friendly

en-adj

friendly (comparative friendlier or more friendly, superlative friendliest or most friendly)

friendlier (comparative)
more friendly (comparative)
friendliest (superlative)
most friendly (superlative)

From Middle English frendly, freendly, frendely, frendlich, from Old English frēondlīċ, from Proto-Germanic *frijōndlīkaz, equivalent to friend + -ly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian früntelk, fjuntelk (“friendly”), West Frisian freonlik (“friendly”), Dutch vriendelijk (“friendly”), German Low German fründelk, frünnelk (“friendly”), German freundlich (“friendly”).

The soldier was killed by friendly fire.

It is clear that the firing of very heavy guns, or the enemy's fire in return, would very seriously interfere with an abbatis, or anything of that kind, and it will only be something of the lightest character, or something that is placed at a considerable distance from the friendly fire, the fire of the gun itself, that would remain.

1867 June 3, Jasper Selwyn, “Further Particulars Regarding Moncrieff's Protected Barbette System”, in Journal of the Royal United Service Institution, volume XI, number XLIV, page 256:

The slaughter of one's own troops by being fired into by their friends in rear. We are very much concerned over the question of avoiding loss from the enemy's bullets while passing through the danger zone, but what have we done to avoid our bravest fellows, the survival of the fittest, those who have gotten to the front and have held on to hard-won positions—what have we done to avoid their being shot to pieces by friendly fire? Absolutely nothing that we have ever heard of—and yet this is one of the most serious problems that confronts the leader of troops. Courage before the enemy will quail before a fire from the rear.

1910, P.E.T., “The Franco-German War”, in Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States, volume XLVI, number CLXV, page 552:

(usually military) Of or pertaining to friendlies (friendly noun sense 2, below). Also applied to other bipolar confrontations, such as team sports.

прия́телски

pertaining to friendlies in the conflict sense


pop

en-noun

pop (countable and uncountable, plural pops)

From Middle English pop, poppe (“a blow; strike; buffet”) (> Middle English poppen (“to strike; thrust”, verb)), of onomatopoeic origin – used to describe the sound, or short, sharp actions. The physics sense is part of a facetious sequence "snap, crackle, pop", after the mascots of Rice Krispies cereal.

cog

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

(professional wrestling slang) A (usually very) loud audience reaction.


bow

From Middle English bowe, from Old English boga, Proto-West Germanic *bogō, from Proto-Germanic *bugô.
Cognate with West Frisian bôge, Dutch boog, German Bogen, Swedish båge.

strykstok

rod used for playing stringed instruments

Bows come in a variety of different shapes, sizes and cultures, and what is true of one, is not necessarily true of another, so we're gonna be stereotyping here, but, in general, a bow is a way of launching a pointy stick at somebody that you don't like.

2024 November 28, blumineck, “Fantasy vs Reality: 5 weapons that fantasy gets wrong!”, in youtube.com, retrieved 2025-05-07:

(archery) A weapon made of a curved piece of wood or other flexible material whose ends are connected by a string, used for shooting arrows.


armor

en-noun

armor (countable and uncountable, plural armors)

armors (plural)
armour (alternative Australia British Canada)

From Middle English armure, armour, armor, armeure, borrowed from Anglo-Norman armure and Old French armeüre, from Latin armātūra. Doublet of armature and armure. By surface analysis, arm (“to cover or furnish”) + -or (suffix forming agent nouns or nouns of quality, state, or condition).

surf

-or<pos:suffix forming agent nouns or nouns of quality, state, or condition>

Good work, Chief. Link up with our armor on the far side of the wall.

2007 September 25, Bungie, Halo 3, spoken by Miranda Keyes (Justis Bolding), Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360, level/area: The Ark:

armoured fighting vehicles
armoured fighting vehicles

(military, uncountable) A military formation consisting primarily of tanks or other armoured fighting vehicles, collectively.


fireball

/ˈfaɪəɹˌbɔl/

Chelyabinsk meteor
Nevada Test Site
Operation Upshot–Knothole

The noun is derived from fire (noun) + ball (noun). The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.

tulipallo

bag or ball filled with combustible material; (heraldry) charge depicting a disc-shaped bombshell

[T]he ſlingers and archers together, vvith others alſo tumbling dovvne huge ſtones, vvith firebrands and fireballs, ſet them further off.

1609, Ammianus Marcellinus, “[The XXIIII. Booke.] Chapter VII. The Most Strong Assault of the Said Citie. The Painefull Toyle, Industrie, and Fortitude, as well of the Besiegers as Besieged. At Length by Undermining the Walls are Overthrowne..”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Roman Historie, […], London: […] Adam Jslip, →OCLC, pages 249–250:

(weaponry, historical) A bag or ball filled with combustible material which is thrown as a weapon or to set something alight.

(heraldry) A charge depicting a disc-shaped bombshell with flames emitted from the top, or sometimes from the top, bottom, and on either side.


staff

en-noun

staff (countable and uncountable, plural staffs or staves)

Token (railway signalling)#Staff and ticket

→ French: staff

→ Italian: staff

→ Japanese: スタッフ (sutaffu)

→ Korean: 스태프 (seutaepeu)

→ Malay: staf

desc

→ Portuguese: stafe, staff, estafe (Brazil)

→ Spanish: staff

From Middle English staf, from Old English stæf (“letter of the alphabet”), from Proto-West Germanic *stab, from Proto-Germanic *stabaz. Cognate with Dutch staf, German Stab, Swedish stav.
Sense of "group of military officers that assists a commander" and similar meanings, attested from 1702, is influenced by or is even from German Stab.

inh

At the head of that division which had Westminster Bridge for its approach to the scene of action, Lord George Gordon took his post; with Gashford at his right hand, and sundry ruffians, of most unpromising appearance, forming a kind of staff about him.

1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge. Chapter 49.”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, volume III, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 217:

(military) An establishment of officers in various departments attached to an army, to a section of an army, or to the commander of an army. The general's staff consists of those officers about his person who are employed in carrying his commands into execution.


vodka

en-noun

vodka (countable and uncountable, plural vodkas)

vodkas (plural)
vodki (alternative colloquial nonstandard)
vodky (alternative colloquial nonstandard)

→ Cebuano: bodka

→ Welsh: fodca

From Russian во́дка (vódka), from вода́ (vodá, “water”) + -ка (-ka, “-let: forming diminutives”). The archaic Russian name for vodka was хле́бное вино́ (xlébnoje vinó, “grain wine”); V. Pokhlyobkin's research suggests the present name derived from expressions concerning the dilution of the initial pure distilled spirit such as "vodka of grain wine".
Cognates include Sanskrit उदक (udaka), Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr) → English hydro-, English whisky and English water.

(countable, military slang, ethnic slur) A Russian.

(uncountable, military slang) Russian language.


sloop

→ Bengali: সুলুপ (śulup)

→ Catalan: sloop

→ Czech: šalupa

→ Danish: slup

→ Estonian: luup

→ Faroese: slupp

→ Finnish: sluuppi

→ French: sloop

→ German: Sloop, Slup, Schlup

→ Icelandic: slúppa

→ Italian: sloop

→ Norwegian: slupp

→ Polish: slup

→ Serbo-Croatian: слуп (slup)

→ Slovene: šalupa

→ Swedish: slup

→ Thai: สลุบ (sà-lùp)

Borrowed from Dutch sloep. Doublet of chalupa and shallop.

(military) A sailing warship, smaller than a frigate, with its guns all on one deck.

(military) A sloop-of-war, smaller than a frigate, larger than a corvette.


mast

From Middle English mast, from Old English mæst (“mast”), from Proto-West Germanic *mast, from Proto-Germanic *mastaz (“mast, sail-pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *mazdos (“pole, mast”).
Cognate with Dutch mast, German Mast, and via Indo-European with Latin mālus, Russian мост (most, “bridge”), Irish adhmad.

der

(naval) A non-judicial punishment ("NJP"); a disciplinary hearing under which a commanding officer studies and disposes of cases involving those under his command.


switch

→ Gulf Arabic: سويچ (swīč)

→ German: Switch

Perhaps from Middle Dutch swijch (“twig”), first attested in c. 1592. The mechanical device for altering the direction of something sense is first attested in c. 1797, pertaining to pivoted rails on minecart railways, which were once wooden.

камута́тар

system allowing the interconnection of telephone lines

(firearms, slang) Synonym of Glock switch.

(slang, metonymic) A Glock pistol equipped with a Glock switch.


chop

en-noun

chop (countable and uncountable, plural chops)

→ Japanese: チョップ

From Middle English choppen, chappen (“to chop”), of uncertain origin, possibly onomatopoeic, or a variant of chap (“to become cracked”).
Cognate with Scots chap (“to chop”). Compare also Saterland Frisian kappe, kapje (“to hack; chop; lop off”), Dutch kappen (“to chop, cut, hew”), German Low German kappen (“to cut off; clip”), German kappen (“to cut; clip”), German dialectal chapfen, kchapfen (“to chop into small pieces”), Albanian copë (“piece, chunk”), Old English *ċippian (in forċippian (“to cut off”)). Perhaps related to chip.

cog

A karate chop.

(martial arts) A blow delivered with the hand rigid and outstretched.


scarecrow

scarecrows (plural)
scare-crow (alternative)
skarcrow (alternative)

/ˈskɛɚˌkɹoʊ/

The noun is derived from scare (“to frighten, startle, terrify”) + crow (“bird of the genus Corvus”). The word displaced other terms such as bogle (now dialectal, dated), sewel or shewel, and shoy-hoy (perhaps imitative of the cry of crows).
The verb is derived from the noun.

compound

(military, World War II, historical) Military equipment or tactics used to scare and deter rather than cause actual damage.

pelottelutaktiikka

military equipment or tactics used to scare and deter rather than cause actual damage


shit on a shingle

(US, military, slang, vulgar) Creamed chipped beef on toast.


belt

→ Afrikaans: belt

→ Assamese: বেল্ট (belto)

→ Bengali: বেল্ট (belṭo)

→ Dutch: belt

→ Hindi: बेल्ट (belṭ)

→ Irish: beilt

→ Japanese: ベルト (beruto)

→ Odia: ବେଲ୍ଟ୍ (belṭ)

→ Urdu: بیلٹ (belṭ)

→ Welsh: belt

From Middle English belt, from Old English belt (“belt, girdle”), from Proto-West Germanic *baltī̆, from Proto-Germanic *baltijaz (“girdle, belt”), from Latin balteus (“belt, sword-belt”), of Etruscan origin. Cognate with Scots belt (“belt”), Dutch belt, German Balz (“belt”), Danish bælte (“belt”), Swedish bälte (“belt, cincture, girdle, zone”) and Icelandic belti (“belt”).

cog

The battleship was protected by a twelve-inch belt just above the waterline.

