scourge

From Middle English scourge (“a lash, whip, scourge; affliction, calamity; person who causes affliction or calamity; shoot of a vine”), and then either:
* from Anglo-Norman scorge, escorge, escurge, or Old French scurge, escourge, escorge, escorgiee, escurge (modern French escourgée (“(archaic) whip made of leather strips”)), either:
** from Vulgar Latin *excoriāta (“strip of hide; a scourge”), from Late Latin excoriāre, the present active infinitive of excoriō (“to strip the skin from, to skin”), from Latin ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’) + corium (“skin; hide, leather”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off, sever; to divide, separate”)); or
** from Latin ex- (intensifying prefix) + corrigia (“a whip”) (from corrigō (“to make right, correct; to reform”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to righten; to straighten”)); or
* from Middle English scourgen (verb) (see etymology 2).
Cognates
Italian scuriada, scuriata

col

Cognates

He flogged him with a scourge.

Yf they breake myne ordinaunces, and kepe not my commaundementes. I vil vyſet their offences with the rodde, and their ſynnes with ſcourges.

1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), Myles Coverdale, transl., Biblia: The Byble, […] (Coverdale Bible), [Cologne or Marburg]: [Eucharius Cervicornus and Johannes Soter?], →OCLC, Psalm lxxxviij:[31–32], folio xxvij, verso, column 1:

My father layd vpon you a heauie yoke, vvhich I vvil make heauier: my father bette you vvith ſcourges, but I vvil beate you vvith ſcorpions.

1609, The Holie Bible, […] (Douay–Rheims Bible), Doway: Lavrence Kellam, […], →OCLC, 2 Paralipomenon 10:11, page 886:

Up to coach then goes / Th' observed Maid, takes both the scourge and reins, / And to her side her handmaid straight attains.

1614–1615, Homer, “The Sixth Book of Homer’s Odysseys”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615, →OCLC; republished in The Odysseys of Homer, […], volume I, London: John Russell Smith, […], 1857, →OCLC, page 136, lines 111–113:

[H]eaven-born truth, / And moderation fair, vvere the red marks / Of ſuperſtition's ſcourge: […]

a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Winter”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC, page 204, lines 1059–1061:

Mortify / Your flesh, like me, with scourges and with thorns; / Smite, shrink not, spare not.

1833 (date written), Alfred Tennyson, “St. Simeon Stylites”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 61:

Another strange manifestation of collective mental abnormality, though not directly connected with sorcery, was the Brotherhood of Flagellants. […] These men lashed themselves and each other unmercifully with knotted leather scourges until the blood ran, two or three times daily.

1936, Rollo Ahmed, “The Church and Monastic Black Magic”, in The Black Art, London: Senate, Studio Editions, published 1994, →ISBN, page 99:

(weaponry, chiefly historical) A whip, often made of leather and having multiple tails; a lash.


dinette

(US, military, informal) A submarine's mess hall.


give in

en-verb

give in (third-person singular simple present gives in, present participle giving in, simple past gave in, past participle given in)

gives in (present singular third-person)
giving in (participle present)
gave in (past)
given in (participle past)

(boxing, of a pugilist) To droop the head.


Luftwaffe

Unadapted borrowing from German Luftwaffe (literally “air-weapon”).

ubor

Politicians insist that lockdown under coronavirus is like the experience of wartime. It’s not – except in one way, which I’ll come to. It’s so quiet, for one thing. War is noisy. Sirens, soldiers tramping past singing, Luftwaffe engines in the night sky.

2020 April 19, Neal Ascherson, “After the crisis, a new world won’t emerge as if by magic. We will have to fight for it”, in The Guardian:

Owing to its location at the entrance to the River Tyne, South Shields was of strategic importance in the Second World War, especially to the merchant navy, and the town was heavily hit by a Luftwaffe strike in October 1941.

2021 September 8, Dr Joseph Brennan, “Electric tramways at the heart of our seaside story”, in RAIL, number 939, page 57:

(military) The German air force, especially during the Second World War.

Люфтва́фэ

(military) the German air force, especially during the Second World War


facing

Red coats were worn by the King's Life Guards and Queen's Life Guards in 1645, while other regiments wore white, blue or grey. Prince Rupert's Footguards wore scarlet, and in Cromwell's army some wore scarlet coats with different facings.

1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 189:

(military, in the plural) The collar and cuffs of a military coat, commonly of a different colour from the rest of the coat.

(military, usually in the plural) The movement of soldiers by turning on their heels to the right, left, or about.


ninjutsu

(martial arts) A Japanese martial art that is a collection of techniques originally practiced for Japanese espionage purposes, and includes methods of gathering information, nondetection, avoidance, and misdirection techniques. Used by ninja (忍者).


honeypot

honeypots (plural)
honey pot (alternative)

From Middle English hwny pott; equivalent to honey + pot.

And the American Embassy in Moscow was infiltrated thanks to “honeypots,” Soviet women who seduced Marine guards.

1989, The Washingtonian, volume 24, page 25:

Perhaps in order to create his own, more controlled environment for debaucherie, he set up a house of prostitution with Gestapo funds, justifying it as a "honeypot" with which to ensnare unsuspecting foreign diplomats.

1996, John H. Waller, The Unseen War in Europe: Espionage and Conspiracy in the Second World War, Random House, →ISBN, page 226:

The NKVD uses attractive ballerinas for honeypot espionage.

2004, Richard C.S. Trahair, Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies, and Secret Operations, Greenwood Press, →ISBN, page 353:

(figuratively) Something or someone similarly sweet or enticing, particularly:

(espionage) A spy (typically attractive and female) who uses sex to trap and blackmail a target.


fruit salad

en-noun

fruit salad (countable and uncountable, plural fruit salads)

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

(military, slang) Awards worn on a military uniform.


barrage balloon

barrage balloon (plural barrage balloons)

(historical, military) A tethered balloon, attached to the ground with a metal cable, intended to deter low-flying enemy aircraft; used especially in World War II.

sulkupallo

tethered balloon for deterring enemy aircraft


negatory

/ˈnɛɡəˌtɔɹi/

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

From Medieval Latin negātōrius (possibly via Middle French negatoire), from Latin negātus.

Ah, you wanna give me a 10-9 on that, Pig Pen?
Negatory, Pig Pen, you're still too close.
Yeah, them hogs is startin' to close up my sinuses.
Mercy sake's, you better back off another ten.

1975, “Convoy”, in C.W. McCall, Chip Davis (lyrics), Black Bear Road, performed by C. W. McCall:

Dolores... was asking if he had crossed the Penobscot River in Medway yet. "That's a negatory on that one, Darlin'."

1991, Rick Hautala, Cold Whisper, page 421:


right wing

Only make the right wing strong.

The wing on the right side of some body, most commonly part of a pair:

(military) The rightward thrusting force of an advancing army.


circus

circus (plural circuses or (rare) circusses or (rare) circi)

circuses (plural)
circusses (plural rare)
circi (plural rare)

From Middle English circus, circo, from Latin circus (“ring, circle”), from Ancient Greek κρίκος (kríkos), κίρκος (kírkos, “ring”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”). Doublet of cirque. Cognate with Old English hring (whence English ring) and Old English hringsetl (“circus”, literally “ring-seat”).

cog

(military, World War II) A code name for bomber attacks with fighter escorts in the day time. The attacks were against short-range targets with the intention of occupying enemy fighters and keeping their fighter units in the area concerned.


breakthrough

breakthroughs (plural)
breakthru (alternative)

From break + through. Compare German Durchbruch and Dutch doorbraak (“breakthrough”, literally “through-break”).

gennembrud

(engineering) penetration of a physical barrier

(military) An advance through and past enemy lines.


FNG

2003: "Two agents in a dark blue sedan were waiting for me. One of them, Jim Heekin, took charge immediately, and also put me in my place. "You must be the FNG," he said as we shook hands." — https://web.archive.org/web/20050403063411/http://www.twbookmark.com/features/jamespatterson/chapters/bigbadwolf5.html

2004: "The other guy is hollering "F-N-G!" He's saying "Your FNG is here!" And I didn’t understand what FNG meant. I soon learned: Fucking New Guy. Or we called them Cherries, meaning brand-new guy in Vietnam." — https://web.archive.org/web/20050313164139/http://www.nyfolklore.org/pubs/voic30-3-4/warstr.html

2009: "The FNG here says that we have too much ammunition." District 9

"So, this isn't the first time new personnel have been improperly briefed on the special schedule for 8 September, but it is the first time it's been fatal. Sampi-5243 have our hands full dealing with the actual breach, and since we can't have random FNGs walking into our little anniversary party a bit of inter-Sectional cooperation would be a big help."

2020 July 24, HarryBlank, “SCP-5243”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 2024-09-02:

(chiefly US, military, slang) Initialism of fucking new guy.


escalade

en-verb

escalade (third-person singular simple present escalades, present participle escalading, simple past and past participle escaladed)

escalades (present singular third-person)
escalading (participle present)
escaladed (participle past)
escaladed (past)

Borrowed from Middle French escalade, from Italian scalata, from scalare (“to climb”), from scala (“ladder”), from Latin scālae (“ladder”). Doublet of scalade.

(military, dated) To scale the walls of a fortification.


tights

→ Japanese: タイツ (taitsu)

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

(wrestling) A garment, similar to briefs, worn chiefly by professional wrestlers.


scramble

scramble (third-person singular simple present scrambles, present participle scrambling, simple past and past participle scrambled)

scrambles (present singular third-person)
scrambling (participle present)
scrambled (participle past)
scrambled (past)

Origin uncertain. Perhaps from earlier dialectal scramble, scrammel (“to collect or rake together with the hands”), from scramb (“to pull or scrape together with the hands”) + -le (frequentative suffix) (compare Dutch schrammen (“to graze, brush, scratch”)); or alternatively from a nasalised form of scrabble (“to scrape or scratch quickly”).

lähettää

to quickly enter vehicles and proceed to destination

But on April 13 it 'scrambled' a rake of Mk 2s and dual-braked 'Black 5' 45212 to start its lucrative summer money-spinner two days later.

2024 May 1, “Network News: West Coast Railways runs 'Jacobite' with Mk 1 and Mk 2 combination”, in RAIL, number 1008, page 9:

(transitive, military, also by extension) To quickly deploy (vehicles, usually aircraft) to a destination in response to an alert, usually to intercept an attacking enemy.

As the planes scrambled, four of his veterans went up: Tom Lanphier, Rex Barber, Joe Moore and Jim McLanahan. They had waited with other Lightnings at 30,000 feet and dived on a formation of eleven Zeroes far below, working in pairs.

1969, Burke Davis, Get Yamamoto, page 115:

(intransitive, military) To be quickly deployed in this manner.


scramble

1984, Steve Harris, "Aces High", Iron Maiden, Powerslave.
There goes the siren that warns of the air raid / Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak / Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne / Got to get up for the coming attack.

