loiter

loiter (third-person singular simple present loiters, present participle loitering, simple past and past participle loitered)

loiters (present singular third-person)
loitering (participle present)
loitered (participle past)
loitered (past)

From Middle English loitren, from Middle Dutch loteren ("to shake, wag, wobble"; > modern Dutch leuteren (“to dawdle, ramble”)), ultimately connected with a frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *lūtaną (“to bend, stoop, cower, shrink from, decline”), see lout. Cognate with Dutch leuteren (“to dawdle”), Alemannic German lottern (“to wobble”), German Lotterbube (“rascal”). More at lout, little.

gl

"to shake, wag, wobble"; > modern Dutch <i class="Latn mention" lang="nl">leuteren</i> (“to dawdle, ramble”)

der

(military, aviation) For an aircraft to remain in the air near a target.


septime

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


sector

sector
sector (Star Trek)
sector (instrument)

(military) An area designated by boundaries within which a unit operates, and for which it is responsible.

(military) One of the subdivisions of a coastal frontier.


garrison

/ˈɡæɹ.ɪ.sən/

/ˈɡæɹ.ɪ.sən/

/ˈɡɛɹ.ə.sən/

From Middle English garisoun, garysoun, from Old French garison, guarison, from guarir + -ison, ultimately of Germanic origin; thus a doublet of warison. Compare guard, ward; the modern meaning is influenced by (now obsolete) garnison.

(US, military, U.S. Space Force) A military unit, nominally headed by a colonel, equivalent to a USAF support wing, or an army regiment.


sleeper

From Middle English sleper, equivalent to sleep + -er.

(martial arts, wrestling) A sleeper hold.


shoulder arms

Coordinate term: slope arms (UK & Commonwealth)

(military) a position or command in the manual of arms in which one places a rifle on the either left or right shoulder, with the forearm parallel to the ground and the hand holding the butt.

(Commonwealth, military) a military command in which one places a rifle in the side of the flank and gripped by either left or right hand.


shoulder arms

en-verb

shoulder arms (third-person singular simple present shoulders arms, present participle shouldering arms, simple past and past participle shouldered arms)

shoulders arms (present singular third-person)
shouldering arms (participle present)
shouldered arms (participle past)
shouldered arms (past)

(intransitive, military) Of a soldier at drill, to place a rifle on the right shoulder, with the forearm parallel to the ground and the hand holding the butt.

(Commonwealth, intransitive, military) Of a soldier at drill, to place a rifle in the side of the flank and gripped by either left or right hand.


daisy cutter

daisy cutters (plural)
daisy-cutter (alternative)
daisycutter (alternative)

* From plowing through a field and flattening and mowing down hypothetical daisies.
* (explosive): From flattening vegetation in a round region creating a clearing reminiscent of a daisy flower

(military, slang) The BLU-82 bomb, known for its ability to flatten a forest into a helicopter landing zone.


blooper

(US, military, slang) The Vietnam-era M79 grenade launcher (due to its distinctive report).


eavesdropper

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

From eavesdrop + -er (“person or thing which does”).

suffix

[…] the Japanese Ministry of Defence rang the bell and informed the world's press about the Tokyo Express — the ironic Japanese nickname for the constant flow of Soviet flying eavesdroppers in Japanese airspace.

1986, Dick Van Der Aart, Aerial Espionage: Secret Intelligence Flights by East and West, page 96:

(military, slang) A surveillance aircraft.


Schwalbe

(aviation, military) The World War II Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter.


basic training

(military) The standard training regime for introducing new recruits to the organization's discipline and basic operational skills.


extraction

en-noun

extraction (countable and uncountable, plural extractions)

From Old French estraction, from Medieval Latin extractio.

(military) An act of removing someone from a hostile area to a secure location.


rearguard

rearguards (plural)
rear guard (alternative)
rear-guard (alternative)

/ˈɹɪəɹˌɡɑɹd/

From rear + guard. Attested in The Song of Roland c. 1150 (rereguarde). Doublet of retrogarde.

(military) The rearmost part of a force, especially a detachment of troops that protect the rear of a retreating force.


shrapnel

shrapnel (usually uncountable, plural shrapnels)

From Shrapnel. Named after British army officer Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842) who invented an anti-personnel shell that transported a large number of bullets to the target before releasing them, at a far greater distance than rifles could fire the bullets individually. The surname is likely a metathesized form of Charbonnel, a diminutive of Old French charbon (“charcoal”) in reference to hair color, complexion, or the like.

skrapnel

fragments and debris thrown out by an exploding device

Coordinate term: canister shot

(military, historical) An anti-personnel artillery shell used in World War I which carries a large number of individual bullets or balls close to the target and then ejects them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike the target individually.

Coordinate term: canister shot

(military, historical) The bullets or balls from the aforementioned type of artillery shell.

en:any shot, fragments, or debris from any explosion

(military) Any shot, fragments, or debris thrown out by an exploding shell, bomb, or landmine.


siege engine

siege engines (plural)
siege-engine (alternative)

/ˈsiːd͡ʒ ˌɛnd͡ʒɪn/

/ˈsid͡ʒ ˌɛnd͡ʒɪn/

PIE word
 *h₁én
From siege + engine (“large construction used in warfare”).

compound

Opposite this hill Bohemund's men now began to dig in a definite direction. For the besiegers had devised this new mischief against the city and invented a new knavish siege-engine to apply to the town. For as they dug, they went along under the ground like moles boring holes in the soil and in places protecting themselves by sheds with high roofs against the stones and arrows which were thrown from above, and in others propping up the earth above them with poles, and thus they went on in a straight line.

1928, Anna Comnena [i.e., Anna Komnene], “Book XIII”, in Elizabeth A[nna] S[ophia] Dawes, transl., The Alexiad (Byzantine Series), Cambridge, Ont.: In Parentheses Publications, published 2000, page 233:

The cavalry were on the wings and the siege-engines, mangonels and catapults, planted on sand-dunes.

1934, Robert Graves, chapter XXXII, in I, Claudius: […], New York, N.Y.: The Modern Library, →OCLC, page 401:

(weaponry, historical) A large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.; specifically, a trebuchet or other type of catapult.


line of fire

(military, weaponry) direction in which a weapon fires


line of battle

(military) The position of troops drawn up in their usual order without any determined maneuver.

ligne de bataille

(naval) The line or arrangement formed by vessels of war in an engagement.


line of march

(military, historical) The arrangement of troops during a march.

(historical, military) The course or direction taken by marching soldiers.


line of operations

en-noun

line of operations (plural lines of operations)

As a general rule, a line of operations should- be directed upon the centre, or one of the extremities of the enemy's line of defence; unless our forces be infinitely superior in number,

1846, Henry Halleck, Elements of Military Art and Science:

(military) That portion of a theater of war which an army passes over in attaining its object.


line of sight

lines of sight (plural)
line-of-sight (alternative)

(weaponry) The line which passes through the front and rear sight, at any elevation, when they are sighted at an object.


line of battle ship

line of battle ship (plural line of battle ships)

I have said that our roof was decidedly Biblical in style; but to make it a dry one, something of a nautical character was added to its architecture, for on either side were scuppers, and it was slightly arched in the centre; it was commonly said that two masts, a bowsprit and a swivel gun would have transformed our dwelling into a line-of-battle ship[.]

1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 112:

(nautical, military, obsolete) A ship of the line or battleship.


ablutions

(plural only, UK, military) The location or building where the showers and basins are located.


cadence

cadence (countable and uncountable, plural cadences)

Borrowed from Middle French cadence, from Old Italian cadenza (“conclusion of a phrase of music”), from Latin *cadentia (literally “a falling”), form of cadēns, the present participle of cadō (“I fall, I cease”). The Latin verb is inherited, via Proto-Italic *kadō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱad-e- (“to fall”, thematic present). Doublet of cadenza and chance.

závěr

(music) chord progression concluding a section or piece

(fencing) The rhythm and sequence of a series of actions.

rytmi

(fencing) series of actions’ rhythm and sequence

(military) A chant that is sung by military personnel while running or marching; a jody call.


sharpshooter

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

sharp + shooter, a calque of German Scharfschütze.

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

(professional wrestling) A submission hold characterized by one wrestler twisting the other's legs upwards while sitting on their back.


culminate

en-verb

culminate (third-person singular simple present culminates, present participle culminating, simple past and past participle culminated)

culminates (present singular third-person)
culminating (participle present)
culminated (participle past)
culminated (past)

First attested in 1647; borrowed from Medieval Latin culminātus, perfect passive participle of culminō (“to crown”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Latin culmen (“peak, the highest point”), older form columen (“top, summit”), from Proto-Italic *kolamen, from a Proto-Indo-European base *kol-, *kelH- (“to project, rise; peak, summit, top”), whence also English hill and holm.

der

Approaching from the south on foot, elements of the CG battalion were first to come into contact and their attack culminated because the rate and accuracy of the VC small arms fire. The CG battalions attempted two assaults to penetrate[…]

2014 August 15, Major Kevin R. Kilbride, Military Assistance Advisory Group-Vietnam (1954-1963): The Battle Of Ap Bac, Pickle Partners Publishing, →ISBN:

As a result, the attack culminated the first day without additional artillery support. The towns of Eclisfontaine and Epinonville were not held on the first day as originally directed in the Corps plan.

2014 August 15, Major Bryan L. Woodcock, 91st Infantry In World War I--Analysis Of An AEF Division's Efforts To Achieve Battlefield Success [Illustrated Edition], Pickle Partners Publishing, →ISBN, page 33:

(US, military, of an offensive, etc) To reach a point at which continued progress is not possible.


action group

(US military) A component of a naval task force.


sortie

PIE word
 *upó
The noun is borrowed from French sortie (“act of exiting; exit, way out; (military) sally, sortie”), the feminine past participle of sortir (“to exit, go out”), from Old French sortir, from Latin sortīrī, the present active infinitive of sortior (“to cast or draw lots; to choose, select; to distribute, divide; to obtain, receive; to share”), from sors (“something used to determine chances, a lot; casting or drawing of lots; decision by lot; a share”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; a thread”)), possibly influenced by surrēctus (“arisen, having been caused to arise; gotten up, having been gotten up”), the perfect passive participle of surgō (“to arise, get up, rise”), from subrigō (“to lift up; to straighten”), from sub- (prefix meaning ‘beneath, under’) + regō (“to direct, guide, steer; to govern, rule; to manage, oversee”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to right oneself, straighten; just; right”)).
The verb is derived from the noun.

scramble

emergency defensive air force mission to intercept attacking enemy aircraft

The events of these sieges show that a bold and vigorous sortie in force might carry destruction through every part of a besieger's approaches, where the guard is injudiciously disposed and ill commanded; but that if due precautions have been observed in forming the approaches and posting the defenders, any sortie from a besieged place must be checked with loss in their advance, when the approaches are still distant; or when the approaches are near, should a sortie succeed in pushing into them by a sudden rush, the assailants must inevitably be driven out again in a moment, with terrible slaughter.

1827, John T[homas] Jones, “[Notes.] Note 35 [Observations on the Several Sorties Made by the Garrisons of the Places Besieged in Spain].”, in Journals of Sieges Carried on by the Army under the Duke of Wellington, in Spain, between the Years 1811 and 1814. […], volume II, London: […] [C. Roworth] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 369:

(military, also attributively and figuratively)

An attack made by troops from a besieged position; a sally.