(military, nautical) A band of armor along the sides of a warship, protecting the ship's vital spaces.

(weaponry) A device that holds and feeds cartridges into a belt-fed weapon.


discharge

en-verb

discharge (third-person singular simple present discharges, present participle discharging, simple past and past participle discharged)

discharges (present singular third-person)
discharging (participle present)
discharged (participle past)
discharged (past)

/dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ/

/ˈdɪstʃɑːdʒ/

/dɪsˈtʃɑɹdʒ/

/ˈdɪstʃɑɹdʒ/

-ɪstʃɑː(ɹ)dʒ

From Middle English dischargen, from Old French deschargier (“to unload”), from Late Latin discarricāre (“unload”). By surface analysis, dis- + charge.

To relieve of an office or employment; to send away from service; to dismiss.

(military) To release (a member of the armed forces) from service.

уволнявам

military: to release (a member of the armed forces) from service


discharge

en-noun

discharge (countable and uncountable, plural discharges)

/dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ/

/ˈdɪstʃɑːdʒ/

/dɪsˈtʃɑɹdʒ/

/ˈdɪstʃɑɹdʒ/

-ɪstʃɑː(ɹ)dʒ

career transition after discharge

(military) The act of releasing a member of the armed forces from service.


operation

operation (countable and uncountable, plural operations)

→ Japanese: オペレーション (operēshon)

→ Scottish Gaelic: opairèisean

/ˌɒp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/

/ˌɑ.pəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/

From Middle French operation, from Old French operacion, from Latin operātiō, from the verb operor (“I work”), from opus, operis (“work”). Equivalent to operate + -ion.

عَمَلِيَّة

procedure for generating a value from one or more other values

(military, countable) A military campaign (e.g. Operation Desert Storm).


BDA

(military) Initialism of bomb damage assessment.


standoff

stand off (alternative)
stand-off (alternative)

a standoff bomb, missile, or weapon

(military) For use at a distance sufficient from the target to allow defensive fire to be evaded.


heat

heat (countable and uncountable, plural heats)

From Middle English hete, from Old English hǣtu, from Proto-West Germanic *haitī, from Proto-Germanic *haitį̄ (“heat”), from Proto-Indo-European *keHy- (“heat; hot”). Cognate with Scots hete (“heat”), North Frisian hiet (“heat”), Old High German heizī (“heat”). Related also to Dutch hitte (“heat”), German Hitze (“heat”), Swedish hetta (“heat”), Icelandic hiti (“heat”).

op hitte

condition where a mammal is aroused sexually or where it is especially fertile

(professional wrestling slang) A negative reaction from the audience, especially as a heel (or bad character), or in general.


Christmas tree

Christmas trees (plural)
Christmas's tree (alternative)
X-mas tree (alternative)
Xmas tree (alternative)

PIE word
 *dóru
[[File:Emoji u1f384.svg|thumb||200px|The emoji for Christmas tree: see the entry at 🎄.]]
From Christmas + tree, a calque of German Weynacht Baum (obsolete, 17th c.), Weihnachtsbaum, from Weynacht, Weihnacht (literary or poetic variant of Weihnachten (“Christmas”)) + -s- (genitive interfix) + Baum (“tree”). The custom of Christmas trees was adopted in the United Kingdom from Germany in the 19th century, having been popularized by their use by the royal family during the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901.
Sense 3 (“Christmas party”) refers to the fact that there is usually a Christmas tree (sense 1) at the event.

joulukuusi

something which resembles a Christmas tree in appearance or shape

Farnsworth and Reed […] have reported on comparative reaction times to "Christmas tree" signal lights with respect to color deficiency. One of the most important color discriminations involved in the operation of a submarine is that of reading the "Christmas tree," a panel of 30 to 60 small jewel-shaped lights, used to indicate whether hull openings, such as hatches and vents, are sealed or not.

D[ean] Farnsworth, J. D. Reed (1946 February 5) Comparative Reaction Times to Christmas Tree Signal Lights with Respect to Color Deficiency (Project X-265 (Av-153-c); Report No. 10), New London, Conn.: Medical Research Department, U.S. Navy Submarine Base, New London

(by extension) Something which resembles a Christmas tree (sense 1) in appearance (for example, in having coloured lights) or shape.

(aviation, nautical, slang) A panel of indicator lights in an aircraft or a submarine.

mittaristovalot

The existing ramp, the part that the B-52 used, a great amount of it was out in the alert area, on what we call a christmas tree^([sic]) stub at the end of the runway, in a dispersed posture.

1968 May 1, Colonel Fenlon, witness, “Statement of Maj. Gen. G. H. Goddard, Director of Civil Engineering, U.S. Air Force—Resumed”, in Military Construction Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1969: Joint Hearings before the Subcommittees on Military Construction of the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, Ninetieth Congress, Second Session on H.R. 18785, an Act Making Appropriations for Military Construction for the Department of Defense for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1969, and for Other Purposes […], Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 350:

At the eastern tip of the runway-taxiway lay the alert area for about nine aircraft, along with an alert building for the airmen to live. This area, called the "Christmas Tree" as a result of the Christmas tree shape of the runway pattern for alert aircraft, had compacted gravel base for concrete, but had not been paved.

1975, Robert Herman Kelting, The Great Bong Bungle, volume I (unpublished dissertation), Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin–Madison, →OCLC, page 21:

The current alert area consists of a "Christmas Tree" configuration with alert parking stubs angled at 45° off of a central taxiway.

1983 April 19, Norman G. Delbridge, Jr., witness, “Questions Submitted by Senator Strom Thurmond, Answers Supplied by Gen. Norman G. Delbridge, Jr., Assistant Chief of Engineers, Office of the Chief of Engineers, Department of the Army”, in Military Construction Authorization Fiscal Year 1984: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Military Construction of the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, Ninety-eighth Congress, First Session on S. 720, a Bill to Authorize Certain Construction at Military Installations for Fiscal Year 1984, and for Other Purposes […] (S. Hrg. 98-448), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 252:

(US, aviation, historical) An alert area at an air base with aircraft parked in stubs arranged at a 45-degree angle to a central taxiway to enable them to move rapidly to a runway; these were constructed by the Strategic Air Command of the United States Air Force during the Cold War (generally 1947–1991).


nail

en-verb

nail (third-person singular simple present nails, present participle nailing, simple past and past participle nailed)

nails (present singular third-person)
nailing (participle present)
nailed (participle past)
nailed (past)

From Middle English naylen, from Old English næġlan.

Wikipedia disambiguation page on both meanings of nail

Nail in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

That the Ordinance be not nayled, nor the munition fiered.

1598, Robert Barret, he Theorike and Practike of Modern Warres:


zoo

Clipping of zoological garden or zoological park, now the usual form. See zoology. Sense 5: clipping of zoophile or zoophilia.

I'm not all that unhappy about being out on an actual patrol, but there's a worried feeling wandering around the back of my mind, not exactly fear, more like a sort of lurking anxiety at being out in the dreaded jungle, the zoo, where the enemy hides.

2013, E. E. "Doc" Murdock, My Vietnam War (page 152)


cross

→ Japanese: クロス (kurosu)

From Middle English cross, cros, from Old English cros (“rood, cross”), from Old Norse kross, from Old Irish cros, from Latin crux (crucī). In this sense displaced native Middle English rood, from Old English rōd; see rood. Compare Welsh croes, Irish crois.
The sense of "two intersecting lines drawn or cut on a surface; two lines intersecting at right angles" without regard to religious signification develops from the late 14th century.
Cognates
*Icelandic kross (“cross”)
*Faroese krossur (“cross”)
*Norwegian Nynorsk kross, kors (“cross”)
*Danish kors (“cross”)
*Swedish kors (“cross”)
*North Frisian kross, korss (“cross”)
*Saterland Frisian Krjuus, Kjus (“cross”)
*West Frisian krús (“cross”)
*Dutch kruis (“cross”)
*German Low German Krüüz (“cross”)
*German Kreuz (“cross”)

(boxing) A hook thrown over the opponent's punch.


cohort

From Latin cohors (stem cohort-); borrowed into Old English as coorta, but reintroduced into Middle English as cōhort and chōors via Old French cohorte. Doublet of court.

Holonym: legion

Meronyms: maniple, century

Three cohorts of men were assigned to the region.

But he lost the whole of his first cohort and the centurion of the first line, a man of high rank in his own class, Asinius Dento, and the other centurions of the same cohort, as well as a military tribune, Sext. Lucilius, son of T. Gavius Caepio, a man of wealth, and high position.

1900, Marcus Tullius Cicero, translated by Evelyn Shuckburgh, Letters to Atticus, section 5.20:

The cohort in which he was centurion was probably the Cohors II Italica civium Romanorum, which a recently discovered inscription proves to have been stationed in Syria before a. d. 69.

1908, F. Bechtel, “Cornelius”, in Charles G[eorge] Herbermann, Edward A[loysius] Pace, Condé B[enoist] Pallen, Thomas J[oseph] Shahan, John J[oseph] Wynne, editors, The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, volume IV (Cland–Diocesan), New York, N.Y.: Robert Appleton Company, →OCLC, page 375, column 2:

But here it is as clear as words can make it: 'Bring every man of the Legions by forced marches to the help of the Empire. Leave not a cohort in Britain.' These are my orders.

1910, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Last of the Legions:

(historical, Ancient Rome, military) Any division of a Roman legion, normally of about 500 or 600 men (equalling about six centuries).


SNAFU

The term was born during the Second World War as an acronym of the initials of the words situation normal, all fucked up, which summed up the chaos and confusion of the war from an individual soldier’s point of view.

(military, slang, euphemistic) Acronym of situation normal, all fucked up /situation normal, all fouled up.


shanghai

shanghai (third-person singular simple present shanghais, present participle shanghaiing, simple past and past participle shanghaied or shanghai'd)

shanghais (present singular third-person)
shanghaiing (participle present)
shanghaied (participle past)
shanghaied (past)
shanghai'd (participle past)
shanghai'd (past)
shanghae (alternative)
shangeye (alternative)

1871, from the important Chinese port Shanghai, as a verb with reference to the former practice by some shippers on the West Coast of the United States of press-ganging crews for fishing or shipping in the Pacific Ocean.

