antisatellite

The test of an antisatellite weapon last week, which Beijing declined to confirm or deny Friday despite widespread news coverage and diplomatic inquiries, was perceived by East Asia experts as China’s most provocative military action since it testfired missiles off the coast of Taiwan more than a decade ago.

2007 January 20, Joseph Kahn, “China Shows Assertiveness in Weapons Test”, in New York Times:

(military) Intended to destroy or incapacitate a satellite

antissatélite

intended to destroy or incapacitate a satellite


ASAT

en-noun

ASAT (countable and uncountable, plural ASATs)

(military, space science) Abbreviation of anti-satellite weapon.


nonheavyweight

De La Hoya’s 17 pay-per-view events — including 1.4 million for his loss to Felix Trinidad in 1999, the most ever for a nonheavyweight bout — have grossed $492 million.

2007 May 3, Richard Sandomir, “All About Money for De La Hoya and Mayweather”, in New York Times:

(boxing) In a weight class other than heavyweight


moineau

(fortifications) A small flat bastion, raised in the middle of an overlong curtain.


armor-piercing

armor piercing (alternative)
armour-piercing (alternative)
armour piercing (alternative)

(military, American spelling, of a device [usually a munition]) Intended to pierce armor.


AAM

air-to-air missile
air-to-air missile#English

(military) Initialism of air-to-air missile.


bolter

trap

antonym(s) of “missed landing on an aircraft carrier”

(military, aviation) A missed landing on an aircraft carrier; an aircraft that has made a missed landing.


bolter

en-verb

bolter (third-person singular simple present bolters, present participle boltering, simple past and past participle boltered)

bolters (present singular third-person)
boltering (participle present)
boltered (participle past)
boltered (past)

trap

antonym(s) of “miss a landing on an aircraft carrier”

Commander Kleemann came back and boltered again on his second attempt. lt is unheard of for him to bolter twice in a row. Then on his third attempt he got aboard with an OK three-wire trap.

1982, Bert Kinzey, F-14 A & B Tomcat: in detail & scale, page 46:

In the Diamondback's ready room, a tailhook bolt hangs by a string from the ceiling over one pilot's seat; he was the last to "bolter" that day, meaning he missed the wires while landing and had to make another pass.

1994, U.S. News & World Report - Volume 116, Issues 1-8, page 163:

Tomcat 209 had one engine out, and if his tailhook failed to engage an arrestor wire, he wouldn't have the power necessary to complete a touch-and-go and would bolter off the forward end of the flight deck again.

1994, Keith Douglass, Countdown, page 298:

The majority had bet I'd come down on the 2 wire, or, worse yet, knowing I did not want to bolter, the 1 wire.

(military, aviation) To miss a landing on an aircraft carrier by failing to catch the arresting gear wires with the aircraft's tailhook.


sidelock

sidelocks (plural)
side-lock (alternative)

(firearms) The design of a gun that has the lockwork mounted to the inside of a plate; compare boxlock.


deconflict

deconflict (third-person singular simple present deconflicts, present participle deconflicting, simple past and past participle deconflicted)

deconflicts (present singular third-person)
deconflicting (participle present)
deconflicted (participle past)
deconflicted (past)

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

(military, aviation) To change the flight path of a craft or weapon to reduce the chance of an accidental collision or conflict with other obstacles, the terrain or weather.

(military) To provide information to a military force in order to prevent escalation of a conflict.


hobit

(military, historical) A small mortar on a gun carriage, in use before the howitzer.


HMA

(dated, aviation, military) Initialism of His Majesty's Airship (ship prefix for very early military airships of the United Kingdom).


superwelterweight

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

Floyd Mayweather Jr. had just defeated Oscar De La Hoya in their superwelterweight title bout in a split decision Saturday night when a controversy threatened to delay, if not upend, his victory.

2007 May 6, Richard Sandomir, “Mayweather Wins Decision Over De La Hoya”, in New York Times:

(boxing) Pertaining to a weight class between 67.7 and 69.9 kilograms, at the boundary between middleweight and welterweight


SSRN

(US, military, nautical, obsolete) Sub Surface Radar Nuclear - a nuclear-powered radar picket submarine


stealth fighter

en-noun

stealth fighter (plural stealth fighters)

(military, aviation) A fighter aircraft with a smaller-than-usual radar signature because of its unique body shape, outer coating, and thermal dissipation.

隱形戰機 /隐形战机

military aircraft that is invisible to radar


battle fatigues

(military) military fatigues worn in battle, a form of battle dress


combat fatigues

(military) military fatigues worn in combat, a form of battle dress


in the air

The army had its wing in the air.

(military) Unsupported and liable to be turned or taken in flank.


GTS

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

w:Professional wrestling strikes#Go 2 Sleep

(professional wrestling) Initialism of Go 2 Sleep.


backload

en-verb

backload (third-person singular simple present backloads, present participle backloading, simple past and past participle backloaded)

backloads (present singular third-person)
backloading (participle present)
backloaded (participle past)
backloaded (past)

Not only will repair and recovery be vital, but also the backloading of equipment casualties to farther rearward, better protected, and more specialized maintenance facilities.

1993, Trevor Nevitt Dupuy, International Military and Defense Encyclopedia: M-O, page 1601:

(transitive, military) To transport further toward the rear of the theater of war.


FAE

fuel-air explosive
fuel-air explosive#English

thermobaric weapon
thermobaric weapon#English

(military) Initialism of fuel-air explosive (“thermobaric weapon”).


pitched battle

Have I not in a pitched battle heard / Loud 'larums, neighing steeds, and trumpets' clang?

c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

That barbarian warriors, led by barbarian chiefs, should win a pitched battle against Greek valor guided by Greek science, seemed as incredible as it would now seem that the Burmese or the Siamese should, in the open plain, put to flight an equal number of the best English troops.

1834–1838 (date written), Thomas Babington Macaulay, “The Prophecy of Capys”, in Lays of Ancient Rome, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 170:

In pitched battle the Romans knew that they were unlikely to experience a reverse (Tac. Ann. I.68); when it came, defeat by a foreign enemy was rarely in pitched battle, but was usually as a result of an attack or ambush on an army on the march.

2007, Philip Sabin, Hans van Wees, Michael Whitby, editors, The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare, volume II, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 125:

In an earlier phase of the war, Ukraine’s leadership had been more equivocal about pitched battles like Bakhmut.

2023 January 9, Andrew E. Kramer, Nicole Tung, “Without Hesitation, Ukraine Goes Toe to Toe With Russia in Bakhmut”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(military) A battle which opposing forces anticipate and commit to fighting; a sustained, intense and confrontational fight.


French leave

From French (adjective) + leave (noun), 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. Compare Spanish irse a la francesa and Portuguese sair à francesa (“go in the French manner”) but also the otherwise ubiquitous attribution of this behaviour to the English as with French filer à l’anglaise (“leave in the English manner”), Italian filarsela all'inglese, Polish wyjść po angielsku, etc.

cog

he may have felt a particular need to mitigate the responsibility of those who shirked their duty, for as he wrote that letter he had just returned from French leave himself.

2010, William Marvel, The Great Task Remaining: The Third Year of Lincoln’s War, page 10:

absence without leave
absence without leave

(specifically, chiefly military, euphemistic) Desertion or temporary absence from duty or service without permission; absence without leave, AWOL.


CASEVAC

en-noun

CASEVAC (countable and uncountable, plural CASEVACs)

Blend of casualty + evacuation; compare MEDEVAC.

2001, Kent B. Pandolf, R. E. Burr, Medical Aspects of Harsh Environments, Volume 2, Office of the Surgeon General (US), page 1156,
Rehearsal of representative CASEVACs is invaluable in refining both operating techniques with the CASEVAC assets and coordination with the receiving MTF.

2011, Robby Carpenter, Shawn Carpenter, Ramiro Bujeiro, Force on Force: Modern Wargaming Rules, Ambush Alley Games, Osprey Publishing, page 53,
If a force has CASEVAC assets available (medevac choppers, ambulances, an on-table aid station, etc.), then a unit may hand off its Casualties (and the associated penalties) by moving into contact with the CASEVAC asset.

(military) The emergency patient evacuation of injured people (civilians or soldiers) from a combat zone.


CASEVAC

en-verb

CASEVAC (third-person singular simple present CASEVACs, present participle CASEVACing, simple past and past participle CASEVAC'd)

CASEVACs (present singular third-person)
CASEVACing (participle present)
CASEVAC'd (participle past)
CASEVAC'd (past)
casevac (alternative)

Sadly, two days later we are back at the hospital again, initially to casevac a patient down to a fixed wing aircraft at the airfield. […] It has been decided to casevac him to Andrew Fleming hospital in Salisbury.

2018, Mike Borlace, Spider Zero Seven, Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire: Matador, →ISBN, page 123:

(transitive, military) To perform the emergency evacuation of (an injured person) from a combat zone.


squirter

Who made the decision to send an IRF after a group of squirters?

2014, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Subcommittee on National Security, Afghanistan: Honoring the Heroes of Extortion 17: Hearing..., page 76:

It was Charlie's job to head off the squirters to the north. He signaled his Afghans to follow and led them down the side of the hill.

(military slang) A person, presumed to be hostile, who absconds upon the approach of (Western) soldiers.


battlespace

en-noun

battlespace (countable and uncountable, plural battlespaces)

The battlespace labs will determine the best ways for armored and infantry forces to take advantage of time, distance, and space on battlefields.

In the physical sense, battlespace is that volume determined by the maximum capabilities of a unit to acquire and engage the enemy–capabilities which will be greatly expanded by future technology.

1994, Military Review, volume 74, number 11, Command and General Staff School, page 22:

These elements are now called battlespaces to incorporate the fourth element of information warfare. In essence, cyberspace is formally recognized as permeating all DoD battlespaces.

2002, Paul M. Maniscalco, Understanding Terrorism and Managing the Consequences, page 188:

(military) The conditions and dimensions of battle, including terrain, weather, infrastructure, airspace, seaspace, cyberspace, near space, and outer space, considered in a unified military strategy to integrate and combine armed forces for the military theatre of operations.


Jody call

After Jody, a recurring character in some traditional cadence calls.

No matter how tired they became, once someone in the ranks began a Jody call, the whole platoon would pick it up and everyone seemed to march a little taller.

1990, Dwight A. Beck, Army Green: A Way of Life: The Enlisted Years:

(US, military, slang) A cadence or cadence call, a traditional call-and-response work song sung by military personnel while running or marching.


coupure

It will be observed here, that the coupure is not cut through the scarp revetment of the face of the bastion, although it is necessary for it to go through the thickness of the parapet

1860, John Thomas Hyde, Elementary Principles of Fortification:

(fortification) A passage cut through the glacis to facilitate sallies by the besieged.


counterpuncher

(boxing) A boxer who commonly counterpunches.


superheavyweight

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

(boxing) Of or pertaining to the weight class for boxers exceeding 91 kilograms in body weight.


ASDF

“The F-35B can operate from modified runways or make-shift airfields thereby giving Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) more options to operate from smaller, more distant Japanese islands in a pinch. This is quite important for survivability and response if the major airbases are put out of commission in a saturation missile attack,” he said.

