous opium juice, the drug of choice of the ancient Greeks; “insider information” perhaps from knowing which horse had been doped in a race. Sense of "stupid person" perhaps following from the drug sense (i.e. relating to those intoxicated on opium), compare dope up. Related to English dip and German taufen.

смазка

viscous liquid used to prepare a surface

(uncountable, firearms) Ballistic data on previously fired rounds, used to calculate the required hold over a target.


pile

en-verb

pile (third-person singular simple present piles, present participle piling, simple past and past participle piled)

piles (present singular third-person)
piling (participle present)
piled (participle past)
piled (past)

From Middle English pyle, from Old French pile, from Latin pīla (“pillar, pier”).

(transitive, military) To place (guns, muskets, etc.) together in threes so that they can stand upright, supporting each other.


onager

From Middle English onager, onagir (“wild ass; military catapult”), from Anglo-Norman onager, Middle French onager, onagre, Old French onager, onagre (“wild ass; military catapult”) (modern French onagre), from Late Latin onager (“large siege engine”), Latin onager (“wild ass”), from Hellenistic Ancient Greek ὄναγρος (ónagros, “wild ass”), Byzantine Ancient Greek ὄναγρος (ónagros, “large siege engine”), from ὄνος (ónos, “ass”) + ἄγριος (ágrios, “wild”) (from ᾰ̓γρός (ăgrós, “countryside; field”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- (“to drive”)) + -ῐος (-ĭos, suffix forming adjectives)).
The “military engine” sense alludes to the strong recoil of the engine, likened to an onager’s kick; see the 2007 quotation.

der

The onager, meaning "wild ass," derived its name from its powerful recoil, or kick, upon discharge; […] In addition, although Josephus described an onager in action hurling a 100-pound stone over 400 yards, most onagri achieved a shorter range than the ballista, thus exposing their crews to enemy archers.

2007, Jeff Kinard, “Ancient and Medieval Artillery”, in Artillery: An Illustrated History of Its Impact (Weapons and Warfare Series), Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 17:

(military, historical) A military engine acting like a sling which threw stones from a bag or wooden bucket powered by the torsion from a bundle of ropes or sinews operated by machinery; a torsion catapult.


pact

From Middle English pact, from Middle French pacte, from Old French, and its etymon Latin pactum (“something agreed upon”), from pacīscī (“to agree”). Probably a doublet of patio.


patch

From Middle English patche, of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of earlier Middle English placche (“patch, spot, piece of cloth”), from Old English *plæċċ, *pleċċ (“a spot, mark, patch”), from Proto-West Germanic *plakkju, from Proto-Germanic *plakjō (“spot, stain”). For the loss of l compare pat from Middle English platten. Germanic cognates would then include Middle English plecke, dialectal English pleck (“plot of ground, patch”), West Frisian plak (“place, spot”), Low German Plakk, Plakke (“spot, piece, patch”), Dutch plek (“spot, place, stain, patch”), Dutch plak (“piece, slab”), Swedish plagg (“garment”), Faroese plagg (“cloth, rag”).
Or, possibly a variant of Old French pieche, dialectal variant of piece (“piece”). Compare also Old Occitan petaç (“patch”).

tilkku

small piece of material used to clean a gun barrel

flejtuch

piece of greased cloth used to fit a rifle ball to the bore

(firearms) A small piece of material that is manually passed through a gun barrel to clean it.

(firearms) A piece of greased cloth or leather used as wrapping for a rifle ball, to make it fit the bore.


quartermaster

quartermasters (plural)
quarter-master (alternative)
quarter master (alternative)

/ˈkwɔːtɚˌmɑːstə/

From Middle English quartermayster, quartermaistre, equivalent to quarter + master. Perhaps reinforced by and merged with Dutch kwartiermeester, kwartier-meester. Compare German Quartiermeister, French quartier-maître.

(military) An officer whose duty is to provide quarters, provisions, storage, clothing, fuel, stationery, and transportation for a regiment or other body of troops, and superintend the supplies. Master of quartering.


top secret

NSA's report on the Liberty incident was originally classified top secret.