強迫 /强迫

to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship

“Why, if you so loved and cherished the armed guard,” Captain Banning continued, “did you arrange for transfer?”
“I never, sir! ... But he shanghaied me out of the armed guard pronto.”

There was a urologist for his urine, a lymphologist for his lymph, an endocrinologist for his endocrines, a psychologist for his psyche, a dermatologist for his derma; there was a pathologist for his pathos, a cystologist for his cysts, and a bald and pedantic cetologist from the zoology department at Harvard who had been shanghaied ruthlessly into the Medical Corps by a faulty anode in an I.B.M. machine and spent his sessions with the dying colonel trying to discuss Moby Dick with him.

(transitive) To force or trick someone to go somewhere or do something against their will or interest, particularly

(US military slang) To transfer a serviceman against their will.


tap

en-noun

tap (countable and uncountable, plural taps)

The verb is derived from Middle English tappen, teppen (“to give (something) a knock or tap; to hit (something) lightly, pat, tap”), either:
* imitative of the making of a tapping sound; or
* from Old French tapper, taper (“to tap”) (modern French taper), from Frankish *tappōn, *dabbōn (“to strike”), or from Middle Low German tappen, tapen (“to rap, strike, tap”), both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dab- (“to strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰebʰ- (“to beat, strike; to stun; to be speechless”). Doublet of dab.
Verb sense 1.1.1 (“to arrest (someone)”) and sense 1.6 (“to choose or designate (someone) for a duty, etc.”) allude to a police officer or other person tapping someone on their shoulder to catch their attention or to select them.
The noun is derived from Middle English tap, tappe (“light blow or hit”), and then either:
* from Middle English tappen (verb) (see above); or
* from Old French tape (“light slap or touch, pat”) (modern French tape), from tapper, taper (verb) (see above).
Cognates
* German tappen (“to fumble; to grope”)
* Icelandic tappa, tapsa, tæpta (“to tap”)

der

(firearms, slang) A shot fired from a firearm.


primary

/ˈpɹaɪˌmɛɹi/

Borrowed from Latin prīmārius (“of the first (rank); chief, principal; excellent”), from prīmus (first; whence the English adjective prime) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary); compare the French primaire, primer, and premier. Doublet of premier.

bor+

thermonuclear weapon
thermonuclear weapon

(military) The first stage of a thermonuclear weapon, which sets off a fission explosion to help trigger a fusion reaction in the weapon's secondary stage.


fan

en-verb

fan (third-person singular simple present fans, present participle fanning, simple past and past participle fanned)

fans (present singular third-person)
fanning (participle present)
fanned (participle past)
fanned (past)

Inherited from Middle English fan, inherited from Old English fann (“a winnowing, fan”), derived from Latin vannus (“fan for winnowing grain”), derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”).
Cognates
*Latin ventus (“wind”)
*Dutch wan (“winnowing basket”)
*German Wanne (“winnowing basket”)
*Swedish vanna (“a fan for winnowing”)
*Old English windwian (“to fan, winnow”).
More at winnow.

der+

Audio (Southern England)

To fan a single action revolver, hold down the trigger and strike the hammer repeatedly with a free hand.

2011, Hans-Christoan Vortisch, GURPS Tactical Shooting, page 14:

(firearms, transitive) To perform a maneuver that involves flicking the top rear of an old-style gun.

thumbing

to firing a revolver by holding trigger and hitting hammer


strong

en-adj

strong (comparative stronger, superlative strongest)

stronger (comparative)
strongest (superlative)
strang (alternative)
stronk (alternative)

Sranan Tongo: tranga

Aukan: taanga

Saramaccan: taánga

From Middle English strong, strang, from Old English strang, from Proto-West Germanic *strang, from Proto-Germanic *strangaz (“tight, strict, straight, strong”), from Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- (“taut, stiff, tight”). Cognate with Scots strang (“strong”), Saterland Frisian strang, West Frisian string (“austere, strict, harsh, severe, stern, stark, tough”), Dutch streng (“strict, severe, tight”), German streng (“strict, severe, austere”), Swedish sträng, strang (“severe, strict, harsh”), Norwegian strang (“strong, harsh, bitter”), Norwegian streng (“strong, hard”), Icelandic strangur (“strict”), Latin stringō (“tighten”).

cog

a chain is only as strong as its weakest link

the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must

a strong position


vanguard

Earlier forms included vandgard and (a)vantgard with or without aphetism, derived from Old French avan(t)garde (“before guard”). Doublet of avant-garde and vaward.

der

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

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

(military) The leading units at the front of an army or fleet.


limb

From Middle English lyme, lim, from Old English lim (“limb, branch”), from Proto-West Germanic *limu, from Proto-Germanic *limuz (“branch, limb”). Cognate with Old Norse limr (“limb”).
The spelling with the silent unetymological -b first arose in the late 1500s. Compare crumb.

(archery) The part of the bow, from the handle to the tip.


volt

(archaic, fencing) A sudden movement to avoid a thrust; a parry.


drone

→ Asturian: dron

→ Dutch: drone

→ Italian: drone

→ Punjabi: ਡ੍ਰੋਨ (ḍron)

→ Polish: dron

→ Portuguese: drone

→ Spanish: dron

From Middle English drane, from Old English drān, from Proto-West Germanic *drānu, from Proto-Germanic *drēniz, *drēnuz, *drenô (“an insect, drone”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreh₁n- (“bee, drone, hornet”). Cognate with Danish drone (“drone”), Dutch dar (“male bee or wasp”), German Drohne, dialectal German Dräne, Trehne, Trene (“drone”), Low German drone (“drone”), Swedish drönje, drönare (“drone”).
The etymology of the sense of "remote-controlled aircraft" is disputed; theories include early military UAVs dumbly flying on preset paths.

inh

The Apex boat is a small radio-controlled craft which tows, at an angle, two Drone boats. The latter are small craft filled with explosives to be detonated from the control radio of the Apex boat.

1946, Seventh United States Army in France and Germany, Report of Operations, volume 1, page 73:

Firefish, a drone boat, is the second radio-controlled target used by the detachment. A 17-foot fiber glass craft, it weighs 1700 pounds and operates from the support ship by remote control at a range of up to five miles using tracking radar.

1968 July 27, “Long-Distance Crews”, in All Hands, number 618, page 27:

There, in the heart of a desert target range, operates a fleet of remote-control QM-56 mobile land drones, more familiarly described as modified tanks.

1968 September 27, “Desert Tank Corps”, in All Hands, number 620, page 13:

"Libya obtained a remote controlled explosive boat system consisting of 30-knot drone boats packed with high explosives controlled from a cabin cruiser type craft," Butts told the seapower and strategic and critical materials subcomittee.

1984 March 1, UPI, “Libya owns drone boats, Navy says”, in Eugene Register-Guard, page 2:

(chiefly military) Any remotely-operated vehicle (ROV), especially when multiple such vehicles are operated from a larger vessel.


turn

en-verb

turn (third-person singular simple present turns, present participle turning, simple past and past participle turned or (obsolete) turnt)

turns (present singular third-person)
turning (participle present)
turned (participle past)
turned (past)
turnt (obsolete participle past)
turnt (obsolete past)
turn (infinitive)
turn (first-person present singular)
turned (first-person past singular)
turn (present second-person singular)
turnest (archaic present second-person singular)
turned (past second-person singular)
turnedst (archaic past second-person singular)
turns (present singular third-person)
turneth (archaic present singular third-person)
turned (past singular third-person)
turn (plural present)
turned (past plural)
turn (present subjunctive)
turned (past subjunctive)
turn (imperative present)
turning (participle present)
turned (participle past)
turnt (archaic participle past)

From Middle English turnen, from Old English turnian, tyrnan (“to turn, rotate, revolve”) and Old French torner (“to turn”), both from Latin tornāre (“to round off, turn in a lathe”), from tornus (“lathe”), from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos, “turning-lathe: a tool used for making circles”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, rub by turning, turn, twist, bore”). Cognate with Old English þrāwan (“to turn, twist, wind”), whence English throw. Displaced native Middle English wenden from Old English wendan (see wend), and Middle English trenden from Old English trendan (see trend), among several other terms.

lyödä kierre

in cricket, make the ball move sideways when it bounces

kiertää

of a cricket ball, move sideways when it bounces

(intransitive or transitive) To change condition or attitude.

(professional wrestling) To change personalities, such as from being a face (good guy) to heel (bad guy) or vice versa.


gung ho

en-adj

gung ho (comparative more gung ho, superlative most gung ho)

more gung ho (comparative)
most gung ho (superlative)
gungho (alternative)
gung-ho (alternative)

Evans Carlson
Gung ho
Raid on Makin Island

From a catachresis of Mandarin 工合 (gōnghé), an acronym for 工業合作社 /工业合作社 (gōngyè hézuòshè, “[Chinese] Industrial Cooperative Society”), as 工 (gōng, “work”) + 合 (“together”), literally “to work together”. The interpretation "work together" was created by U.S. Marine Evans Carlson, who was posted in China during the 1930s. It became the motto and nickname of the enthusiastic battalion Carlson commanded, leading to other marines adopting the term to mean "overly enthusiastic". It was popularized in the United States by the 1943 war film Gung Ho!, which profiled the battalion's leadership of the Raid on Makin Island during World War II.

com

(informal, derogatory, military) Cocky; undisciplined; contemptuous of rules.


banjo

en-verb

banjo (third-person singular simple present banjos, present participle banjoing, simple past and past participle banjoed)

banjos (present singular third-person)
banjoing (participle present)
banjoed (participle past)
banjoed (past)

From the pronunciation of African slaves, of unknown ultimate origin. Possibly a corruption of bandore (from Spanish bandurria), alternatively from a West African language such as Mandinka banjul, or Kimbundu mbanza.

Riding reported that on the day Mayne had asked for DZ coordinates, their base had been banjoed by the Germans.

2008, Michael Asher, The Regiment: The Definitive Story of the SAS, page cxxx:

(transitive, slang, British, military) To shell or attack (a target).


stand up

stand up (third-person singular simple present stands up, present participle standing up, simple past and past participle stood up)

stands up (present singular third-person)
standing up (participle present)
stood up (participle past)
stood up (past)

Tok Pisin: sanap

From Middle English standen up, from Old English standan up; equivalent to stand + up. Compare Old Norse standa upp.