Their aircraft had no belly gunners and were at the mercy of Luftwaffe fighters that attacked from below. Whenever they lifted off on a mission, they departed with the knowledge that this sortie could easily be their last.

2019 May 8, Aron Heller, “These Jewish World War II Veterans Would Be Legends, if People Knew Their Stories”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

They are vastly outnumbered: Russia is believed to fly some 200 sorties per day while Ukraine flies five to 10.

2022 March 22, Maria Varenikova, Andrew E. Kramer, “How Ukraine’s Outgunned Air Force Is Fighting Back Against Russian Jets”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(aviation) An operational flight carried out by a single military aircraft.

sortie

[I]t was all encompassed by the palisades and breastworks, to which were but three sorties, whence the defenders might sally, or through which at need the vanguard might secure a retreat.

1848, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter VII, in Harold, the Last of the Saxon Kings; […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, book XII (The Field of Hastings), pages 331–332:

(military) Synonym of sally port (“an entry to or opening into a fortification to enable a sally”)


Stinger

surface-to-air missile
surface-to-air missile

(military) The FIM-92 portable infra-red homing surface-to-air missile.


APC

Sill waved for an armored vehicle to come up from the rear. It was an APC with a small cannon on the top.

2022, Percival Everett, Dr. No, Influx Press (2023), page 264:

armored personnel carrier
armored personnel carrier#English

(military) Initialism of armored personnel carrier.


APC

(military) Initialism of armor piercing capped.


gunship

Roger that, Hocus. Friendly gunship, coming in hot!

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

armoured fighting vehicle
armoured fighting vehicle

(US, air force, military) A transport airplane equipped with large calibre guns typical of armoured fighting vehicles


depth charge

The trailblazing Oaxacan chef Alejandro Ruiz […] has spiked this black-bean sauce with a hidden depth charge of flavor: patches of foliage from a local avocado tree. The leaves electrify the sauce with an unexpected thrum of black licorice.

2014 October 25, Jeff Gordinier, “In search of the perfect taco”, in T: The New York Times Style Magazine (international edition), page 100:

(military, nautical, aviation) A form of bomb, launched from a ship or dropped from an aircraft, that is designed to detonate at a certain depth underwater for the purposes of attacking a submerged enemy, especially a submarine.

глыбі́нная бо́мба

bomb designed to detonate at a certain depth underwater


depth charge

en-verb

depth charge (third-person singular simple present depth charges, present participle depth charging, simple past and past participle depth charged)

depth charges (present singular third-person)
depth charging (participle present)
depth charged (participle past)
depth charged (past)
depth-charge (alternative)

After the freighter was torpedoed, its escorting destroyers depth charged the submarine for two hours, but failed to sink it.

(transitive, military, nautical, aviation) To attack (a target, usually a submarine) with depth charges.


surface-to-air missile

en-noun

surface-to-air missile (plural surface-to-air missiles)

(military) A ground-based anti-aircraft missile.


air-to-air missile

air-to-air missile (plural air-to-air missiles)

(military) A missile that is fired from an aircraft to attack another aircraft.


backstop

backstops (plural)
back-stop (alternative)

[…] to be set up in Indonesia with a phony book and school supplies company established in New York City as a backstop.

1976, Joseph Burkholder Smith, Portrait of a Cold Warrior, page 116:

Closely representing an alibi, creating a backstop could involve such measures as having people available to verify the details of an agent's cover story.

1990, Bruce W. Watson, Susan M. Watson, Gerald W. Hopple, United States intelligence: an encyclopedia, page 1974:

(espionage) Something serving to bolster or support a cover story etc.


battalion

From Middle French battaillon (modern French bataillon).

(military) An army unit having two or more companies, etc. and a headquarters. Traditionally forming part of a regiment.

(US, military) an army unit having two or more companies, etc. and a headquarters; forming part of a brigade.


tradecraft

tradecraft (countable and uncountable, plural tradecrafts)

(espionage) The methods used in espionage and clandestine operations.


takedown

Takedown (grappling) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

(martial arts) A taking down: an act of bringing one's opponent to the ground by grabbing one or both legs and applying a rearward bending moment.


meathead

From meat + head.
The term meathead is often said to come from the classic 1970s television situation comedy All In The Family, wherein main character Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) used the nickname to address his son-in-law, Michael Stivic (Rob Reiner), starting with the premiere episode ("Meet the Bunkers") that first aired January 12, 1971. The term is also used three times in the "Star Witness" episode of the television situation comedy Green Acres, an episode that first aired January 26, 1971, exactly two weeks after the premiere of All in the Family. However, the word appeared in writing as early as 1863.

(military, slang, Canada) A member of the Canadian Forces Military Police.


big gun

London, Nov. 1: The big guns opened fire on Paris today at mid-day.

1870 December 2, “The Suez Mail”, in Southland Times, number 1342, New Zealand, page 2:

The smaller crew was possible because the battleship was stripped of all but her big guns.

1968 March 26, “Battleship begins Viet Tests”, in Evening News, Newburgh, NY, USA, retrieved 2011-08-19, page 1:

The USS West Virginia became one of many symbols of American resolve. . . . Her big guns pounded the enemy at the battles of Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.

2008 December 6, William J. Bennett, John Cribb, “Deadly resolve answered attack”, in Daily Courier, USA, retrieved 2011-08-19:

(military) A large artillery gun or one of the largest-caliber naval guns (as on a battleship).


slighting

(military) The full or partial demolition of a fortification.


SSI

SSI (countable and uncountable, plural SSIs)

shoulder sleeve insignia
w:shoulder sleeve insignia

(military, US) Initialism of shoulder sleeve insignia.


fairway

(military) A channel either from offshore, in a river, or in a harbor that has enough depth to accommodate the draft of large vessels. (JP 4-01.6)


Percy

Gallo-Roman
Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland

Proper noun sense 1 (surname) and sense 3 (place names) are derived from Norman Percy (“a baronial surname”), from Percy-en-Auge (“a place in Pays d’Auge, Normandy, France”, literally “Percy in Auge”), from Old French Perci, from Late Latin Persiacum, from Latin Persius (“a Gallo-Roman nomen gentile”), from Etruscan 𐌐𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (persu); further etymology uncertain, possibly from 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (φersu, “mask”).
Proper noun sense 2 (given name) is either from the above, or is a clipping of Perc(ival) + -y (suffix forming familiar names).
The common noun is derived from the proper noun. Sense 2 (“penis”) is probably from the fact that Percy and penis begin with the same letter.

der

["]I must admit I'm not terribly good at figures." / "Never met an officer as was," said Sam. "Most of the young Percies in our mob had to take their boots off to count up to twenty. But don't worry about that. Aunty'll give you the figures. She's got 'em all in her head, like a bleedin' adding machine. It's her handwriting and spelling that gets everybody down. It's soddin' awful she can't read it herself five minutes after."

1974, Berkely Mather [pseudonym; John Evan Weston-Davies], chapter 21, in The White Dacoit, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →ISBN, page 196:

(military) An educated soldier; specifically, an officer.


bandit

en-noun

bandit (plural bandits or (archaic) banditti)

bandits (plural)
banditti (archaic plural)

Borrowed from Italian bandito (“outlawed”), a derivative of Italian bandire (“to ban”), from Late Latin bandīre, an alteration (due to Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽 (bandwjan, “to signal”)) of Late Latin bannīre (“to ban”), from Frankish *bannan (“to ban”). Doublet of bandito.

(military, aviation) An aircraft identified as an enemy, but distinct from "hostile" or "threat" in that it is not immediately to be engaged.


fatigues

fatigues pl (plural only, attributive fatigue)

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

(military) Menial duties, especially as punishment.


ARC

(nautical, military) The Colombian Navy (Armada de la República de Colombia).


ARC

(nautical, military, initialism) ship's prefix for warships of the navy of Colombia.


PFC

PFC (countable and uncountable, plural PFCs)

If Steinkamp doesn't take off that hat and stop messing around, I'm gonna bust him into a PFC.

1962, The Manchurian Candidate, 01:56:35

private first class
private first class#English

(military) Initialism of private first class.


hardened

en-adj

hardened (comparative more hardened, superlative most hardened)

more hardened (comparative)
most hardened (superlative)
harden'd (alternative obsolete)

a hardened air base

a hardened server

(computing, military) Having extra defences against attack; highly fortified.


arty

Clipping of artillery, perhaps incorporating the suffix -y forming diminutive nouns.

(military, slang) An artillery crew member.


anti-personnel

An anti-personnel mine will kill a soldier but is ineffective against a tank.

(military) Referring to devices (typically weapons) intended to harm people in particular.


grenadier

From French grenadier, corresponding to grenade + -ier.

(military) A type of soldier, originally one who threw grenades, later a member of a company formed from the tallest men of the regiment; now specifically, a member of the Grenadier Guards of Canada and the United Kingdom.


air-to-air

(aviation, military, of a missile) Fired from an aircraft in flight at another one.

vzduch-vzduch

fired from an aircraft in flight at another one


accountable disbursing officer

en-noun

accountable disbursing officer (plural accountable disbursing officers)

accountable disbursing officers (plural)

(military) Any commissioned military officer who receives and disburses public money in his own name for purposes specified by law.


bazooka

→ Arabic: بازوكة (bāzūka)

→ Chinese: 巴祖卡 (bāzǔkǎ)

→ French: bazooka

→ Dutch: bazooka

→ Finnish: bazooka

→ German: Bazooka

→ Indonesian: bazoka

→ Japanese: バズーカ (bazūka)

→ Korean: 바주카 (bajuka)

→ Macedonian: базука (bazuka)

→ Maranao: basoka

→ Polish: bazooka

→ Portuguese: bazuca

→ Romanian: bazooka

→ Spanish: bazuca

→ Swedish: bazooka

Bazooka (disambiguation)
Bob Burns (humorist)
European debt crisis

From an extension of the word bazoo (“mouth, boastful talk”), which ultimately probably stems from Dutch bazuin (“trumpet”). In the finance sense first used by policymakers during the European debt crisis (2010).

(weaponry) A shoulder-held rocket launcher used as an antitank weapon, developed by America during World War II and so-called from its resemblance to the bazooka musical instrument.


cupola

Borrowed from Italian cupola, from Latin cūpula (“little tub”); from Latin cūpa, cuppa (“cup”); named for its resemblance to a cup turned over.

(military, railroad) A small turret, usually on a hatch of an armoured fighting vehicle.


welter-weight

Originally “heavyweight horseman” (1832), from welter (“heavyweight horseman”) + weight. Boxing sense 1896.

compound

(boxing) between lightweight and middleweight


welter-weight

welter-weights (plural)
welterweight (alternative)

(boxing) a boxer weighing more than a lightweight boxer and less than a middleweight boxer; someone boxing in the welterweight class


uke

From Japanese 受け (uke), the 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 受(う)ける (ukeru, “to receive, to get”).

ja-ryk

(judo, martial arts) The training partner against whom tori performs a move.


missing in action

/ˈmɪsɪŋ ɪn ˈækʃən/

Missing in action are those who have been dropped from the muster-roll as missing in action, and have subsequently joined again. [...] If the missing in action, or desertion, and the return to the company, both occur in the quarter, it is not necessary to note them; in other words, it is not necessary that the soldiers should be dropped and taken up again on the same return.

1864, August V[alentine] Kautz, “Return of Men Joined”, in The Company Clerk: […], Philadelphia, Pa.: J. B. Lippincott & Co., →OCLC, paragraph 135, page 77:

Private Louis R. Ziegra of this place [Deep River, Connecticut], formerly a bookkeeper at the Pratt-Reid Player Action Co., who is announced in dispatches from the War Department as missing in action is a German prisoner of war.