(military, government) Information classified at one of the highest levels of sensitivity by a government, based on an assessment that it would cause exceptionally grave damage to national security if disclosed.

絕對機密 /绝对机密

information classified at the highest level


lurk

en-verb

lurk (third-person singular simple present lurks, present participle lurking, simple past and past participle lurked)

lurks (present singular third-person)
lurking (participle present)
lurked (participle past)
lurked (past)

From Middle English lurken, from Old Norse *lúrka, possibly from Proto-Germanic *lūrukōną (“to be lying in wait, lurk”), equivalent to lour + -k (frequentative suffix).
Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk lurka (“to sneak away, go slowly”), dialectal Swedish lurka (“to dawdle, be slow in one's work”), Saterland Frisian lüürkje (“to look secretly, spy”), West Frisian luorkje (“to lurk”), Middle Low German lûrken (“to deceitfully stalk”).

cog

As junior dogsbody, he was lurked with this mission.

2015, Andrew Gordon, The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command:

(UK, naval slang, transitive) To saddle (a person) with an undesirable task or duty.


aviation

en-noun

aviation (usually uncountable, plural aviations)

Borrowed from French aviation, from Latin avis (“bird”), from Proto-Indo-European *awi- (“bird”).


COIN

(US, military) Abbreviation of counterinsurgency.


stunner

(professional wrestling) A professional wrestling maneuver in which an attacking wrestler applies a facelock to an opponent and falls to a seated position, forcing the opponent's jaw or neck to drop on the attacker's shoulder.


siege

From Middle English sege, from Old French sege, siege, seige (modern French siège), from Vulgar Latin *sēdicum, from Latin sēdicŭlum, sēdēcula (“small seat”), from Latin sēdēs (“seat”).

The Peloponnesian war is a proper subject for history, the siege of Athens for an epic poem, and the death of Alcibiades for a tragedy.

1748, [David Hume], chapter 3, in Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 5:

Liu Pang's general Han Hsin won the strategic city of Hsing-yang for him, but Hsiang-Yü put Liu Pang under siege there.

2001, Alfred S. Bradford, With Arrow, Sword, and Spear: A History of Warfare in the Ancient World, Praeger, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 145:

(military) A prolonged military assault or a blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition.


quarte

quarte (countable and uncountable, plural quartes)

(fencing) The fourth defensive position, with the sword hand held at chest height, and the tip of the sword at neck height, the palm of the hand facing upwards.


quinte

(fencing) The fifth defensive position, with the sword hand held at waist height, and the tip of the sword at knee height.


range

en-verb

range (third-person singular simple present ranges, present participle ranging, simple past and past participle ranged)

ranges (present singular third-person)
ranging (participle present)
ranged (participle past)
ranged (past)

From Middle English rengen, from Old French rengier (“to range, to rank, to order,”), from the noun renc, reng, ranc, rang (“a rank, row”), from Frankish *hring, from Proto-Germanic *hringaz (“ring, circle, curve”). Doublet of ring.

der

(military, of artillery) To determine the range to a target.


sub-lieutenant

(military, navy) A commissioned officer of the navy whose rank is immediately below that of a lieutenant.

(UK) A commissioned officer of the Royal Navy ranking above a midshipman and below a lieutenant.

acting sub-lieutenant
acting sub-lieutenant

(Australia, Canada, New Zealand) A commissioned officer of the navy ranking above an acting sub-lieutenant and below a lieutenant.


nest

From Middle English nest, nist, nyst, from Old English nest, from Proto-West Germanic *nest, from Proto-Germanic *nestą, from Proto-Indo-European *nisdós (“nest”), literally "where [the bird] sits down", a compound of *ni (“down”) (whence also English nether) + the zero-grade of the root *sed- (“to sit”) (whence also English sit).

it's an ill bird that fouls its own nest

a machine gun nest

(military) A fortified position for a weapon.

гнездо́

military: fortified position for a weapon


silo

From Spanish silo, of unclear origin. See Spanish silo for more.

As a rule of thumb, to reliably destroy a hardened missile silo or communications bunker, a one megaton warhead should land within a 600 foot radius of its target. This will ensure that the enemy silo lies within the crater gouged out by the nuclear blast.