(US, military, transitive) To formally activate and commission (a unit, formation, etc.).


mushroom

mushroom (third-person singular simple present mushrooms, present participle mushrooming, simple past and past participle mushroomed)

mushrooms (present singular third-person)
mushrooming (participle present)
mushroomed (participle past)
mushroomed (past)

From Middle English muscheron, musseron, from Anglo-Norman musherum, moscheron, from Old French moisseron, of obscure origin: probably derived from Old French mosse, moise ("moss"; whence also French mousse), as the use first applied to a type of fungus which grows in moss, from Frankish *mosu (“moss”) or Old Dutch *mosa (“moss”), akin to Old High German mosa (“moor, swamp”), Old High German mos (“moss, bog”), Old High German mios (“moss, mire”), Old English mēos (“moss”), Old English mōs (“bog, marsh”), Old Norse mosi (“moss”), Old Norse myrr (“bog, mire”), from Proto-Germanic *musą, *musô, *miuziz (“mosses, bog”), from Proto-Indo-European *mews- (“mosses, mold, mildew”). Displaced native Old English swamm. More at mire. Alternatively, the Old French may be of pre-Roman origin. See Ancient Greek μύκης (múkēs, “mushroom”). Doublet of moss and mousse.

unk

obscure

gl

"moss"; whence also French <i class="Latn mention" lang="fr">mousse</i>

der

(intransitive) To form the shape of a mushroom.

(ballistics, of a bullet) To form the shape of a mushroom when striking a soft target.


bergen

Shortened from Bergen rucksack, possibly named after their creator, Norwegian Ole F. Bergan, combined with the name of the Norwegian city of Bergen.

Their bergens were already stuffed almost to bursting point, as were their belt kits, with rations, water, radios and spare batteries, ammunition, personal equipment, sleeping bags, waterproofs, medical packs, survival kits, and much more.

2012, Peter Ratcliffe, Eye of the Storm:


club

→ Afrikaans: klub

→ Catalan: club

→ Czech: klub

→ Dutch: club

→ French: club (see there for further descendants)

desctree

→ German: Club, Klub (used to be common for some decades, but is now becoming less frequent again)
Russian: клуб (klub), клубъ (klub) — Pre-reform orthography (1918)
→ Yakut: кулууп (kuluup)
→ Yiddish: קלוב (klub)
Serbo-Croatian: klȗb/клу̑б

desc

→ Greek: κλαμπ (klamp), γκλομπ (gklomp), γκλοπ n (gklop), κλομπ n (klomp)

→ Indonesian: klub

→ Japanese: 倶楽部 (kurabu), クラブ (see there for further descendants)

→ Korean: 클럽 (keulleop)

→ Latvian: klubs

→ Lithuanian: klubas

→ Malay: kelab

→ Maori: karapu

→ Spanish: club

→ Tokelauan: kalapu

→ Welsh: clwb

From Middle English clubbe, from Old Norse klubba, klumba (“cudgel”), from Proto-Germanic *klumpô (“clip, clasp; clump, lump; log, block”). Cognate with English clump, cloud, Latin globus, glomus; and perhaps related to Middle Low German kolve (“bulb”), German Kolben (“butt, bulb, club”).

knuppel

heavy stick for use as weapon or plaything

(World War I– World War II, military slang) The propeller of an aeroplane.


club

en-verb

club (third-person singular simple present clubs, present participle clubbing, simple past and past participle clubbed)

clubs (present singular third-person)
clubbing (participle present)
clubbed (participle past)
clubbed (past)

To club a battalion implies a temporary inability in the commanding officer to restore any given body of men to their natural front in line or column.

1876, Major-General G. E. Voyle, Captain G. De Saint-Clair-Stevenson, F.R.G.S., A Military Dictionary, Comprising Terms, Scientific and Otherwise, Connected with the Science of War, Third Edition, London: William Clowes & Sons, page 80:

(military) To throw, or allow to fall, into confusion.

(transitive, military) To turn the breech of (a musket) uppermost, so as to use it as a club.


transportability

en-noun

transportability (countable and uncountable, plural transportabilities)

(military) The capability of materiel to be moved by towing, self-propulsion, or carrier via any means, such as railways, highways, waterways, pipelines, oceans, and airways.


promo

(professional wrestling slang) an interview or monologue intended to promote a character or an upcoming match.


foible

1640–50, from Early Modern French foible (“feeble”) (contemporary French faible). Doublet of feeble.

(fencing) Part of a sword between the middle and the point, weaker than the forte.


treff

The Moscow experts on treffs perform their duty with ponderous, often ridiculous, awkwardness. Before the atomic spy Allan Nunn May left Canada to go to London, a treff in London had to be arranged for him and another agent.

1955, David J. Dallin, Soviet Espionage, page 495:


lock

Tok Pisin: lok

→ Hawaiian: laka

From Middle English lok, from Old English loc, from Proto-West Germanic *lok, from Proto-Germanic *luką from Proto-Indo-European *lewg- (“to bend; turn”).
The verb is from Middle English locken, lokken, louken, from Old English lūcan, Proto-West Germanic *lūkan, from Proto-Germanic *lūkaną. Related to luxe via Latin.

der

"I never saw such a gun in my life," replied poor Winkle, looking at the lock, as if that would do any good.

1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “(please specify the chapter name)”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:


manual

→ Japanese: マニュアル (manyuaru)

From Middle English manuel, from Old French manuel, from Late Latin manuāle (“handbook, manual”).

(military) A drill in the use of weapons, etc.


octagon

octagons (plural)
octogon (alternative obsolete)

From Latin octagōnon, octōgōnon (“octagon”), and from its etymon Ancient Greek ὀκτάγωνον (oktágōnon, “octagon”), probably from Koine Greek ὀκτάγωνος (oktágōnos, “having eight corners”) + -ον (-on, suffix forming nouns). ὀκτάγωνος is derived from ὀκτᾰ- (oktă-, prefix meaning ‘eight’) (from ὀκτώ (oktṓ, “eight”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *oḱtṓw (“eight”)) + γωνία (gōnía, “angle; corner”) (probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵónu (“knee”)); analysable as octa- + -gon. The English word is cognate with Middle French octogone (modern French octogone), Italian octagono (obsolete), ottagono, Spanish octágono, octógono.
Sense 2 (“arena for mixed martial arts”) refers to its shape.

(martial arts) Often in the form Octagon: the arena for mixed martial arts.


axis

Borrowed from Latin axis (“axle, axis”) in the 16th century.

This Berlin-Rome vertical line is not an obstacle but rather an axis around which can revolve all those European states with a will to collaboration and peace.

1936, November 1st, Benito Mussolini, Milan Speech


sterile

en-adj

sterile (comparative more sterile, superlative most sterile)

more sterile (comparative)
most sterile (superlative)

From Middle French stérile, from Latin sterilis (“barren, futile”). See also Ancient Greek στεῖρα (steîra).

An early CIA decision was to bring war surplus in Europe to the United States, rather than let it fall into the hands of left-wing movements. Some of the guns would also, it was reasoned, be useful as "sterile" weapons (foreign-made and untraceable to the United States) to be provided secretly to foreign friends.

1980, Russell Warren Howe, Weapons: The International Game of Arms, Money and Diplomacy:

In addition to this rapid supply system, the US Army Counterinsurgency Support Office on Okinawa helped procure special equipment including rucksacks, special rations for irregular troops, 'sterile' weapons which could not be traced to the USA and other items not procurable through foreign channels.

1990, Leroy Thompson, The US Army in Vietnam, page 111:

(US, military) Of weapons: foreign-made and untraceable to the United States.


land

en-noun

land (countable and uncountable, plural lands)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ-
Proto-Indo-European *-om
Proto-Germanic *landą
Proto-West Germanic *land
Old English land
Middle English lond
English land
From Middle English lond, land, from Old English land, from Proto-West Germanic *land, from Proto-Germanic *landą (“land”), from Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ- (“land, heath”).
Cognate with Scots laund (“land”), West Frisian lân (“land”), Dutch land (“land, country”), German Land (“land, country, state”), Norwegian and Swedish land (“land, country, shore, territory”), Icelandic land (“land”). Non-Germanic cognates include Old Irish lann (“heath”), Welsh llan (“enclosure”), Breton lann (“heath”), Old Church Slavonic лѧдо (lędo), from Proto-Slavic *lędo (“heath, wasteland”), French lande (“heath”) and Albanian lëndinë (“heath, grassland”).

cog

The FBI maintains a database, the General Rifling Characteristics (GRC) file, which is organized by caliber, number of lands and grooves, direction of twist, and width of lands and grooves, to help an examiner figure out the origin of a recovered bullet.

2008 August 1, Lisa Steele, “Ballistics”, in Eric York Drogin, editor, Science for Lawyers, American Bar Association, page 16:

The human eye is a precision instrument. It can detect grooves and lands on a slug more efficiently than any computer.

2012 November 15, “One Way to Get Off”, in Elementary, season 1, episode 7, spoken by Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller):

In any surface prepared with indentations, perforations, or grooves, that part of the surface which is not so treated, such as the level part of a millstone between the furrows.

(ballistics) The space between the rifling grooves in a gun.


horn

en-noun

horn (countable and uncountable, plural horns)

From Middle English horn, horne, from Old English horn, from Proto-West Germanic *horn, from Proto-Germanic *hurną. Compare West Frisian hoarn, Dutch hoorn, Low German Hoorn, horn, German Horn, Danish and Swedish horn, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽 (haurn).
Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥h₂-nó-m, from *ḱerh₂- (“head, horn”). Compare Breton kern (“horn”), Latin cornū, Ancient Greek κέρας (kéras), Proto-Slavic *sьrna, Old Church Slavonic сьрна (sĭrna, “roedeer”), Hittite [script needed] (surna, “horn”), Persian سر (sar), Sanskrit शृङ्ग (śṛṅga, “horn”). Doublet of corn (“callus”), corno, and cornu.
(telephone): From the horn-shaped earpieces of old communication systems that used air tubes.

doublet

(military) In naval mine warfare, a projection from the mine shell of some contact mines which, when broken or bent by contact, causes the mine to fire.


warthog

(military) A nickname for the A-10 Thunderbolt II air support warplane


flag

en-verb

flag (third-person singular simple present flags, present participle flagging, simple past and past participle flagged)

flags (present singular third-person)
flagging (participle present)
flagged (participle past)
flagged (past)