2018 November 29, Brad Lendon and Zachary Cohen, “Japan preparing to put US-designed stealth jets on an ‘aircraft carrier’”, in CNN:

(military) Initialism of Air Self-Defense Force: the Japanese air force


cornerman

(boxing) A coach, trainer or other assistant who attends to a boxer between rounds.


go Winchester

en-verb

go Winchester (third-person singular simple present goes Winchester, present participle going Winchester, simple past went Winchester, past participle gone Winchester)

goes Winchester (present singular third-person)
going Winchester (participle present)
went Winchester (past)
gone Winchester (participle past)

We go Winchester before we go target." Winchester was thirty-thirty, the UHF frequency we used in flight school when we were both flying solo

1990, G. C. Hendricks, The second war, page 52:

He had come from another controller, so he only had two Mavericks and [his wingman] had four Mk-82s, so they went Winchester pretty quick.

2007, Steve Call, Danger close: tactical air controllers in Afghanistan and Iraq, page 149:

Nobody had gone Winchester before - Charlotte and Tony had just made British Apache history. Billy sent our ammo requirements to Kev Blundell in Bastion

2009, Ed Macy, Apache: Inside the Cockpit of the World's Most Deadly Fighting Machine, page 321:

(military aviation) To run out of ammunition, requiring a return to base.


mandritta

(fencing) A blow from the right side to the left.


MEPS

w:United States Military Entrance Processing Command

(US, military) Initialism of Military Entrance Processing Command.


HEAT

(military) Acronym of high explosive antitank: a munition using a high explosive shaped charge to breach armour.


antigas

The company gas officer is responsible through his gas noncommissioned officer for taking over the antigas trench stores[…]

1926, United States. Surgeon-General's Office, The Medical Dept. of the U.S. Army in the World War, page 788:

Nevertheless, it is obvious from the elaborate anti-gas precautions which have been taken by all concerned that little reliance is placed by the Allied Powers upon the assurance of our enemies being observed in all eventualities, and enemy anti-gas precautions may be regarded not improperly as an indication of the recognition that any breach of the Geneva Protocol by a gas attack upon ourselves or our allies would be met by immediate reprisals.

1942 May-June, “War Gas and the Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 130:

(military) Countering military gas attacks.


LDF

Lesotho Defence Force
w:Lesotho Defence Force

(Lesotho, military) Initialism of Lesotho Defence Force.


DSM

distinguished service medal
w:distinguished service medal

(military) Initialism of distinguished service medal.


ECH

Enhanced Combat Helmet
Enhanced Combat Helmet#English

(military, US) Initialism of Enhanced Combat Helmet.


MtF

(chiefly military) Initialism of more to follow.


RCT

RCTs (plural)
R.C.T. (alternative)
R. C. T. (alternative)

(military) Initialism of regiment(al) combat team.


Queer Street

In any event, the German slugger nailed down 21 of his 39 victories by putting his opponent on Queer Street via the knockout route.

1957 August 10, “Cronin's Corner”, in Los Angeles Times:

Frazier had him on Queer Street in the 11th round. ... He was glad he got off Queer Street.

1971 March 9, “In the Wake of the News”, in Chicago Tribune:


COP

en-noun

COP (countable and uncountable, plural COPs)

common operational picture
w:common operational picture

(military) Initialism of common operational picture.


RIO

You'll pick up your RIO when you get to the ship, and if you don't, give me a call. I'll fly with you.

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

radar intercept officer
radar intercept officer#English

(US, military, aviation) Initialism of radar intercept officer.


senior colonel

(military) a military rank for a field officer above that of colonel and below the general ranks or flag ranks


senior captain

(military) a military rank for a field officer above that of captain and below that of major

(military) a military rank for a naval officer above that of captain and below the admiral ranks or flag ranks


commodore admiral

commodore admiral (plural commodore admirals)

(US, military, nautical, historical) a flag officer of a rank between a captain and a rear admiral, having a O7 NATO rank scale equivalency.


CADM

commodore admiral
commodore admiral#English

(US, military, nautical, historical) Abbreviation of commodore admiral.


COMO

(US, military, nautical) Abbreviation of commodore.


fleet captain

(military, nautical) A captain in command of a fleet, convoy, or flotilla.

(military, nautical) The holder of a non-flag naval rank above that of captain and below that of the admiralty ranks, having an O7 NATO rank scale equivalency.


ace of aces

aces of aces (plural)
Ace of Aces (alternative)

Brookline Man Supplants Baylies as the American Ace of Aces if His Record Stands.

the U-boat commander who drowned them was Hitler's subsea ace of aces

Bong Downs 27th Japanese Plane And Becomes U. S. 'Ace Of Aces'

Top ace of aces was Captain Joseph C. McConnell Jr. of Apple Valley, Calif., who posted the unequaled high score for Korea

Yet virtually larger than life in the eyes of his contemporaries, the "scourge of the skies," the "ace of aces,"

The ace of aces was dead.

2001, Roman Johann Jarymowycz, Tank Tactics: From Normandy to Lorraine:

(military) The greatest active flying ace in a nation's military service.


CDO

Coordinate term: OOD (“officer of the day”)

command duty officer
w:command duty officer

(military) Initialism of command duty officer.


IB

(military) Initialism of integrated battlefield.


maskirovka

Borrowed from Russian маскиро́вка (maskiróvka, “camouflage”).

bor+

Surprise is a key ingredient in maskirovka and the clandestine forces which occupied Crimea last February certainly delivered that.

2015 January 29, Lucy Ash, “How Russia outfoxes its enemies”, in BBC:

And the key to informational struggle was maskirovka—subterfuge—the manipulation of the enemy's picture of reality.

2018, Carl Miller, chapter 6, in The Death of the Gods […] , William Heinemann, →ISBN:

As for Syrski’s remarks, a more likely interpretation is that the general is engaged in some simple misdirection – a version of maskirovka – a Russian military concept that encompasses western notions of operational secrecy with simple deception.

2023 March 25, Dan Sabbagh, “Ukrainian top brass stirs the pot with talk of Bakhmut counterattack”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(military, especially regarding Soviet or Russian warfare) A set of procedures designed to confuse, mislead, and camouflage oneself from the enemy.


in detail

Darius defeated the rebels in detail.

Macdonald might easily have destroyed them in detail could he have fallen upon them at once; but the time he spent in reorganising his army in Tuscany, and in concerting measures with Moreau, was well employed by Suvarof in promptly concentrating his forces.

1855, Walter Keating Kelly, The History of Russia: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. Compiled from the Most Authentic Sources, Including the Works of Karamsin, Tooke, and Ségur, page 175:

(military) By engaging small sections of an enemy army rather than fighting a single pitched battle against the entire enemy force.


sanctuarize

en-verb

sanctuarize (third-person singular simple present sanctuarizes, present participle sanctuarizing, simple past and past participle sanctuarized)

sanctuarizes (present singular third-person)
sanctuarizing (participle present)
sanctuarized (participle past)
sanctuarized (past)

(military) To use military force to shelter another country from invasion or attack


Totenkopf

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

Borrowed from German Totenkopf (literally “dead person's head”).

bor+

The officer who cut off Rachabalizoda’s ear had military patches including a far-right Totenkopf (dead person’s head) previously worn by Nazi SS units.

2024 March 25, Andrew Roth, Pjotr Sauer, “Russia lauding torture was unthinkable – now it is proud to do so”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(military) A death's head used as a military emblem.


pozzy

Unclear, perhaps from a southern African language; from late 19thC, revived during World War I.

‘Could you pinch a tin of pozzy out of stores?’

1929, Frederic Manning, The Middle Parts of Fortune, Vintage, published 2014, page 136:

The Turco used to say: 'Tommy, give Johnny pozzy,' and a tin of plum and apple jam used to be given him.

1929 November, Robert Graves, chapter XVII, in Good-bye to All That: An Autobiography, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 237:

(British, military slang) Jam (“fruit conserve made from fruit boiled with sugar”).


pozzy

From position + -y (“diminutive suffix”), with spelling shift; variant of possie.

1916, various ANZAC soldiers, The Anzac Book, page 10,
[…] and Jerry O′Dwyer had shot two crows from the new sniper′s pozzy down at the creek-—and so on.

1942, Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean, Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, Volume III: The Australian Imperial Force in France, 1916, 13th(?) Edition, page 340,
Brown himself, unaware even that there was an officer among his captives, picked up his rifle, went back to his “pozzy,” and dismissed the incident from his mind […]

They had also wonderful confidence in their leaders — they knew the best pozzy would be taken up.

1975, William D. Joynt, Saving the Channel Ports, 1918, page 84:

(Australia, New Zealand, military slang, Digger slang) A firing position.


matross

From Dutch matroos (“sailor, seaman”), essentially from French matelot (“seaman”), from Middle Dutch mattenoot. Compare German Matrose, Swedish matros, Danish matros, and Crimean Tatar matros.

[T]he matrosses, in their annual gesture of amity, had torn the sky with the largest piece of ordnance in the Great Keep […].

1980, Gene Wolfe, chapter V, in The Shadow of the Torturer (The Book of the New Sun; 1), New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 48:

(military, now historical) An artilleryman next in rank to a gunner; a gunner's mate, especially one who assists the gunners in loading, firing, and sponging the guns.


APM

en-noun

APM (countable and uncountable, plural APMs)

anti-personnel mine
w:anti-personnel mine

(military, countable) Initialism of anti-personnel mine.


shit bird

(military, vulgar, slang) A person who regularly gets into trouble; a screw-up.


strongpoint

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

(military) A fortified position; a stronghold.


heliborne

The Israelis manned their fighting positions, certain they would be facing, at most, a few dozen heliborne commandos.

1987, Jerry Asher, Eric M Hammel, Duel for the Golan:


Seabee

Spelling of the initials CB, for construction battalion, with the spelling probably influenced by the words sea (patrolled by the Navy) and bee (a symbol of industriousness).

The Navy is establishing a new Construction Battalion, or Seabee, unit in Charleston, S. C., Senator Strom Thurmond, Republican of South Carolina, said today.

1971 January 20, “Seabee Unit in Charleston”, in The New York Times, page 15:

(US military) A construction battalion of the United States Navy, responsible for building, bulldozing, etc.


CCW

(US, firearms) Initialism of concealed carry weapon.


CCW

(US, firearms) Initialism of carrying a concealed weapon.


headstamp

Photographs were taken of the weapons' serial numbers and [of the] markings on the bottoms of the cartridge casings, known as headstamps, which can reveal where and when ammunition was made.

2009 Chivers, C.J. (The New York Times), Is U.S. Ammo going to Taliban?; run in Austin American-Statesman, May 20, 2009, p A-1

(military, firearms) The identification marking on the base (bottom) of a cartridge casing.


M-day

(military) Abbreviation of mobilization day.


duledge

The duledge pegs worked loose and dropped behind. Wheels began to break up.

1985, Cormac McCarthy, chapter IV, in Blood Meridian […] , →OCLC:

(military) One of the dowels joining the ends of the fellies which form the circle of the wheel of a gun carriage.


glass jaw

An allusion to glass being easily breakable.

"How was I to know that big ape had a glass jaw?"