(military) An emergency defensive air force mission to intercept attacking enemy aircraft.

interception

an emergency defensive air force mission


patrol

en-noun

patrol (countable and uncountable, plural patrols)

From French patrouille, from Old French patrouille, patouille (“a night-watch”, literally “a tramping about”), from patrouiller, patouiller, patoiller (“to paddle or pudder in water, dabble with the feet, begrime, besmear”), from patte, pate (“paw, foot of an animal”), from Vulgar Latin *patta (“paw, foot”), from Frankish *patta (“paw, sole of the foot”), from Proto-Germanic *paþjaną, *paþōną (“to walk, tread, go, step, pace”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pent-, *(s)pat- (“path; to walk”), a variant of Proto-Indo-European *pent-, *pat- (“path; to go”); see find. Cognate with Dutch pad, patte (“paw”), Low German pedden (“to step, tread”), German patschen (“to splash, smack, dabble, waddle”), German Patsche (“a swatter, beater, paw, puddle, mire”). Related to pad, path.

cog

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-patrol.wav

Four members of the squadron were on patrol.

The watch consisted of twelve convicts—men selected for their good behaviour. Immediately after tattoo had beat they began their patrol. 'No complaint was ever made of them,' remarks Phillip, and they were expressly cautioned to avoid disputes with soldiers or seamen ( many of whom were as great thieves as the convicts themselves).

1899, Louis Becke, Walter Jeffery, Admiral Phillip, Chapter 7:

(military) A going of the rounds along the chain of sentinels and between the posts, by a guard, usually consisting of three or four men, to insure greater security from attacks on the outposts.

(military) A movement, by a small body of troops beyond the line of outposts, to explore the country and gain intelligence of the enemy's whereabouts.

دَوْرِيَّة

movement by a small body of troops beyond the line of outposts

After cordial good-bye to our hospitable hostess we motored back to Chaumont where we dined with Colonel Mitchell; and then with another long drive we finally reached home tired but happy at 3.30 in the morning. There staring me in the face was an order directing me to lead my patrol over the lines in the morning at five o'clock, sharp! An hour and a half sleep for an utterly worn out aviator!

1919, Eddie Rickenbacker, “Chapter 7”, in Fighting the Flying Circus:

(military) The guards who go the rounds for observation; a detachment whose duty it is to patrol.


squadron

squadrons (plural)
to: sqn (abbreviation)

(military, historical, army) A body of cavalry comprising two companies or troops, averaging from one hundred and twenty to two hundred soldiers.

(military) A body of infantrymen made up of several platoons, averaging from eighty to one hundred and fifty men, and led by a captain or a major.

the North Atlantic Squadron

(military, navy) A detachment of vessels employed on any particular service or station, under the command of the senior officer

(military, air force) A tactical air force unit; consists of at least two flights; multiple squadrons make up a group or wing (depending on particular air force).

سرب طيران

air force: tactical unit of at least two flights

(US, military, U.S. Space Force) A spaceforce unit; multiple squadrons make up an operations delta or a support garrison.


salute

Borrowed from Latin salūtō (“to greet; to wish health to”), from salūs (“greeting, good health”), related to salvus (“safe”).

bor

(military, nautical) A discharge of cannon or similar arms, as a mark of honour or respect.


parade

en-noun

parade (countable and uncountable, plural parades)

parades (plural)
Pde (alternative)
parad (alternative)

→ Hindi: परैड (paraiḍ)

→ Urdu: پریڈ (paraiḍ)

From French parade (“an ostentatious display, a military display”), from parer (“to beautify, prepare, take pride in”) + -ade probably under influence from earlier Italian parata (“preparation, a military parade, an ostentatious display”) and Latin magnō parātū (“with great preparation”). Various senses similarly influenced by earlier French and Italian uses. Doublet of pare.

der

There is left round about the circuit of the whole quarter, a parallell on all sides some 200, or 250 foote betweene the front of the quarter and the trench, called an Alarme Place, for the souldiers to draw out into Armes, into Parade, or when any Alarme or commotion happens...

1642, Henry Hexham, The Principles of Art Military, volume II, page 31:

And from thir Ivorie Port the Cherubim
Forth issuing at th’accustomd hour stood armd
To thir night watches in warlike Parade,
When Gabriel to his next in power thus spake...

1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 779-782:

See how the Flow’rs, as at Parade,
Under their Colours stand displaid:
Each Regiment in order grows,
That of the Tulip Pinke and Rose.

1681, Andrew Marvell, “Upon Appleton House...”, Miscellaneous Poems, p. 87, St. 39

The next night the soldiers began teaching the girls to dance... Claude saw that a good deal was going on, and he lectured his men at parade. But he realized that he might as well scold at the sparrows.

1922, Willa Cather, chapter 17, in One of Ours:

Verrall... seldom put on his uniform for morning parade, not thinking it necessary with mere Military Policemen.

1934 October, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], “Ch. 18”, in Burmese Days, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, →OCLC:

A military parade is really a kind of ritual dance, something like a ballet, expressing a certain philosophy of life. The goose-step, for instance, is one of the most horrible sights in the world, far more terrifying than a dive-bomber. It is simply an affirmation of naked power; contained in it, quite consciously and intentionally, is the vision of a boot crashing down on a face. Its ugliness is part of its essence...

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

An organized display of a group of people, particularly

(military) Synonym of military parade: A show of troops, an assembly of troops as a show of force, to receive orders, or especially for inspection at set times.

military parade

Parade, is a Military word, signifying the Place where Troops usually draw together, in order to mount the Guards, or for any other Service.

1704, John Harris, Lexicon Technicum, Vol. I, s.v:

When Barracks are occupied by Troops, the Yards and Parades are to be swept, rolled, and kept clean by them.

1844, The Queen's Regulations & Orders for the Army, page 240:

A place reserved for such displays, particularly

(military, now uncommon) Synonym of parade ground: A place specially designated for such displays or for practicing close-order drills.

parade ground

The Commanding Officer is then to direct the Parade to Order Arms.

1844, The Queen's Regulations & Orders for the Army, page 260:

The people who make up such a display, particularly

(military, now uncommon) The body of soldiers thus assembled.


Atlas

en-proper noun

Atlas (countable and uncountable, plural Atlases)

From Latin Ā̆tlās, from Ancient Greek Ἄτλας (Átlas), either from ἁ- (ha-, copulative prefix) + Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“bear, undergo, endure”) or of Pre-Greek origin.

der

(astronautics, military, US) An SM-65, an early ICBM, soon developed into a long-lived orbital launch vehicle series.


Atlas

(astronautics, military, US) A particular model or individual specimen of the Atlas missile and launch vehicle line.


Aurora

/ʔaʊ̯ˈɾo.ɾɐ/

Aurora (disambiguation)
Gérard de Lairesse
Manuel Quezon

Ultimately from Latin Aurōra. The Philippine placenames were named after First Lady Aurora Quezon, the wife of Pres. Manuel Quezon, the 2nd president of the Philippines.

(naval) the Russian cruiser Aurora, a cruiser of Soviet Navy.


Beast

Plebes spend their first summer at Cadet Basic Training — Beast Barracks — where they get soldierized.

2014, David Lipsky, Absolutely American: Four Years at West Point, page 8:

I was able to keep up with the herd and evade the Beast. Cadet Basic Training ended with a rigorous twenty four-hour exercise that included a twelve-mile, rite-of-passage road march to West Point […]

2019, Conrad Taylor, PATH to FREEDOM: My Story of Perseverance:

(US, military, slang) A cadet's basic training at West Point.


Doc

Doc was awarded a Navy Cross after she ran through a minefield to get to an injured marine.

(slang, United States military) A common form of address for combat medics, especially naval hospital corpsmen.


Fred

(military, slang) The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, a military transport aircraft widely used by USAF aircrews.


Grey

(UK, military, historical, chiefly in the plural) A member of the Royal Scots Greys, a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 to 1971.


Hummer

"The vehicle is called the 'Hummer,' a contrived abbreviation of its official designation, 'High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.'"

1985, Andy Rooney, Pieces of my Mind, →ISBN, page 38:

"The Hummer, a clumsy, elongated vehicle the Army intended as a replacement for the hardy Jeep, developed so many problems it became known as the Bummer."

1985, James Coates, Michael Kilian, Heavy Losses: The Dangerous Decline of American Defense, →ISBN, page 25:

"He made a point of not taking federal money for the district -- though by 1986 he was bragging about landing an Army contract to build the Hummer vehicle for a South Bend company."

1987, Michael Barone, Grant Ujifusa, The Almanac of American Politics, 1988, →ISBN, page 403:

"A Hummer can carry four people."

1994, World Book Inc., “Jeep”, in World Book Encyclopedia, vol. J, →ISBN, page 25:

(military, slang) The HMMWV or Humvee, a US Army vehicle which replaced the Jeep.


Humvee

Derived from the attempt to pronounce the acronym HMMWV: The 'High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle.'

We went out into the streets of Zafaraniya, travelling in the usual two-Humvee convoy, complete with gunners.

Stores, dealerships, galleries struggled to satisfy the skyrocketing demand for ever more recherché produce: limited-edition olive oils, three-hundred-dollar corkscrews, customized Humvees, the latest anti-virus software, escort services featuring contortionists and twins, video installations, outsider art, featherlight shawls made from the chin-fluff of extinct mountain goats.

2001, Salman Rushdie, Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 3:

(US, military) A diesel-powered, four-wheel drive tactical military vehicle that can carry a wide variety of military hardware.


John

Johns (plural)
Jon (alternative)
Joh. (alternative abbreviation rare)

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

From Middle English John, Johan, Johannes, from Anglo-Norman Jehan, Johan, and also Old English Iohannes, both from Late Latin Iōhannēs, variant of Latin Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Biblical Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yôḥānān), perhaps contracted from a former יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān, “God is gracious”).
Doublet of Jack, Jon, Johan, Johann, Johannes, Jean, Sean, Shane, Shaun, Ian, Ivan, Evan, Juan, Giovanni, and Yahya.

doublet

I and the other "Johns," as I soon discovered all new-comers at Sandhurst were, and are still, styled, although at the time I was unconscious of it, managed to troop in after the A company, but although not two minutes after them, found all the different messes already seated and hard at work.

To avoid bullying, first-year “Johns” (from Johnny Raw) “fagged” for senior classmen known as “Regs.” Fagging included making beds, running messages, and smuggling contraband.

(UK, military, slang) A new recruit at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.


Legion

(US, military) Ellipsis of American Legion.


Maxim

Maxims (plural)
Maxim gun (alternative)
maxim gun (alternative)
maxim (alternative)

* (machine guns): After the inventor Sir Hiram Maxim (1840-1916).

Again we went on, and climbed the false immensity of another ridge, when several rifles and a maxim opened upon us, and very close they were.