From Middle English flag, flagge (“flag”), further etymology uncertain. Perhaps from or related to early Middle English flage (name for a baby's garment) and Old English flagg, flacg (“cataplasm, poultice, plaster”). Or, perhaps ultimately imitative, or otherwise drawn from Proto-Germanic *flaką (“something flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat, broad, plain”), referring to the shape.
Germanic cognates include Saterland Frisian Flaage (“flag”), West Frisian flagge (“flag”), Dutch vlag (“flag”), German Flagge (“flag”), Swedish flagga (“flag”), Danish flag (“flag, ship's flag”). Compare also Middle English flacken (“to flutter, palpitate”), Swedish dialectal flage (“to flutter in the wind”), Old Norse flögra (“to flap about”). Akin to Old High German flogarōn (“to flutter”), Old High German flogezen (“to flutter, flicker”), Middle English flakeren (“to move quickly to and fro”), Old English flacor (“fluttering, flying”). More at flack, flacker.

onomatopoeic

imitative

cog

(firearms) To point the muzzle of a firearm at a person or object one does not intend to fire on.

osoittaa

firearms: to point at a person or object one does not intend to fire on


deserter

Borrowed from Latin desertor (“deserter”), from desero (“I forsake, I abandon”); or from desert + -er.

dezertor

person who leaves a military or naval unit

អ្នករមត់

nĕək rɔɔrɔmŭət

(military) A person who has physically removed him- or herself from the control or direction of a military or naval unit with the intention of permanently leaving

Code of Military Justice
Code of Military Justice

Under the United States Code of Military Justice, a person who has been placed on AWOL status for more than 30 days


ANZAC

(military, historical) A soldier from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (1914-1918).


major

majors (plural)
majour (alternative obsolete)

[ˈmeɪ̯d͡ʒɚ(ɹ)]

[ˈmeɪ̯d͡ʒə(ɹ)]

[ˈmæɪ̯d͡ʒə(ɹ)]

From Middle English major, from Latin maior, comparative of magnus (“great, large; noble, important”), from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂yōs (“greater”), comparative of *meǵh₂- (“great”). Compare West Frisian majoar (“major”), Dutch majoor (“major”), French majeur. Doublet of mayor.

pääaineopiskelija

student specializing in a specified subject

He used to be a major in the army.

(military) A rank of officer in the army and the US air force, between captain and lieutenant colonel.

Meronyms: drum major, trumpet major

An officer in charge of a section of band instruments, used with a modifier.


bracket

From earlier bragget, *bracket, from Middle English *braget, *braket (attested in braket nail), from Old French braguette (“the opening in the fore part of a pair of breeches, one's fly”), a diminutive of Old French brague (“knickers, britches”), from Old Occitan braga, from Latin brāca (“pants”), from Transalpine Gaulish *brāca, from Proto-Germanic *brāks, an early form of Proto-Germanic *brōks (“leggings, breeches, trousers”).

kllapë

generically any of “(”, “)”, “[”, “]”, “{”, “}”, “⟨”, “⟩”, “<”, “>”, etc.

(military) The cheek or side of an ordnance carriage, supporting the trunnions.

(military) Typically of stationary weapons, the zone enclosed by one long and one short shot impact expected to be hit very accurately.

haarukka

military: endangered region between two shot impacts


bracket

en-verb

bracket (third-person singular simple present brackets, present participle bracketing, simple past and past participle bracketed)

brackets (present singular third-person)
bracketing (participle present)
bracketed (participle past)
bracketed (past)

(military) To gauge the range of a target by firing equally short and long of it and ranging the weapon between the two to achieve a very accurate hit.


front

en-noun

front (countable and uncountable, plural fronts)

Tok Pisin: fran

→ Japanese: フロント (furonto)

→ Korean: 프런트 (peureonteu)

From Middle English front, frunt, frount, from Old French front, frunt, from Latin frōns, frontem (“forehead”). Doublet of frons.

(military) An area where armies are engaged in conflict, especially the line of contact.

(military) The lateral space occupied by an element measured from the extremity of one flank to the extremity of the other flank.

ճակատ

military: lateral space occupied from one flank of a military unit to the other flank

(military) When a combat situation does not exist or is not assumed, the direction toward which the command is faced.

ճակատ

military: direction toward which the command is faced


service

en-verb

service (third-person singular simple present services, present participle servicing, simple past and past participle serviced)

services (present singular third-person)
servicing (participle present)
serviced (participle past)
serviced (past)
seruice (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English servise, from Old English serfise, from Old French servise (French service), from the verb servir, from Latin servitium (compare Portuguese serviço, Italian servizio, Norman sèrvice, Spanish servicio), from servus (“servant; serf; slave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ser-wo-s (“guardian”), possibly from *ser- (“watch over, protect”). Displaced native Old English þeġnung.

to service a target; target servicing

(transitive, military, euphemistic) To attack.


cruise

cruises (plural)
cruize (alternative obsolete)

Borrowed from Dutch kruisen (“cross, sail around”), from kruis (“cross”), from Middle Dutch cruce, from Latin crux.

bor+

I ended my cruise of four years in the Marine Corps at the first Officers' Training Camp for enlisted men at Quantico […]

1919, United States. Marine Corps, Recruiters' Bulletin, page 16:

The New Orleans had to have numerous alterations made, and as the Chicago was just about going into commission, I was ordered to that ship to finish my cruise.

2015, George Barnett, Andy Barnett, George Barnett, Marine Corps Commandant: A Memoir, 1877-1923:

(US, military, informal) A period spent in the Marine Corps.


pentagon

From Middle French pentagone, from Late Latin pentagōnum, from Ancient Greek πεντάγωνον (pentágōnon), noun use of the neuter of the adjective πεντάγωνος (pentágōnos, “five-angled”), from πέντε (pénte, “five”) + -γωνος (-gōnos, “angled”). Equivalent to penta- + -gon.


double

en-verb

double (third-person singular simple present doubles, present participle doubling, simple past and past participle doubled)

doubles (present singular third-person)
doubling (participle present)
doubled (participle past)
doubled (past)

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle English double, from Old French doble, double, from Latin duplus (“twofold”). Doublet of doppio and duple.

(military) To unite, as ranks or files, so as to form one from each two.

Was this simply the cover name of an Allied spy-code named the Brass Monkey? […] The possibility that the Brass Monkey himself was "doubling" (with headquarters' approval, of course) is too logical […]

(espionage, intransitive) To operate as a double agent.


double agent

Coordinate term: triple agent

(espionage) A spy who pretends to work for one side, when they are actually working for or passing information to the other.


DMZ

demilitarized zone
demilitarized zone#English

(military) Abbreviation of demilitarized zone.


flèche

Borrowed from French flèche. Compare fletch.

(military, fortification) An earthwork consisting of two berms forming an angle with an open gorge.

(fencing) A method of attack with a sword (foil or épée) in which the attacker's back leg crosses in front of the front leg in the offensive move.


flèche

flèche (third-person singular simple present flèches, present participle flèching, simple past and past participle flèched)

flèches (present singular third-person)
flèching (participle present)
flèched (participle past)
flèched (past)

(fencing) To attack using the flèche method.


magazine

→ Burmese: မဂ္ဂဇင်း (magga.jang:)

→ Cebuano: magasin

→ Dutch: magazine

→ French: magazine

→ Portuguese: magazine

→ Italian: magazine

→ Gujarati: મેગેઝિન (megejhin)

→ Hebrew: מגזין (magazin)

→ Japanese: マガジン (magajin)

desc

→ Kashubian: magazina (Canada, United States)

→ Shan: မႅၵ်ႈၵၸိၼ်း (mēk kǎ tsín)

→ Shan: မႅၵ်ႈၵၸိၼ်း (mēk kǎ tsín)

→ Spanish: magacín

→ Turkish: magazin

→ Malay: magazin

From Middle English magasyne, from Middle French magasin (“warehouse, store”), from Italian magazzino (“storehouse”), ultimately from Arabic مَخَازِن pl (maḵāzin), plural of مَخْزَن (maḵzan, “storeroom, storehouse”), noun of place from خَزَنَ (ḵazana, “to store, to stock, to lay up”). First attested in the 1580s.

ref

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

etydate

He all thir Ammunition / And feats of War defeats / With plain Heroic magnitude of mind / And celeſtial vigour arm’d, / Thir Armories and Magazins contemns, / Renders them uſeleſs, while / With winged expedition / Swift as the lightning glance he executes / His errand on the wicked, who ſurpris’d / Loſe thir defence diſtracted and amaz’d.

1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, pages 76–77, lines 293–8:

The cruiser blew up when a shell hit its magazine.

Juneau was making good time with the other surviving U.S. Navy ships, despite her damage, when the I-26 spotted her and sent a salvo of Type 95 torpedoes in her direction. Passing between the Helena and San Francisco, some indication being they had actually been shot at the San Francisco and gone long because San Francisco was travelling significantly slower than expected, they nonetheless hit Juneau and detonated the ship's magazine.

2021 March 10, Drachinifel, 28:10 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - The Big Night Battle: Night 1 (IJN 3(?) : 2 USN), archived from the original on 2022-11-07:

(nautical) The portion of a warship where munitions are stored.


cartouche

Borrowed from French cartouche, from Italian cartuccia, from carta, from Latin charta, from Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs). Doublet of cartridge.

(firearms) A wooden case filled with balls, to be shot from a cannon.

(firearms) A gunner's bag for ammunition.

(military) A military pass for a soldier on furlough.


ghost

en-noun

ghost (countable and uncountable, plural ghosts)

ghosts (plural)
ghoast (alternative obsolete)
gost (alternative obsolete)

→ Japanese: ゴースト (gōsuto)

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

Inherited from Middle English gost, from Old English gāst, gǣst (“breath, spirit, soul, ghost”) (compare modern English Holy Ghost), from Proto-West Germanic *gaist, from Proto-Germanic *gaistaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéysdos, derived from *ǵʰéysd- (“anger, agitation”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Gäist, Jeest, West Frisian geast, Dutch geest, German Low German Geest, Geist, German Geist, Swedish gast.
The ⟨h⟩ in the spelling appears in the Prologue to William Caxton's Royal Book, printed in 1484, in a reference to the ‘Holy Ghoost’, likely introduced by Caxton's assistant, Wynkyn de Worde, as a result of Flemish influence, where it was spelled gheest at the time. Doublet of geist.

(espionage) A covert (and deniable) agent.


WTF

wtf (alternative)
W.T.F. (alternative)
W. T. F. (alternative)

I've READ them; I know what all the words are. I still say, "WTF, over?" Someone's playing with our heads on this one, but what's all the word stew?

1985, Dick Dunn, “China Cat lyrics - explanations?”, in net.music.gdead (Usenet):

Now, please, explain WTF did you mean by this text?

1994, Marat Fayzullin, “Re: MMM”, in relcom.talk (Usenet):

WTF are you on about? We played some very good football for most of the match, […]

2005, “defect violation”, “Re: WTF!!”, in uk.sport.football.clubs.liverpool (Usenet):

WTF was that about?