1989, Bryce Courtenay, The Power of One, →ISBN, page 109:

Early in Ali's career, experts believed he had what's called a glass jaw—that he would fall after the first big punch. He was now proving that he could take a punch, but each punch chipped away at his health.

[2010, Stephen Timblin, Muhammad Ali: King of the Ring, Sterling, →ISBN, page 101:

(chiefly boxing) A fighting vulnerability where one is easily knocked out via a single hard blow to the chin or jaw (due to lack of conditioning, insufficient training, or damage from past cerebral concussions).


front line

front lines (plural)
front-line (alternative)
frontline (alternative)

(military) A front, or a boundary between opposing positions.

خَطّ أَمَامِيّ

military boundary between opposing positions


mirv

en-verb

mirv (third-person singular simple present mirvs, present participle mirving, simple past and past participle mirved)

mirvs (present singular third-person)
mirving (participle present)
mirved (participle past)
mirved (past)

(transitive, military, slang) To attack with MIRV missiles.


Medal of Honor

Franklin D. Roosevelt was yesterday posthumously awarded a special Medal of Honor by a unanimous vote of the House of Representatives, press dispatches said.

1945 May 23, “FDR HONORED”, in Free Philippines, volume 3, number 24, page 1, column 2:

(US, military) The highest military award given in the United States.


firing line

(military) The line from which soldiers fire their weapons at a target; especially the front line of troops in a battle.


elephantry

From elephant + -ry, by analogy with infantry and cavalry.

But, juſt before we took the Field, we demoliſhed our Elephantry, and to be more on a Level with the Baboons, introduced Monkies upon lean Cats, and thoſe too a little wild, becauſe we could maintain them very cheap, Monkies being content with Nuts, and Cats with any Thing.

1747 February 5, “Nº 83. Thursday, February 5, 1747”, in The Fool: Being a Collection of Essays and Epistles, Moral, Political, Humourous^([sic]), and Entertaining. Published in the Daily Gazetteer. With the Author's Preface, and a Complete Index, volume II, London: Printed, and sold, by Nutt, Cooke and Kingman, at the Royal Exchange; [et al.], published 1748, →OCLC, pages 258–259:

The king replied in a proclamation to his subjects that he was going to appear in person "with large forces of infantry, artillery, elephantry, and cavalry, by land and water, and with the might of his army efface these heretic Kalas, and annex their country."

1889, William W[otherspoon] Ireland, Through the Ivory Gate: Studies in Psychology and History, Edinburgh: Bell & Bradfute, 12 Bank Street; London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., and Hamilton, Adams & Co., →OCLC, page 309:

The elephantry always preceded the army and was primarily used to clear the road, demolish enemy forts, launch night attacks and for defending their own forts and in transporting war materials.

2003, Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa, Generalissimo Chilarai and His Times: A Historical Biography, 2nd edition, Ghy, Assam, India: Vikram Publishers, →OCLC, page 390:

Ashok maintained a large army (infantry) more than nine lakhs, a few thousand cavalries and elephantries.

2005, K. K. Sinha, “A Brief History of the Ancient Indian Achievements”, in Oriental and Western Science and Cosmology, Mumbai: Allied Publishers, →ISBN, page 31:

(military, historical) That branch of an army that uses elephants.

Battle of Zama
Henri-Paul Motte
Second Punic War


DAO

en-noun

DAO (countable and uncountable, plural DAOs)

(firearms) Initialism of double action only, a trigger mechanism for revolving cylinder and semi-automatic firearms.


demilune

demilunes (plural)
demi-lune (alternative)
demi lune (alternative)

(military, architecture) A fortification constructed beyond the main ditch of a fortress, and in front of the curtain between two bastions, intended to defend the curtain; a ravelin.


bricole

From French bricole, from Late Latin briccola, bricola, of uncertain origin.

The Bricole, pierced for 60, mounting 44 guns, twenty four and eighteen pounders, ſunk, her captain, officers, and company priſoners.

1780, “A list of the rebel ship of war taken or destroyed in the harbour of Charles-Town”, in Henry Mayo, editor, The London Magazine, volume XLIX, page 295:

(military) A kind of traces with hooks and rings, used to drag manoeuvre guns where horses cannot be used.

And besides here are none of the old-time machines as elsewhere along our front; not a catapult, or bricole, or bible—as some, with wicked facetiousness, have named a certain invention for casting huge stones; nor have we yet heard the report of a cannon, or arquebus, or bombard, although we know the enemy has them in numbers.

1893, Lew Wallace, The Prince of India: or, Why Constantinople Fell, volume II, Books on Demand, published 2018, page 296:

(military, historical) An ancient kind of military catapult.


bug out

Attested 1950, popularized in the Korean War (1950–53) in such phrases as “bug-out fever” (rout) and “the big bug out” (November/December 1950 retreat) and entered civilian slang by mid 1950s. Likely originated in World War II, perhaps based on 1930s cartoons featuring bugs fleeing an impending foot or boot. Ultimately based on the rapid, disorderly flight of bugs when discovered, particularly their scattering if several are discovered at once, such as under a rock or can. Compare chicken out.

(military, slang) A rapid retreat, a rout.


ogin

Unclear. Among various suggestions, it may be a corrupted form of hogwash (“swill”), of noggin (“a small measure of an alcoholic drink”), or of ocean.

Nobody has yet put up a suitable argument for *never* going into the ogin to help someone who can't raise their own head above the surface...

2004 April 6, DannyBoy, “Man Overboard Statistics....”, in uk.rec.sailing (Usenet):

(UK, chiefly nautical and navy) A large body of water including the sea or the ocean.


FIGMO

Initialism. The forget it usage is likely a retronym, coined to avoid using the profanity fuck.

(military, slang, vulgar) Acronym of fuck it, got my orders.

(military, slang, euphemistic) Acronym of forget it, got my orders.


Ababil

From Arabic أَبَابِيل (ʔabābīl, “tiny birds”), described in the Qur'an as dropping red clay bricks on the army of elephants, sent by the king of Yemen to attack the city of Mecca, in the year (571 AD) when the prophet Muhammad was born.


SACEUR

Supreme Allied Commander Europe
w:Supreme Allied Commander Europe

(military) Abbreviation of Supreme Allied Commander Europe.


acoustic jamming

(military) The deliberate radiation or reradiation of mechanical or electroacoustic signals with the objectives of obliterating or obscuring signals that an enemy is attempting to receive and of disrupting enemy weapons systems.


field grade

In various armies, major is the lowest field grade, full colonel the highest field grade.

commissioned officer
commissioned officer

(military) Each of the commissions which rank a (para)military officer below the (highest) class of general officers, but above other commissioned officers and NCOs.


banneret

bannerets (plural)
bannerette (alternative)

From French banneret, from bannière (“banner”) + -et (“-et, -ette: forming diminutives”). Equivalent to banner + -et.

A list of new titles was manufactured as follows: Ensign, Lieutenant, Flight-Leader, Squadron-Leader, Reeve, Banneret, Fourth-Ardian, Third-Ardian, Second-Ardian, Ardian, Air Marshal. […O]ne may regret “Banneret”, which has a flavour and associations, more especially as the leader of a formation in the air went into battle flying a streamer which formed a rallying mark as did the banner of the knight for his vassals.

1936, The Periodical, volumes 21-22, Oxford University Press, page 67:

(military, historical) A proposed but unadopted senior commissioned rank of the Royal Air Force equivalent to group captain.


anticoalition

(military) Opposed to coalition or to a specific coalition.


autoload

en-verb

autoload (third-person singular simple present autoloads, present participle autoloading, simple past and past participle autoloaded)

autoloads (present singular third-person)
autoloading (participle present)
autoloaded (participle past)
autoloaded (past)

(firearms, weaponry) To load (firearms or artillery) automatically.


autoloading

(firearms, weaponry) The act or process of loading automatically, as done by an autoloader.


IDT

en-noun

IDT (countable and uncountable, plural IDTs)

inactive duty training
inactive duty training#English

(military, uncountable) Initialism of inactive duty training.


ISR

ISR (countable and uncountable, plural ISRs)

(uncountable, espionage) Initialism of intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (“spycraft”).


judogi

judogis (plural)
judogi (plural)
jūdōgi (alternative)

Borrowed from Japanese 柔(じゅう)道(どう)着(ぎ) (jūdōgi). By surface analysis, judo + gi.

(judo) The uniform used for judo practice and competition, based on traditional Japanese clothing.


TEC

I strap out, step out in every direction / Glock, TECs, jimmy hats, in case I need protection

1993, “Just Another Day”, in Black Reign, performed by Queen Latifah:

Rep your set, grab a TEC / Leave you wet and project / In the cut like Gillette / Where they serve and don't protect

2019, “ZUU”, in ZUU, performed by Denzel Curry:


barium meal

The example of Oswald will show how the different operations of a dangle and a barium meal would work more efficiently together.

2017, Nancy Howell Lee, Peter Dale Scott, Bertram Gross, Forbidden Bookshelf's Resistance in America Collection:

(espionage, figurative) The deliberate release of traceable information to a suspect to see whether they leak it.


rehat

en-verb

rehat (third-person singular simple present rehats, present participle rehatting, simple past and past participle rehatted)

rehats (present singular third-person)
rehatting (participle present)
rehatted (participle past)
rehatted (past)

The 6000-strong force was to have six infantry battalions, four being rehatted ECOMOG units already serving in Sierra Leone and two coming from Kenya[…]

2006, William J Durch, Twenty-first-century peace operations:

Aho takes note of the deficiencies in the contingent-owned equipment of rehatted troops, and requests the Secretary-General to review options[…]

2007, Yearbook of the United Nations 2005:

(military) To redeploy troops with different hats, uniforms, etc.


roulement

(British, military) a short deployed tour for a major combat unit or other grouping of personnel on a continuing operation.


end state

end states (plural)
endstate (alternative)

(military) The specified situation at the successful completion of the final phase of a military operation.


CMA

en-noun

CMA (countable and uncountable, plural CMAs)

... WILFORD J. WILLY CMA SR GRADE LIEUTENANT AND JOSEPH P. KENNEDY SR GRADE LIEUTENANT CMA BOTH USNR CMA WERE KILLED PD COMMANDER SMITH ...

1944, telegram to Gen. Carl Andrew Spaatz from Gen. Jimmy Doolittle; Edward Renehan, The Kennedys at War, 1937-1945 (2002), Doubleday, page 304

(US, military) Abbreviation of comma, used in communication systems without punctuation marks (e.g., telegrams).


contractor combatant

contractor combatant (plural contractor combatants)

Author and United States Department of Defense (DoD) contractor Carter Andress coined the term “contractor combatant” in his book about the Iraq War titled Contractor Combatants: Tales of an Imbedded Capitalist.