1928, Edmund Blunden, Undertones of War, Penguin, published 2010, page 104:

(firearms) The Maxim gun, a British machine gun of various calibres used by the British army from 1889 until World War I.

(firearms) Any machine gun that derives from the design pattern of Maxim's patented design

(firearms, informal, obsolete) A machine gun


P

en-noun

P (countable and uncountable, plural Ps)

(US, military, aviation) Initialism of patrol. A patrol aircraft, a patroller.


Patriot

(US, military) A surface-to-air missile system.


Pip

An allusion to the newspaper cartoon strip Pip, Squeak and Wilfred.

(UK, military, World War I, slang) The 1914 Star or 1914–15 Star medal.


Tomahawk

U.S. Navy surface ships launching Tomahawks against Chinese targets would thus have to approach within China's antiship-missile perimeter to bring their missiles in range (more on this in chapter 4).

2022, Robert J Haddick, Fire on the Water: China, America, and the Future of the Pacific, second edition, Naval Institute Press, →ISBN, page 69:

(military) The BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM), a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile with stubby wings, which can be launched from a ship or submarine.


U

en-adj

U (not generally comparable, comparative Uer, superlative Uest)

An abbreviation of a word or term beginning with the letter U. Adjective sense 1 (“characteristic of the upper classes”) was coined by British linguist Alan S. C. Ross (1907–1980) in a 1954 article, and popularized by the English journalist and writer Nancy Mitford (1904–1973).

(not comparable, education, espionage) Usually in parentheses: abbreviation of unclassified.


RAAF

Royal Australian Air Force
w:Royal Australian Air Force

(Australia, military, aviation) Initialism of Royal Australian Air Force.


MAC

Military Airlift Command
w:Military Airlift Command

(US military) Acronym of Military Airlift Command, formerly, one of three former divisions of the US airforce, the others being SAC and TAC.


MAC

en-noun

MAC (countable and uncountable, plural MACs)

merchant aircraft carrier
w:merchant aircraft carrier

(military, nautical, aviation, historical) Initialism of merchant aircraft carrier.


DB

(US, military) Initialism of depot brigade.


interdict

en-verb

interdict (third-person singular simple present interdicts, present participle interdicting, simple past and past participle interdicted)

interdicts (present singular third-person)
interdicting (participle present)
interdicted (participle past)
interdicted (past)

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

Grant did not cease his efforts to interdict Lee's supply lines and break through the defenses.

1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, Oxford, published 2004, page 756:

(transitive, US, military) To impede (an enemy); to interrupt or destroy (enemy communications, supply lines etc).


brigade

(military) Military unit composed of several regiments (or battalions) and including soldiers from different arms of service.


fanny

The British naval slang sense derives from Fanny Adams. Tins of mutton introduced as rations were not liked by the sailors and were taken by them to contain the butchered remains of Fanny Adams who had been brutally murdered and dismembered. The tins were re-used for eating from and cooking with.

I put on a big fanny of Ky, that is a straight-sided pot of cocoa for them returning.

2005, Patrick Halliday, Survival, page 24:

(UK, naval slang) Mess kettle or cooking pot.


napoleon

en-noun

napoleon (countable and uncountable, plural napoleons)

napoleons (plural)
Napoleon (alternative)

/nəˈpəʊlɪən/

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

bor

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

napoleon

12-pounder cannon of the Second French Empire


CB

en-noun

CB (countable and uncountable, plural CBs)

(military, historical) The United States Navy hull classification symbol for a large cruiser.

construction battalion
construction battalion#English

(military) Initialism of construction battalion.

confined to barracks
confined to barracks#English

(British military) Initialism of confined to barracks.


CB

‘Twenty days C.B.,’ said one. ‘Twenty years, more likely,’ said another.

1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York, published 2007, page 133:

(military, initialism) confined to barracks (a punishment in the army).


CG

guided missile cruiser
guided missile cruiser

(US, military, nautical) A guided missile cruiser.

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of coast guard.


DD

DD (countable and uncountable, plural DDs)

(US, military, nautical) Abbreviation of destroyer, a type of warship.

dishonorable discharge
dishonorable discharge#English

(military) Initialism of dishonorable discharge.


blivet

Unknown; seems to have been coined by American soldiers in World War Two.

(military) A portable, collapsible container for liquid fuel.


hit home

en-verb

hit home (third-person singular simple present hits home, present participle hitting home, simple past and past participle hit home)

hits home (present singular third-person)
hitting home (participle present)
hit home (participle past)
hit home (past)

This revised situation doesn't go well for poor old Nagato. Whilst curls of smoke and scorch marks along the hulls and superstructures of Washington and Alabama do tell of some Japanese shells hitting home, neither of them seem particularly perturbed by this. Instead, their fire begins to overhaul the Japanese battleship, and, sooner or later, another salvo of 16-inch shells - no one's quite sure whether it comes from Alabama or Washington - smashes into the base of the superfiring aft turret.

2021 May 5, Drachinifel, 32:32 from the start, in Battle of Samar - What if TF34 was there?, archived from the original on 2022-08-08:

(of an attack, weapon, or projectile) To strike its target with damaging effect.


residency

en-noun

residency (countable and uncountable, plural residencies)


take on

en-verb

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

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

(intransitive, UK, military) To enlist into military service.


standee

(military) A kind of stackable bunk for sleeping.


snafu

snafu (third-person singular simple present snafus, present participle snafuing, simple past and past participle snafued)

snafus (present singular third-person)
snafuing (participle present)
snafued (participle past)
snafued (past)

(military, slang) To screw up, fuck up, or foul up.


snapshot

How quick the eye and hand to catch him [the ruffed grouse] when he rises from the underbrush and is out of sight in the wood before the untrained sportsman stops him with what is little more than a snapshot, so instantaneously must all be done!

1892, Stanley Waterloo, A Man and a Woman:

(firearms) A quick offhand shot, made without deliberately taking aim over the sights.


breakaway

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

From break + away, a deverbal from break away.

2011, Colleen Aycock and Mark Scott (eds.), The First Black Boxing Champions: Essays on Fighters of the 1800s to the 1920s, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., Appendix: The Great Fights, George Dixon vs. Jack Skelly (September 6, 1892), p. 262,
The gong sounded almost immediately after the breakaway.

(boxing) The act of getting away from one's opponent; the separation of the boxers after a spell of infighting.


ER

en-noun

ER (countable and uncountable, plural ERs)

(military) Initialism of enhanced radiation.


padding

padding (countable and uncountable, plural paddings)

(military, cryptography) Extraneous text added to a message for the purpose of concealing its beginning, ending, or length.


tiller

From Middle English teler, from Anglo-Norman telier (“beam used in weaving”), from Medieval Latin telarium, from Latin tēla (“web”).

der

You can shoot in a tiller.

c. 1608–1610, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “Philaster: Or, Love Lies a Bleeding”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679, →OCLC, Act II, scene ii:

(archery) The stock; a beam on a crossbow carved to fit the arrow, or the point of balance in a longbow.


AE

• APO/FPO AE ZIPs 094-098 — Space Available Mail, Nov. 26; Parcel Airlift Mail, Dec. 3; Priority Mail, Dec. 10; First Class Mail Letters and Cards, Dec.10 and Express Mail Military Service, Dec. 18.
• APO/FPO AA ZIP 340 — Space Available Mail, Nov. 26; Parcel Airlift Mail, Dec. 3; Priority Mail, Dec. 10; First Class Mail Letters and Cards, Dec. 10 and Express Mail Military Service, Dec. 18.
• APO/FPO AP ZIPs 962-966 — Space Available Mail, Nov. 26; Parcel Airlift Mail, Dec. 3; Priority Mail, Dec. 10; First Class Mail Letters and Cards, Dec. 10 and Express Mail Military Service, Dec. 18.

2010 October 29, Bill Shrum, “Shipping to soldiers for the holidays”, in Stuttgart (Arkansas) Daily Leader:

(US, military) USPS military code of Armed Forces – Europe.


secco

(Australia, military) Section commander, an infantry soldier responsible for about 8 other soldiers.


ploy

en-verb

ploy (third-person singular simple present ploys, present participle ploying, simple past and past participle ployed)

ploys (present singular third-person)
ploying (participle present)
ployed (participle past)
ployed (past)

Troops drawn up so as to show an extended front, with slight depth, are said to be deployed; when the depth is considerable and the front comparatively small, they are said to be in ployed formation.

1881, Thomas Wilhelm, A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer:

(military) To form a column from a line of troops on some designated subdivision.


squib

Possibly imitative of a small explosion.

unk

Possibly

English Navy squibs set fire to two dozen enemy ships in a Dutch harbor during the 16th-century battle against the Spanish Armada.

The making and selling of fireworks and squibs, or throwing them about on any street, is […] punishable by fine.

1769, William Blackstone, “Of Offences Against the Public Health and the Public Police or Economy”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book IV (Of Public Wrongs), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 531:

(military) A small firework that is intended to spew sparks rather than explode.

(firearms) A malfunction in which the fired projectile does not have enough force behind it to exit the barrel, and thus becomes stuck.


echelon

Borrowed from French échelon (“rung; echelon”), from échelle (“ladder”) + -on (diminutive suffix). Échelle is derived from Latin scāla (“ladder”), from scandō (“to ascend, climb”), from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to jump”).

The troops selected by his Royal Highness for this daring exploit, consisted of the war battalions of the 3d, 6th, and 7th regiments of the Royal Guard, forming the first echelon, […]

1833 October, “a royalist”, “Sketches of the War of the French in Spain in the Year 1823”, in The United Service Journal and Naval and Military Magazine, part III, number 59, London: Published for Henry Colburn, by Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street, →OCLC, page 183:

The order in echelons is favorable for attack, because it readily conforms to the nature of the ground, and does not necessitate engaging more than a part of the forces; it is adopted for the purpose of attacking a particular point of the enemy's line.

1863, Ed. [Édouard] De La Barre Duparcq, “Infantry Formation and Tactics”, in George W[ashington] Cullum, transl., Elements of Military Art and History: Comprising the History and Tactics of the Separate Arms; the Combination of the Arms; and the Minor Operations of War, New York, N.Y.: D[avid] Van Nostrand, 192 Broadway, page 84:

As soon as the infantry had replenished their ammunition, they wheeled to the left in échelon of brigades, and began to march towards Surgham ridge. The movements of a great force are slow. It was not desirable that the British division, which led the échelon, should remain in the low ground north of Surgham—where it was commanded, had no field of fire, and could see nothing—and accordingly both these brigades moved forward almost together to occupy the crest of the ridge.

1899, Winston Spencer Churchill, “The Battle of Omdurman: September 2, 1898”, in F[rancis] Rhodes, editor, The River War: An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan [...] In Two Volumes, volume II, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 89 Paternoster Row, →OCLC, pages 145–146:

“The first echelon of the Russian force was stuck without heat, without oil, without bombs and without gas. And it all happened because of the work of 30 people,” Honchar said.