2019, 20 November, Carol Midgley, "Prince Andrew is ‘not very quick on his feet’, says the Duchess of York. What of her?" (in The Times newspaper)

There’s a similar “sure but what else?” vibe to Made for Love, HBO Max’s new high-concept half-hour comedy, gently coasting on its WTF setup for longer than it should, to the detriment of the main star Cristin Milioti, trying her very best to secure our attention as it slowly drifts elsewhere.

2021 March 31, Benjamin Lee, “Made for Love review – Black Mirror-esque comedy needs an upgrade”, in The Guardian:

(military slang, Internet slang, text messaging, vulgar) Initialism of what the fuck.


bury

en-verb

bury (third-person singular simple present buries, present participle burying, simple past and past participle buried)

buries (present singular third-person)
burying (participle present)
buried (participle past)
buried (past)

Middle English burien, berien, from Old English byrġan, from Proto-West Germanic *burgijan, from Proto-Germanic *burgijaną (“to keep safe”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to defend, protect”).
Cognate with Icelandic byrgja (“to cover, shut; to hold in”); West Frisian bergje (“to keep”), German bergen (“to save/rescue something”), Danish bjerge (“to save/rescue something or somebody”); also Eastern Lithuanian bir̃ginti (“to save, spare”), Russian бере́чь (beréčʹ, “to spare”), Ossetian ӕмбӕрзын (æmbærzyn, “to cover”).
The spelling with ⟨u⟩ represents the pronunciation of the West Midland and Southern dialects, while the Modern English pronunciation with /ɛ/ is from the Kentish dialects.

دَفَنَ

to hide or conceal as if by covering with earth

(professional wrestling slang) To ruin the image or character of another wrestler; usually by embarrassing or defeating them in dominating fashion.


pool

pools (plural)
poole (alternative obsolete)

1. From French poule (“collective stakes in a game”). The French word "poule" in this context is an abbreviation of "poulain, pouliche" (foal, filly), and referred to races with female horses under 3 years old. It then became used by punters to designate bets on that race, and started to be used from the racetrack to the stadiums.
2. The OED suggests that this may be a transferred use of poule (“hen”), which has been explained anecdotally as deriving from an old informal betting game in France - 'jeu de poule' - Game of Chicken (or Hen, literally) in which poule became synonymous with the combined money pot claimed by the winner.

bor

pull (accents with FOOT-GOOSE merger or full-fool merger)

(fencing) A group of fencers taking part in a competition.


baggage

en-noun

baggage (usually uncountable, plural baggages)

From Middle English bagage, from Old French bagage, baguage, from bague (“bundle, sack”), of Germanic/North Germanic origin, probably from the same ultimate source as Old Norse baggi (“pack, bundle”). Compare also bag. By surface analysis, bag + -age.

Friedrich decides to go down the River; he himself to Lowen, perhaps near twenty miles farther down, but where there is a Bridge and Highway leading over; Prince Leopold, with the heavier divisions and baggages, to Michelau, some miles nearer, and there to build his Pontoons and cross.

1865, Thomas Carlyle, History of Friedrich II of Prussia:

In Poland, for example, the unknown Bolesław Bierut, who appeared in 1944 in the baggage of the Red Army, and who played a prominent role as a ‘non-party figure’ in the Lublin Committee, turned out to be a Soviet employee formerly working for the Comintern.

2007, Norman Davies, No Simple Victory: World War II in Europe, 1939–1945, New York: Penguin, page 305:

(military, countable (obsolete) and uncountable) An army's portable equipment; its baggage train.


special

en-adj

special (comparative more special or specialer, superlative most special or specialest)

more special (comparative)
specialer (comparative)
most special (superlative)
specialest (superlative)

common

antonym(s) of “distinguished by a unique or unusual quality”

From Middle English *special, especial, especiall, from Old French especial (whence also French spécial), from Latin speciālis (from speciēs). In this sense displaced native Old English synderlīċ. Doublet of especial.

מיוחד \ מְיֻחָד

of or related to disabilities, especially learning or intellectual disabilities

special forces, special operations

(military) Of or related to unconventional warfare.


RPG

Initialism. When applied to a "rocket-propelled grenade" it derives from Russian РПГ (RPG), initialism of ручной противотанковый гранатомёт (ručnoj protivotankovyj granatomjót, “hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher”), of which "rocket-propelled grenade" is a backronym (though an accurate description of the weapon system).

rocket-propelled grenade
rocket-propelled grenade#English

(weaponry) Initialism of rocket-propelled grenade.


RPG

en-verb

RPG (third-person singular simple present RPGs, present participle RPGing or RPG-ing or RPG'ing, simple past and past participle RPGed or RPG'ed or RPG'd)

RPGs (present singular third-person)
RPGing (participle present)
RPG-ing (participle present)
RPG'ing (participle present)
RPGed (participle past)
RPGed (past)
RPG'ed (participle past)
RPG'ed (past)
RPG'd (participle past)
RPG'd (past)

However, one group of Americans at the Embassy doesn’t creep around quivering in anxiety about being RPGed or machinegunned.

1981 November 27, B.P., “U.S. Embassy”, in Soldier of Fortune, volume 6, number 11, page 53:

It was like the movie Black Hawk Down without the rioters. I was RPGed so often I gradually stopped ducking.

2006 September 27, Robert D. Kaplan, Imperial Grunts: […], Vintage Books, page 317:

The Taliban had buried a triple mine in the road a week ago and remotely detonated it under a Spartan. Then they RPGed the Scimitar trapped ahead of it.

2009, Ed Macy, Hellfire, HarperPress, page 343:

rocket-propelled grenade
rocket-propelled grenade

(transitive, weaponry) To attack with a rocket-propelled grenade.


timber

en-noun

timber (countable and uncountable, plural timbers)

From Middle English tymber, from Old English timber, from Proto-West Germanic *timr, from Proto-Germanic *timrą, from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“build, house”) (see Proto-Indo-European *dṓm).
Cognates include Dutch timmer, Old High German zimbar (German Zimmer), Norwegian tømmer, Old Norse timbr, Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌼𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (timrjan, “to build”), Latin domus and Ancient Greek δόμος (dómos).

der

(firearms, informal) The wooden stock of a rifle or shotgun.


loo

I asked my loo to let me escort you in. I wanted a moment to thank you personally.” “There's no need.” “So you said before, but there is. And was. I'll take you in to Lieutenant Ricchio.”

2012, J. D. Robb, New York to Dallas, Penguin, →ISBN, page 91:


rope

en-noun

rope (countable and uncountable, plural ropes)

ropes (plural)
roap (alternative obsolete)
roape (alternative obsolete)

→ Irish: rópa

Tok Pisin: rop

From Middle English rop, rope, from Old English rāp (“rope, cord, cable”), from Proto-West Germanic *raip, from Proto-Germanic *raipaz, *raipą (“rope, cord, band, ringlet”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁roypnós (“strap, band, rope”), from *h₁reyp- (“to peel off, tear; border, edge, strip”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots rape, raip (“rope”), Saterland Frisian Roop (“rope”), West Frisian reap (“rope, cord”), Dutch roop, reep (“rope, cord, ring, strip, bar”), German Low German Reep (“rope”), Swedish rep (“rope”), Danish reb (“rope”), Icelandic reipi (“rope”), Albanian rrip (“belt, rope”).

der

give someone enough rope and they'll hang themself

you'd complain if you were hung with a new rope

(military, uncountable) A kind of chaff (material dropped to interfere with radar) consisting of foil strips with paper chutes attached.


glean

en-verb

glean (third-person singular simple present gleans, present participle gleaning, simple past and past participle gleaned)

gleans (present singular third-person)
gleaning (participle present)
gleaned (participle past)
gleaned (past)
glean (infinitive)
glean (first-person present singular)
gleaned (first-person past singular)
glean (present second-person singular)
gleanest (archaic present second-person singular)
gleaned (past second-person singular)
gleanedst (archaic past second-person singular)
gleans (present singular third-person)
gleaneth (archaic present singular third-person)
gleaned (past singular third-person)
glean (plural present)
gleaned (past plural)
glean (present subjunctive)
gleaned (past subjunctive)
glean (imperative present)
gleaning (participle present)
gleaned (participle past)

The verb is derived from Late Middle English glenen (“to gather (heads of grain left by reapers), glean; to gather (things) together, collect”), from Old French glener, glainer (modern French glaner (“to gather, glean”)), from Late Latin glen(n)are, the present active infinitive of glen(n)ō (“to make a collection”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Gaulish, from Proto-Celtic *glanos (“clean; clear”, adjective), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰleh₁- (“to glow, shine; to be glowing or shining”).
The noun is derived from Late Middle English glene (“collection of heads of grain gathered by gleaning; head of grain”), from Old French glene, glane (“act of gleaning; legal right to glean”) (modern French glane (“act of gleaning”)), from glener, glainer (verb): see above.
cognates
* Medieval Latin glana, glena (“bundle of ears of grain”)

pennaouiñ

(transitive) to collect (fruit, grain, or other produce) from a field, an orchard, etc., after the main gathering or harvest; to collect fruit, grain, or other produce from (a field, an orchard, etc.), after the main gathering or harvest; (intransitive) to collect fruit, grain, or other produce after the main gathering or harvest

poimia

(transitive) Of an animal: to feed by picking up or plucking (prey, mainly arthropods such as insects) from various places; (intransitive) of an animal: to feed by picking up or plucking prey from various places

And they turned and fled toward the wilderneſſe vnto the rocke of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the high wayes fiue thouſand men: and purſued hard after them vnto Gidom, and ſlew two thouſand men of them.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Judges 20:45, column 1:

(obsolete, military) To cut off (straggling soldiers separated from their units) during a conflict; to isolate.


synthesis

en-noun

synthesis (countable and uncountable, plural syntheses)

From Latin synthesis, from Ancient Greek σύνθεσις (súnthesis, “a putting together; composition”), from συντίθημι (suntíthēmi, “put together, combine”), from συν- (sun-, “together”) + τίθημι (títhēmi, “set, place”). Doublet of sandhi.

der

(military) In intelligence usage, the examining and combining of processed information with other information and intelligence for final interpretation.


dress

en-verb

dress (third-person singular simple present dresses, present participle dressing, simple past dressed, past participle dressed or (obsolete) drest)

dresses (present singular third-person)
dressing (participle present)
dressed (past)
dressed (participle past)
drest (obsolete participle past)
dress (infinitive)
dress (first-person present singular)
dressed (first-person past singular)
dress (present second-person singular)
dressed (past second-person singular)
dresses (present singular third-person)
dressed (past singular third-person)
dress (plural present)
dressed (past plural)
dress (present subjunctive)
dressed (past subjunctive)
dress (imperative present)
dressing (participle present)
dressed (participle past)
drest (participle past)

→ Sranan Tongo: dresi

PIE word
 *dwís
The verb is from Middle English dressen, dresse (“to arrange, put in order”), from Anglo-Norman, Old French dresser, drecier (modern French dresser), from Late Latin *directiare (“to guide, direct”). Doublet of direct.
The noun is derived from the verb.

aantrek

to put clothes on (oneself or someone, etc.) — see also clothe

self aantrek

to put on clothes — see also get dressed

koristaa

to adorn or ornament (something) — see also adorn, ornament

siistiä

to fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose — see also get ready

whakahuene

referring to preparing rough sawn timber

to dress the ranks

(military) To arrange (soldiers or troops) into proper formation; especially, to adjust (soldiers or troops) into straight lines and at a proper distance from each other; to align.

laittaa ojennukseen

to arrange (soldiers or troops) into proper formation; especially, to adjust (soldiers or troops) into straight lines and at a proper distance from each other

Right, dress!