1918 July 20, “In the Hands of the Huns”, in John C[hristian] Freund, editor, The Music Trades, volume LVI, number 3, New York, N.Y.: The Music Trades Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 25, columns 1–2:

One and one-tenth percent of the academy graduates have been lost or missing in action, prisoners of war or physically disabled as a result of the war. [...] An additional 150 Cadet-Midshipmen, before graduation, lost their lives or are missing in action.

1946 January, “Merchant Marine Cadet Corps Record is Finest”, in Pat Martin et al., editors, The Log, volume 41, number 1, San Francisco, Calif.: Miller Freeman Publishers, →OCLC, page 49:

My husband, Colonel Bobby Vinson, U.S. Air Force, has been missing in action since April 24, 1968. Well over half of the men currently listed by the Departments of State and Defense have been missing or imprisoned for longer than that. Some men have spent twice that long in prison cells in the north, jungles in the south, and pits in Laos. Many more have spent at least that time in the limbo we have termed "missing in action."

1971 March 23, Joan Vinson (witness), “Statement of Joan Vinson, National Coordinator, National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia”, in American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1971: Hearings before the Subcommittee on National Security Policy and Scientific Developments of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-second Congress, First Session: […], Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 28:

Before examining the French experience, it would seem useful to consider some of the major differences and similarities between the French war and the American war in Vietnam. The areas of combat and the type of warfare, the composition of the armed forces, the bargaining power of the adversaries and their dissimilar set of values, were all factors that affected, in one way or another, the numbers of killed in action, missing in action, prisoners of war, died in captivity, and bodies recovered.

1976 April 7, Anita Lauve (witness), “Statement of Ms. Anita Lauve”, in Americans Missing in Southeast Asia: Hearings before the House Select Committee on Missing Persons in Southeast Asia, Ninety-fourth Congress, Second Session: Part 4: […], Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 2:

Our Nation will not forget these heroes, and we will not stop searching for our service members who are missing in action. [...] I call upon the people of the United States to join me in saluting all American POWs and those missing in action who valiantly served our great country.

2004 September 14, George W[alker] Bush, “Proclamation 7815 of September 14, 2004: National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2004”, in Code of Federal Regulations: [Title] 3: 2004 Compilation and Parts 100–102: […] The President … A Special Edition of the Federal Register, Washington, D.C.: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration; U.S. Government Printing Office, published 1 January 2005, →OCLC, page 83:

On 27 April 1981, Private Kevin Joyce (20) was on guard duty at a UN observation post in south Lebanon when he was kidnapped. He was never seen again and is now officially regarded by the Defence Forces as: ‘Missing in Action, Presumed Dead.’

2010, Ralph Riegel, John O’Mahony, chapter 12, in Missing in Action: The 50 Year Search for Ireland’s Missing Soldier, Cork, Munster: Mercier Press, →ISBN, page 203:

(chiefly military) The designation for a member of an organization (usually military) with whom contact is lost and whose whereabouts are not known, but whose death is not confirmed.

فُقِدَ فِي الْمَعْرَكَة

designation for a member of an organization with whom contact is lost but whose death is not confirmed


killed in action

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-killed in action.wav

There were only some four hundred United States marines who in the heroic and historic defense of Wake Island inflicted such great losses on the enemy. Some of those men were killed in action; and others are now prisoners of war.

1942 January 6, Franklin Roosevelt, 1942 President's Annual Message to Congress:

(chiefly military) The designation for a member of an organization (primarily military) who has died while on duty.


brigadier general

en-noun

brigadier general (plural brigadier generals)

brigadier generals (plural)
Brig. Gen. (alternative)

(military) A military officer who commands a brigade.

(military) A military rank between colonel and the second lowest general rank or major general, having an O7 NATO rank scale equivalency


pannier

From Middle English panere, panȝere, panyere, from Old French panier, paniere, from Latin pānārium (“a bread basket”), from pānis (“bread”). Doublet of panary.

(historical, military) A piece of basketwork for protecting archers, or, filled with gravel or sand, for forming and protecting embankments, etc.


ogive

From late Middle English ogif, egeve, egeove, from Old French ogive, œgive, augive. Doublet of ogee.

Coordinate term: bourrelet

However, Ordnance tests revealed that the existing metal ogive (nose cone) tended to telescope on impact, cushioning the impact shock, and resulting in the failure of the impact fuze. In addition, the ogive tended to shear off from the rest of the body at impact angles of 20 degrees or more, […]

2016, Steven J. Zaloga, Bazooka vs Panzer: Battle of the Bulge 1944, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 32:

Nose: The forward end of a warhead. May have a fuze-well, be solid, or be defined by the shape of the ogive.
Ogive: Is aft of the nose, and forward of the bourrelet. May house a fuze adapter with a shape consistent with the contour of the ogive.

2019, Thomas Gersbeck, Practical Military Ordnance Identification, 2nd edition, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 111:

(weaponry, ballistics) The pointed, curved nose of a bullet, missile, or rocket.


pick up

en-verb

pick up (third-person singular simple present picks up, present participle picking up, simple past and past participle picked up)

picks up (present singular third-person)
picking up (participle present)
picked up (participle past)
picked up (past)

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

[…] there are now 98 officers of that rank who have been passed over one or more times, most of whom have little prospect of being picked up by future selection boards but will await only the completion of 21 years' service before going on the retired list.

1937, United States. Congress. Senate, Hearings, volume 2, page 141:

The list is about the same as when each class was commissioned, except for a small percentage who were passed over once or twice and then picked up.

1938, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Naval Affairs, Hearings on H.R. 9997 to Regulate the Distribution, Promotion, and Retirement of Officers of the Line of the Navy and for Other Purposes, page 3239:

(US, military, transitive) To promote somebody who was previously passed over.


antisubmarine

A depth charge is an antisubmarine weapon.

NATO held extensive wargames to practice antisubmarine warfare.

(military) Intended for use against submarines.


antitank

A TOW missile is an antitank weapon capable of killing everyone in a tank from great distance.

armored fighting vehicle
armored fighting vehicle

(military) Of weapons or tactics, designed for thwarting or (especially) attacking tanks or other armored fighting vehicles.

مضاد للدبابات

designed for attacking tanks or other armored vehicles


antiship

A single EXOCET antiship missile can sink a destroyer. Try not to get hit.

(military) Designed to attack a naval ship.


flagship

After Russia’s flagship in the Black Sea, the Moskva, sank last week, the authorities said that the entire crew of more than 500 had been rescued.

2022 April 21, Neil MacFarquhar, Alina Lobzina, “With sunken warship, Russian disinformation faces a test.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(nautical, military) The ship occupied by the fleet's commander (usually an admiral); it denotes this by flying his flag.


mantlet

mantlets (plural)
mantelet (alternative)

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

From Middle English mauntelet, from Old French mantelet, diminutive of mantel (“mantle”). Doublet of mantelletta.

Already their archers were stealing forward, pushing their rolling mantlets.

2000, George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords, Bantam, published 2011, page 947:

(military, now historical) A portable screen or other covering, especially as used to protect the approach of soldiers engaged in a siege.


AFP

Armed Forces of the Philippines
w:Armed Forces of the Philippines

(Philippines, military) Initialism of Armed Forces of the Philippines.


BB

en-noun

BB (countable and uncountable, plural BBs)

BBs (plural)
B.B. (alternative)
B. B. (alternative)
bb (alternative)


PSB

PSB (countable and uncountable, plural PSBs)

Presidential Service Badge
w:Presidential Service Badge

(military, US) Initialism of Presidential Service Badge.


LWT

(military, nautical) Abbreviation of lightweight torpedo.


SFC

SFC (countable and uncountable, plural SFCs)

Sergeant First Class
w:Sergeant First Class

(military, US) Initialism of Sergeant First Class.


plonk

A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English

From WWI military slang, derived by alteration of French vin blanc (“white wine”) by the law of Hobson-Jobson. Recorded earliest in the playful rhyming slang form plinketty-plonk. Possibly influenced by the sound of wine being poured into a glass.


chickenshit

chickenshit (countable and uncountable, plural chickenshits)

chickenshits (plural)
chicken-shit (alternative)
chicken shit (alternative)

That chickenshit drove his men nearly to mutiny.

(vulgar, military, slang) A low-ranking officer who lords over and needlessly makes life miserable for his underlings; a petty, abusive martinet.


LCS

LCS (countable and uncountable, plural LCSs)

The “rotational deployment” of the vessels, called littoral combat ships (LCS), comes as China continues to flex its muscles in the South China Sea and tensions remain on the Korean Peninsula. / “We will soon see up to four LCS here in Singapore as we rotationally deploy Seventh Fleet ships,” said Rear Admiral Charles Williams.

2015 February 18, “US to base four warships in Singapore as China flexes military muscles”, in The Guardian:

littoral combat ship
littoral combat ship#English

(US, military, nautical, countable) Initialism of littoral combat ship: a specialized type of frigate for green water and coastal combat and transoceanic capability designated by the US Navy.


Winchester

French: Bicêtre

Hungarian: vincseszter

Russian: винчестер (vinčester)

From Middle English Wynchester, Winchestre, from Old English Wintanċeaster, from Latin Venta Belgārum (literally “Venta of the Belgae”), perhaps ultimately from Proto-Celtic *wentā (“town, place”), Proto-Indo-European *h₁wen- (“place (?)”) + Old English ċeaster, from Latin castra (“camp”).
The bottle is named for the former customary units of the English city. The rifle is named named after American businessman Oliver Winchester (1810–1880). The computer disk is named for the rifle.


trigger

Originally tricker, from Dutch trekker (“pull”, noun, as in drawer-pull, bell-pull), from Dutch trekken (“to drag, draw, pull”).

bor

Just pull the trigger.

[W]e pull'd aſide the Tricker, and obſerv'd, that according to our expectation the force of the Spring of the Lock vvas not ſenſibly abated by the abſence of the Air.

1659 December 30 (date written), Robert Boyle, “[Experiment 14]”, in New Experiments Physico-Mechanicall, Touching the Spring of the Air, and Its Effects, (Made, for the Most Part, in a New Pneumatical Engine) […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] H[enry] Hall, printer to the University, for Tho[mas] Robinson, published 1660, →OCLC, page 89:

(firearms) A finger-operated lever used to fire a gun.


hootchie

(military slang) Alternative form of hutchie (“type of shelter”)


overkill

/ˈəʊ.vəˌkɪl/

[The] increase in nuclear missiles available to the West was operationally unnecessary and would only add to the existing nuclear overkill; mixed manning was a formula for military disaster; […]

1990, Sir William Godfrey Fothergill Jackson, Britain's Defence Dilemma: An Inside View : Rethinking British Defence Policy in the Post-imperial Era, B. T. Batsford Limited:

(literally, military) A destructive capacity that exceeds that needed to destroy an enemy; especially with nuclear weapons.


dugout

The key unit of life here is the dugout – what the soldiers call a ‘blindage’ – an underground burrow where half a dozen men share the narrow space between the bunks with weapons, ammunition, biscuits, tea bags, and a jumble of other essentials (there is also usually a cat, not to mention the mice).