(military, US) A civilian in a war zone who performs the tasks of an armed soldier under the Geneva Convention.


prolonge

(military, historical) A rope with a hook and a toggle, sometimes used to drag a gun carriage or to tie it to the limber, and for various other purposes.


destroyer escort

destroyer escort (plural destroyer escorts)

(US, military, nautical, historical) A type of warship, lighter in armor and armament, and slower than a destroyer, originally used for convoy escort during World War II; now considered a frigate.


destroyer leader

destroyer leader (plural destroyer leaders)

(military, nautical) a warship, a type of destroyer used to lead a division, flotilla or squadron at sea and in combat, a heavy destroyer variant with larger displacement for command and control.


cyclosarin

(organic chemistry, military) Cyclohexyl methylphosphonofluoridate, an extremely toxic nerve gas used as a chemical weapon.


puncto

From Latin punctum via Italian punto. Doublet of point, pointe, ponto, punctum, punt, and punto.


SOCOM

Special Operations
special operations#English

(military) Acronym of Special Operations Command.


SOCOM

(US, military) Abbreviation of U.S. Special Operations Command.


hashmagandy

(Australia, military, slang) An insipid army dish.


POI

/ˌpiː ˌəʊ ˈaɪ/

(ballistics) Initialism of point of impact.


mensurate

en-verb

mensurate (third-person singular simple present mensurates, present participle mensurating, simple past and past participle mensurated)

mensurates (present singular third-person)
mensurating (participle present)
mensurated (participle past)
mensurated (past)

(military) To measure accurately and precisely the position of an object. Not to be confused with refinement.


come in from the cold

come in from the cold (third-person singular simple present comes in from the cold, present participle coming in from the cold, simple past came in from the cold, past participle come in from the cold)

comes in from the cold (present singular third-person)
coming in from the cold (participle present)
came in from the cold (past)
come in from the cold (participle past)

/ˈkʌm‿ɪn fɹəm ðə ˈkəʊld/

John le Carré
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

Literally, the term refers to someone who is outdoors when the weather is cold coming indoors to a warm place. The idiomatic senses were popularized by the title of the novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) by the British author John le Carré (1931–2020); “the Cold” is a pun on the Cold War, during which the novel is set.

I mean … one can't be out in the cold all the time; one has to come in from the cold … do you see what I mean?

1963 September, John le Carré [pseudonym; David John Moore Cornwell], “The Circus”, in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Coward-McCann, published 1964, →OCLC, page 23:

(espionage) Of a spy: to return home after having gone undercover in enemy territory.

palata kotiin

of a spy: to return home after having gone undercover in enemy territory


EGA

Eagle, Globe, and Anchor
w:Eagle, Globe, and Anchor

(military, US) Initialism of Eagle, Globe, and Anchor.


barebow

(archery) Unassisted, with just a bow and no additional aids such as sights.


AOR

en-noun

AOR (countable and uncountable, plural AORs)

auxiliary replenishment oiler
auxiliary replenishment oiler#English

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of auxiliary replenishment oiler.

area of responsibility
w:area of responsibility

(US, military) Initialism of area of responsibility.


JRM

Abbreviation of Serbo-Croatian Jugoslavenska Ratna Mornarica (“Yugoslav War Navy”).

der

(military, nautical) ship prefix for ship names of the Yugoslav navy


P.R.

[…] the biggest so-called boxer that ever sported buff in the P.R., in the person of Charles Freeman, weighing 18st., and standing 6ft. 10½in. in his stocking feet.

Henry Downes Miles, Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing (volume 3)

(boxing, archaic) Initialism of prize ring.


antioccupation

NIMNers have participated in post-September 11 peace rallies in Chicago and New York and maintain a weekly antioccupation vigil at noon Fridays outside the Tribune Tower.

2001 October 12, S.L. Wisenberg, “Lecture Notes: Jews united against violence”, in Chicago Reader:

In the incendiary speech delivered by his clerics on Friday, Mr. Sadr called for a peaceful antioccupation mass protest on April 9, the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to American forces.

2007 March 31, Edward Wong, “Shiite Cleric Condemns U.S. as His Militia Takes to Streets”, in New York Times:

(politics, military) Opposed to a particular military occupation


artillerist

Pelham was, in spite of his youth, an artillerist of the first order of excellence, and his loss was a serious one, in spite of his inferior rank.

1876, John Esten Cooke, A Life of Gen. Robert E. Lee:

The experiments were not very satisfactory. Mr. Coffin, perhaps, possibly, because he was not a skilled artillerist, had the mortifying experience of seeing the apparatus in front of his cannon blown into fragments, but he made notes of the other reports.

1898, William Elliot Griffis, Charles Carleton Coffin:

(military) A person who operates artillery.


warfighting

In addition he should announce that the so-called "tactical Trident", where some missiles carrying only one warhead for use in regional wars, will no longer be deployed – that Britain considers nuclear weapons only as a strategic deterrent against the use of nuclear forces, not as a warfighting weapon.

2009 September 24, Martin Butcher, “Brown can be bold on disarmament”, in Guardian:

He [Pete Hegseth] added that any general involved with D.E.I. efforts should be fired. “Either you’re in for warfighting, and that’s it,” he said. “That’s the only litmus test we care about.”

2025 February 22, Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper, Jonathan Swan, “Trump Fires Joint Chiefs Chairman Amid Flurry of Dismissals at Pentagon”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(military, often attributive) The fighting of a war.


cryptomaterial

en-noun

cryptomaterial (countable and uncountable, plural cryptomaterials)

(chiefly military) Any material, such as documents or devices, used in cryptography.


PSG

Presidential Security Group
w:Presidential Security Group

(Philippines, military) Initialism of Presidential Security Group.


reccy

reccy (countable and uncountable, plural reccies)

Phipps went on: “One of our chaps, out on a reccy over the Bulgarian front, thought he saw something in the snow. Something fishy. He dropped down to have a dekko and nearly had kittens. What d'you think? Jerry's got a mass of stuff there—tanks, guns, lorries, every sort of heavy armament. All camouflaged. White.”

2011 [1965], Olivia Manning, Friends And Heroes (The Balkan Trilogy), Random House, →ISBN:


reccy

en-verb

reccy (third-person singular simple present reccies, present participle reccying, simple past and past participle reccied)

reccies (present singular third-person)
reccying (participle present)
reccied (participle past)
reccied (past)
recce (alternative)

(military slang) To investigate with a reconnaissance trip.


autoloader

en:device to load artillery or similar guns

(military) A mechanical device that loads ordnance into weapons such as tanks and artillery that would otherwise be loaded by a dedicated crew.


RHIP

(military, Internet) Initialism of "rank has its privilege" or "rank hath its privileges".


Kriegsmarine

(historical, military, nautical, World War II) The navy of Nazi Germany.


bowshot

It is, however, interesting in connection with that fact to remember that the last bowshot in English warfare was fired during the Civil War.

1900, Edward Walford, John Charles Cox, George Latimer Apperson, The Antiquary, page 113:

(archery) The act of firing an arrow from a bow.


hammerless

(firearms) Without a visible hammer; said of a gun having a cock or striker concealed from sight, and out of the way of an accidental touch.


RHA

(military) Initialism of rolled homogeneous armo(u)r.


RHA

Royal Horse Artillery
w:Royal Horse Artillery

(military) Initialism of Royal Horse Artillery., four units of the British Army


RHAe

(military) Initialism of rolled homogeneous armo(u)r equivalency.


grand rounds

(military) A tour of inspection by a general officer or commander, visiting all the guards in the officer's command.


Big Blue

(US, military, informal) The US Air Force.


IEA

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
w:Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

(historical, military) Initialism of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan: a totalitarian Islamic state established by the Taliban.


chinny

en-adj

chinny (comparative chinnier, superlative chinniest)

chinnier (comparative)
chinniest (superlative)


palanka

From Ottoman Turkish پلانقه (palanka). Doublet of planch, plank, and phalanx.

(military, historical) A permanently entrenched wooden camp attached to Turkish frontier fortresses.


jab artist

(boxing) A boxer who fights with short jab-like punches.


antiradar

an antiradar coating

(military) Preventing detection by radar.


stand easy

(military) a command to soldiers standing at ease that they may relax further


catapeltic

PIE word
 *ḱóm
The adjective is a learned borrowing from Ancient Greek κᾰτᾰπελτῐκός (kătăpeltĭkós, “of or for a catapult”) + English -ic (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives from nouns). Κᾰτᾰπελτῐκός (Kătăpeltĭkós) is derived from κᾰτᾰπέλτης (kătăpéltēs) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives from nouns); while κᾰτᾰπέλτης (kătăpéltēs) is a literary form of κᾰτᾰπᾰ́λτης (kătăpắltēs, “catapult; torture instrument”), from κᾰτᾰ- (kătă-, prefix meaning ‘against’) + πάλλω (pállō, “to poise or sway a missile before it is thrown; to brandish a weapon; (passive) to swing or dash oneself”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to beat; to drive; to push”)) + -της (-tēs, suffix forming masculine agent nouns).
The noun is derived from the adjective.

lbor

κᾰτᾰπελτῐκός

der

[T]he superior discipline and skill of the Romans were fully compensated by the strength of position and the catapeltic engines of the Macedonians.

1835, William Martin Leake, “Illyria, Epirus”, in Travels in Northern Greece. […], volume I, London: J. Rodwell, […], →OCLC, page 386:

[Dionysius, governor of the Cassandrian garrison of Munychia] held out valiantly for two days; but at length the superior forces of the enemy, and the mischief done by their catapeltic engines, drove the defenders from the walls, when Demetrius [of Phalerum] entered the fortress, Dionysius was taken, and his garrison laid down their arms: […]

1841, William Martin Leake, “Section IX. Of Maritime Athens, and Its Divisions, Peiræeus, Munychia, and Phalerum.—Their Harbours, Monuments, and Fortifications.”, in The Topography of Athens. With Some Remarks on Its Antiquities, 2nd edition, London: […] J. Rodwell, […], →OCLC, page 409:

The western or outer, which was the narrowest front of the fortress, consisted of four towers of solid regular masonry connected by walls of equal breadth, but lower than the towers, so that balistic or catapeltic engines might be mounted upon the walls between the towers, like cannon in embrasures.

1848 February 24 – March 23, William Martin Leake, “VII.—Topographical and Historical Notes on Syracuse.”, in Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature of the United Kingdom, volume III (Second Series), London: John Murray, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 255:

Has not the pulpit, which was ordained to the exhibition of Christ crucified as the Healer of human woe, been made the arena of inflammatory debate, the platform of catapeltic controversy, destructive rather than conservative, more the instrument of the Furies than of the Graces?

1859, Baron Stow, “Considerations that Render Christian Union Desirable”, in Christian Brotherhood: A Letter to the Hon. Heman Lincoln, Boston, Mass.: Gould and Lincoln, […], →OCLC, pages 64–65:

It missed the other's jaw by two inches, that catapeltic blow—striking him full in the mouth, breaking his yellow teeth and smashing his thick lips so that the blood sprang out in a spray over his hairy chest, and as his head rocked backward David followed with a swift left-hander, and a second time missed the jaw with his right—but drenched his clenched fist in blood.

1918, James Oliver Curwood, chapter XXIV, in The Courage of Marge O’Doone, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Co., […], →OCLC, page 263:

Today I will transform you into a catapeltic arrow, / and I'll send you spinning like a missile from a catapult.