1987, Michio Kaku, Daniel Axelrod, To Win a Nuclear War: The Pentagon's Secret War Plans, Black Rose Books Ltd., →ISBN, page 203:

(military) An underground bunker used to hold missiles which may be launched.


beep

Blend of big + jeep. From being bigger versions of the general purpose superlight truck, the Willys MB "Jeep".

(US, military, slang, dated, World War II) A 1/2-ton general purpose military light truck

(US, military, slang, dated, World War II, by extension) A 3/4-ton general purpose military medium truck

(US, military, slang, dated, World War II) Especially, the Dodge WC series U.S. Army WWII military trucks, in 1/2-ton 3/4-ton 1-ton variants


bulldog

→ French: bouledogue

→ German: Bulldogge

→ Portuguese: buldogue

From bull + dog, in reference to bullbaiting.

(professional wrestling) Any move in which the wrestler grabs an opponent's head and jumps forward, so that the wrestler lands, often in a sitting position, and drives the opponent's face into the mat.


stockpile

The noun is derived from stock (“supply of anything ready for use”) + pile (“mass of things heaped together”). The verb is derived from the noun.

nuclear pile

semantically quite different from a nuclear stockpile

en:stock of nuclear weapons specifically

A supply (especially a large one) of something kept for future use, specifically in case the cost of the item increases or if there a shortage.

(specifically, military, weaponry) A supply of nuclear weapons kept by a country; a nuclear stockpile.


stockpile

en-verb

stockpile (third-person singular simple present stockpiles, present participle stockpiling, simple past and past participle stockpiled)

stockpiles (present singular third-person)
stockpiling (participle present)
stockpiled (participle past)
stockpiled (past)

запасявам се

to accumulate or build up a supply of (something)

To accumulate or build up a supply of (something).

(specifically, military, weaponry) To build up a stock of (nuclear weapons).


proof

proof (third-person singular simple present proofs, present participle proofing, simple past and past participle proofed)

proofs (present singular third-person)
proofing (participle present)
proofed (participle past)
proofed (past)

From Middle English proof, from Old French prove, from Late Latin proba (“a proof”), from Latin probō (“to prove”); see prove; compare also the doublet probe.

(transitive, firearms) To test-fire with a load considerably more powerful than the firearm in question's rated maximum chamber pressure, in order to establish the firearm's ability to withstand pressures well in excess of those expected in service without bursting.


oblique

oblique (third-person singular simple present obliques, present participle obliquing, simple past and past participle obliqued)

obliques (present singular third-person)
obliquing (participle present)
obliqued (participle past)
obliqued (past)

From Middle French oblique, from Latin oblīquus (also spelled oblīcus) (“slanting, sideways, indirect, envious”).

uder

(military) To march in a direction oblique to the line of the column or platoon; — formerly accomplished by oblique steps, now by direct steps, the men half-facing either to the right or left.


Romeo

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

der

(espionage) A spy specialised in seducing persons of interest, in particular a man targeting women.


kite

kites (plural)
kight (alternative)
kyte (alternative)

The noun is from Middle English kyte, kīte, kete (“a kite endemic to Europe, especially the red kite (Milvus milvus)”), from Old English cȳta (“kite; bittern”), from Proto-West Germanic *kūtijō, diminutive of Proto-Germanic *kūts (“bird of prey”), from Proto-Indo-European *gewH-d- (“to cry, screech”). The English word is cognate with Scots kyt, kyte (“kite; bird of prey”), Middle High German kiuzelīn, kützlīn (“owling”) (modern German Kauz (“owl”)). Possibly a doublet of coot.
Sense 3 (“lightweight toy”) is from the fact that it hovers in the air like the bird.
The verb is derived from the noun.

And did you know the Chiefie said that one of our kites went in the drink last night?

This time, the engine roared and the kite rocked against the brakes then sluggishly rolled down the strip.