2017 January 14, Roland Oliphant, “Special report: Loose cannons at the frontline of Ukraine's forgotten war”, in The Telegraph:

(military) A pit dug into the ground as a shelter, especially from enemy fire.


rookery

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

(military, slang, obsolete) That part of the barracks occupied by subalterns.


lat

lats (plural)
lât (alternative)
lāt (alternative)
lath (alternative)

Borrowed from Hindi लाट (lāṭ, “pillar; minaret; staff, club”), लाठ (lāṭh, “long staff; cudgel”), etc.

bor+

(weaponry, rare) A staff, particularly one of an Indian kind.


cook-off

en-noun

cook-off (countable and uncountable, plural cook-offs)

(chemistry, military) The accidental detonation of explosives as the result of excessive heat.


fire at will

All cruisers, fire at will! Burn their mongrel hides!

2007 September 25, Bungie, Halo 3, spoken by Rtas 'Vadum (Robert Davi), Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360, level/area: The Ark:

(military) Fire when ready. A command that allows troops to use weapons at their discretion and choose their own targets, allowing the individual soldier a greater freedom of timing the shot with target movement and similar.


CATO

(Canada, military) Acronym of Cadet Administrative and Training Order.


fuze

Variant spelling of fuse used to differentiate senses, see Usage note there.

(military, professional usage) An auxiliary device with explosive components, used to detonate a munition.


fuze

en-verb

fuze (third-person singular simple present fuzes, present participle fuzing, simple past and past participle fuzed)

fuzes (present singular third-person)
fuzing (participle present)
fuzed (participle past)
fuzed (past)

(transitive, military, professional usage) To equip with a fuze.


MOS

"I was a marine. My MOS was 0311," he said.

(military) Initialism of military occupational specialty.


BFH

(military slang) Initialism of big fucking hammer.


PVT

en-noun

PVT (countable and uncountable, plural PVTs)

PVTs (plural)
Pte (alternative)
Pte. (alternative)
Pvt (alternative)
Pvt. (alternative)

(US, military) Abbreviation of private (“soldier”).


encampment

encampment (countable and uncountable, plural encampments)

PIE word
 *h₁én
From encamp (“to establish a camp or temporary shelter”) + -ment (suffix forming nouns denoting actions or their results).

affix

As ſoon as he came to the top of thoſe Hills he plainly diſcovered the Creek or Harbour vvhere the Pyrate Ships lay, and vvhere they had form'd their Encampment on the Shore.

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 69:

One of the greatest dangers that beset the travellers in this part of their expedition, was the vast number of rattlesnakes which infested the rocks about the rapids and portages, and on which the men were in danger of treading. They were often found, too, in quantities about the encampments.

1836 October, Washington Irving, chapter XIII, in Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains. […], volume II, Philadelphia, Pa.: [Henry Charles] Carey, [Isaac] Lea, & Blanchard, →OCLC, page 116:

[P]erhaps, had the Moors passed these gates, and reached the Christian encampment, lulled, as it was, in security and sleep, that wild army of twenty thousand desperate men might have saved Granada; and Spain might, at this day, possess the only civilised empire which the faith of Mahomet ever founded.

1838, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], “The Return—the Riot—the Treachery—and the Death”, in “Leila; or, The Siege of Granada”, in Leila; or, The Siege of Granada: And Calderon, the Courtier. […], London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans; Paris: Delloy and Co., →OCLC, book V, page 286:

Shortly after leaving the station, the train passes the site of a small halt, built in August, 1889, to serve a large army encampment situated nearby.

1946 July–August, K. Westcott Jones, “Isle of Wight Central Railway—2”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 243:

In Mississippi, Tom turned an encampment of do-gooder burners into an organization he dubbed Burners Without Borders.

2011, Steven T. Jones, The Tribes of Burning Man: How an Experimental City in the Desert is Shaping the New American Counterculture, San Francisco, Calif.: Consortium of Collective Consciousness, →ISBN:

(often military) A place where people (such as displaced people, soldiers, or travellers) encamp, that is, stay in tents or other temporary structures; a camp or campsite.

lag

place where people encamp — see also camp, campsite


Zouave

From French, from Arabic زَوَاوِيّ (zawāwiyy), used to refer to a Kabyle soldier, especially of the Igawawen people.

(military, historical) One of a body of soldiers in the French service, originally Kabyle, but now composed of Frenchmen who wear the Kabyle dress.

الزواف

a Kabyle or French soldier in Kabyle dress

(military, historical, by extension) One of a body of soldiers who adopt the dress and drill of the Zouaves in French service, as was done by a number of volunteer regiments in the army of the United States in the Civil War (1861–65).


lanyard

lanyards (plural)
laniard (alternative)
laniard (alternative)

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

Auckland War Memorial Museum
Imperial War Museum
M777 howitzer
New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Royal Artillery
United States Army

From late Middle English lainer, lainere, lanyer (“strap or thong used to fasten armour”) (with the ending modified in the 17th century under the influence of yard), from Old French laniere, lasniere (“thong, lash”) (see modern French lanière (“lanyard, strap”)).
The French word is ultimately from Germanic, cognate with Old High German nestila (“band, headband; strap”) (modern German Nestel (“lace; strap; string”)), Old Norse nesta (“brace; fastener, strap”).

ref

From the collection of the Auckland War Memorial Museum in Auckland, New Zealand.

From the collection of the Imperial War Museum, UK.

cog

(by extension, military) A cord with a hook which is secured to an artillery piece, and pulled to fire the weapon.

Abzugsleine

cord with a hook secured to an artillery piece, and pulled to fire the weapon


isu

(sumo) An individual seat in the loft-like balcony of a sumo arena.


ISF

Israeli security forces
w:Israeli security forces

(military, Israel) Initialism of Israeli security forces.


invasive

en-adj

invasive (comparative more invasive, superlative most invasive)

more invasive (comparative)
most invasive (superlative)

PIE word
 *h₁én
The adjective is derived from Middle English invasif (“of a weapon: offensive”), from Middle French invasif, Old French invasif (“invasive”) (modern French invasif), from Medieval Latin invāsīvus, from Latin invāsus (“entered; invaded”) + -īvus (suffix forming adjectives). Invāsus is the perfect passive participle of invādō (“to enter; to invade”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside’) + vādō (“to go; to rush; to walk”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weh₂dʰ- (“to go, proceed; to pass, traverse”)).
The noun is derived from the adjective.

der

He managed to get back Lorraine; made truce with the Hungarians, who were excessively invasive at that time. Truce with the Hungarians; and then, having gathered strength, made dreadful beating of them; two beatings,—one to each half, for the invasive Savagery had split itself, for better chance of plunder; […]

1858, Thomas Carlyle, “Brannibor: Henry the Fowler”, in History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book II, page 70:

(military, also figuratively) That invades a foreign country using military force; also, militarily aggressive.

агресивен

that invades a foreign country using military force; militarily aggressive


RTFA

Derived from the initialism RTFM, which was originally used in the context of Usenet.

(military) Initialism of ready team fire assist.


inlet

en-verb

inlet (third-person singular simple present inlets, present participle inletting, simple past and past participle inlet)

inlets (present singular third-person)
inletting (participle present)
inlet (participle past)
inlet (past)

From Middle English inleten, equivalent to in- + let. Cognate with Dutch inlaten (“to let in, admit”), Low German inlaten (“to let in”), German einlassen (“to admit, let in”), Swedish inlåta (“to enter, engage”).

(firearms) To carve the wooden stock of a firearm so as to position the metal components in it.


DIA

Defense Intelligence Agency
w:en:Defense Intelligence Agency

(US, military) Initialism of Defense Intelligence Agency.


Ali Baba

From Persian علی بابا. The use of Ali Baba to designate a type of container originates from the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (see the use as proper noun below), suggesting the appearance of the oil jars in which the thieves hide in the story.

bor

Persian علی بابا

(slang, ethnic slur, US, military) An Iraqi.


antimissile

antimissile defense

antimissile missile

(military) Designed to intercept and destroy another missile in flight.

проціраке́тны

designed to destroy another missile in flight


riser

From Middle English ryser, risere, equivalent to rise + -er.


layette

(US, military) A bin for storing equipment parts prior to their use.


point-blank

From French point blanc (“white point”), originally referring to the white spot to be aimed at on a target (see blank's "bull's eye") or alternatively into empty space being fired horizontally.

Now, here's a useful tool—.470, telescopic sight, double ejector, point-blank up to three-fifty. That's the rifle I used against the Peruvian slave-drivers three years ago.

1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, “‘I was the Flail of the Lord’”, in The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

Heavily armed militants launched a series of coordinated attacks in rural Assam on Tuesday, pulling villagers from their homes and shooting them at point-blank range, witnesses said.

2014 December 24, “Assam rebels kill scores on night of brutal attacks in Indian state”, in The Guardian:

Fifteen of those people had died of natural causes, the rest from gunshot wounds, including point-blank shots, or from shrapnel.

2022 April 3, Carlotta Gall, Andrew E. Kramer, “In a Kyiv Suburb,‘They Shot Everyone They Saw’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(ballistics) The distance between a firearm and a target where a projectile in flight is expected to strike the centre of the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm.


heya

(sumo) the so-called "stable" of rikishi who train under the instruction of a particular shisho; the place where this group lives and trains


radarman

(US, naval) A person who operates all navigational and communications systems.


beasting

en-noun

beasting (usually uncountable, plural beastings)

(UK, military, slang) The imposition of arduous exercises, either as training or as punishment.


suplex

Perhaps related to the suplay of classical wrestling, if not further inspired by super; also see -ex. Another explanation could be from sub + plecto, (meaning essentially I turn, twist, combine, or "braid" from under) which could ultimately reduce into English as suplex due to it being a novel innovation.

(professional wrestling) A wrestling move in which the wrestler picks up their opponent off the ground (or mat) and then, using a large portion of their own body weight, drives the opponent down on the mat by throwing them over their center of gravity, usually arching their back.


suplex

en-verb

suplex (third-person singular simple present suplexes, present participle suplexing, simple past and past participle suplexed)

suplexes (present singular third-person)
suplexing (participle present)
suplexed (participle past)
suplexed (past)

(transitive, professional wrestling) To subject to this maneuver.


Old Dart

Possibly from the river Dart in Devonshire which enters the sea at Dartmouth, location of a Royal Navy College. Royal Navy officers who were returning to England at the end of a foreign tour of duty referred to going back to the "Old Dart" for further training.
Alternatively a variation of "old dirt" (compare old sod).

(colloquial, UK, naval) Dartmouth Royal Navy College.


air base

air bases (plural)
airbase (alternative)

American officers have observed how Chinese troops stationed at American air bases have frequently refused to shoot at Japanese raiding planes. Asked by an American officer for the reason for this behavior, a Chinese officer at Lao-ho-k’ou air base in Hupeh answered (November 1944): “Well you see, if we shot down a Jap plane, the Japs would be angry and would take revenge and return and bomb the city and do a lot of damage.”

1968, Lyman P. Van Slyke, editor, The Chinese Communist Movement: A Report of the United States War Department, July 1945, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 90:

(military) A military airport, providing housing and support for aircraft and personnel.


Dakota

Dakotas (plural)
Dacota (alternative)
Dacotah (alternative)
Dahcotah (alternative)

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

(military, aviation) Out of air-to-ground ordinance.


mora

(historical, military) An ancient Spartan military unit of about a sixth of the Spartan army, typically composed of hoplites.


escadrille

Borrowed from French escadrille, from Middle French, from Spanish escuadrilla, from Latin exquadrare (“to square off”).

(historical, military) A unit of (usually) ten or more aircraft in World War I France.