2010, Michael Fontaine, “Equivocation and Other Ambiguities”, in Funny Words in Plautine Comedy, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 118:

(military, weaponry, archaic) Pertaining to a catapult or catapults.

catapeltique

pertaining to a catapult or catapults — see also catapultic


catapeltic

lbor

κᾰτᾰπελτῐκός

That artillery which afterward so much promoted the victories of the Roman armies, machinery for shooting darts and stones of size far beyond the strength of man's arm to throw, (Diodorus [Siculus] calls it the catapeltic) was now either invented, or first perfected, so as to be valuable for practice.

1808, William Mitford, “Affairs of the Sicilian and Italian Greek Cities, from the Establishment of the Syracusan Empire to the Death of Dionysius”, in The History of Greece, volume IV, London: […] Luke Hansard & Sons, […], for T[homas] Cadell and W[illiam] Davies, […], →OCLC, section I, page 69:

(military, weaponry, obsolete, rare) A catapult.


change hand

en-verb

change hand (third-person singular simple present changes hand, present participle changing hand, simple past and past participle changed hand)

changes hand (present singular third-person)
changing hand (participle present)
changed hand (participle past)
changed hand (past)

(military, archaic) To turn a horse around; especially, when exercising in a circle, to cross the center and resume circling in the other direction.


boots on the ground

First appears c. 1980 in the US. Attributed to the United States General Volney F. Warner, as quoted in the Christian Science Monitor (April 11, 1980) in reference to the Iranian hostage crisis

The Pentagon may say we have enough, but that's not what I'm hearing from the boots on the ground.

(military, metonymic) The ground forces actually fighting in a war or conflict, rather than troops not engaged or other military action such as air strikes.

So often boots on the ground is the American Way.

2012, Georgia McDade, Outside the Cave II, page 30:

At the same time, when options are considered, political parties and the media are interested in knowing whether boots on the ground is an option put on the table.

2015, Helene Dieck, The Influence of Public Opinion on Post-Cold War U.S. Military Interventions:

The military policy of using ground forces.


Bailey bridge

Invented by Donald Bailey, British civil servant.

■ More than 1,200 Bailey Bridges, a system developed by the British but also used by the Americans, were constructed, principally for use by the railways.

2023 June 28, Christian Wolmar, “The railway's crucial role in the Normandy invasion”, in RAIL, number 986, page 45:

(engineering, military) A portable, prefabricated truss bridge, designed for use by military engineering units.


Mabey bridge

From the name of the manufacturer, from its founder Bevil Mabey.

(engineering, military) A portable, prefabricated truss bridge, designed for use by military engineering units. A recent development from the older Bailey bridge.


PAF

(Pakistan, military) Initialism of Pakistan Air Force.

Philippine Air Force
w:Philippine Air Force

(Philippines, military) Initialism of Philippine Air Force.


MAF

Malaysian Armed Forces
w:Malaysian Armed Forces

(Malaysia, military) Initialism of Malaysian Armed Forces.


RCAF

Royal Canadian Air Force
w:Royal Canadian Air Force

(Canada, military, aviation) Initialism of Royal Canadian Air Force.


CAF

Canadian Armed Forces
w:Canadian Armed Forces

(Canada, military) Initialism of Canadian Armed Forces.

(Canada, military, aviation, historical) Initialism of Canadian Air Force, predecessor of the Royal Canadian Air Force


HDMS

(military, nautical) Initialism of His/Her Danish Majesty's Ship. a ship name prefix for a naval ship of the navy of Denmark

KDM

short for 'Kongelige Danske Marine', (Royal Danish Navy)


HBMS

(UK, military, nautical, obsolete) Initialism of His/Her Britannic Majesty's Ship, replaced by HMS (His/Her Majesty's Ship).


HNMS

(military, nautical) His/Her Norwegian Majesty's Ship

(military, nautical) His/Her Dutch Majesty's Ship


HNLMS

(military, nautical) Her Dutch Majesty's Ship

(military, nautical) His Dutch Majesty's Ship


HNoMS

(military, nautical) Initialism of his/her Norwegian majesty's ship.


mitraille

From Old French mitaille (“small coins; hence scrap iron, old iron; then grapeshot”); originally diminutive of mite (“small coin”). See also mitrailleur.

uder

(military, historical) shot or bits of iron used sometimes in loading cannon


up-armored

(military, of a Humvee or other combat vehicle) Having had its armor upgraded.


HSwMS

(military, nautical) Initialism of His/Her Swedish Majesty's Ship; a ship prefix for a naval ship of the navy of Sweden


balisage

(military) The use of dim lighting to enable navigation without giving away one's position to the enemy.


SPAD

(military) Initialism of self-propelled air defense; a self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle.


CROWS

w:Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station

(military, US) Acronym of Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station.


WO

WOs (plural)
W.O. (alternative)
W. O. (alternative)

(military) Initialism of warrant officer.


MUC

(military, US, acronym) Meritorious Unit Commendation.


close ranks

en-verb

close ranks (third-person singular simple present closes ranks, present participle closing ranks, simple past and past participle closed ranks)

closes ranks (present singular third-person)
closing ranks (participle present)
closed ranks (participle past)
closed ranks (past)

(military) To close the spacing between lines (ranks) of troops, as they are deployed across a battlefield, thereby decreasing the depth of the formation as it faces the enemy side.


hypaspist

en-noun

hypaspist (plural hypaspists or hypaspistai)

hypaspists (plural)
hypaspistai (plural)

From Ancient Greek ὑπασπιστής (hupaspistḗs, “shield bearer”), from ὑπό (hupó, “under”) + ἀσπίς (aspís, “shield”) + -τής (-tḗs, “suffix forming agent noun”).

bor

Meanwhile Darius had loosed his scythed cars, to whirl destruction into the ranks of the Companions and the hypaspists. But the archers and the Agrian spear-throwers received them with showers of spears and arrows; some of these active hillsmen seized the reins of the horses and pulled the riders from their seats, while the hypaspists, swiftly and undismayed, opened their ranks, and the terrible chariots rattled harmless down the intervals.

1900, John Bagnell Bury, A History of Greece: To the Death of Alexander the Great, Cambridge University Press, page 777:

1988 [CUP], A. B. Bosworth, Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great, Cambridge University Press (Canto), 1993, page 259,
The other major component of the Macedonian infantry was the corps of hypaspists. This force had evolved from the old bodyguard of the Macedonian kings and its nucleus, the agema, still acted as Alexander's guard when he fought on foot. The rest of the hypaspists were organised in chiliarchies (units of 1,000), perhaps three in number.

2013, Michael Taylor, Antiochus the Great, Pen & Sword Books (Pen & Sword Military), unnumbered page,
Perhaps fearful of blame in the event of failure, Lagoras asked that two of the King's favourites join the assault, Theodotus the Aetolian and Dionysius, the commander of the hypaspists, an elite subset of the Silver Shields.

(historical, military, Ancient Greece) A type of lightly armoured foot soldier equipped with an aspis (shield) and spear.


semi-infinite

(ballistics, of a target) Sufficiently thick that the level of penetration of a projectile is not affected by its thickness.


kiss the gunner's daughter

en-verb

kiss the gunner's daughter (third-person singular simple present kisses the gunner's daughter, present participle kissing the gunner's daughter, simple past and past participle kissed the gunner's daughter)

kisses the gunner's daughter (present singular third-person)
kissing the gunner's daughter (participle present)
kissed the gunner's daughter (participle past)
kissed the gunner's daughter (past)

But I was punished, my lad—made to kiss the wench that never speaks but when she scolds, and that's the gunner's daughter, comrade.

1824, Sir Walter Scott, chapter 14, in Redgauntlet:

"No," replied Bosun Thorpe, "for any breaches of discipline by boy seamen are dealt within by making him, in naval jargon, ‘kiss the gunner's daughter’. . . . he bends over one of the guns; then he is lashed across the backside."

2002, Wallace Bruce, John Paul Jones: Father of the United States Navy, →ISBN, page 81:

(archaic, idiomatic, naval) To be flogged or beaten while restrained over a cannon.


DND

D&D (alternative)
DnD (alternative)
D'N'D (alternative)

Department of National Defence
w:Department of National Defence

(military, Canada) Initialism of Department of National Defence.

w:Department of National Defense (Philippines)

(military, Philippines) Initialism of Department of National Defense.

DAR

executive departments of the Philippines


blue beret

blue berets (plural)
Blue Beret (alternative)

From the colour of the berets worn by UN peacekeepers.

Coordinate term: Green Beret

The blue berets were the United Nations soldiers. When the fighting had at last been quelled, the government of Cyprus had asked the United Nations to send troops to keep the peace.

(military) A United Nations peacekeeper.


hooyah

(US, military) Official battle yell of the US Navy.


stone frigate

(UK, naval slang) A shore establishment of the Royal Navy and some Commonwealth navies.


nonrecoil

(firearms, physics) Without recoil; recoilless.


ROICC

[C]ontractors often find that informal efforts by the ROICC will obtain quicker and more satisfactory results than could be obtained through the formalized procedures mandated by the Defense Materials and Priorities Systems.

1979, United States Congress, Military Construction Appropriations for 1980, volume 3, page 738:

(military) Acronym of resident/regional officer in charge of construction.


port arms

I think we have to bear in mind that he'd been wrestled with, shot at, been in a wild chase, and now he's being confronted with a person carrying an automatic weapon at port arms.

1989, Peter C. Lagarias, Harrison J. Sheppard, Effective Closing Argument, page 356:

At last the battery cover snapped down. Howard strode briskly back through the living room with the hedge-clippers held at port arms.

(military) The position of a weapon carried diagonally in front of the body.

tatang senjata

a military position in which rifle is carried in diagonal position in front of a torso


port arms

port arms (third-person singular simple present ports arms, present participle porting arms, simple past and past participle ported arms)

ports arms (present singular third-person)
porting arms (participle present)
ported arms (participle past)
ported arms (past)

(military, usually as imperative) To carry one's personal firearm diagonally in front of the body.


tenaille

From French tenaille (“a pair of pincers or tongs”), from Latin tenaculum. See tenaculum and tenaillon.

der

(military, historical) An outwork in the main ditch of a fortification, in front of the curtain, between two bastions.


behind the curve

(US, military) Not making the progress required.


RAS

(military, nautical) Initialism of replenishment at sea.

rail accessory system
rail accessory system#English

(firearms) Abbreviation of rail accessory system.


action stations

(military, British, Canada) The positions or activity assumed by the crew of a warship immediately in advance of combat or other hostile action; general quarters; also, the signal given to indicate such imminent action.


dogface

Yass. I never got above the rank of shavetail. We were the dogfaces who gave ’em hell at Chateau Thierry.

1962, Joseph Commings, “The X Street Murders”, in The Mammoth Book of Perfect Crimes & Impossible Mysteries, published 2006:

(US military, slang) A foot soldier, especially during World War II.


deflex

(archery, of a bow) Having the arms curved or curled at the base so as to turn towards the archer when unstrung, reducing the strain on the limbs and also the energy stored by the weapon.


intercontinental ballistic missile

en-noun

intercontinental ballistic missile (plural intercontinental ballistic missiles)

intercontinental ballistic missiles (plural)
ICBM (alternative initialism)

From intercontinental + ballistic missile.

(military, astronautics) A class of long-range missiles associated especially with carrying nuclear warheads.