Form a straight line, and align yourself to the right!

(military, sometimes imperative as a drill command) Of soldiers or troops: to arrange into proper formation; especially, to form into straight lines and at a proper distance from each other.


top

en-noun

top (countable and uncountable, plural tops)

From Middle English top, toppe, from Old English top (“top, highest part; summit; crest; tassel, tuft; (spinning) top, ball; a tuft or ball at the highest point of anything”), from Proto-West Germanic *topp, from Proto-Germanic *tuppaz (“braid, pigtail, end”), of unknown ultimate origin.
Cognate with Scots tap (“top”), North Frisian top, tap, tup (“top”), Saterland Frisian Top (“top”), West Frisian top (“top”), Dutch top (“top, summit, peak”), Low German Topp (“top”), German Zopf (“braid, pigtail, plait, top”), Swedish topp (“top, peak, summit, tip”), Icelandic toppur (“top”).
The sense of a spinning toy is separated from this, obscurely related to Dutch top and dop in this sense, against Standard Dutch tol, and French toupie having this sense.

頂上

chōjō, ちょうじょう

suprulo

BDSM: dominant partner in a BDSM relationship or roleplay

one's elevator doesn't go all the way to the top

(military) The First Sergeant or Master Sergeant (U.S. Marine Corps), senior enlisted man at company level.


batman

Batman (military)
Edward Ardizzone
Imperial War Museum

From bat (“packsaddle”) + man. The element bat is from French bât, from Old French bast, from Late Latin bastum, possibly from Ancient Greek βαστάζω (bastázō, “to bear, carry, lift”).

der

[A]s a rule the chambers were occupied only by Stack, who had been Wilfrid's batman in the war, and had for him one of those sphinx-like habits which wear better than expressed devotions.

1932, John Galsworthy, chapter III, in Flowering Wilderness […], London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 19:

(military) A servant or valet to a military officer.

ордина́рец

servant to an army officer — see also orderly


INS

(India, military, nautical) Initialism of Indian Naval Ship.


rad

(firearms, slang) Abbreviation of sight radius.


vane

From Middle English vane, Southern Middle English variant of fane, from Old English fana (“cloth, banner, flag”), from Proto-West Germanic *fanō, from Proto-Germanic *fanô, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂n- (“something woven; weave; tissue; fabric; cloth”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Foone (“flag, banner”), Dutch vaan (“banner, flag”), German Low German Fahn (“flag”), German Fahne. Doublet of obsolete fane (“weathercock; banner”) and fanon.

cog

(weaponry) One of the metal guidance or stabilizing fins attached to the tail of a bomb or other missile.


spanner

Japanese: スパナ (supana)

Korean: 스패너 (seupaeneo)

Malay: sepana

مِفْتَاح إِنْجْلِيزِيّ m (miftāḥ ʔinglīziyy, literally “English key”)

га́ечны ключ m (háječny ključ, literally “nut key”)

га́ечен ключ m (gáečen ključ, literally “nut key”)

γερμανικό κλειδί n (germanikó kleidí, literally “German key”)

га́ечный ключ m (gáječnyj ključ, literally “nut key”)

гайкови́й ключ m (hajkovýj ključ, literally “nut key”)

The spanner for spanning or winding up the spring of the wheel lock.

1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, Fig. 10., page xvi:

(weaponry) A hand tool shaped like a small crank handle, for winding the spring of a wheel lock on a musket.


wrench

en-verb

wrench (third-person singular simple present wrenches, present participle wrenching, simple past and past participle wrenched)

wrenches (present singular third-person)
wrenching (participle present)
wrenched (participle past)
wrenched (past)
wrenche (alternative obsolete)
wrinche (alternative obsolete)
wringe (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English wrenchen, from Old English wrenċan, from Proto-West Germanic *wrankijan, from Proto-Germanic *wrankijaną. Compare German renken.

(intransitive, fencing, obsolete) To disarm an opponent by whirling their blade away.


job

job (third-person singular simple present jobs, present participle jobbing, simple past and past participle jobbed)

jobs (present singular third-person)
jobbing (participle present)
jobbed (participle past)
jobbed (past)

From the phrase jobbe of work (“piece of work”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from a variant of Middle English gobbe (“mass, lump”); or perhaps related to Middle English jobben (“to jab, thrust, peck”), or Middle English choppe (“piece, bargain”). More at gob, jab, chop.

der

(intransitive, professional wrestling slang) To take the loss, usually in a demeaning or submissive manner.


corporal

From French caporal, probably influenced by corporal (above), from the Italian caporale, from capo (“head, leader”) from Latin caput (“head”).

(military) A non-commissioned officer army rank with NATO code OR-4. The rank below a sergeant but above a lance corporal and private.


corps

From French corps d'armée (literally “army body”), from Latin corpus (“body”). Doublet of corpse and corpus. See also English riff.

(military) A battlefield formation composed of two or more divisions.


ky

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

2005, Patrick Halliday, Survival, page 24:

(UK, naval slang) Alternative form of kye (“cocoa”)


beast

en-verb

beast (third-person singular simple present beasts, present participle beasting, simple past and past participle beasted)

beasts (present singular third-person)
beasting (participle present)
beasted (participle past)
beasted (past)
beest (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English beeste, beste, from Old French beste (French bête), from Latin bēstia (“animal, beast”); many cognates – see bēstia.

(British, military) To impose arduous exercises, either as training or as punishment.


guard

guards (plural)
gard (alternative obsolete)
garde (alternative obsolete)
guarde (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English garde, from early Middle French or late Old French guarde (“a guardian, warden, keeper”) (whence modern French garde), from the verb guarder. Doublet of garda, which is from Irish.

der

The president inspected the guard of honour.

(military) A squad responsible for protecting something.

(martial arts) A ground grappling position in which one combatant has their back to the ground while attempting to control the other combatant using their legs.


dreadnought

dreadnoughts (plural)
dreadnaught (alternative)

Named after HMS Dreadnought, the first battleship finished of this type, itself named for Etymology 2.

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

Perturbed at being overtaken, the USS Texas is leading the 6th Battle Squadron at 22-and-a-half knots as the engineers pour everything they have into the effort. Behind the colossal clouds of smoke and cinders they put out come a seemingly-endless stream of dreadnoughts, battle flags flying from every mast and line they can find. It is the Grand Fleet.

2018 October 17, Drachinifel, 18:32 from the start, in Last Ride of the High Seas Fleet - Battle of Texel 1918, archived from the original on 2022-08-04:

(military, nautical, historical) A battleship, especially of the World War I era, in which most of the firepower is concentrated in large guns that are of the same caliber.

Sovereign is the flagship of the rogue Spectre Saren. An enormous dreadnought larger than any other ship in any known fleet, Sovereign is crewed with both geth and krogan. At two kilometers long, its spinal-mounted main gun is likely capable of penetrating another dreadnought's kinetic barriers with a single shot.

2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Sovereign Codex entry:

(informal) Any type of warship heavier in armour or armament than a typical battleship.


unicorn

From Middle English unicorne, unikorn, from Anglo-Norman unicorne, Old French unicorne, and their source, Latin ūnicornis, from ūnus (“one”) + cornū (“horn”).
Other senses from either rarity (e.g., possessing multiple skills) or by physical resemblance to having a horn (e.g., howitzer). The finance sense was coined by American investor Aileen Lee and first used in a 2013 article.

The Sixth Inniskilling Dragoons and the First Battalion Royal Scots will be in attendance, and there will be unicorns, carricks, pursuivants, heralds, mace-bearers, ushers, and pages, together with the Purse-bearer, and the Lyon King-of-Arms, and the national anthem, and the royal salute

1898, Kate Douglas Wiggin, chapter 8, in Penelope’s Progress […], Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:


dragon

→ Fijian: drekoni

→ Japanese: ドラゴン (doragon)

desc

→ Korean: 드래곤 (deuraegon), 드래건 (deuraegeon)

→ Marathi: ड्रॅगन (ḍrĕgan)

→ Marshallese: tūrāikōn

→ Niuean: tarākoni

→ Swahili: dragoni

→ Tamil: டிராகன் (ṭirākaṉ)

→ Yoruba: dírágónì

From Middle English dragoun, borrowed from Old French dragon, from Latin dracō(n), from Ancient Greek δράκων (drákōn, “a serpent of huge size, a python, a dragon”), probably from δέρκομαι (dérkomai, “I see clearly”). Mostly displaced Old English draca (whence modern drake)—from the same Latin source, as are Draco, dracone, and dragoon.

taniwha

Maori mythological creature similar to a dragon

our dragoons were so denominated because they were armed with dragons, that is, with short muskets, which spouted fire like dragons, and had the head of a dragon wrought upon their muzzle

(military, weaponry, historical) A type of musket with a short, large-calibre barrel with a flared muzzle, often hooked to a swivel attached to a soldier's belt.


basilisk

basilisks (plural)
basilisc (alternative)

From Middle English basilicke, borrowed from Old French basilique, from Latin basiliscus, from Ancient Greek βασιλίσκος (basilískos) (literally "minor king or chieftain", possibly based on descriptions or rare encounters with different types of cobra which have crown-like patterns on their head; the "deadly gaze" could have been from the spitting cobra's ability to spit venom into the eyes of predators or prey from a distance), from βασιλεύς (basileús, “king”). The cognitohazard/infohazard sense is by analogy with the deadly gaze of the mythical creature.