SOC

en-noun

SOC (countable and uncountable, plural SOCs)

special operations command
w:Special Operations Command

(military) Initialism of special operations command.


SOC

(Singapore, military) Initialism of standard obstacle course.


defilade

en-verb

defilade (third-person singular simple present defilades, present participle defilading, simple past and past participle defiladed)

defilades (present singular third-person)
defilading (participle present)
defiladed (participle past)
defiladed (past)

(transitive, military) To fortify (something) as a protection from enfilading fire.


PCI

(military) Initialism of precombat inspection.


anklelock

(wrestling) A hold in professional wrestling, a leglock applied to any of the joints in the ankle.


stadia

(firearms) Hash marks or other reticle etchings on a riflescope's lens which are used for stadiametric rangefinding; lines or curves for estimating the range of a target of known height, such as an enemy soldier or a game animal.

(military) (historically) A graduated brass triangle used to measure the distance of a target by comparison of the graduations with the heights of soldiers or horses.


semper fi

(US military) Abbreviation of semper fidelis.


rocker

From Middle English rokker, rockere, rokkere, equivalent to rock + -er.

Cadet Sergeant First Class: 3 Chevrons and 2 rockers. Cadet Master Sergeant: 3 Chevrons and 3 rockers. Cadet First Sergeant: 3 Chevrons, 3 rockers with a diamond inset.

2000, Mark Collantes, The Academy, page 66:

(military) A curved line accompanying the chevrons that denote rank, qualifying the rank with a grade.


CAB

Combat Action Badge
w:Combat Action Badge

(military, US) Initialism of Combat Action Badge.


riposte

From French riposte, taken from Italian risposta, a derivative of the verb rispondere (“to respond”).

(fencing) A thrust given in return after parrying an attack.


riposte

riposte (third-person singular simple present ripostes, present participle riposting, simple past and past participle riposted)

ripostes (present singular third-person)
riposting (participle present)
riposted (participle past)
riposted (past)
ripost (alternative)

(fencing) To attempt to hit an opponent after parrying an attack.

ripostera

fencing: to attempt to hit an opponent after parrying an attack


ripost

(fencing) A thrust given in return after parrying a lunge.


naval mine

The ship hit a naval mine and sank with all hands.

(military) An explosive device placed in the water and intended to destroy or deter vessels.


BCG

birth control glasses
birth control glasses#English

(US, military slang) Initialism of birth control glasses. US military or prison issued eyeglasses, often regarded as ugly.


ARA

(nautical, military) the Argentine Navy (Armada de la República Argentina)


ARA

(nautical, military, initialism) ship's prefix for warships of the Argentinian navy.


second-rate

(UK, military, nautical, historical) Of a Royal Navy ship of the line in the Napoleonic Era: having 80–98 guns across three gun decks, a complement of 700–750, and weighing approximately 2,200 tons burthen.


second-rate

second-rates (plural)
second rate (alternative)

(UK, military, nautical, historical) A second-rate ship of the line.


BD

en-noun

BD (countable and uncountable, plural BDs)


CBD

CBD (countable and uncountable, plural CBDs or CBD's)

chemical and biological defence
chemical and biological defence#English

(military) Initialism of chemical and biological defence.


arquebusier

From Middle French hacquebousier, arquebusier, corresponding to arquebus + -ier.

This included the head-piece and gorgett, the back and breast, with skirts of iron called tasses or tassets covering the thighs, as may be seen in the figures, representing the exercise of the pike, published anno 1622, by the title of the Military Art of Training; the same kind of armour was worn by the harquebusiers.

1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 21:

(military, now historical) A soldier armed with an arquebus.


harrow

From Middle English harwe, harow, from Old English *hearwa (perhaps ultimately cognate with harvest), or from Old Norse harfr/herfi; compare Danish harve (“harrow”), Dutch hark (“rake”). Akin to Latin carpere. According to the OED, the verb senses are partly derived from the noun sense, partly from a by-form of the verb harry, itself from Old English hergian.

(military) An obstacle formed by turning an ordinary harrow upside down, the frame being buried.


hit and run

hit and run (countable and uncountable, plural hit and runs)

hit and runs (plural)
hit-and-run (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-hit and run.wav

It used it as a launching pad of its hit and run attacks against Yugoslavia with the full—though clandestine—support of the Bulgarian Ministry of War and Fascist Italy.

2002, Samuel Vaknin, Terrorists and Freedom Fighters:

In the city centre far from the stadium, what the mayor, Femke Halsema, has described as violent “hit and run” attacks on Israeli supporters by groups of local people took place.

2024 November 16, Dave Rich, “The violence in Amsterdam showed just how polarising – and radicalising – the Middle East conflict has been”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(military) The tactic of attacking one place and then quickly moving to another before defenders can react.


compo

compo (countable and uncountable, plural compos)

Sometimes supplies of food might be a little short in certain areas but attempts were made to ensure that all men had some rations, compo and fresh, available to them.

1992, Martin Walker, Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 1991: Public Eating:

(military, slang, historical, attributive) Compo ration.

Abbreviation of composition.
Compo ration.


air support

(military) The act of using aircraft to attack an enemy to assist ground military forces.


tweener

Undoubtedly, his record versus welterweights (147 pounds) is better than against full-blown middleweights (160 pounds). Being a tweener, Graziano probably would have campaigned as a junior middleweight (154 pounds) if he fought today.

2023, Rod Honecker, Brick City Grudge Match: Tony Zale and Rocky Graziano Battle in Newark, 1948, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 146:

(informal) A person or thing that is between two categories, classes or age groups.

(boxing) A boxer in various newcomer weight classes whose names often contain super, light or junior.

There are old-school wrestlers, submission wrestlers, hardcore wrestlers, hillbilly wrestlers, masked Mexican lucha libre wrestlers, shoot wrestlers, and wrestlers who just talk a lot and never actually wrestle. There are babyfaces (good guys), heels (bad guys), ’tweeners, and crossovers.

2006, Thomas Hackett, Slaphappy: Pride, Prejudice, and Professional Wrestling, New York, NY: HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 21:

When Crockett hit TBS, [Ric] Flair was a babyface within its territory, but a heel in the areas he visited as champion, so it compromised, and on TBS, he became a “tweener” who took on all comers.

2015 May, David Bixenspan, “The Real World Champion”, in Fighting Spirit Magazine, number 118, Bournemouth: Uncooked Media Ltd, →ISSN, page 53:

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

professional wrestler
professional wrestler

(professional wrestling, slang) A professional wrestler who is neutral or morally ambiguous; neither a face nor a heel, or showing no favoritism to either allegiance.


cauliflower ear

cauliflower ear (plural cauliflower ears)

A huge man with a notable cauliflower ear was peering into the car, a scowl of suspicion upon his face.

1928 February 25 – March 3, Arthur Conan Doyle, “When the World Screamed”, in The Professor Challenger Stories […], London: John Murray, […], published [1952], →OCLC, page 560:

Having gone in a lot for boxing from his earliest years, he had the cauliflower ear of which I had spoken to Aunt Dahlia and in addition to this a nose which some hidden hand had knocked slightly out of the straight.

1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter III, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:

(boxing, wrestling, sports, pathology) An ear swollen and deformed by repeated blows, common among boxers and rugby players.


rendezvous

rendezvous (plural rendezvous or (rare) rendezvouses)

rendezvous (plural)
rendezvouses (plural rare)
randezvous (alternative archaic)
rendez-vous (alternative)

→ Welsh: rondefŵ

→ Welsh: randibŵ

/ˈɹɒndɪˌvuː/

/ˈɹɒndeɪ̯ˌvuː/

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

Borrowed from French rendez-vous (“appointment”), noun derived from second person plural imperative of se rendre (“to go to”), literally, “[you (imperative)] go to, get yourself to [a place]”.

m-g

􂀿you (imperative)􂁀 go to, get yourself to 􂀿a place􂁀

lit

The king appointed his whole army to be drawn together to a rendezvous at Marlborough.

1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the [Sheldonian] Theater, published 1707, →OCLC:

(military) The appointed place for troops, or for the ships of a fleet, to assemble; also, a place for enlistment.


popinjay

/ˈpɑpənˌd͡ʒeɪ/

From Middle English popinjay, popyngeay, popingay, popejay, from Anglo-Norman papegai, papejoie et al., (northern) Old French papejai (“parrot”), probably from Old Occitan papagay (compare Occitan papagai, Catalan papagai), ultimately from Arabic بَبْغَاء (babḡāʔ, “parrot”), of imitative origin.

(archery) A target to shoot at, typically stuffed with feathers or plumage.


drip

en-verb

drip (third-person singular simple present drips, present participle dripping, simple past and past participle dripped)

drips (present singular third-person)
dripping (participle present)
dripped (participle past)
dripped (past)

From Middle English drippen, druppen, from Old English drypan, from Proto-Germanic *drupjaną (“to fall in drops, drip”), from Proto-Germanic *drupô (“drop”). Akin to West Frisian drippe (“to drip”),
Dutch druipen, druppelen (“to drip”), German Low German drüppen (“to drip”), German tropfen, tröpfeln (“to drip”), Norwegian Bokmål dryppe, Norwegian Nynorsk drypa (“to drip”).

inh

The Women's Royal Naval Service was integrated with the Royal Navy in November 1993. […] Men interviewed by Public Eye (April, 1994) said they should 'stop dripping about it' and that women should learn to 'take it like a man […]

1995, Sue Innes, Making it work: women, change and challenge in the 1990s, page 21:

The government had been slowly running down the Royal Navy Organisation to save money on various peoples' budgets, so now we had to sub-contract ships to go to war! So stop dripping and "make it so", all those admirals can't be wrong!

2012, I. H. Milburn, Falklands War - Get STUFT:

(UK, naval slang, intransitive) To whine or complain consistently; to grumble.


retread

From re- + tread (“grooves carved into the face of a tire”, noun).

affix

In Our War the Retreads usually slinked in over-aged, over-weight and overcautious in the face of a new generation.

1950, Air Force Association, United States Army, Air Force Magazine:

They were retreads and recruits under a small cadre of Regular Army officers and noncoms.

1971, Brian Garfield, The thousand-mile war: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians:

We retreads upset everybody.

1976, James Jones, Art Weithas, WW II: a chronicle of soldiering:

As with the 100th Division, many of the replacements joining the 103d were "retreads" from the technical services or antiaircraft and aviation troops...

2006, Keith E Bonn, When the Odds Were Even:

(military, slang) A person who re-entered military service in World War II after serving in World War I.


summons

→ Bengali: সমন (śomon)

→ Cebuano: sumon

→ Malay: saman

→ English: saman

→ English: summon

From Middle English somouns (“order or command to do something”), borrowed from Old French sumunce (modern French semonce), from Vulgar Latin *summonsa, a noun use of the feminine past participle of summoneō, summonēre (“to summon”).


reconnoiter

en-verb

reconnoiter (third-person singular simple present reconnoiters, present participle reconnoitering, simple past and past participle reconnoitered)

reconnoiters (present singular third-person)
reconnoitering (participle present)
reconnoitered (participle past)
reconnoitered (past)
reconnoitre (alternative)

/ˌɹɛkəˈnɔɪtə/

[ˌɹʷɛkəˈnɔɪ̯tʰə]

/ˌɹɛkəˈnɔɪtɚ/

[ˌɹˠɛkəˈnɔɪ̯ɾɚ]

From French reconnoître (obsolete spelling of reconnaître), from Latin recognoscere (“to recognize”). Contrarily, there is also an obsolete 19th-century British English spelling reconnaitre (now reconnoitre).