междуконтинентална балистична ракета

a class of long-range missiles associated especially with carrying nuclear warheads (ICBM)

大陸間弾道ミサイル

たいりくかんだんどうミサイル

межконтинента́льная баллисти́ческая раке́та


ASM

ASM (countable and uncountable, plural ASMs)

air-to-surface missile
air-to-surface missile#English

(military) Initialism of air-to-surface missile.

anti-ship missile
anti-ship missile#English

(military, sometimes proscribed) Initialism of anti-ship missile.


LSO

landing signal officer
w:landing signal officer

(aviation, nautical, military) Initialism of landing signal officer.


MDA

Missile Defense Agency
w:en:Missile Defense Agency

(military, US) Initialism of Missile Defense Agency.


SWE

(military) Initialism of supplied with equipment.


TEL

(astronautics, military) Initialism of transporter erector launcher.


BL

B.L. cartridges have lubricators choked inside the cartridges of 40-pr. and lower natures.

1879, War Office, Manual of Siege and Garrison Artillery Exercises, page 37:

(UK military) Initialism of breechloader.


BL

(UK military) Initialism of breechloading.


MPBR

(firearms) Initialism of maximum point blank range.


AHO

(Australia, firearms) Initialism of approved hunting organisation, an organisation of which membership is one of several possible prerequisites for a firearms license.


Iron Cross

Germans marked booby-trapped areas with black-and-white signs, bearing an Iron Cross symbol or a death's-head.

2013, Gordon L. Rottman, World War II Allied Sabotage Devices and Booby Traps, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 56:

(military) (formerly) the second highest military decoration of Germany, under the military order of the Pour le Mérite, or the cross pattée shape of this decoration.

Star of the Grand Cross to the Iron Cross

Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross


fuck-you lizard

fuck-you lizard (plural fuck-you lizards)

fuck-you lizards (plural)
fuck you lizard (alternative)

Named during the Vietnam War, as the lizard's cry could be heard as fuck you. The fuck sound is quite clear and short in duration, followed by a pause of about half a second and the elongated you. The same sound could also be heard as tokay (as in tokay gecko), as tokeh (as in tokeh-tokeh), or as tuctoo, all of which are other English names of the lizard.

listen/core

The mating call of a tokay gecko (fuck-you gecko)

listen

“Relax, son,” he whispered, “it’s only a fuck-you lizard.”

1988, Russell E. McLogan, Boy Soldier: Coming of Age During World War II, Terrus Press, page 141

“Uccck-ouuu.” Small Deer said, imitating a Fuck-You Lizard to perfection.

2004, Mike Sutton, No Survivors, Author House, page 176:

At least it wasn’t a fuck-you lizard, I thought.

2009, Wayne Karlin, Wandering Souls: Journeys with the Dead and the Living in Viet Nam, Nation Books, page 269:

(military slang, vulgar) The tokay gecko (Gekko gecko), native to Southeast Asia.


LCpl

(military, US) Abbreviation of lance corporal.


fragger

The public read about the fraggers, the drug users and the unit that balked in combat. It heard little about the much more numerous draftees and short‐term enlistees who routinely spent their nights aggressively patrolling in the mud of the Delta and much of their days voluntarily helping villagers near their fire bases build roads and houses.

1973 April 18, L. James Binder, “An Army Come Home”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

They were not a band of rebellious “fraggers” assassinating their officers or marauding killers piling up body counts of the innocent in a haze of marijuana smoke.

2017 April 11, James Wright, “The Baby Boomer War”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US military slang) One who frags (deliberately kills a superior officer with a fragmentation grenade).


(singular only, informal, firearms) The .303 British rifle calibre.


bladed stance

(martial arts) A stance in which one foot is in front of the other and the body is at an angle to a person in front (who may become aggressive)


firstie

WEST POINT, N.Y., May 22 — The graduating cadets of the United States Military Academy spent their final days here like scores of seniors, or firsties, before them: packing foot lockers and showing their mothers around gray buildings and sweeping lawns.

2007 May 25, Michael Wilson, “Iraq Presents Graduating Class at West Point With New Challenges”, in New York Times:

(US, military, informal) A first-class cadet.


landing ship

(military, nautical) a sea-going military light ferry designed to assault shores that are held against them, and disembark forces directly onto the shore


NRO

National Reconnaissance Office
w:National Reconnaissance Office

(military, US) Initialism of National Reconnaissance Office.


neck down

en-verb

neck down (third-person singular simple present necks down, present participle necking down, simple past and past participle necked down)

necks down (present singular third-person)
necking down (participle present)
necked down (participle past)
necked down (past)

(firearms, transitive) To alter (a cartridge) by forcing it into a smaller calibre and size.


Bruceploitation

From Bruce (“Bruce Lee”) + -sploitation.

(film, martial arts) A genre of exploitation film that exploits the legacy of Bruce Lee through copycats.


bullpup

bullpups (plural)
bull pup (alternative)
bull-pup (alternative)

From bull + pup. The firearms sense originated from firearm designers in the United States during the 1930s. The unconventional configuration of bullpup rifles was compared by analogy to bulldog puppies, which were considered "squat, ugly, but still aggressive and powerful".

(firearms) A firearm configuration in which the trigger is located forward of the magazine and breech, as opposed to a conventional configuration in which the trigger is located rear of the magazine and breech.


DADT

don't ask, don't tell
don't ask, don't tell#English

(US, politics, military) Initialism of don't ask, don't tell.


antiatomic

(politics, military) Opposing or countering atomic weapons.


hang fire

hang fires (plural)
hangfire (alternative)
hang-fire (alternative)

(firearms) The situation when a gun does not immediately fire when the trigger is pulled, but may fire shortly after.


ISV

en-noun

ISV (countable and uncountable, plural ISVs)

infantry squad vehicle
w:Infantry Squad Vehicle

(military) Initialism of infantry squad vehicle. An unarmored wheeled troop transport land vehicle


firing pin

(firearms) the part of the firing mechanism which strikes the cartridge's primer to ignite the gunpowder.


saddle ring

(firearms) A small metal ring on the side of a firearm, allowing it to be hung on a saddle hook or attached to a lanyard.


exfiltrate

en-verb

exfiltrate (third-person singular simple present exfiltrates, present participle exfiltrating, simple past and past participle exfiltrated)

exfiltrates (present singular third-person)
exfiltrating (participle present)
exfiltrated (participle past)
exfiltrated (past)

(military, transitive) To withdraw (troops) surreptitiously from a dangerous position.

kimenekít

to withdraw troops surreptitiously from a dangerous position


ALCON

AERIAL PREPARATION OF THE BATTLEFIELD IS ESSENTIAL TO FUTURE OPERATIONS, AND ARCENT WILL CONTINUE COORDINATION WITH ALCON TO EFFECT REALIGNMENT OF AIR APPORTIONMENT PRIORITIES.

1991 February 14, Steven Arnold, ARCENT [Army Central Command] SITREP [Situation Report], quoted in Richard M. Swain, Lucky War: Third Army in Desert Storm, DIANE Publishing (1999), page 188

page 249: 3.C.1. DIRECT COORDINATION AUTHORIZED FOR ALCON./
page 365: 1.D. […] AS SUCH, ALCON SHOULD BE PROACTIVE IN PLANNING SUPPORT TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE. […] .//
page 377: 4.C. DIRLAUTH ALCON. KEEP THE DOMS AND THE JOINT STAFF INFORMED./

a. 2004, various sources, quoted in Center for Law and Military Operations, Domestic Operational Law (DOPLAW) Handbook for Judge Advocates, William S. Hein & Co., Inc. (publisher, 2004)

2. Conduct safety brief for ALCON. Discuss type of approach, safety precautions, and sound signals.

a. 2007, James Stavridis and Robert Girrier, Watch Officer's Guide, Fifteenth Edition, Naval Institute Press (2007), page 375

(military) Abbreviation of all concerned.


Victor Charlie

From the US military phonetic spelling alphabet for VC, the acronym for Vietcong.

Watch out for Victor Charlie — they're everywhere.

As for Victor Charlie here, we captured him and disarmed him.

(US, military slang, historical) The Vietcong (the group or its members collectively); a member of that group.


F/O

(military, aviation) Abbreviation of flying officer.


CCM

en-noun

CCM (countable and uncountable, plural CCMs)

Combined Cypher Machine
w:Combined Cypher Machine

(military, US) Initialism of Combined Cypher Machine.


HMX

(military, US) Abbreviation of Marine Helicopter Squadron One.


NOD

Night Optical/Observation Device
w:Night Vision Device

(military, US) Initialism of Night Optical/Observation Device.


re-up

en-verb

re-up (third-person singular simple present re-ups, present participle re-upping, simple past and past participle re-upped)

re-ups (present singular third-person)
re-upping (participle present)
re-upped (participle past)
re-upped (past)
reup (alternative)

"Reenlist" sense is a possible blend of re-enlist + sign up


tankodrome

tankodromes (plural)
tankdrome (alternative)

1918, tank + -o- + -drome, after aerodrome.

Prospective tank-drivers tramped up early every morning to the Tank Park or “Tankodrome”—a couple of large fields in which workshops had been erected, some trenches dug, and a few shell-craters blown

1919, Blackwood's Magazine, volume 205, W. Blackwood, page 588:

(obsolete, military) A training location for use of tanks; tank park.


armshield

(military) A badge worn on the sleeve of a soldier's uniform in the shape of a shield, used to denote allegiance


ROKS

Republic Of Korea
Republic of Korea#English

(South Korea, military, nautical) Initialism of Republic Of Korea Ship, a warship of South Korea.


spider hole

The ragged fugitive dragged from a spider hole near Tikrit in December 2003 was physically diminished - Saddam lost weight on the run - and the subsequent incarceration and near invisibility whittled his relevance.

2005 October 18, Rory Carroll, “Trial of the Century? Not for Iraqis”, in The Guardian:

The grenade launcher was passed to Davis, who fired a beehive round into the spider hole.

2006, Keith Nolan, House to House: Playing the Enemy's Game in Saigon, page 323:

(military) A small, usually camouflaged hole dug in the ground where someone can hide.


shadow boxing

(boxing) The action of practicing moves where the opponent is the boxer's own shadow.

σκιαμαχία

practicing boxing moves against one's shadow


mixed martial arts

Alternative form: MMA

Though mixed martial arts has successfully peeled away fans from boxing (a sport that’s lost any compelling champions and much of its dignity) and WWE (a “sport” that’s always existed in quotation marks) it’s had trouble shaking its reputation as “human cockfighting.”

2002 April 19, Scott Tobias, “Fightville”, in AV Club:

Other top talent in the Central Vision library includes Black Belt Hall of Fame members Ernie Reyes Sr., Frank Shamrock, Bill “Superfoot” Wallace, mixed-martial arts champion Pat Miletich, breaking champion Larry Fields and Olympic judo medalist Mike Swain.

2003 November, “Century Completes 100th Martial Arts Video”, in Black Belt, page 111:

Jiu jitsu competitions are vastly different from mixed martial arts, as they are grappling-only, and if an athlete does well in jiu jitsu, it doesn't guarantee that he'll also do well in mixed martial arts (and vice versa).