2022 March 28, Julian Borger, quoting Yaroslav Honchar, “The drone operators who halted Russian convoy headed for Kyiv”, in The Guardian:

(military) A formation of troops, ships, etc., in diagonal parallel rows.


echelon

en-verb

echelon (third-person singular simple present echelons, present participle echeloning, simple past and past participle echeloned)

echelons (present singular third-person)
echeloning (participle present)
echeloned (participle past)
echeloned (past)

July 1, Montcalm made a movement in advance, echeloning his troops from Fort Carillon to the foot of Lake George, to curb the enemy, and obstruct their landing.

1860, François-Xavier Garneau, “Battle of Carillon (Ticonderoga). 1758.”, in Andrew Bell, transl., History of Canada, from the Time of Its Discovery till the Union Year (1840–1): Translated from “L’Histoire du Canada” of F. X. Garneau, Esq., and Accompanied with Illustrative Notes, etc., etc. … In Three Volumes, volume II, Montreal, Que.: Printed and published by John Lovell, St. Nicholas Street, →OCLC, page 205:

Behind the 17th Panzer Division the corps echeloned the main force of its other division, the 16th Panzer Division.

1968, Earl F[rederick] Ziemke, “Offensives on Both Flanks—the South Flank”, in Stalingrad to Berlin: The German Defeat in the East (Army Historical Series), Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, U.S. Army, →OCLC; republished Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, 2002, →OCLC, page 225:

(transitive, military) To form troops into an echelon.


kevlar

en-noun

kevlar (countable and uncountable, plural kevlars)

(countable, US, slang, military) A piece of personal protective equipment made from Kevlar, such as a helmet or a vest.


PD

PD (countable and uncountable, plural PDs)

... 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

(U.S. military) Abbreviation of period (full stop) punctuation mark, used in communication systems without punctuation (e.g., telegrams).


RV

RVs (plural)
RV's (plural)
R.V. (alternative)
R.V. (alternative)
R. V. (alternative)
R/V (alternative)
r.v. (alternative)

RV point

Once all mounted up, the two multiples sped off to the emergency RV point.

2007 Pte John Catterson, Army The Soldiers Newspaper, The Australian Army (Retrieved 14 July 2009)

(military) Abbreviation of rendezvous, a position where units are to meet.


RV

en-verb

RV (third-person singular simple present RVs or RV's, present participle RVing or RV'ing or RV-ing, simple past and past participle RVed or RV'd or RV'ed)

RVs (present singular third-person)
RV's (present singular third-person)
RVing (participle present)
RV'ing (participle present)
RV-ing (participle present)
RVed (participle past)
RVed (past)
RV'd (participle past)
RV'd (past)
RV'ed (participle past)
RV'ed (past)

We'll RV at the crossroads in Brandon at twenty hundred.


TOS

taken on strength
take on strength#English

(Commonwealth, military, historical) Initialism of taken on strength.


conical

(firearms) A bullet with a conical shape.


fugazi

Origin unknown; a number of possibilities have been suggested:
* One theory is that it is a corruption of French fougasse (“type of land mine”); flame fougasses were used extensively in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
* Less plausibly, it might be from English fugacious (“fleeting”) or cognates such as Italian fugace (“fleeting”).
* It has also been suggested that it could be an acronym of “fucked up, got ambushed, zipped in [a body bag]”, but this is more likely a backronym, not the origin (compare FUBAR).

The two of them were getting bombed on bami-bam, beer, and joints laced with opium. That made answers to questions a long time in coming. "Hey, man, what the fuck can I tell you," said Robbie finally. "All fugazi over here. All fucked up. Number ten. The worst. Don't matter what goes down in this asshole country, know what I mean? Hey, papa-san, don't believe everything you hear, okay?"

1982, Marc Olden, chapter 7, in Giri, New York, N.Y.: Arbor House, →ISBN; republished [New York, N.Y.]: MysteriousPress.com/Open Road Integrated Media, 2012, →ISBN:

We didn't know anything was fugazi* until we got to a certain place in the South China Sea. A loudspeaker came over the air, "This is your captain speaking. Be advised that your destination is Da Nang, Republic of Vietnam."

1986, Mark Baker, Nam: The Vietnam War in the Words of the Men and Women Who Fought, New York, N.Y.: Berkley Books, →ISBN, page 32:

First time I met her. we were stuck on recon. far from the AO. deep in Indian country. the ops completely fugazi. the horn dead. and my BTO sick as skunkrot. She comes creeping by our ditch.

2008, Audrey Shafer, The Mailbox, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN, page 67:

(US, chiefly military, especially during the Vietnam War era, slang) Fucked up; broken, damaged beyond repair.


OTC

Officers Training Corps
w:Officers Training Corps

(military) Initialism of Officers Training Corps (part of the British Army)


PT

en-noun

PT (countable and uncountable, plural PTs)

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of patrol torpedo.

(US, military, aviation) Initialism of patrol trainer (“a trainer that is also a patrol aircraft”).


KO

Initialism of knock out.
Initialism of kick-off.


KO

en-verb

KO (third-person singular simple present KOs or KO's, present participle KOing or KO'ing, simple past and past participle KOed or KO'd)

KOs (present singular third-person)
KO's (present singular third-person)
KOing (participle present)
KO'ing (participle present)
KOed (participle past)
KOed (past)
KO'd (participle past)
KO'd (past)

Joe KO'd the opposing boxer.

(transitive, boxing) To knock someone out, to render someone unconscious.


bowman

From Middle English boweman, bouman, boughman, equivalent to bow + -man.

Coordinate term: bowwoman

The whole londe ſhal fle, foꝛ the noyſe of the hoꝛſmen and bowmen: […]

1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), Myles Coverdale, transl., Biblia: The Byble, […] (Coverdale Bible), [Cologne or Marburg]: [Eucharius Cervicornus and Johannes Soter?], →OCLC, Jeremy [Jeremiah] iiij:[29], folio xxv, verso, column 2:

The walls are slitted with embrasures through which bowmen could fire, indicating that the belfry also served as a stronghold during border skirmishes.

1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 311, about the church at Pembridge:

(archery) A man who uses a bow; an archer.


WP

white phosphorus
white phosphorus#English

(military) Initialism of white phosphorus.

(military) Initialism of weapons procurement.


RFC

(aviation, military, historical) Initialism of Royal Flying Corps (previous title of the Royal Air Force)


AAP

(military, NATO) Initialism of Allied Administrative Publication.


RSC

en-noun

RSC (countable and uncountable, plural RSCs)

(boxing) Initialism of referee stops the contest.


AMC

Air Mobility Command
w:Air Mobility Command

(US military) Initialism of Air Mobility Command.


MRE

After first trying an M.R.E. at age 8 — his father bought him one from an Army supply store in Lakewood, Fla., where Mr. Thomas still lives — he became obsessed with tracking down rations from various countries and eras. […] Still, M.R.E.s are far from mainstream.

2021 June 8, Priya Krishna, “Unloved by Generations of Soldiers, the M.R.E. Finds a Fan Base”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 2021-06-08:

(US military) Initialism of Meal, Ready-to-Eat: an individual field ration used by the US military


OHA

Overseas Housing Allowance
w:Overseas Housing Allowance

(military, US) Initialism of Overseas Housing Allowance.


heavyweight

(uncountable, boxing) The professional boxing weight class for boxers weighing more than 190 pounds; a boxer in that division.


hace

Intentional mispronunciation of face, as per harch and ten-hut.

Right hace!

(military, marching band, when preceded by a direction) A command to turn to face in a particular direction.

marching band; when preceded by a direction; marching band; when preceded by a direction


ruffle

From Middle English ruffelen, perhaps from Old Norse hrufla (“to graze, scratch”) or Middle Low German ruffelen (“to wrinkle, curl”). Further origin unknown. Related to Middle Dutch ruyffelen, German Low German ruffeln. See English ruff.

unk

unknown

(military) A low, vibrating beat of a drum, quieter than a roll; a ruff.


ruffle

en-verb

ruffle (third-person singular simple present ruffles, present participle ruffling, simple past and past participle ruffled)

ruffles (present singular third-person)
ruffling (participle present)
ruffled (participle past)
ruffled (past)

unk

unknown

(military) To beat with the ruff or ruffle, as a drum.


TBS

(military, US) Initialism of The Basic School.


WW

WWs (plural)
W.W. (alternative)
w.w. (alternative)

(World War I military slang) Initialism of wild woman, i.e. prostitute.


GI

Soldiers counted cadence by chanting: “GI brush / And GI comb / Gee, I wish that I was home!”

(military) Initialism of general issue. Given to a soldier by the army (as an item), rather than brought from home; or used by the army (as a procedure), and different from its civilian counterpart.


GI

en-noun

GI (countable and uncountable, plural GIs)

Alternative form: G.I.

(military) A member of the U.S. military.


GI

en-verb

GI (third-person singular simple present GIs, present participle GIing, simple past and past participle GIed)

GIs (present singular third-person)
GIing (participle present)
GIed (participle past)
GIed (past)
G.I. (alternative)

Top, get the unit to GI this AO before the old man arrives.

Afterwards, a lifer noncom would go ape shit over his low-speed high-drag peons and plan a GI party, sometimes giving his half-stepping shamurai warriors instructions about dust bunnies and getting everything dress right dress while adjusting their headspace and timing in the front leaning rest position.

2013, Scott Haraburda, Christian Controversies: Seeking the Truth, page 237:


rouse

rouses (plural)
rouze (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English rousen, from Anglo-Norman reuser, ruser, originally used in English of hawks shaking the feathers of the body, from Latin recūsō, by loss of the medial 'c.' Doublet of recuse.
Figurative meaning “to stir up, provoke to activity” is from 1580s; that of “awaken” is first recorded 1590s.

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-rouse.wav

(military, British and Canada) The sounding of a bugle in the morning after reveille, to signal that soldiers are to rise from bed, often the rouse.


guerrilla

en-adj

guerrilla (comparative more guerrilla, superlative most guerrilla)

more guerrilla (comparative)
most guerrilla (superlative)
guerilla (alternative)

Borrowed from Spanish guerrilla, diminutive of guerra (“war”), coined during the Peninsular War.

Wherever Nicholson was most wanted, there he was sure to be found. What his life was at this time may be seen from a letter he wrote to his mother: 'I am leading a very guerrilla sort of life with seven hundred horse and foot raised among the people of the country. The chieftain who is in rebellion has eight regular regiments and sixteen guns, so that I am unable to meet them openly in the field.'

1908, George Devereux Oswell, chapter VII, in Sketches of Rulers of India, volume I, page 127:

On the other hand, after the fall of Feng Ling Tu, the operations of Central Shansi, and Suiyuan, troops were more guerrilla than orthodox in nature.