Our scout will reconnoiter the path ahead of our troops.

(American spelling, transitive, intransitive, military) To perform a reconnaissance (of an area; an enemy position); to scout with the aim of acquiring information.

разузнавам

perform a reconnaissance — see also scout


third-rate

(UK, military, nautical, historical) Of a Royal Navy ship of the line in the Napoleonic Era: having 64–80 guns across two gun decks, a complement of 500–650, and weighing approximately 1,750 tons burthen.


third-rate

third-rates (plural)
third rate (alternative)

(UK, military, nautical, historical) A third-rate ship of the line.


kisser

(archery) A button on a bowstring that indicates consistent height when drawing a bow, for example by being placed against the archer's mouth .


marker

en-noun

marker (countable and uncountable, plural markers)

marker interface → marker interface pattern

Someone or something used to mark a position or amount, particularly

(military) The soldier who forms the pilot of a wheeling column or marks the direction of an alignment.


civvy street

From civvy (“(informal) civilian”, adjective and noun) + street.

You might have been in Civvy Street / Instead of in the fight; / But it serves you right, / You shouldn't have joined [the navy], / It jolly well serves you right.

1943 November, Desmond Cox, Harold Elton Box, “It Serves You Right (You Shouldn’t Have Joined)”, in Bell-Bottom George (released 7 February 1944; soundtrack), performed by George Formby:

In civvy street he had been a bus cleaner.

2002, Sam Smith, Vera and Eddy’s War, Nibley, South Gloucestershire: BeWrite Books, →ISBN:

(chiefly British, military slang) The condition or status of a civilian; civilian life.


rear admiral

(military, nautical) A naval officer below the rank of vice admiral, originally in charge of a fleet's rear formation.


white horse

white horse (countable and uncountable, plural white horses)

(Singapore, military) A soldier who is the child of a minister, high-ranking civil servant or officer, or comes from a highly influential family; these soldiers are sometimes subject to preferential treatment in camp.


top line

(military) A flag on the edge of a minefield.


staff officer

Holonym: general staff

(military) An officer who fulfills a non-combat support function, often in a headquarters or planning office.

參謀 /参谋

an officer who fulfills a non-combat support function


kesho-mawashi

Borrowed from Japanese 化粧廻し (“ornamental belt”).

(sumo) A decorative mawashi worn by a sekitori during the ring-entering ceremony.


yokozuna

From Japanese 横綱(よこづな) (yokozuna, “wide rope”), the symbol of their rank worn about the waist.

A yokozuna is the very highest rank in sumo – “just like Mameha's position in Gion,” as Nobu explained it to me. I had no reason to doubt him; but if Mameha ever took half as much time entering a party as these yokozuna took entering the ring, she'd certainly never be invited back.

1997, Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha, Vintage, page 202:

(sumo) The highest rank of sumo wrestler, above ozeki; grand champion.

What mattered most was that, from the very top of the Nihon Sumo Kyōkai, Yokozuna Akebono had been shown respect.

2006, Mark Panek, Gaijin Yokozuna: A Biography of Chad Rowan, page 265:

(sumo) A person holding the rank, either competing at the rank or retired after having achieved it.


ozeki

ozekis (plural)
ozeki (plural)
ōzeki (alternative)

Borrowed from Japanese 大関(おおぜき) (ōzeki).

Terunofuji is the first in 64 years to be promoted to ozeki after spending two tournaments as a komusubi or sekiwake and the first since the season went to six meets in 1958.

2015 May 27, “Terunofuji promoted to ozeki after victory”, in Japan Times, archived from the original on 2018-05-09:

Former ozeki Hokutenyu, who held sumo’s second-highest rank for 44 tournaments […] died of kidney cancer at a Tokyo hospital on Friday at the age of 45.

2006 June 25, “Former ozeki Hokutenyu dies at 45”, in Japan Times:

(sumo) A sumo wrestler ranking below yokozuna and above sekiwake; champion.


sekiwake

The highest rank attainable is yokozuna, or grand champion. […] After him in standing come the ozekis, or champions; the sekiwakes, or junior champions; […]

1965, Myra Waldo, “Japan”, in Travel Guide to the Orient and the Pacific, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Collier-Macmillan Limited, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 157:

Are there special standards for promotion to sekiwake or komusubi? No. The same standards apply as for promotion within the maegashira ranks.

2018, “Standards for Sumo ranking chart”, in Ozumo.com, archived from the original on 2018-04-17:

Sekiwake Tochinoshin (3-2) picked up a much-needed win against komusubi Chiyotairyu (1-4) after suffering his second loss the previous day.

2018 March 15, “Kakuryu makes most of second opportunity against Takarafuji”, in Japan Times, archived from the original on 2018-04-21:

(sumo) A sumo wrestler ranked below ozeki and above komusubi.


komusubi

[…] Kitani and Go were still only like the komusubi juniors in sumo program rankings. […] In fact, their first ten-game match was described merely as the battle of the komusubis.

2009, John Fairbairn, “Prelude to the Match”, in Kamakura, 2nd edition (2011), Richmond, Va.: Slate & Shell, →ISBN, page 25, column 2:

(sumo) A sumo wrestler of the lowest sanyaku rank, below sekiwake and above maegashira.


maegashira

maegashira (plural maegashira or maegashiras)

maegashira (plural)
maegashiras (plural)

Several weeks before each grand tournament, the list of wrestlers is announced. They are divided into two sides - east and west. For each side there are 13 maegashiras, the lowest rank in the tournament.

1988 January 19, Hirotaka Yamashiro, “From sumo wrestling to women’s basketball Japan’s dedication and discipline are hard to beat”, in Tim Currie, Margie Philp, editors, Queen’s Journal, volume 115, number 26, Kingston, Ont.: Alma Mater Society of Queen’s University Inc., →OCLC, page 18, column 3:

“It wasn’t the kind of sumo I was aiming for, but it is a maegashira’s job to try and beat ozeki so in that sense I have got the job done,” said Okinoumi.

2016 March 17, “Okinoumi ends Kotoshogiku’s unbeaten start at Spring Basho”, in Japan Times, archived from the original on 2019-01-07:

(sumo) The highest salaried rank of sumo wrestler, below komusubi and above juryo; the lowest rank in the makuuchi division.


juryo

juryo (plural)
juryos (plural)
jūryō (alternative)

Borrowed from Japanese 十両(じゅうりょう) (jūryō, “ten ryō”), from Middle Chinese 十 (dʒip, “ten”) + 兩 (ljáng, “tael”).

ja-r

十両(じゅうりょう) (jūryō, “ten ryō”)

(sumo) The second highest division in sumo wrestling, below makuuchi and above makushita; rikishi at this point receive a salary.

Jesse won promotion into what is called the juryo division of sumo and to the title of “sekitori” on the basis of his showing at the New Year’s Sumo Tournament in Tokyo, where he compiled a respectable 5-2 showing, including wins over two former juryos.

1967 June, “Jesse Wins His Girdle”, in Black Belt, volume V, number 6, Los Angeles, Calif.: Black Belt, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 12:

The monthly pay for a yokozuna in the mid-1970s was only ¥373,000, while an ozeki received ¥294,700; a sekiwake or komusubi, ¥200,300; a maegashira, ¥137, 600; and a juryo, ¥114,500.

1979, P[atricia] L. Cuyler, “Wages”, in Sumo: From Rite to Sport, New York, N.Y.; Tokyo: John Weatherhill, Inc., →ISBN, “Sumo Today” section, chapter 5 (Wrestlers and Stables), page 157:

Yokozuna fight each other at the end of the tournament. Lower-division wrestlers fight a total of seven matches per tournament; juryo and makuuchi fight fifteen.

1997, Mina Hall, “Honbasho: Tournaments”, in The Big Book of Sumo: History, Practice, Ritual, Fight, Berkeley, Calif.: Stone Bridge Press, →ISBN, page 53:


makuuchi

Japanese 幕内 (maku-uchi まくうち, "inside the curtain"), from Middle Chinese 幕 (mak "curtain", "covering") + Japanese うち (uchi "inside").

(sumo) The highest division of sumo wrestling, above juryo, comprising the yokozuna, ozeki, sekiwake, komusubi and maegashira ranks.


sanyaku

Borrowed from Japanese 三役, literally "three ranks".

(sumo) Any of the three highest ranks of sumo wrestler: komusubi, sekiwake and ozeki, together with the honorary title of yokozuna.


makushita

(sumo) The third highest division of professional sumo wrestling, below juryo; the lowest division at which a salary is paid.


dohyo

dohyo (plural)
dohyos (plural)
dohyō (alternative)

Borrowed from Japanese 土(ど)俵(ひょう) (dohyō).

Sumo ’bots also tend to have very low ground clearance since they operate on dohyos, which have a very smooth rubberized running surface; […]

2000 June, Robert Nansel, “Amateur Robotics Notebook: Robot City, USA”, in Nuts & Volts, volume 21, number 6, Corona, Calif.: T & L Publications, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 53, column 1:

(sumo) The ring, made of compacted clay, in which a sumo wrestling match is held.


dohyo-iri

(sumo) a ring-entering ceremony performed by rikishi, in the juryo and higher divisions, upon entering the dohyo


rikishi

From Japanese 力士(りきし) (rikishi), from Middle Chinese 力士 (lik-dʐí), from Old Chinese 力士 (*k.rək m-s-rəʔ, “man of great strength”), from 力 (*rɯɡ, “strength”) + 士 (*zrɯʔ, “man; soldier”).


dohyo matsuri

(sumo) A Shinto ceremony in which the dohyo is purified and blessed prior to each basho.


basho

From Japanese 場所(ばしょ) (basho), short form of 本場所(ほんばしょ) (honbasho, “honbasho”).

Two basho later, I was at sekiwake, the third-highest rank in sumo.

1998, Matsumoto Toshimichi, editor, Japan Quarterly, volume 45, Asahi Shimbun Publishing Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 25:


honbasho

Although there are six two-week top-tier tournaments, or honbasho, every year, Kotoshogiku’s victory was the first for a Japanese wrestler in 10 years.

2016 January 27, Victor Mather, “Japanese End Drought in Sumo Wrestling, Their National Sport”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2016-01-27:

(sumo) Any of the six official sumo tournaments.


depot

depots (plural)
dépôt (alternative rare)

→ Malay: depoh

From French dépôt, from Old French depost, from Medieval Latin dēpositum, from Latin, participle of dēpōnō, dēpōnere. Doublet of deposit.

(military) A place where recruits are assembled before being sent to active units.

kutsuntapaikka

military: place where recruits are assembled

(military) A place for the storage, servicing, or upgrade of military hardware.

(military) The portion of a regiment that remains at home when the rest go on foreign service.


akeni

(sumo) A box used by sekitori to store their personal items.


sekitori

Sekitoris wrestle every one of the 15 days of a basho.

1977, Larry Winderbaum, “Sekitori”, in The Martial Arts Encyclopedia, Washington, D.C.: INSCAPE, →ISBN, page 143, column 1:

(sumo) A rikishi, of rank juryo and above, who draws a salary.


amasumo

From Japanese アマ相撲 (ama-sumō); ama is a shortening of English amateur.


ani-deshi

(sumo) The senior rikishi in a particular heya.


oyakata

For a foreigner like Jesse, becoming an oyakata to pave the way to open a heya had its obstacles.