2005, Jeremy Wall, UFC′s Ultimate Warriors: The Top Ten, page 202:

Mixed martial arts is essentially about making the opponent tire out before you do so you are at an advantage in dealing devastating moves.

2008, Mickey Dimic, Christopher Miller, Mixed Martial Arts Unleashed: Mastering the Most Effective Moves for Victory, page 20:

(sports, martial arts) A style of combat sport allowing a wide range of combat techniques such as striking and grappling.


wadcutter

(firearms) a special-purpose bullet designed for shooting paper targets, usually at close range and at subsonic velocities.


Nosler

The bullet is named after gunsmith John Nosler.

(firearms) A bullet having two lead-filled partitions separated by a copper or brass section, intended to retain hitting power after the initial expansion on impact.


windage

en-noun

windage (usually uncountable, plural windages)

(ballistics) The difference in diameter between the bore of a firearm and the shot.

(ballistics) Horizontal adjustment of the sight of a firearm or bow.


mess dress

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


interdictor

(military) An aircraft designed to bomb enemy supply operations.


wristguard

(firearms) A metal band between the stock and the receiver.


wristwork

[...] in actual fact the Gresley Pacifics are not difficult to fire; the accurate wristwork needed to shoot the coal into the back corners of the grate calls for knack rather than brute force.

1941 May, O. S. Nock, “The Locomotives of Sir Nigel Gresley: Part III—The "A1" Pacifics”, in Railway Magazine, pages 196–197:

(in particular, fencing) movement of the hand without movement of the arm


military time

Again, Bravo pointed. “Look!” As they watched, they saw a ghostly shape rising slowly out of the sea. Jenny, glancing at her watch, said, “One, five, three, zero. Fifteen-thirty—it's military time! Three-thirty in the afternoon.

2014, Eric Van Lustbader, The Testament, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

(military, US and allied forces) A specific system of denoting and pronouncing the times of the 24-hour clock.


bastille

bastilles (plural)
bastile (alternative)

French Revolution
Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
William Cobbett
William IV
storming of the Bastille

The noun is derived from Middle English bastile, bastel (“fortification for attack mounted on a barge or wheels; projecting part of a fortification, bastion, turret; fortified encampment of a besieging army; structure carrying armed men on an elephant’s back; (figuratively) refuge, shelter; protector”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman bastile, bastille, Middle French bastille, and Old French baastel, basstel (“fortification; fortified tower; temporary fortification constructed for attack or defence; (small) castle or fortress”) (modern French bastille; compare Medieval Latin bastīle), from bastide (“fortification; fortress”) with the ending modified after nouns ending in -ille (from Latin -īle (suffix forming place names)). Bastide is derived from Old Occitan bastida (“fortification; (Provence) country mansion”), from bastir (“to build, construct”) + -ida (suffix forming nouns); while bastir is from *bastīre, from Frankish *bastijan (“to sew; to weave”), from Proto-West Germanic *bast (“fibre; rope”), from Proto-Germanic *bastaz (“fibre; rope”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰask- ~ *bʰasḱ- (“bundle, heap, load”) but this is disputed.
Sense 2.1 (“jail or prison, especially one regarded as mistreating its prisoners”) is from the Bastille in Paris, France. Known in full as the Bastille Saint-Antoine, it was a former fortress used as a prison by the French monarchy in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Bastille was stormed by a crowd on 14 July 1789 at the start of the French Revolution and later demolished, becoming an important symbol for the French Republican movement.
Sense 2.2 (“workhouse”) was possibly popularized by the English politician William Cobbett (1763–1835) who opposed the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 (4 & 5 William IV, chapter 76; often called the “New Poor Law”). This Act made relief or welfare for poor people only available through workhouses, and ensured that the working conditions were harsh so that only the truly destitute would apply for relief.
The verb is derived from the noun.
Cognates
Late Latin bastile (“wooden siege tower”), bastilla, bastillia, bastillus, bastellum (“fortification; wooden siege tower”)

nb...

bastayle, bastele, bastell, bastelle, bastil, bastill, bastyle, bastyll, bastylle, (Northern England) baistell,

nb...

Commencing with the Accession of William IV.

J. Booker; Longman, Rees, Orme, and Co.; J. M. Richardson; Parbury, Allen, and Co.; J. Hatchard and Son; J. Ridgway; E. Jeffery and Son; J. Rodwell; Calkin and Budd; R. H. Evans; J. Booth; and T. C. Hansard.

col

Cognates

VVhen they ſhould have ſtood to it in field, and fought, then they fled back to their tends: vvhen they vvere to guard and defend their trench and rampart, they ſurrendered them to the enemy: good no vvhere, neither in battel nor in baſtil.

1659, T[itus] Livius [i.e., Livy], “[Book XXII]”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Romane Historie […], London: […] W. Hunt, for George Sawbridge, […], →OCLC, page 380:

(military, historical) The fortified encampment of an army besieging a place; also, any of the buildings in such an encampment.

bastilji

fortified encampment of an army besieging a place; any of the buildings in such an encampment


sheltron

sheltrons (plural)
cheldrome (alternative)
childrome (alternative)
sheltrum (alternative)
schiltrom (alternative)

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

PIE word
 *dóru
From Middle English scheltroun, sheltroun (“group of soldiers or army in fighting formation, phalanx; battle, fighting; group of warships, fleet; (by extension) line or row of bones”) [and other forms], from Old English sċieldtruma (“company of soldiers, phalanx; covering; shed, shelter; tortoise”) [and other forms], from sċield (“shield; (figuratively) protection”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to cut; to separate, split”)) + truma (“band or troop of men”) (possibly from trum (“firm, strong; stable, steadfast”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *drew- (“firm, hard, solid; strong; tree”), *dóru (“tree”)).
Doublet of shelter (which is the less conservative of the two).

nb...

cheltrone, cheltroun, childrome, chiltrone, scheltrom, scheltrome, scheltron, scheltrone, scheltrum, schetrome, schiltrom, schiltron, schiltrum, schiltrun, schilteroun, schiltroun, scholtrom, scholtrum, sheldrun, sheltirne, sheltorn, sheltrom, sheltrome, sheltron, sheltrone, sheltronne, sheltroun, sheltrum, sheltrume, sheltrun, shildryme, shilterne, shilteroun, shiltrom, shiltrome, shiltron, shiltrone, shiltroun, shiltrumme, shiltrun, shiltrunne, sholtrom, sholtrum, shultrom, shyltron, shyltroun, (Early Middle English) sceld-trome, sceldtrume, sheldestrome, sheltrome, soltrome, sultrome

nb...

sceltruma, scildtruma, sciltruma, scyldtruma, scyld-truma, scyltruma

der

The ſheltron of the foremen of the fyrſt ſort, ſhalbe ſet in the ryght corner, and wete thou well that cohort is not ellis but the numbre of fyfty hundred knyghtis, and eṽry legion is ten comportes. Than as I ſaid before, the ſheltron of foremen of the fyrſt cohort, ſhude be ſet in the fyr[ſ]t corner of the ſheldron, and to hem the ſecunde cohort ſhalbe joined. [From an anonymous English translation of Vigetus de re Militari.]

[1408, R. Green, “Of the Warlike Weapons of the Ancients”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym], editor, The Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, volume XXIX, London: […] D[avid] Henry and R. Cave, […], published 14 November 1759, →OCLC, page 521, column 1:

As the group tops a crest, there is a skip of panic among them, and they instinctively cluster around the youngest, a schiltrom of hooves and teeth.

2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherworlds, Penguin, published 2023, page 12:

(now chiefly historical) A compact body of troops forming a battle array or phalanx, especially such a body of Scottish troops armed with pikes during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.

schiltron

any compact body of troops forming a battle array or phalanx


CQC

(military, US) Initialism of close quarters combat.


old sweat

old sweats (plural)
old-sweat (alternative)

(British, military slang, chiefly World War I) An experienced soldier.

A lifelong buddy of mine, this Herring, linked to me by what are called imperishable memories. Years ago, when striplings, he and I had done a stretch together at Malvern House, Bramley-on-Sea, the preparatory school conducted by that prince of stinkers, Aubrey Upjohn MA, and had frequently stood side by side in the Upjohn study awaiting the receipt of six of the juiciest from a cane of the type that biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder, as the fellow said. So we were, you might say, rather like a couple of old sweats who had fought shoulder to shoulder on Crispin's Day, if I've got the name right.

1960, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter I, in Jeeves in the Offing:

(British, military slang) A veteran soldier or war veteran.


sight in

en-verb

sight in (third-person singular simple present sights in, present participle sighting in, simple past and past participle sighted in)

sights in (present singular third-person)
sighting in (participle present)
sighted in (participle past)
sighted in (past)

(firearms) To align the sights of a firearm.


Major

* As an English surname of Norman origin, from the personal name Malgier, via Old French from the Germanic name *Madalgari. See Mauger.
* As a Hungarian surname, shortened from majorosgazda (see Majoros), or borrowed from German Meyer.
* As a Polish, Czech, and Slovak surname, from the military rank major.
* As a Jewish surname, variant of Meyer.
* As a French and Occitan surname, from the adjective majeur and the military rank major. The latter appears in Canadian French, sometimes also as La Major.

(military) Title for an army officer with the rank of major.


surprisal

en-noun

surprisal (countable and uncountable, plural surprisals)

From surprise + -al.
(information measure): Defined by Myron Tribus in the 1961 book Thermostatics and Thermodynamics.

Their chiefe attempts are by Stratagems, trecheries, or surprisals.

1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, Kupperman, published 1988, page 146:

(obsolete, military) A surprise attack or ambush; a sudden or unexpected assault.


SxS

SxS (plural SxS or SxSes or SxS's or SxSs)

SxS (plural)
SxSes (plural)
SxS's (plural)
SxSs (plural)

(firearms) Abbreviation of side by side (a double barrelled shotgun with both barrels beside each other, rather than over and under).


Mannlicher stock

Mannlicher stock (plural Mannlicher stocks)

* From a 1903 carbine designed by Ferdinand Mannlicher.

(firearms) A stock on a rifle that runs the full length of the weapon.


sealift

en-verb

sealift (third-person singular simple present sealifts, present participle sealifting, simple past and past participle sealifted)

sealifts (present singular third-person)
sealifting (participle present)
sealifted (participle past)
sealifted (past)


sealift

We’re looking at both an airlift and a sealift,” Mr. Fugate told reporters in a conference call.

2009 October 1, Liz Robbins, “Over 300 Die in Sumatra and Samoas Quakes”, in New York Times:


point man

The point man is the only one besides the Shooter who could verify the kill shots firsthand, and he did just that to another SEAL I spoke with.

2013 February 11, Phil Bronstein, “The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden… Is Screwed”, in Esquire Magazine:

(military) In combat, the soldier who takes point; the soldier who assumes the first and most exposed position in a combat military formation; the lead soldier/unit advancing through hostile or unsecured territory.


take point

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

takes point (present singular third-person)
taking point (participle present)
took point (past)
taken point (participle past)

(military) To assume the first and most exposed position in a formation in combat; to serve as the lead soldier or unit advancing through hostile or unsecured territory.