1963, Samuel B. Griffith (translator), Mao Zedong, The Red Book of Guerrilla Warfare, edited by Shawn Conners, published 2010, page 14, original 1937

The Slovak uprising in the latter days was not guerrilla in character, which, incidentally, may have been one of the reasons for its failure.

1976, Walter Laqueur, Guerrilla Warfare, page 205:

(military) Relating to, using, or typical of guerrilla warfare, or its principles of small independent or non-official perpetrators.


BCD

(military) Initialism of bad-conduct discharge.


KP

en-noun

KP (countable and uncountable, plural KPs)

(military) Initialism of kitchen police/patrol (enlisted person assigned to assist in the kitchen, or the role itself)


NCAP

NCAP (countable and uncountable, plural NCAPs)

(military) Initialism of night combat air patrol.


FAA

(military, nautical, aviation) Initialism of Fleet Air Arm (carrier-borne air force of the U.K.'s Royal Navy).


ATF

ATF (countable and uncountable, plural ATFs)

(US, military, aviation) Initialism of advanced tactical fighter.

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of auxiliary tugboat fleet.; a naval fleet tugboat, a fleet tug that can keep up with a fleet on operations


ARV

armored recovery vehicle
w:armoured recovery vehicle

(military) Initialism of armored recovery vehicle.


ACE

ACE (countable and uncountable, plural ACEs)

human recombinant soluble angiotensin-converting enzyme 2

(military, NATO) Initialism of air combat element.

aviation combat element
w:aviation combat element

(military, USMC) Initialism of aviation combat element.


PAC

(military) Abbreviation of Pacific. (Pacific Ocean)


LL

(US, military) Short for lesson learned.


flamer

A Navy fighter was on the tail of a Jap dive bomber that was headed for the ships in the bay, and he nailed him at about 5,000 feet and made a flamer of him.

1945, The International Blue Printer, volume 18, page 26:

Fellows who didn't enjoy their breakfast unless they'd crept up behind some foolish Hun, put twenty rounds in his petrol tank and made a flamer of him.


tactical

(firearms) Having a military appearance, typically with accessories such as a bipod, adjustable stock, detachable magazine or black coloration.


Tail End Charlie

Tail End Charlie (plural Tail End Charlies)

Tail End Charlies (plural)
Tail-End Charlie (alternative)

(military, slang) The man guarding the rear of a patrol.


JAG

JAG (countable and uncountable, plural JAGs)

Of the three JAGs who were dismissed, I know Lt. Gen. Charles Plummer and worked with him for more than three years.

2025 February 24, Frank Kendall, “America Has a Rogue President”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US military, law) Acronym of judge advocate general


ATO

ATO (countable and uncountable, plural ATOs)

ammunition technical officer
ammunition technical officer#English

(military) Acronym of ammunition technical officer.

(military, Ukraine) Acronym of anti-terrorist operation.


TTP

TTP (countable and uncountable, plural TTPs)

The cyber operation began and used the same malware and TTPs from the Crimea.

2018, Kha M. Nguyen, Learning to Mow Grass: IDF Adaptations to Hybrid Threats, page 33:

Al Qaeda used email as a TTP to communicate with what they called their ‘link man’ to bring the plot to fruition (Silber 2012, 163).

2022, John Michael Weaver, The U.S. Cybersecurity and Intelligence Analysis Challenges, Springer Nature, →ISBN, page 43:

(computer security, military, countable) Initialism of tactic(s), technique(s) and procedure(s).


TD

TD (countable and uncountable, plural TDs)

Territorial Decoration
w:Territorial Decoration

(military) Initialism of Territorial Decoration (previously awarded to officers who had more than 12 years commissioned service in the Territorial Army (UK)).


RH

RH (countable and uncountable, plural RHs)

(US, army, aviation) Initialism of reconnaissance helicopter.


SS

en:NATO code for certain surface-to-surface missile systems

(military, astronautics) NATO prefix-code for surface-to-surface missiles developed by the Soviet Union


GF

(chemistry, military) Initialism of German agent F (US designation for the nerve gas cyclosarin).


DARPA

(US, military) Acronym of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.


CAS

CAS (countable and uncountable, plural CASes)

(military) Initialism of combat armor suit. Used for a powered, armed and armored exoskeleton, in fiction and military research.

combat armor suit

(military, aviation) Acronym of close air support.


DTRA

(US, military) Initialism of Defense Threat Reduction Agency.


interoperability

interoperability (countable and uncountable, plural interoperabilities)

interoperabilities (plural)
inter-operability (alternative)

/ˌɪntəɹɒpəɹəˈbɪləti/

From interoperable + -ity; alternatively analyzed as inter- + operability.

Dr Fox and Mr Morin have ruled out the notion of binational crews, but they are still exploring other ways to enhance the interoperability of France’s Charles de Gaulle and Britain’s planned two new carriers, which seem likely to be spared by the defence review.

2010 October 14, “Entente or bust”, in The Economist:

(military) The capacity for a service, piece of equipment etc., to be operated by different forces or groups.


semi-automatic

semi-automatics (plural)
semiautomatic (alternative)
semi-auto (alternative)
semiauto (alternative)

The Los Angeles ordinance covers semi-automatics with a detachable magazine of 20 rounds or more. As examples, it cited such weapons as the AR 15 assault rifles, Uzi assault rifles and carbines, Ingram Mac-10 and Mac-11 assault carbines, AK-47 assault rifles, Thompson carbines and all Avtomat Kalashnikov weapons.

1989 February 8, Robert Reinhold, “LOS ANGELES BANS RAPID-FIRING GUNS”, in The New York Times:

(weaponry) A semi-automatic firearm, especially such a pistol.


shadowbox

en-verb

shadowbox (third-person singular simple present shadowboxes, present participle shadowboxing, simple past and past participle shadowboxed)

shadowboxes (present singular third-person)
shadowboxing (participle present)
shadowboxed (participle past)
shadowboxed (past)
shadow-box (alternative)
shadow box (alternative)

He was shadowboxing to keep fit and practice before the big fight.

The fighter starts to shadowbox in front of them.

1975, Stephen Dunning, Literature for Adolescents, page 392:

McAfferty giggled, then stepped back and shadowboxed, jabbing the air with his little fists.

He shadowboxed harder than anyone I had seen before, and I soon developed that habit, too.

2018, Glen Sharp, Punching from the Shadows, page 117:

(boxing, martial arts) To practice moves without an actual opponent, often in front of a mirror.


RSS

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

Republic of Singapore
Republic of Singapore#English

(military, nautical, Singapore) Initialism of Republic of Singapore Ship (“prefix of Navy ships belonging to the Republic of Singapore Navy”).


BRACC

Base Realignment and Closure
w:Base Realignment and Closure

(US, military) Acronym of Base Realignment and Closure.


GD

(chemistry, military) Initialism of German agent D (US designation for the nerve gas soman).


OC

en-noun

OC (countable and uncountable, plural OCs)


exec

“'Okay. Report to the exec's office right after inspection tomorrow, Mister Keith. Best of luck.”

1951, Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny, page 17:

(military, informal) An executive officer, i.e. the chief assistant to the commanding officer.


SSM

SSM (countable and uncountable, plural SSMs)

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

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


RSM

regimental sergeant major
regimental sergeant major#English

(military) Initialism of regimental sergeant major.


antiballistic

(military, of a missile, or system) designed to detect, intercept, and destroy a ballistic missile in flight

antibalístico

designed to intercept a ballistic missile in flight


harassment

harassment (countable and uncountable, plural harassments)

→ Russian: хара́ссмент (xarássment)

→ Japanese: ハラスメント

Borrowed from Middle French harassement. By surface analysis, harass + -ment.

Throughout this period, and beyond, into the rest of the battle, aircraft of various types and loadouts are crisscrossing the skies in desperate harassment attacks, with the pilots having to play constant games of "guess the carrier" to decide where to land as escort carriers are hit, sunk, disappear in columns of shell splashes, or are forced to evade at angles to the wind that make landing on them impossible.

2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 27:22 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 2022-11-03:

(military) The use of repeated small-scale attacks to wear down an enemy force.


dink

Origin unknown. Attested since the 1960s. Compare Chink, a derogatory term for a Chinese person.

unknown

Origin unknown

Our job was to go out on night patrols and stay behind to zap any dinks we caught sneaking back to their holes at dawn.

1989, Craig Roberts, Charles W. Sasser, The Walking Dead: A Marine's Story of Vietnam, page 197:

(US, military slang, derogatory, dated) A North Vietnamese soldier.


dink

(US, military) Alternative spelling of dinq


compartmentalization

en-noun

compartmentalization (countable and uncountable, plural compartmentalizations)

compartmentalizations (plural)
compartmentalisation (alternative)

(military) The dissemination of information and knowledge between different people or organisations on a need-to-know basis, so as to reduce the risk of espionage should one person or organisation be compromised externally.


landing craft

landing craft (plural landing crafts or landing craft)

landing crafts (plural)
landing craft (plural)

Turpentine timber was obtained from the forests outside Maryborough and Townsville, and shipped by rail and landing craft to Hayman Island.

1954 March, “The Hayman Island Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 207:

(nautical, military) A type of flat-bottomed boat used to transport infantry and vehicles onto a shore during an assault from the sea.


ballistic missile

ballistic missile (plural ballistic missiles)

(military, astronautics) A missile that is initially guided, but then follows a ballistic (freely falling) trajectory.


go ballistic

en-verb

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

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

The idiomatic usage derives from the second-generation of jet fighters, armed with guided missiles, in the late 1950s into the 1960s, with the informal military sense of fully-powered non-ballistic missiles going ballistic when losing control and assuming a free-fall trajectory, sense 3. But in subsequent usage the term has often become associated with the intentionally ballistic, suborbital trajectories of long-range, typically nuclear-armed missiles, sense 2.

I... fired two AIM-7s in a ripple. One AIM-7 went ballistic. The other guided but passed behind the MIG and did not detonate. Knowing that I was then too close for further AIM-7 firing...

1976, Robert Frank Futrell, The United States Air Force in Southeast Asia-- aces and aerial victories, 1965-1973

In the case of retarded bombs released at too high a speed, the retarding fins might tear away and allow the bomb to go ballistic.

1986, Alfred Price, Air Battle Central Europe

Putting something between you and the guidance radar will cause the missile to go ballistic.

1983, Michael Skinner, USAFE: A primer of modern air combat in Europe

(military, slang) for a powered, usually guided missile or other aerial vehicle to travel on an unguided or ballistic trajectory, having lost power, control or guidance


mobility

en-noun

mobility (countable and uncountable, plural mobilities)

From Middle French mobilité, and its source, Latin mōbilitās (“mobility”).

(military) The ability of a military unit to move or be transported to a new position.


OCS

(military) Initialism of Officer Candidate School.

Officer Cadet School
w:Officer Cadet School

(Singapore, military) Initialism of Officer Cadet School.