2004, Harry Foxley, Marking Time: A Soldier’s Story, Victoria, B.C., Crewe, East Cheshire: Trafford Publishing, →ISBN, page 133:

(military aviation, slang) An aeroplane or aircraft.

leko

military aviation, slang: aircraft — see also aircraft


yo

As a greeting first attested in 1859, attested first as a cry of sailors and huntsmen (first attested in the 1400s; compare e.g. huzzah, giddyup). Originally from Middle English yo, io, ȝo, yeo, yaw, variant forms of ya, ye (“yes, yea”), from Old English ġēa (“yes, yea”), from Proto-Germanic *ja (“yes, thus, so”); or perhaps from Old English ēow (“Wo!, Alas!”, interjection). Compare Danish, Swedish, German, Norwegian jo (“yes (flexible meaning)”), Dutch jow (“hi, hey”) and Dutch jo (“hi, hey”). More at yea, ow, ew.
Modern popularity apparently dates from World War II (claimed to be a common response at roll calls; see definition 4), and then most intensely attested in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it thence spread globally from American dominance of pop culture post-WWII.

inh

Sergeant: Smith?
Private Smith: Yo!


section

From Middle English seccioun, from Old French section, from Latin sectiō (“cutting, cutting off, excision, amputation of diseased parts of the body, etc.”), from sectus, past participle of secāre (“to cut”). More at saw.

разрэ́з

surgery: incision or the act of making an incision

non-commissioned officer
non-commissioned officer

(military) A group of 10-15 soldiers led by a non-commissioned officer and forming part of a platoon.

аддзяле́нне

(military) group of 10-15 soldiers lead by a non-commissioned officer and forming part of a platoon


foil

en-noun

foil (countable and uncountable, plural foils)

From Middle English foyle, from Middle French fueille, from Old French fueille (“plant leaf”), from Late Latin folia, the plural of folium, mistaken as a singular feminine.
The literary sense is from the practice of backing a gem with metal foil to make it shine more brilliantly.
Doublet of folio and folium, distantly also with phyllo and phyllon.

Blunt as the fencer's foils, which hit, but hurt not.

1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

1784-1810, William Mitford, History of Greece
Socrates contended with a foil against Demosthenes with a sword.

(fencing) A very thin sword with a blunted (or foiled) tip


epee

epees (plural)
épee (alternative)
épée (alternative)

Borrowed from French épée, from Latin spatha, from Ancient Greek σπάθη (spáthē). Doublet of spatha, spathe, and spade.

(fencing) A sharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing.


seat

From Middle English sete, from Old English sǣte, possibly from (or simply cognate with) Old Norse sæti (“seat”), both from Proto-Germanic *sētiją (“seat”), from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”); compare Old English set (“seat”).
Sense 2 (“location or site”) is probably derived from Old English sǣte (“house”), which is related to Old High German sāza (“sedan, seat, domicile”).
Cognates
* Middle Dutch gesaete
* Old High German gisazi (modern German Gesäß)

cog

would you mind putting on your seat belt

Hey, fighter boy, our radar's putting out enough energy to launch your seat from this distance!

A piece of furniture made for sitting, such as a chair, stool, or bench; any improvised place for sitting.

(aviation, military, slang) An ejection seat.


judoka

judoka (plural)
judokas (plural)
jūdōka (alternative)

/d͡ʒuːˈdəʊkə/

(judo) A practitioner of the Japanese martial art of judo.


grapevine

grapevines (plural)
grape vine (alternative)
grape-vine (alternative)


grapevine

en-verb

grapevine (third-person singular simple present grapevines, present participle grapevining, simple past and past participle grapevined)

grapevines (present singular third-person)
grapevining (participle present)
grapevined (participle past)
grapevined (past)
grape vine (alternative)
grape-vine (alternative)

From the top he grapevined his leg around Tibbits' leg and planted his elbow in his opponent's opposite side.

2007, Steve Wolfe, Call Us Champions: More Alaska Wrestling Stories:

The Low Mount is the position where your hips are tight to your opponent's and your legs are usually grapevined or locked underneath his.

2008, Saulo Ribeiro, Jiu-Jitsu University:

So now she's grapevined me, I can't straighten my legs, which means I can't generate the momentum I need to bridge.

2022, David Young, Sean Black, The Ground Is My Ocean:

(transitive, wrestling) To restrain in a leglock.