Kaserne

Borrowed from German Kaserne (“barracks”), ultimately from Latin quaterna through French caserne.

bor+

(US military) A United States Military barracks or installation in Germany.


sick call

(US, military) A daily lineup of military personnel requiring medical attention.


rezident

rezidents (plural)
resident (alternative)

From Russian резиде́нт (rezidént). Doublet of resiant and resident.

(espionage) The head spy in a rezidentura.


WRNS

Women's Royal Naval Service
w:Women's Royal Naval Service

(UK, military, nautical) Initialism of Women's Royal Naval Service.


fieldcraft

(military) The basic military skills required to operate in the field, such as stealth, camouflage, and observation.


outland

en-verb

outland (third-person singular simple present outlands, present participle outlanding, simple past and past participle outlanded)

outlands (present singular third-person)
outlanding (participle present)
outlanded (participle past)
outlanded (past)

(martial arts) To land more (punches, kicks etc.) than.


breechblock

breechblocks (plural)
breech block (alternative)

(firearms) The metal block that closes the breech of a breech-loading gun after insertion of the cartridge.


antihelicopter

Perhaps one of the most ingenious antihelicopter mines was constructed by planting a group of pressure-sensitive mines in a potential landing zone and then covering the mines with a sheet of metal.

2006, Norman Youngblood, The development of mine warfare: a most murderous and barbarous conduct:

Britain, which has not experienced a helicopter escape since the late 1970s, has been more aggressive about installing antihelicopter nets in its prisons.

2009 August 9, Nicola Clark, “In Some Prison Breaks Across Europe, Helicopters Replace the File in the Cake”, in New York Times:

(military) Intended for use against helicopters.


unblouse

unblouse (third-person singular simple present unblouses, present participle unblousing, simple past and past participle unbloused)

unblouses (present singular third-person)
unblousing (participle present)
unbloused (participle past)
unbloused (past)

Some straight legs caught a trooper at the post exchange (PX) one day and made him unblouse his boots.

2002, Jack Allsup, Mountains of Hope, page 50:

"Alright men. Lay your ponchos out on the ground and take everything out of your rucksacks. Empty your pockets, too. Everything goes on the poncho. Hurry up! We haven't got all day.
"You, Parker! Unblouse those boots. Do it! What's all this shit? Cans of Spam. Tuna fish. Nice try, Asshole. Okay, everybody. Unblouse those boots."

2003, Edward F. Fitzgerald, Bank's Bandits, page 162:

Not only were the soldiers not allowed to tell anyone what was happening, but they had to remove their shoulder patches and the airborne patches from their hats, take off their jump wings, and unblouse their trousers to hide their jump boots.

2004, Ed Ruggero, Combat Jump: The Young Men Who Led the Assault Into Fortress Europe, July 1943, page 89:

In front of the entire regiment, the condemned trooper was forced to unblouse his trousers, remove his airborne boots, and replace them with regular shoes.

2006, Major Richard D. Winters, Beyond Band of Brothers, page 37:

(military) To untuck (leggings from footwear); to make (pants or trousers) unrestricted or untightened at the ankle, often as a sign of rank or service.


thunderflash

(military) A pyrotechnic device that generates a loud noise, used to simulate battlefield conditions.


loadmaster

(military) The member of an aircrew responsible for the loading and internal stowage of heavy cargo (so as to minimise the disruption of the aircraft's trim).


antisub

British antisub countermeasures did not begin to show significant results until major reforms were instituted early in 1941.

1974, Clark G. Reynolds, Command of the sea: the history and strategy of maritime empires:


antiguerrilla

(military) Opposing or countering guerrillas.


terreplein

terrepleins (plural)
terre-plein (alternative)
terraplene (alternative)
teraplene (alternative)
terrepleine (alternative)
terraplana (alternative)
terraplane (alternative)
terraplain (alternative)
terreplaine (alternative)
terreplain (alternative)

Originally a borrowing of Italian terrapieno (“earth-fill(ed)”), later altered after the model of French terreplein (now terre-plein). Its former misspellings arose from confusion of the second element of the name with Italian piano or French plain, plane (“flat, level”) based on the appearance of the earth-filled central platforms of walls.

(obsolete military) The sloping earthen embankment behind a defensive wall.

(military) The level platform atop a wall, typically protected by a parapet and (strictly) distinguished from the slightly higher banquette used by its defenders.

(military) Any level base used by artillery in the field.


antiarmor

armored personnel carrier
armored personnel carrier

(military) Designed for attacking armored vehicles, such as tanks and armored personnel carriers.


batwoman

(UK, military) A female batman (servant)


battlegroup

(military) A grouping of several types of troops assembled to fight together.


ACP

(firearms) A class of handgun ammunition; Initialism of automatic Colt pistol.


zouave

Borrowed from Arabic زَوَاوِيّ (zawāwiyy).

bor+

The French soldiers, for whom this uniform was patterned and made, were, as a rule, much smaller in stature than the American soldier, and hence the imported zouave uniforms distributed, in many cases, were entirely too short for the many giants in stature in the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment.

1910, Under the Maltese Cross, Antietam to Appomattox: The Loyal Uprising in Western Pennsylvania, 1861-1865; Campaigns 155th Pennsylvania Regiment, Pittsburgh, PA: 155th Regimental Association, page 226:

During the Civil War in the United States, some of the Northern Volunteer regiments adpoted ^([sic]) the zouave uniforms and were known as zouaves.

1918, Grosvenor Library Bulletin, volume 1, number 1, Buffalo, NY: Grosvenor Library, page 19:

I also engaged a French zouave, named Bornet, belonging to the Third Regiment, whose term of service was just out.

1921, United States Naval Medical Bulletin, volume 15, Washington: United States Navy Government Printing Office, page 154:

(military, historical) a French soldier in the Union army of the Unites States civil war, or a Union soldier in a French soldier's uniform.


zero-zero

Test vehicles used during this extensive programme were a launching stand for the zero-zero ejections...

Both cockpits were enclosed under a large canopy and both crew sat on zero-zero ejector seats.

1988, René J. Francillon, McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920:

To lessen these forces, as well as achieve zero-zero seat capability—the ability to eject while sitting motionless on the ground—rocket sustainers were added.

2002, Walter J. Boyne, Air warfare: an international encyclopedia: Volume 1, page 190:

(aviation, military) Pertaining to the ejection of the occupant of an aircraft from a grounded stationary position (i.e. zero altitude and zero airspeed).

a zero-zero treaty

(military) Involving neither of two powers increasing their stockpile of nuclear weapons.


iron eagle

The term refers to the rank a colonel wears, which resembles an eagle.

(idiomatic, US, military) An American military officer who has attained the rank of colonel but will not be promoted to the rank of general.


regimental sergeant major

en-noun

regimental sergeant major (plural regimental sergeants major or regimental sergeant majors)

regimental sergeants major (plural)
regimental sergeant majors (plural)

warrant officer class 1
warrant officer class 1

(UK, Australia, army) The senior warrant officer in a regiment or battalion, usually a warrant officer class 1.


triarius

/tɹaɪˈɛəɹi.əs/

(military, historical of Ancient Rome) A veteran hoplite placed in the third rank in the early Roman military.


CSM

company sergeant major
company sergeant major#English

(Commonwealth, military) Initialism of company sergeant major.


LHX

light helicopter
light helicopter#English

(US, military, aviation) Initialism of light helicopter - experimental.


JSF

(aviation, military, US) Initialism of Joint Strike Fighter.


F/A

(US, military, aviation) fighter and attack aircraft (prefix)


NCIS

Naval Criminal Investigative Service
w:Naval Criminal Investigative Service

(military, US) Initialism of Naval Criminal Investigative Service.


running target

(firearms) A target that is towed across a range as the shooter shoots.


UNODIR

(military) Abbreviation of UNless Otherwise DIRected.


dead drop

(espionage) A location used to secretly transfer items between two people, without requiring them to meet.

dode brievenbus

location used to pass items between two people in secret

тайни́к

e,g, шпио́нский

(espionage) The act of leaving an item in such a location for another person to collect.


live drop

(espionage) A location where two people meet to exchange items or information.

postilaatikko

location used to exchange items or information


pavement artist

pavement artist (plural pavement artists)

(espionage) A specialist in outdoor surveillance as a pedestrian.

jalkamies

specialist of outdoor surveillance on foot


pocket litter

(espionage) Items in a spy's pocket (such as ticket stubs and coins) to make their cover seem more authentic.


wheel artist

(espionage) A specialist in outdoor surveillance in a vehicle.


eyes-only

(espionage, of documents) Meant to be read only, and not discussed, by the named recipient; classified.


ears-only

(espionage) Too secret to be put in writing; only to be transmitted orally.


non-official cover

non-official cover (plural non-official covers)

(espionage) The assumption of a covert role in an organization which does not have ties to the government of the operative in question.


official cover

(espionage) A cover which is a position at a governmental agency (e.g. posing as a member of the diplomatic service).


intelligence asset

intelligence asset (plural intelligence assets)

(espionage) Any resource by means of which intelligence is gathered.


burn notice

(espionage) An announcement of dismissal of an agent or source which an intelligence agency considers to have become unreliable.


senton

Being an idiot, I just now realized that the highspot of choice for the cool chubby worker is the Senton (or Cannonball as Ouilette refers to it).

1996 November 17, Dean&Angie, “Togo, Astro, A, B: wrestlings best fat guys”, in rec.sport.pro-wrestling (Usenet):

I guess at Smackdown one of the Hardy Boys pulls off a Senton Splash off the Big Show's shoulders.

1999 December 1, Brett Tennant, “Hardy's Senton off big show”, in alt.pro=wrestling.wwf (Usenet):

Technically, it's a somersault senton. The plain ol' senton is executed by leaping forward, almost past the target, and leaning back when you hit, which is why many call it a "senton back splash."

2000 May 10, Phil, “Senton Bomb or Swanton Bomb?”, in rec.sport.pro-wrestling (Usenet):

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

(professional wrestling) A variation of a splash in which a wrestler jumps, sometimes from a raised platform such as the top turnbuckle, and lands back first on an opponent lying below.


OPI

Please direct all suggestions to the OPI of the event, Mr. Smith.

(military, government) Initialism of office of primary interest.


triangular division

triangular division (plural triangular divisions)

(military) A division composed of three regiments.


square division

square division (plural square divisions)

(military) a division composed of four regiments

(military) a division composed of two brigades of two regiments each


striking distance

striking distance (countable and uncountable, plural striking distances)

"Nay, sir, a soldier, who is about to be posted within striking distance of his enemy, can never speak, with confidence, of separations that are to be short."

1845, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 19, in Satanstoe:

The two brigades at either end of the Boer lines had lost no chance of pushing in, and now they had come within striking distance.

1900, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Paardeberg”, in The Great Boer War, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 337:

(military) A distance at which a soldier, military force, vessel, etc. is sufficiently near to be able to attack an opponent.


MOCC

(US, military) Initialism of maintenance operations control center.


claykicker

(slang, historical, UK, military) A member of a tunnelling engineering squad in World War I.


MIC

MIC (countable and uncountable, plural MICs)

military-industrial complex
military-industrial complex#English

(military) Initialism of military-industrial complex.