HMT

HMTs (plural)
H.M.T. (alternative)
H. M. T. (alternative)

(UK, military, nautical) Initialism of His/Her Majesty's Trawler.


parry

From earlier parree, from Middle English *parree, *paree, from Old French paree (“preparation, ceremony, parade”), from Medieval Latin parāta (“preparation, parade”), from parāre (“to ward off, guard, defend, prepare, get ready”). More at pare. The English verb is taken from the noun. Doublet of parade.
Alternative etymology derives the verb parry from French parez, the imperative form of parer (“to fend off”), ultimately from the Medieval Latin parāre. See above.

der

(fencing) A simple defensive action designed to deflect an attack, performed with the forte of the blade.

пари́рање

in fencing, simple defensive action designed to deflect


app

SCULLY: What are these chips used for?
PENDRELL: Video games, brake systems, they're finding new apps every day. I just read about one being designed to help the severely disabled operate computers using brainwaves.

1995, The X-Files (TV series), Nisei (episode)

(military) application (use, purpose; not a computer program)


tinker

(US)

From Middle English tynkere, perhaps from Old English *tincere, from tin (“tin”) + *cere, as in bēocere (“beekeeper”).

if ifs and ands were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers' hands


SAM

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

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


ship of the line

en-noun

ship of the line (plural ships of the line)

ships of the line (plural)
ship-of-the-line (alternative)

Contraction of line of battle ship, a warship large enough to be in the line of battle. See also battleship, contracted from the same phrase.

(nautical, military) A large square-rigged warship large enough to have a place in the line of battle, with up to 140 guns on at least two decks. A capital ship from the age of sail, superior to a frigate; usually, a seventy-four, or three-decker.


AAS

(military) Initialism of Arnold Air Society (a professional honorary service organization for Air Force officer candidates)


SAP

SAP (countable and uncountable, plural SAPs)

special access program
w:special access program

(US, military) Initialism of special access program.


AV

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of Auxiliary Voler, a naval aircraft transport.


merlon

Borrowed from French merlon, from Italian merlone (“merlon”), from merlo (“merlon”) + -one (suffix forming augmentatives). Merlo is derived from Late Latin merulus, merlus, possibly from Latin merula (“blackbird”) (as merlons resemble a row of birds perched on a wall), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ems- (“black; blackbird”). The English word is cognate with Italian mergolo (“battlement; pinnacle”), Portuguese merlão, Spanish merlón (“merlon”).

cog

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

The Merlons, to the end that they may be good, ought to be made of Earth, the most eaſie to be tempered that may be: And this Earth ought alſo to be mixed with Withy Twigs, or Brambles, provided they take Root, after which they are to be lined with good Turff.

1693, “Of the Embrasures or Merlons”, in Abel Swall, transl., The New Method of Fortification, as Practised by Monsieur de Vauban, Engineer General of France. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Abell Swall; […], →OCLC, book IV, page 75:

The parapet conſiſts of two parts, namely, the wall and the merlons. [...] The Merlons are detached pieces of the parapet, leaving openings called Embrasures, thro' which the cannon deliver their ſhot.

1754, J[ohn] Robertson, “A Treatise of Marine Fortification”, in The Elements of Navigation; Containing the Theory and Practice. […], volume II, London: […] J[ohn] Nourse, […], →OCLC, section II (Of Batteries), paragraph 26, page 610:

A battery of guns is a bank of earth thrown up to cover the men that are to ſerve the guns; this bank is cut into holes for the cannons to fire through, about 12 feet diſtant from each other. Theſe holes are called embraſures, and the maſſes of earth between them are called merlons; [...]

1756 July, “An Account of the Siege and Capture of Port Mahon […]”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym; Edward Cave], editor, The Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, volume XXVI, London: […] D[avid] Henry and R. Cave, […], →OCLC, footnote, page 319, column 2:

Along the walls, at the distance of every hundred yards, were square stone towers. In the parapets were also embrasures, and holes in merlons for archery; but there were no cannon, except a few old wrought-iron pieces near the gate.

1797, George Staunton, “Passage to the Ladrone Islands, near Macao; […]”, in An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China; […] In Two Volumes, […], volume I, London: […] G[eorge] Nicol, […], →OCLC, page 419:

[T]he property of sloping surfaces [...] causes a cannon ball from the fortress, which enters by the mouth and strikes one cheek of an embrasure, to glance off without penetrating through the merlon on that side. Such a ball is not therefore likely to prove fatal to those men who are covered by the merlon, but to those only who stand immediately behind the embrasure, and not always even to them, for if it should strike the very sloping part of the cheek, it may be reflected upwards.

1832, C[harles] W[illiam] Pasley, “Of the Space that Must be Allowed, for the Extreme Half Merlon at the Flank of a Battery, when Finished without an Empaulment”, in Rules, Chiefly Deduced from Experiment, for Conducting the Practical Operations of a Siege, Chatham, Kent: […] Establishment for Field Instruction, →OCLC, part II (Containing an Essay on the Construction of Batteries in the Field), section I (The Several Kinds of Batteries Defined. […]), page 16:

He had appropriated a thick tapestry rope in the great hall, and now, having reached the parapet, he looped the soft strong cord about the girl's hips and lowered her to the earth. Then, making one end fast to a merlon, he slid down after her.

1934 August, Robert E[rvin] Howard, “The Devil in Iron”, in Farnsworth Wright, editor, Weird Tales: A Magazine of the Bizarre and Unusual, Indianapolis, Ind.: Popular Fiction Pub. Co., →OCLC; republished as The Devil in Iron, [Auckland]: The Floating Press, 2013, →ISBN, page 42:

The exterior façades of the Cordoba mosque are carefully composed, with buttresses interspersed with doorways which reflect the framed arch of the mihrab. The upper line of the wall is given a dramatic and eastern finish with a row of stepped merlons.

1991, Barbara Brend, “Lands of the West: Egypt, North Africa and Spain”, in Islamic Art, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 54:

The castle spread out before him, its high solid sandstone walls, with their crenel and merlon battlements ending in round towers, was a magnificent sight.

2012, James Herbert, chapter 21, in Ash, London: Pan Books, published 2013, →ISBN, page 141:

(architecture, military, historical) Any of the upright projections between the embrasures of a battlement, originally for archers to shield behind while shooting arrows over the embrasures, or through loopholes in the merlons.

kanteel

any of the upright projections between the embrasures of a battlement


embrasure

/ɪmˈbɹeɪʒə(ɹ)/

But there were less casualties than might have been expected, and the barricade rose steadily, a wall of concrete two feet thick, with embrasures for two machine-guns and a small field gun.

1938 April, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter VI, in Homage to Catalonia, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC:

The walls are slitted with embrasures through which bowmen could fire, indicating that the belfry also served as a stronghold during border skirmishes.

1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 311, about the church at Pembridge:

(architecture, military) Any of the indentations between the merlons of a battlement; an opening in a wall or parapet through which ordnance can be fired.

مَزْغَل

any of the indentations between the merlons of a battlement


tenable

en-adj

tenable (comparative more tenable, superlative most tenable)

more tenable (comparative)
most tenable (superlative)

From the French tenable, from tenir (“to hold”); compare tenible.

The island of Melos undoubtedly fell within his general conceptions of tenable empire for Athens.

1850, George Grote, A History of Greece; from the Earliest Period to the Close of the Generation Contemporary with Alexander the Great, volume 8:

(military) Capable of being defended against assault or attack; defensible

удържим

of a defensive structure: capable of being defended


environ

en-verb

environ (third-person singular simple present environs, present participle environing, simple past and past participle environed)

environs (present singular third-person)
environing (participle present)
environed (participle past)
environed (past)
environ (infinitive)
environ (first-person present singular)
environed (first-person past singular)
environned (archaic first-person past singular)
environ (present second-person singular)
environest (archaic present second-person singular)
environed (past second-person singular)
environedst (archaic past second-person singular)
environned (archaic past second-person singular)
environs (present singular third-person)
environeth (archaic present singular third-person)
environed (past singular third-person)
environned (archaic past singular third-person)
environ (plural present)
environed (past plural)
environned (archaic past plural)
environ (present subjunctive)
environed (past subjunctive)
environned (archaic past subjunctive)
environ (imperative present)
environing (participle present)
environed (participle past)
environned (archaic participle past)

From Middle English envirounen, enviroun (“to surround in a circle or ring, or on the perimeter; to beset, besiege; to cover, enclose, envelop; to provide a setting or surrounding to; to move in a circle; to move around the perimeter; to go, move, or wander about (a place); to fill or pervade (a place); to run all the way through”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman envirouner [and other forms], Middle French environner, and Old French environner (“to arrange in a circle; to circumnavigate, travel around; to traverse, wander around; to encircle, encompass, surround”) [and other forms] (modern French environner), from environ (adverb) (see etymology 1) + -er (suffix forming verbs).
Cognates
* Catalan environar (obsolete)
* Old French avironer, avironner (Middle French avironer, avironner, Anglo-Norman avironer, aviruner)
* Spanish environar (obsolete)

nb...

enueroun, enuerown, enueyron, enuiron, enuyron, enuyronne, enuyroun, enuyrounne, enuyrowne, enverom, enveron, enveroun, enverounen, enverroun, environ, environne, enviroune, envirowne, envyron, envyrone, envyroun, envyroune, envyrown

اِكْتَنَفَ

to encircle or surround (someone or something) — see also encircle, surround

The Erle in good haſte departed thence to Penbroke, whome incontinent Morgan Thomas, by king Edwards commaundement ſo ſtrongly beſieged, and ſo enuironed his Caſtell with a ditche and a trench, that he could not lightly flie or eſcape thence, […]

1569, Richard Grafton, “Edwarde the Fourth”, in A Chronicle at Large and Meere History of the Affayres of Englande […], volume II, London: […] Henry Denham, […], for Richarde Tottle and Humffrey Toye, →OCLC, page 712:

Philopœmen fearinge to be enuironned, and being deſirous to bring his men ſafe home againe, vvho moſt of loue had follovved him: beganne to marche avvay through narrovv buſhy places, him ſelfe being in the rerevvard, and turned oftentimes vpon his enemies, […]

1579, Plutarke of Chæronea [i.e., Plutarch], “The Life of Philopœmen”, in Thomas North, transl., The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romaines, […], London: […] Richard Field, →OCLC, page 406:

Enuironed he vvas vvith many foes, / And ſtood againſt them, as the hope of Troy / Againſt the Greekes, that vvould haue entred Troy.

c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 152, column 2:

The King [Cynewulf of Wessex] had an intrigue vvith a young vvoman, vvho lived at Merton in Surrey; vvhither having ſecretly retired, he vvas on a ſudden environed, in the night-time, by Kynehard and his follovvers, and after making a vigorous reſiſtance, vvas murdered, vvith all his attendants.