1992, Philbert Ono, “A Visit to Azumazeki-beya (Part 1)”, in Eye-Ai, Tokyo: Riverfield, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 4:

(sumo) A retired rikishi who has reached a certain standing and either becomes a shisho or helps train in others' heya.


banzuke

(sumo) the document, published six times a year, before each basho, showing the official rankings of all rikishi


jungyo

Borrowed from Japanese 巡業 (じゅんぎょう, jungyō), from Middle Chinese 巡 (zwin, “to make rounds, tour”) + 業 (ngjæp, “work”).

ja-l/helper

巡業 (じゅんぎょう, jungyō)

ja-l

巡業 (じゅんぎょう, jungyō)

der

(sumo) A regional tour, undertaken between honbashos, during which the rikishi give exhibition matches.


jun-yusho

(sumo) The second-place position, behind yusho, at the end of a basho; often shared by more than one rikishi.


yusho

From Japanese 優勝 (“victory, championship”).

(sumo) The top-ranking position at the end of a basho; the championship.


bintsuke

(sumo) A wax, derived from soy, used in cosmetics, and to groom the topknot of a sekitori.


chankonabe

Borrowed from Japanese ちゃんこ鍋 (chankonabe).

(sumo) The staple diet of rikishi: a stew of meat, seafood and vegetables.


chikara gami

From Japanese 力紙 (chikara-gami, “strength paper”).

bor

(sumo) Sheets of paper used by rikishi to wipe their lips after the ritual cleansing with chikara mizu.


chikara mizu

From Japanese 力水 (chikara mizu, “strength water”).

(sumo) Water used by rikishi to ritually cleanse the mouth before a match.


daigappei

(sumo) a jungyo tour that features all the rikishi of jonidan rank or higher


jonidan

(sumo) The division of sumo wrestlers above jonokuchi and below sandanme, containing the highest number of rikishi.


jonokuchi

(sumo) A member of the lowest division of sumo wrestlers (below jonidan) to which new recruits are promoted after their first tournament.


sandanme

(sumo) the division of sumo wrestlers above jonidan and below makushita


danpatsushiki

Borrowed from Japanese 断髪式 (danpatsushiki).

(sumo) The ceremony in which the topknot of a retiring rikishi is cut off.


intai-zumo

From Japanese 引退相撲 (intai-zumō, literally “retirement sumo”).

(sumo) A one-day exhibition tournament to commemorate the retirement of a salaried rikishi.


degeiko

(sumo) A practice session between rikishi of competing heya.


deshi

Borrowed from Japanese 弟子 (deshi, “disciple, pupil”).

(sumo) a member of a heya ("stable"); trained by its shisho


eboshi

(sumo) the hat of black lacquer worn by the gyoji presiding over a sumo match


gyoji

gyoji (plural)
gyojis (plural)
gyōji (alternative)

Informants stated that from time immemorial the Emperor himself was a sumo fan, and that it would be disrespectful to appear before him clad in only a long belt-like affair, such as gyojis wear, without his prior consent.

1945 January–March, Marvin K[aufmann] Opler, “A ‘Sumo’ Tournament at Tule Lake Center”, in Ralph Linton, editor, American Anthropologist, volume 47, number 1, Menasha, Wis.: American Anthropological Association, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 137:


fumidawara

Borrowed from Japanese 踏み俵 (fumidawara, “stepping-bale”).

(sumo) rice bales used at the side of the dohyo at steps


tawara

(sumo) Any of the straw bales, packed with earth, placed in a circle on the dohyo and forming the area that the rikishi must stay inside.


fusa

(sumo) The four knotted tassels hanging from the roof of the dohyo; symbolising the four seasons.


fusen

Borrowed from Japanese 不戦 (fusen, “not fighting, not competing”).

(sumo) A sumo match that is cancelled due to the absence of one of the rikishi.


fusenpai

(sumo) a loss by default for failing to appear, normally because of injury


fusensho

(sumo) a win by default due to the opponent not appearing, normally due to injury


gino-sho

(sumo) a prize for technique; one of the sansho prizes


sansho

(sumo) Any of the three special prizes awarded at the end of a basho.

三賞

special prize awarded at the end of a basho


kanto-sho

(sumo) A special prize for fighting-spirit; one of the sansho prizes.


shukun-sho

(sumo) A special prize for outstanding performance; one of the sansho prizes.


gunbai

From Japanese 軍配 (“war fan”), shortened form of 軍配団扇 (gunbai uchiwa).

(sumo) The lacquered wooden fan used by the gyoji.


hanazumo

From Japanese 花相撲 (hana-zumō, literally “flower sumo”).

(sumo) A special sumo exhibition tournament.


haridashi

(sumo) an extra rikishi at a rank that normally only allows two


heyagashira

(sumo) the rikishi of highest rank in a particular heya


higashi

From Japanese 東 (higashi, “east”), from the way the eastern or right side of the sumo ranking list is considered more prestigious, by analogy with the rising sun as opposed to the setting sun.

(sumo) The (more prestigious) right-hand side of the banzuke.

(sumo) A rikishi listed on the right side of the banzuke.


nishi

From Japanese 西 (nishi, “west”), from the way the western or left side of the sumo ranking list is considered less prestigious, by analogy with the setting sun as opposed to the rising sun.

(sumo) the left-hand (less prestigious) side of the banzuke (番付, “ranking list”)

(sumo) a rikishi (力士, “sumo wrestler”) listed on the left side of the banzuke


hyoshigi

I put the glasses down and found that my heart was beating fast, thumping with an accelerating sound like that of the hyoshigi which I had last heard in that sombre vaporous gallery in the Wallace Collection.

1978, Iris Murdoch, The Sea, The Sea, Vintage, published 1999, page 247:

(sumo) One of the wooden sticks that are clapped by the yobidashi to draw the spectator's attention.


yobidashi

(sumo) Any of the functionaries whose tasks include building the dohyo, making announcements, singing the shikona of each rikishi and advising them of preparation time.


shikona

(sumo) The wrestling name of a rikishi, normally derived from his heya, place of birth etc.


ichidai toshiyori

From Japanese 一代年寄 (ichidai toshiyori, literally “lifelong elder”).

(sumo) the lifelong status of elder conferred on an outstanding yokozuna


ichimon

(sumo) Any of the five groups that most heya belong to.

一門

any of the five groups that most heya belong to


ichomage

(sumo) Alternative spelling of oichomage


oichomage

From Japanese 大銀杏髷 (oo-ichō-mage, literally “gingko topknot”).

(sumo) The elaborate hairstyle, resembling a gingko leaf, worn by sekitori during bouts and on ceremonial occasions.


juryo-kaku

(sumo) the rank of gyoji who officiates a bout involving a rikishi from the juryo division


kachi-koshi

(sumo) a majority of wins in an honbasho; reflects positively on the rikishi's ranking


make-koshi

(sumo) a majority of losses in a honbasho; reflects negatively on the rikishi's ranking


kanjin-sumo

From Japanese 勧進相撲 (kanjin-zumō), with zumō changed to its usual English form sumo.

(sumo) The historic form of sumo that developed into the modern sport.


kensho

(sumo) Prize money given to encourage rikishi by sponsors.


kinboshi

Borrowed from Japanese 金星 (kinboshi, “gold star”).

(sumo) An honour awarded to a rikishi of maegashira rank upon beating a yokozuna.


kinjite

Borrowed from Japanese 禁じ手 (kinjite), from 禁じる (kinjiru, “to forbid”) + 手 (te, “hand”).


kimarite

(sumo) any of the 82 techniques that may be used to win a match


kimarite-gakari

(sumo) The official who announces the winner of the torikumi and the kimarite used.


torikumi-hyo

From Japanese 取組表 (torikumi-hyō, literally “bout table”).

(sumo) The programme of bouts in a day at a tournament.


koen-kai

(sumo) a sumo fan club, either for a heya or for a particular rikishi; a useful source of money


ozumo

Borrowed from Japanese 大相撲 (grand sumo).


maezumo

Borrowed from Japanese 前相撲, literally "before sumo".

(sumo) The unofficial rank of beginners etc.


makuuchi dohyo-iri

From Japanese 幕内土俵入り (makuuchi dohyō-iri, literally “makuuchi ring-entering”).

(sumo) A group ring-entering ceremony performed by all members of the makuuchi division, except the yokozuna, after the juryo bouts.


makuuchi-kaku

(sumo) The gyoji who referees bouts involving a rikishi from the makuuchi division.


masu-seki

(sumo) The expensive seats, holding four people, on the ground floor of the arena.


matawari

(sumo) A form of exercise in which a rikishi sits on the ground with his legs wide apart, then lowers his torso to touch the ground between his legs.


matta

(sumo) The false start of a bout due to mutual misunderstanding.


mizuhiki-maku

(sumo) The curtain that hangs from the yakata, symbolizing the movement of clouds and the passing of time.


mono-ii

From Japanese 物言い (mono-ii, literally “talk of things”).

(sumo) a conference among the shimpan to reconsider a referee's decision


shimpan

From Japanese 審判 (shinpan, しんぱん), from Middle Chinese 審判 (ʃim-pʰàn "to judge", "to try") (compare Mandarin shěnpàn 审判).

(sumo) the four judges, sitting at each cardinal point


shiranui-gata

Borrowed from Japanese 不知火型 (shiranuigata).

(sumo) The less common ring-entering ceremony performed by yokozuna, consisting only of offensive moves.


unryu-gata

(sumo) The normal ring-entering ceremony performed by yokozuna, consisting of both offensive and defensive moves.


myoseki

(sumo) Any of the 105 names available to sumo oyakata.

名跡

any of the 105 names available to sumo oyakata


nage-waza

(sumo) Any of the 12 throwing techniques.


mustang

Mustang (horse)
Mustang (military officer)

From Mexican Spanish mestengo, from Old Spanish mesteño (“feral animal”) or mestengo (“feral animal”).

He is a product of the merchant marine and is one of the officers called "Mustangs" who entered the navy during the Civil War.

1903, James Hoyt (editor), Seen & Heard by Megargee, L.N. Megargee, page 1754

He was the son of a famous artist, and was what we termed a "mustang" officer, who had come into the navy from the merchant service during the Civil War.

1939, Fred J. Buenzle, Bluejacket, W. W. Norton & Company, page 179:

(US, military slang) A merchant marine who joined the U.S. Navy as a commissioned officer during the American Civil War.

[…] and the chief engineer is a "mustang" — that is, an officer who has risen from the ranks of enlisted men.

September-December 1918, Alfred Emanuel Smith, New Outlook, volume 120, Outlook Publishing Company, page 417:

Mustang— Officer who came up through the ranks. None better.

1943, Josef Israels, He's in the Marine Corps Now, R.M. McBride & Company, page 170:

(US, military slang, generalized) A commissioned officer who started military service as an enlisted person.


sashichigai

(sumo) a decision by the shimpan to overturn the decision of the gyoji


seigen jikan

(sumo) The time allocated for the shikiri rituals before the beginning of each bout.


AAD

Anti-aircraft division
Anti-aircraft division#English

(military) Initialism of Anti-aircraft division.

Army Air Defense
army air defense#English

(military) Initialism of Army Air Defense.

Airborne Assault Division
airborne assault division#English

(military) Initialism of Airborne Assault Division.

Armored Automobile Detachment
armored automobile detachment#English

(military, historical) Initialism of Armored Automobile Detachment.


dusty

From Middle English dusty, dusti, from Old English dūstiġ, dystiġ, dȳstiġ (“dusty”), equivalent to dust + -y. Cognate with Dutch donzig (“cottony, downy, woolly”), German dunstig (“hazy, misty”).