1762, David Hume, “ Chapter I.”, in The History of England, from the Invasion of Julius Cæsar to the Accession of Henry VII, volume I, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 39:

Where slavery wields her scourge of iron, / Red with mankind's unheeded gore, / And war's mad fiends environ, / Mingling with shrieks a drunken roar, […]

1813, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Notes. IV. Page 54. Falsehood and Vice: A Dialogue.”, in Queen Mab; […], London: […] P. B. Shelley, […], →OCLC, page 130:

To encircle or surround (someone or something).

(often military) To encircle or surround (someone or something) so as to attack from all sides; to beset.


SSR

(US, military, nautical, obsolete) Initialism of subsurface radar, a radar picket submarine.

(military) Initialism of special support and reconnaissance.


PW

en-noun

PW (countable and uncountable, plural PWs)

(Canada, military, countable) Initialism of prisoner of war.


RTO

RTO (countable and uncountable, plural RTOs)

(military) Initialism of radiotelephone operator.


klick

* Most likely a pseudo-condensed pronunciation of kilometer, being a suitably short word emphasizing k+l instead of /keɪ/ alone (the same principle as with military spelling alphabets, but also clearly distinguished from kilo (/kiːloʊ/) for kilogram).
* Possibly onomatopoeic of the sound of a military odometer. When a soldier would complete a mark, they would signal to their commander and denote movement of 1,000 meters by hoisting up their rifle and moving the gas regulator with their thumb, which made a "click" the commander could hear.

Several klicks closer, the ruins of the City of Poets rose jaggedly against the skyline.

1990, Dan Simmons, The Fall of Hyperion, 1st edition, New York: Doubleday, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 165:

an asteroid between one and three kilometers wide had slammed into the ground at fifteen klicks per second.

2002 May, Robert J. Sawyer, Hominids (The Neanderthal Parallax; 1), Tor, →ISBN, page 82:

Chief, can you hear me?...(static) My bird's down. Half a klick -(static)- downriver from your position.

2007 September 25, Bungie, Halo 3, spoken by Avery Johnson (David Scully), Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360, level/area: Sierra 117:


on the bench

(historical, UK military, of a captain) Waiting to command his first vessel and assume the position of post-captain, ensuring further promotion will remain a matter of seniority rather than merit or ability.


trooper

From troop + -er, from French troupe. The sense of “one who endures adversity” comes from trouper (“member of an acting troupe”) but through assimilation with the sense of “soldier” has come to be usually spelled “trooper”.

(military) A soldier of private rank in cavalry or armor.

She was built by William Denny & Bros. Ltd., and launched in 1939, but went immediately on active service as a trooper.

1947 January and February, “Notes and News: New Southern Channel Steamer”, in Railway Magazine, page 49:

(British, nautical, military) A troopship.


HGV

hypersonic glide vehicle
w:hypersonic glide vehicle

(aviation, aerospace, military) Initialism of hypersonic glide vehicle.


WTFO

Could be credited to George Carlin "WTF". However, he may have picked it up when he was a radar operator in the United States Air Force.

(military, slang, 1970s) what the fuck, over!


flimsy

flimsy (countable and uncountable, plural flimsies)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-flimsy.wav

British Army
Crusader tank
Monadhliath Mountains
North African Campaign

The origin of the adjective is uncertain; it is possibly from flim(-flam) (“(noun) false information presented as true, misinformation, nonsense; poor attempt at deception, confidence trick, pretence; (adjective) frivolous, nonsensical; deceptive; fictitious”) or a metathesis of film (“thin layer of a substance; slender thread”) + -sy (suffix forming adjectives and nouns).
The noun and verb are derived from the noun. Noun sense 4 (“metal container”) refers to the fact that the containers often split along their seams and leaked.

affix

A perusal of the comments of officers under whom he [Captain Duncan Herbert Stevens] has served as recorded in his “flimsies" indicates that he has almost consistently received high commendation for his service.

1964 August 13, John [Armstrong] Spicer, Commissioner, “Officers Principally Concerned”, in Report of Royal Commissioner on Loss of H.M.A.S. “Voyager” (Papers Presented to Parliament; XIII), Canberra, A.C.T: [F]or the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia by A. J. Arthur, Commonwealth Government printer, →OCLC, page 3:

Regulations required a commanding officer to render annual confidential reports on the character and ability of his officers – with particular reference to sobriety – on forms known as ‘flimsies’.

1994, John Wells, “The Community of the Mid-Victorian Navy”, in The Royal Navy: An Illustrated Social History 1870–1982, Stroud, Gloucestershire; Dover, N.H.: Alan Sutton Publishing in association with the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth, →ISBN, page 7:

(by extension) A document printed or typed on such paper.

(naval slang, countable) A service certificate.

But the Q[uartermaster] has ballsed-up T3 patrol's fuel ration; instead of jerry cans we get "flimsies," the notorious four-gallon containers made of metal so thin you can practically puncture it with a fingernail. Flimsies come two to a case, packed in cardboard. Of seventy-six that Collier's crew take down from the Mack, twenty-one are leaking at the seams; eleven have drained half to nil.

2008, Steven Pressfield, chapter 10, in Killing Rommel […], New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, →ISBN, page 98:

(UK, military slang) A hexahedral metal container with a capacity of four imperial gallons (about 18 litres) used by the British Army during World War II to hold fuel.

kanisteri

metal container used by the British Army during World War II to hold fuel


DL

en-noun

DL (countable and uncountable, plural DLs)

DLs (plural)
D.L. (alternative)
D. L. (alternative)
dl (alternative)
d/l (alternative)
D/L (alternative)

(military, nautical) Initialism of light destroyer, a variant of the destroyer type of warship.

light destroyer

destroyer leader
destroyer leader#English

(military, nautical) Initialism of destroyer leader, a variant of the destroyer type of warship.


From the Selective Service Classification code.

(US, military) A military draftee rejected for being physically unfit.


SAW

squad automatic weapon
squad automatic weapon

section automatic weapon
section automatic weapon

(military, US) A squad automatic weapon or section automatic weapon, a kind of light machine gun.


clinch

→ Czech: klinč

→ German: Clinch

→ French: clinch

→ Portuguese: clinche

→ Russian: клинч (klinč)

→ Serbo-Croatian: klȉnč

→ Polish: klincz

→ Swedish: klinch

(wrestling, combat sports) The act of one or both fighters holding onto the other to prevent being hit or engage in standup grappling.


atomic bomb

H. G. Wells
The World Set Free
atomic bomb

Coined by British science fiction author H. G. Wells in his 1914 novel The World Set Free.

The gaunt face hardened to grimness, and with both hands the bomb-thrower lifted the big atomic bomb from the box and steadied it against the side.

1914, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, chapter 2, in The World Set Free:

(countable, military) A nuclear weapon that obtains its destructive energy from nuclear fission.


court martial

court martial (plural (formal) courts martial or (informal) court martials)

courts martial (formal plural)
court martials (informal plural)
court-martial (alternative)
courtmartial (alternative)

A calque of French cour martiale, hence the unusual order of adjective following noun.

(law, military) A court where cases of military law are heard.

(law, military) A trial before such a tribunal.


court martial

en-verb

court martial (third-person singular simple present court martials, present participle (US) court martialing or (UK) court martialling, simple past and past participle (US) court martialed or (UK) court martialled)

court martials (present singular third-person)
court martialing (US participle present)
court martialling (UK participle present)
court martialed (US participle past)
court martialed (US past)
court martialled (UK participle past)
court martialled (UK past)
court-martial (alternative)
courtmartial (alternative)

(law, military) To subject to trial in a military court.


luchador

en-noun

luchador (plural luchadors or luchadores)

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

(professional wrestling) A Mexican professional wrestler, frequently (but not always) masked.


POL

(military) Initialism of petroleum, oil, and lubricants; consumable supplies for vehicles and machinery, collectively.


AAR

(military, management) after-action report; after-action review.


mawashi

From Japanese 廻し or 回し (mawashi), same meaning.

(sumo) The belt worn by rikishi during training and in competition


CLG

guided-missile light cruiser
guided-missile light cruiser#English

(military, nautical) Initialism of guided-missile light cruiser.


bullpen

(US, military slang) A military prison or its enclosing stockade.


martingale

martingales (plural)
martingal (alternative)

From Middle French martingale, from Occitan martegalo, feminine form of martegal, an inhabitant of Martigues, which is from Latin maritima. Alternatively from Spanish almártaga.
The meaning in gambling may come from an old usage of "à la martingale" to mean absurdly, foolishly.https://people.math.harvard.edu/~ctm/home/text/class/sem/html/home/notes/martingales/martingales.pdf

(fencing) A strap attached to the sword handle, preventing a sword being dropped if disarmed.


webbing

webbing (countable and uncountable, plural webbings)

(military) A belt and shoulder harness with attached pouches used to carry a soldier's equipment, water, ammunition, etc.


nelson

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Nelson (cricket)
Nelson hold

Cricket sense: origin disputed; supposedly from the belief that Lord Nelson had one eye, one arm and one leg.
Wrestling sense: Back-formation from full nelson.

(wrestling) A wrestling hold in which a wrestler's arm is locked behind their back.


striker

lyöjä

someone or something that hits someone or something else

Someone or something that hits someone or something else.

(firearms, military) A mechanism of a firearm acting upon the firing pin.

"Dog-robber" has a definite significance to some army men; but unless one has spent some time in uniform he will probably have to search long for its meaning: an officer's servant or striker.

1921, Franklyn Bliss Snyder, Ronald Salmon Crane, The English of Business, page 90:

(military, slang) An officer's servant or orderly.


palooka

H. L. Mencken
Ham Fisher
Joe Palooka
The American Language

Used in the US since the 1920s, originally primarily of boxers. Popularized by Jack Conway of Variety, who also popularized baloney and bimbo. Further popularized by Ham Fisher in his comic strip Joe Palooka about a boxer (published in newspapers since 1930, particularly popular in 1940s).

unk

Used

But [Jack] Dempsey against some palooka who had been press agented into greatness and into the form of a Dempsey menace — that would pack any outdoor arena.

Butch: Lookin' at somethin', friend?
Vincent: I ain't your friend, palooka.

1994, Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary, Pulp Fiction:

(US, boxing, bridge, etc) Someone incompetent or untalented.


profiling

en-noun

profiling (usually uncountable, plural profilings)

(military, historical) In the construction of fieldworks, the erection at proper intervals of wooden profiles, to show to the workmen the sectional form of the parapets at those points.


pop-up

(military) Employing the cold launch technique.


amplitude

amplitude (countable and uncountable, plural amplitudes)

Borrowed from Middle French amplitude, from Latin amplitūdō, from amplus (“large”). By surface analysis, ample + -itude.

(firearms) The horizontal line which measures the distance to which a projectile is thrown; the range.


corkscrew

[…] the immovable McCoy let fly his most miraculous punch of the evening, of his lives, a world-beater of a right corkscrew, a punch years in the windup […]

2002, Darin Strauss, The Real McCoy, →ISBN, page 42:

(boxing, martial arts) A type of sharp, twisting punch, often one thrown close and from the side.