The mess was so overcrowded that hammock-slinging space became the perks of the badgemen the “jack-dusties” invariably slept in their store-rooms and offices.

1982, Ray Sturtivant, Fleet Air Arm at War, page 14:

The 'Dusties' — supply Petty Officers were frantically pumping out the kit, gas masks, kit bags, blankets, army boots, toilet bags, socks, underclothes.

1992, J. W. MacKintosh, The Hunts and the Hunted, page 10:

From time to time I'd get up to the dusties' mess for this or that reason, and became known to the writers and dusties up there.

Take the Jack Dusties, the stores blokes, they were in our mess.

As soon as I become an officer all the Dusties, Tugs, Knockers, Gingers and Macs will call me 'sir' and conceal their thoughts from me;

2015, Alan Allport, Browned Off and Bloody-Minded: The British Soldier Goes to War 1939-1945:

(military, slang) A supply petty officer.


pup tent

Compound of pup (“puppy, small dog”) + tent, from dog tent, military slang for a shelter tent. Attested from the late 19th century.

Colonel Elbridge Colby in Army Talk tells us that the shelter-half, or “pup tent” made its debut during the Civil War. It seems to have been first christened “pup tent” by the Sixth Iowa Infantry at Memphis in 1862 and appears to stem etymologically from the same soldierly self-ridicule that resulted in such terms as “dogface” and “dog tags.”

1947 July, J.F.L., “Tenting Tonight”, in Infantry Journal, page 37:

(US, military, historical) A shelter half, one of two halves comprising a shelter tent or dog tent.


senshuraku

Borrowed from Japanese 千秋楽 (senshūraku, literally “music of a thousand autumns”).

(sumo) The last day of a fifteen-day tournament, always on a Sunday.


shihon-bashira

From Japanese 四本柱 (shi-hon-bashira, literally “four pillars”).

(sumo) The four pillars that support the tsuriyane over the sumo ring; in modern practice removed for better television coverage.


shikiri

(sumo) the preparation time before a sumo bout during which the rikishi try to gain a psychological advantage by intense staring (niramiai) and when salt is ceremonially thrown (kiyome-jio)


shikiri-sen

Borrowed from Japanese 仕切り線 (shikiri-sen).

(sumo) The two enamel lines, embedded in the dohyo, behind which the rikishi crouch in preparation for the tachiai.


tachiai

(sumo) the initial charge towards each other by the rikishi at the start of a sumo bout


buchikamashi

Borrowed from Japanese ぶちかまし (buchikamashi).

(sumo) The heavy collision of the two rikishi during the tachiai at the start of a sumo bout.


shiko

(sumo) One of the basic sumo exercises, in which the rikishi raises a leg high in the air to the side, then brings it down with a stamp. It is also performed on the dohyo to drive away bad spirits.


shimekomi

Borrowed from Japanese 締め込み (shimekomi).

(sumo) The silk mawashi worn by sekitori for competition.


shindeshi

(sumo) a young rikishi recruit, not yet professional


shini-tai

(sumo) A rikishi who is crushed by his opponent when both fall simultaneously.


shokkiri

(sumo) A comical display of fouls etc performed by deshi during tours.


shozoku

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

(sumo) The garment worn by the gyoji, derived from court dress.


shusse hiro

(sumo) The ceremonial introduction of new rikishi at a tournament.


suna-kaburi

From Japanese 砂被り (suna-kaburi, literally “covered by sand”).

(sumo) The six rows of single seats closest to the dohyo.


tachimochi

From Japanese 太刀持ち (tachimochi, “sword bearer”).

(sumo) A rikishi who participates in the dohyo-iri ceremony of a yokozuna by carrying a sword behind him.


tachi-seki

From Japanese 立ち席 (tachi-seki, literally “standing seat”).

(sumo) tickets to stand at the back of the arena.


taiko

Borrowed from Japanese 太鼓 (たいこ taiko), from 太 (tʰàj, “great”) + 鼓 (kú, “drum”).

(sumo) A traditional drum, beaten by yobidashi to announce the beginning of a tournament, and at the end of each day


tategyoji

Borrowed from Japanese 立行司 (tate-gyōji).

(sumo) Either of the two highest-ranked gyoji who referee matches involving a yokozuna.


teppo

(sumo) a wooden pillar that is slapped repeatedly by a rikishi as a sumo wrestling exercise.


teuchi-shiki

From Japanese 手打ち式 (teuchi-shiki, literally “clapping ceremony”).

(sumo) A welcoming ceremony to new rikishi.


tokei-gakari

From Japanese 時計係 (tokei-gakari, literally “one who is responsible for the clock”).

(sumo) The shimpan who acts as timekeeper.


tokoyama

(sumo) A hairdresser who makes the rikishi's topknot; they have their own ranks.


toku-dawara

Borrowed from Japanese 徳俵 (tokudawara, “special rice bale”).

In fact, the sumo ring is not exactly round. Instead, the ring is broadened at four points by the width of a small rice bag (see fig. 1). These four rice bags placed at the cardinal points of the ring are called toku-dawara (lucky straw bags).

Just outside the circle the cardinal directions are marked by four tokudawara. It is only on these that the contestant can step outside the ring and not be deemed to have lost.

2000, Tony Allan, Realm of the Rising Sun: Japanese Myth, page 51:

(sumo) Small enlargements at the cardinal points of the dohyo; originally the entry and exit points.


torinaoshi

(sumo) a rematch; ordered by the judges if unable to determine a winner


toshiyori-kabu

(sumo) One of the 105 licenses to coach, and the associated name of an elder.


tsukebito

(sumo) An attendant of a higher-ranked rikishi or gyoji.


tsuki-oshi

(sumo) a style of fighting involving only thrusts or pushes


tsuna

Borrowed from Japanese 綱 (つな, tsuna, “rope”).

(sumo) the wide ceremonial belt, with hanging zigzag ribbons, worn by a yokozuna


tsunauchi

(sumo) the ceremony in which a yokozuna's tsuna belt is made and presented


tsuyuharai

Borrowed from Japanese 露払い, literally "dew sweeper".

(sumo) a heralding attendant who walks in front of a yokozuna at his dohyo-iri ceremony


yagura

Borrowed from Japanese 櫓 (“tower, turret, keep, scaffold”).

(sumo) A high wooden tower in front of a sumo arena from which a yobidashi beats the taiko drum each day before and after each tournament.


yakata

(sumo) The structure, suspended over the sumo dohyo, that resembles the roof of a Shinto shrine.


yotsu-zumo

(sumo) A style of sumo centred on gripping the mawashi.


yumitori-shiki

(sumo) The bow-twirling ceremony that closes each day of a tournament.


zensho yusho

Borrowed from Japanese 全勝優勝 (zenshō yūshō).

(sumo) the act of winning a tournament and not losing a single bout


zenpai

Borrowed from Japanese 全敗 (zenpai, “utter defeat”).

(sumo) the act of losing every bout in a tournament


gharry

gharries (plural)
garry (alternative)
gharri (alternative)
gharrie (alternative)
garee (alternative)

Borrowed from Hindi गाड़ी (gāṛī) / Urdu گاڑی (gāṛī, “wheeled cart, carriage; car, truck, bus”), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀕𑀟𑁆𑀟 (gaḍḍa), 𑀕𑀟𑁆𑀟𑀻 (gaḍḍī), from Ashokan Prakrit *𑀕𑀸𑀟𑁆𑀟- (*gāḍḍa-).

(South Africa, military, slang) A jeep or small truck for conveying troops.


isamiashi

Borrowed from Japanese 勇み足, literally "forward step out".

(sumo) a situation in which an attacking rikishi accidentally steps too far forward and out of the ring, his opponent thus winning


fumidashi

From Japanese 踏み出し (fumidashi, literally “stepping out”).

(sumo) A situation in which a defending rikishi accidentally steps too far back and out of the ring, his opponent thus winning. A rear step out.


koshikudake

Borrowed from Japanese 腰砕け, literally "inadvertent collapse".

(sumo) A situation in which a rikishi accidentally falls over, his opponent thus winning.


okuriashi

Borrowed from Japanese 送足, literally "step out".

(sumo) A situation in which a rikishi accidentally steps out of ring whilst carrying his opponent out, his opponent thus winning.


tsukihiza

Borrowed from Japanese 突き膝 (つきひざ, tsukihiza), literally meaning “push-down knee”.

(sumo) a situation in which a rikishi accidentally touches the dohyo with his knee, his opponent thus winning


tsukite

Borrowed from Japanese つき手, meaning "hand touch down".

(sumo) The situation in which a rikishi accidentally touches the dohyo with his hand, his opponent thus winning.


silver bullet

[…] "the silver bullet"—a rectal thermometer, to ensure that their body core isn't dangerously overheated from the run.

1998, Thomas E. Ricks, Making the Corps, page 166:

Of course, there is the infamous “Silver Bullet,” which is a rectal thermometer that measures the body's core temperature in the event of a heat case. No one wanted to get it up the butt with the Silver Bullet, […]

2006, Cpl. Matthew D. Wojtecki, Every Other Four, page 140:

A Corpsman was yanking my pants down in order to administer a “silver bullet” (rectal thermometer). I squirmed away and shoved the Corpsman off me before he could insert it.

2017, Jason Delgado, Chris Martin, Bounty Hunter 4/3: From the Bronx to Marine Scout Sniper, page 109:

(military slang) A thermometer, especially one used for rectal temperature readings.


abisetaoshi

Borrowed from Japanese 浴びせ倒し (“backward force down”).

(sumo) A kimarite in which the attacker forces his opponent over backwards by throwing his weight into him from a grappling position.


amiuchi

Borrowed from Japanese 網打ち, literally fisherman's throw.

(sumo) A kimarite in which the attacker throws his opponent behind him by pulling his arm with both hands and twisting backwards; resembles casting a fishing net.


ashitori

(sumo) a kimarite in which the attacker takes his opponent down by grabbing and lifting his leg with both hands


chongake

Borrowed from Japanese ちょん掛け, literally "pulling heel hook".

(sumo) A kimarite in which the attacker hooks his heel behind that of his opponent from the inside, pulls the leg towards him, grabs the opponent's arm on the same side and twists him sideways and backwards.


gasshohineri

Borrowed from Japanese 合掌捻り, literally "clasped hand twist down".

(sumo) a kimarite in which the attacker clasps his hands behind the opponent's back and twists him down and over


harimanage

From Japanese 波離間投げ (“backward belt throw”).

(sumo) A kimarite in which the attacker, at the edge of the dohyo, reaches over his opponent's shoulder, grabs his mawashi from behind, then pulls and twists him past his own body.


hatakikomi

Borrowed from Japanese 叩き込み, literally "slap down".

(sumo) a kimarite in which the attacker dodges his opponent at the tachiai and slaps his opponent's shoulder, back or arm, forcing him to touch the dohyo


hikiotoshi

Borrowed from Japanese 引き落とし, literally hand pull down.

(sumo) A kimarite in which the attacker pulls on his opponent's arm, shoulder or mawashi while backing away.


hikkake

Borrowed from Japanese 引っ掛け, literally arm-grabbing force out.

(sumo) A kimarite in which the attacker grabs his opponent's arm with both hands and pulls him past him while moving backwards and to the side.


izori

From Japanese 居反り, literally backwards body drop.

(sumo) A kimarite in which the attacker dives under his opponent's charge, grabs his knees or his mawashi, and lifts him up and over backwards.