コークスクリュー

boxing, martial arts: a type of sharp, twisting punch


NGA

(military, US) Initialism of National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.


BRAC

w:Base Realignment and Closure Commission

(military, US) Acronym of Base Realignment and Closure Commission.


no contest

Calque of Latin nolō contendere (“I don't want to contest”).

cal

(boxing, historical) The result of a boxing bout, promoted as an exhibition when the sport of boxing was illegal, when a knockout did not occur.

(boxing) A bout that the referee cancels early, either due to a serious injury early in the fight or due to a lack of action


ruck

Shah-e-Kot Valley, Afghanistan. March 2002. I strained to see over the soldiers in front of me. They were struggling to shuffle off the bird as quickly as they could. I dragged my ruck across the floor of the aircraft in my right hand.

2007, Brandon Friedman, The War I Always Wanted: The Illusion of Glory, →ISBN, page 57:

First of all – a “ruck” is nothing more than a backpack. So to "ruck march" is to carry a heavy duty backpack on a hike (loaded with gear and supplies).

2013 July 5, Brad McLeod, Top 10 Ruck Marching Tips, accessed 17 JUL 2015:

Rocky was only five foot six and skinny as a February coyote, but he could hump an eighty pound ruck across twenty mountain miles […]

2015, Sean T. Smith, Wrath and Redemption, →ISBN:

(slang, especially military) A rucksack; a large backpack.


sprawl

en-verb

sprawl (third-person singular simple present sprawls, present participle sprawling, simple past and past participle sprawled)

sprawls (present singular third-person)
sprawling (participle present)
sprawled (participle past)
sprawled (past)

From Middle English spraulen, from Old English spreawlian, ultimately through a Proto-Germanic form cognate with *spreutaną (“to sprout”) from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to strew”). Compare North Frisian spraweli.

(wrestling, martial arts) To scoot the legs backwards, so as to land on the upper back of an opponent attempting a takedown.


sprawl

en-noun

sprawl (countable and uncountable, plural sprawls)

(wrestling, martial arts) A defensive technique that is done in response to certain takedown attempts, where one scoots the legs backwards so as to land on the upper back of the opponent.


commie

(colloquial, army) A commercial vehicle.


testudo

testudo (plural testudos or testudoes or testudines)

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

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

ubor

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


suspense

en-noun

suspense (usually uncountable, plural suspenses)

suspenses (plural)
suspence (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English suspense, suspence, from Anglo-Norman suspens (as in en suspens) and Old French suspens, from Latin suspēnsus.

She sent us that assignment with a suspense of noon tomorrow.


destroyer

/dəˈstɹɔɪ.ɚ/

From destroy + -er. Designating a warship, it is ellipsis of torpedo-boat destroyer, the longer term appearing at the end of the 19th century and the shorter form early in the 20th.

(military, nautical, historical) A small, fast warship with light gun armament, smaller than a cruiser, but bigger than a frigate.

(military, nautical) A larger warship with guided missile armament, usually intended for air defence or anti-ship roles. Often, but not always, larger than a frigate and smaller than a cruiser.

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


ROC

Translingual: ROC

(UK, military) The Royal Observer Corps, a United Kingdom defence organization (1925 to 1992).


Canuck

Canucks (plural)
canuck (alternative)
Canack (alternative)
Cannack (alternative)
Canuc (alternative)
canuc (alternative)
Canuk (alternative)
Conuck (alternative)
Cunnuck (alternative)
Kanuck (alternative)
Kanuk (alternative)
K'nuck (alternative)

American Dialect Society
Greenwood Publishing Group
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Leiden University
University of Alabama Press

Origin uncertain, often hypothesized to derive from the name or speech of an early Canadian minority, later broadened to denote all Canadians:
* Since 1975, many scholars have come to think the name is from Hawaiian kanaka (“man”), a self-appellation of indentured colonial canoemen and Hawaiian sailors working off the Pacific Northwest, Arctic, and New England coasts, from French canaque (“indigenous Melanesian inhabitant of New Caledonia, Kanak”); or, more likely, American whalers’ pidgin, then re-interpreted as Can(adian) + a suffix. (More below on that [specific] putative suffix.) Compare English Kanak and German Kanake.
* Some dictionaries suggest it is derived from the first syllable of Canada, or its etymon Laurentian kanata (“village”), or a related word kanuchsa meaning “villager” in either Laurentian or another Iroquoian language; with the second syllable connected to Inuktitut inuk (“man; person”), from Chinook (“Aboriginal people of the U.S. Pacific Northwest”), or another First-Nation language ending like -oc, -uc, or -uq.
* Fanciful and unlikely suggestions include German genug von Canada (literally “enough of Canada”) (allegedly uttered by German mercenaries during the American War of Independence), French quelle canule (“what a bore”) (allegedly uttered by the French during a siege of Quebec), or the surname Connaught /ˈkɑ.nəxt/ (supposedly a French-Canadian nickname for the Irish).

noncog

(aviation, military, historical) The Avro Canada CF-100 fighter-interceptor aircraft, in use between 1952 and 1981.


fortify

en-verb

fortify (third-person singular simple present fortifies, present participle fortifying, simple past and past participle fortified)

fortifies (present singular third-person)
fortifying (participle present)
fortified (participle past)
fortified (past)
fortify (infinitive)
fortify (first-person present singular)
fortified (first-person past singular)
fortify (present second-person singular)
fortifiest (archaic present second-person singular)
fortified (past second-person singular)
fortifiedst (archaic past second-person singular)
fortifies (present singular third-person)
fortifieth (archaic present singular third-person)
fortified (past singular third-person)
fortify (plural present)
fortified (past plural)
fortify (present subjunctive)
fortified (past subjunctive)
fortify (imperative present)
fortifying (participle present)
fortified (participle past)

/ˈfɔɹtəˌfaɪ/

From Late Middle English fortifien, fortfien (“to strengthen (a castle, etc.) from attack; to strengthen (an army, etc.); to strengthen (a person), aid, support; to reinforce, support; to improve; to increase the efficacy of”), from Old French fortifier (modern French fortifier), from Late Latin fortificāre (“to strengthen, fortify”), from Latin fortis (“powerful, strong”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to ascend, rise up; to be elevated or up high”) or *dʰerǵʰ- (“to be firm; robust, strong”)) + -ficō (suffix forming causative or factitive, or other verbs).

castellate

to strengthen (a place, etc.) by installing fortifications

Ile haue you learne to ſleepe vpon the ground, / March in your armor thorow watery fens, / […] / Then next, the way to fortifie your men, / In champion grounds, […]

c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The Second Part […], 2nd edition, part 2, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene ii, signature G4, recto:

They […] descended Snake river again, and encamped just above the American falls. Here they proceeded to fortify themselves, intending to remain here, and give their horses an opportunity to recruit their strength with good pasturage, until it should be time to set out for the annual rendezvous in Bear river valley.

1837, Washington Irving, chapter XI, in The Rocky Mountains: Or, Scenes, Incidents, and Adventures in the Far West; […], volume II, Philadelphia, Pa.: [Henry Charles] Carey, [Isaac] Lea, & Blanchard, →OCLC, page 120:

To increase the defences of (an army, soldiers, etc.), or put (it or them) in a defensive position.

укрепявам

to increase the defences of (an army, soldiers, etc.); to put (it or them) in a defensive position

But Baſilius (having bene the last day ſomevvhat vnprouided) novv had better fortified the ouerthrovvne ſconſe; and so vvell had prepared every thing for defence, that it vvas impoſſible for any valour from vvithin, to prevaile.

a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “[The Thirde Booke] Chapter 4”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC, folio 307, recto:

Moreover Agrippa vvriteth, that this vvhole coaſt of Albanie (fortified vvith thoſe high and inacceſſible mountains of Caucaſus) containeth 425 miles.

1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book VI.] The Regions and People Confining upon the Scythian Ocean.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 1st tome, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 121:

And ye haue numbred the houſes of Jeruſalem, and the houſes haue yee broken downe to fortifie the wall.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 22:10, column 1:

There are but Three Tovvns in the Dominions of the Prince of Monaco. The chief of 'em is ſituate on a Rock that runs out into the Sea, and is vvell fortify'd by Nature.

1705, J[oseph] Addison, “Monaco, Genoa, &c.”, in Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 8:

[B]eſides puniſhing the diſaffection of the inhabitants, by pillaging the country, the French propoſed to ſeize and fortify St. Andrevv's, and to leave there a garriſon ſufficient to bridle the mutinous ſpirit of the province, and to keep poſſeſſion of a port ſituated on the main ocean.

1759, William Robertson, “Book III”, in The History of Scotland, during the Reigns of Queen Mary and of King James VI, till His Accession to the Crown of England. […], volume I, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar […], →OCLC, page 189:

To secure and strengthen (a place, its walls, etc.) by installing fortifications or other military works.

linnoittaa

to secure and strengthen (a place, etc.) by installing fortifications or other military works

At the ſame time, I fortified my ſelf vvith the French Captain, and the Supra Cargo, and the other Captain; […]

1725, [Daniel Defoe], “Part I”, in A New Voyage Round the World, by a Course Never Sailed before. […], London: […] A[rthur] Bettesworth, […]; and W. Mears, […], →OCLC, page 29:

(obsolete) To provide (a city, a fortress, an army, etc.) with equipment or soldiers.

[…] I vvill vvithdravv my ſelfe to the Riuer, & there fortifie for fiſh: for there reſteth no minute free from fight.

c. 1588 (date written; published 1591), [John Lyly], Endimion, the Man in the Moone. […], London: […] I[ohn] Charlewood, for the widdowe Broome, →OCLC, Act I, scene iii, signature C, verso:

For ſuch a time do I novv fortifie / Againſt confounding Ages cruell knife, / That he ſhall neuer cut from memory / My ſvveet loues beauty, though my louers life.

1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 63”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC, signature E2, recto:

(military) To install fortifications or other military works; also (sometimes figurative), to put up a defensive position.

linnoittautua

to install fortifications or other military works; to put up a defensive position


RTU

en-verb

RTU (third-person singular simple present RTUs, present participle RTUing, simple past and past participle RTUed or RTU'd)

RTUs (present singular third-person)
RTUing (participle present)
RTUed (participle past)
RTUed (past)
RTU'd (participle past)
RTU'd (past)

(military, transitive) Initialism of return to unit.


suppress

suppress (third-person singular simple present suppresses, present participle suppressing, simple past and past participle suppressed)

suppresses (present singular third-person)
suppressing (participle present)
suppressed (participle past)
suppressed (past)

From Latin suppressus, perfect passive participle of supprimō (“press down or under”), from sub (“under”) + premō (“press”).

(military) To stop or prevent the enemy from executing unwanted activities like firing, regrouping, observation or others.