Awake ye men of Memphis, heare the clange / Of Scythian trumpets, heare the Baſiliſkes, / That roaring, ſhake Damaſcus turrets downe, […]

c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act IIII, scene i:

(weaponry) A type of large brass cannon.


cannon

en-noun

cannon (countable and uncountable, plural cannons or (mainly UK) cannon)

cannons (plural)
cannon (UK mainly plural)

Attested from around 1400 as Middle English canon, canoun, from Old French canon, from Italian cannone, from Latin canna, from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na). Doublet of canyon. This spelling was not fixed until about 1800.

Any similar device for shooting material out of a tube.

(military, chiefly aviation) An autocannon.


muzzle

From earlier muzle, musle, mousle, mussel, mozell, from Middle English mosel, from Old French musel, museau, muzeau (modern French museau), from Late Latin mūsus (“snout”), probably expressive of the shape of protruded lips and/or influenced by Latin mūgīre (“to moo, bellow”). Doublet of museau. Displaced native Middle English kevel from Old English cæfl (“gag, bit, muzzle”), see English cavel.

onomatopoeic

expressive

Coordinate term: breech

(firearms) The mouth or the end for entrance or discharge of a gun, pistol etc., that the bullet emerges from.


sabre

Borrowed from French sabre, from German Säbel, from Polish szabla, from Hungarian szablya. Cognate with Danish sabel, Russian са́бля (sáblja), Serbo-Croatian сабља, Sicilian sciàbbula.

(British spelling, Canadian spelling, fencing) A modern fencing sword modeled after the sabre.


conversation

en-noun

conversation (countable and uncountable, plural conversations)

[ˌkʰɒɱ.vəˈseɪ.ʃn̩]

[ˌkʰɑɱ.vɚˈseɪ.ʃn̩]

From Middle English conversacioun, from Old French conversacion and its etymon, Latin conversātiōnem, accusative singular of conversātiō (“conversation”), from conversor (“abide, keep company with”). Doublet of conversazione.
Morphologically converse + -ation.

(fencing) The back-and-forth play of the blades in a bout.


sow

sows (plural)
swine (archaic plural)
zew (alternative)
soo (alternative)

From Middle English sowe, from Old English sugu, from Proto-West Germanic *sugu, from Proto-Germanic *sugō, probably from Proto-Indo-European *su(H)kéh₂, from *suH- (“pig”).
See also West Frisian sûch, Dutch zeug, Low German Söög, German Sau, Swedish sugga, Norwegian sugge; also Welsh hwch (“pig”), Sanskrit सूकर (sūkará, “swine, boar”); also Danish so, German Sau, Latin sūs, Tocharian B suwo, Ancient Greek ὗς (hûs), Albanian thi, Avestan 𐬵𐬏 (hū, “boar”). See also swine. Doublet of soor.

(military) A kind of covered shed, formerly used by besiegers in filling up and passing the ditch of a besieged place, sapping and mining the wall, etc.


IP

IP (countable and uncountable, plural IPs)

en:Iraqi police or an Iraqi police officer

(US, military, initialism, slang) An Iraqi police officer, or the Iraqi police as a whole.

(US, military, initialism, slang) Initialism of Irish pennant.


chick

chick (plural chicks or (obsolete) chicken)

chicks (plural)
chicken (obsolete plural)

From Middle English chicke, chike, variation of chiken (“chicken", also "chick”), from Old English ċicen, ċycen (“chicken”). Sense of "young woman" dates to at least 1860 (compare chit (“young, pert woman”)). More at chicken.

The Aldis lamp flashes at the underside of each aircraft. It shows that the gear is down. Diegal is relaxing. This is such low responsibility, easy night duty. All the “chicks” (fighter aircraft) are home to roost except one.

2004, Joe Welzen, The Gutsy Stomach Walker, page 50:

(military, slang) A friendly fighter aircraft.


buck

From Middle English bukke, bucke, buc, from Old English buc, bucc, bucca (“he-goat, stag”), from Proto-West Germanic *bukk, *bukkō, from Proto-Germanic *bukkaz, *bukkô (“buck”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuǵ- (“ram”). Doublet of puck (billy goat).
Currency-related senses hail from American English, a clipping of buckskin as a unit of trade among Indians and Europeans in frontier days (attested from 1748).
The idea of rigidly standing implements is instilled by Dutch bok (“sawhorse”) as in zaagbok (“sawbuck”).
The sense of an object indicating someone’s turn then occurred in American English, possibly originating from the game poker, where a knife (typically with a hilt made from a stag horn) was used as a place-marker to signify whose turn it was to deal. The place-marker was commonly referred to as a buck, which reinforced the term “pass the buck” used in poker, and eventually a silver dollar was used in place of a knife, which also led to a dollar being referred to as a buck.

(US, military slang, WWI–WWII) Lowest rank; a private.


buck

en-verb

buck (third-person singular simple present bucks, present participle bucking, simple past and past participle bucked)

bucks (present singular third-person)
bucking (participle present)
bucked (participle past)
bucked (past)

From dialectal buck ("to give in, yield"; also bug (“to bend”)), from Middle Low German bucken (“to bend”) or Middle Dutch bucken, bocken (“to bend”), intensive forms of Old Saxon būgan and Old Dutch *būgan (“to bend, bow”), both from Proto-West Germanic *beugan, from Proto-Germanic *būganą (“to bend”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰūgʰ- (“to bend”). Influenced in some senses by buck “male goat” (see above). Sense “to meet, to encounter” is a semantic loan from Jamaican Creole buck.
Compare bow and elbow.

gl

"to give in, yield"; also <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">bug</i> (“to bend”)

(transitive, military) To subject to a mode of punishment which consists of tying the wrists together, passing the arms over the bent knees, and putting a stick across the arms and in the angle formed by the knees.

(US, military slang) To strive or aspire e.g. to a promotion.


marine

→ Tokelauan: malini, maligi

Recorded since c.1420 as Middle English marin, borrowed from Middle French marin, from Old French, from Latin marinus (“of the sea”), itself from mare (“sea”), from Proto-Indo-European *móri (“body of water, lake”) (cognate with Old English mere (“sea, lake, pool, pond”), Dutch meer, German Meer, all from Proto-Germanic *mari). The modern pronunciation is presumably due to the influence of modern French marine, feminine singular of marin.

cog

He was a marine in World War II.

en:soldier at sea, especially of naval infantry

(military, nautical) A soldier, normally a member of a marine corps, trained to serve on board or from a ship.


rub

Inherited from Middle English rubben, of unknown origin; possibly ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rubbōną, related to *reufaną (“to tear”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian rubje (“to rub, scrape”), German Low German rubben (“to rub”), Low German rubblig (“rough, uneven”), Dutch robben, rubben (“to rub smooth; scrape; scrub”), Danish rubbe (“to rub, scrub”), Icelandic and Norwegian rubba (“to scrape”).
More at reave.

растира́ние

any substance designed to be applied by rubbing


insistence

en-noun

insistence (countable and uncountable, plural insistences)

From Middle English insistence, derived from Old French insister (“to insist”). Compare Middle French insistance.
Morphologically insist + -ence.

(fencing) The forcing of an attack through the parry, using strength.


joey

(UK, military, slang) A member of the Royal Marines.


decision

en-verb

decision (third-person singular simple present decisions, present participle decisioning, simple past and past participle decisioned)

decisions (present singular third-person)
decisioning (participle present)
decisioned (participle past)
decisioned (past)

Derived from Middle French, from Latin dēcīsiō, dēcīsiōnis, from dēcīdō (“to decide”).

(boxing) To defeat an opponent by a decision of the judges, rather than by a knockout


battery

en-noun

battery (countable and uncountable, plural batteries)

Korean: 배터리 (baeteori)

Borrowed from Middle French batterie, from Old French baterie (“action of beating”), from batre (“battre”), from Latin battuō (“beat”), from Gaulish. Doublet of batterie. By surface analysis, batter + -y.

der

the marines had six 8-inch howitzers, eight 4.2-inch mortars, and three 105-mm howitzer batteries, each with six pieces.

2005, Barry Leonard, Field Artillery in Military Operations Other Than War, page 20:

(military, countable) A coordinated group of artillery weapons.


gig

The etymology of the noun is unknown, but compare Old French gigue (“a fiddle”). The verb is derived from the noun.

I received gigs for having buttons of my uniform undone.

(US, military) A demerit received for some infraction of a military deportment or dress code.


gig

en-verb

gig (third-person singular simple present gigs, present participle gigging, simple past and past participle gigged)

gigs (present singular third-person)
gigging (participle present)
gigged (participle past)
gigged (past)

His sergeant gigged him for an unmade bunk.

(US, military) To impose a demerit (on someone) for an infraction of a military deportment or dress code.


detail

en-noun

detail (countable and uncountable, plural details)

Borrowed from Middle French détail, from Old French detail, from detaillier, from de- + taillier (“to cut”).

Frequently members of the small police detail dispatched to the scene joined in.

2022, Gary Gerstle, chapter 7, in The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order […] , New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, Part II. The Neoliberal Order, 1970–2020:

(military, law enforcement) A temporary unit or assignment.


detail

en-verb

detail (third-person singular simple present details, present participle detailing, simple past and past participle detailed)

details (present singular third-person)
detailing (participle present)
detailed (participle past)
detailed (past)

Two years after England’s World Cup victory, Stiles was at Wembley again to help Manchester United become the first English team to win the European Cup final. Again Eusébio was one of his opponents, playing for Benfica, and again Stiles was detailed to keep him quiet. […]

2020 October 30, Brian Glanville, “Nobby Stiles obituary”, in The Guardian:

(transitive, military, law enforcement) To assign to a particular task.

komentaa

military: to assign to a particular task


trap

en-noun

trap (countable and uncountable, plural traps)

From Middle English trappe, from Old English træppe, treppe (“trap, snare”) (also in betræppan (“to trap”)) from Proto-West Germanic *trappjā (“trap, snare”), from Proto-West Germanic *trappjan (“to step”), from Proto-Germanic *trapjaną (“to tread, stamp”), from Proto-Indo-European *drebʰ- (“to step, trip, trample”).
Cognate with Dutch trap (“trap, snare”), German Low German Trapp (“trap”). Akin also to West Frisian traap (“stepping, treading, stairway”), German Treppe (“step, stair”), Old English træppan (“to step, tread”). Connection to "step" is "that upon which one steps". French trappe and Spanish trampa are ultimately borrowings from Germanic.

فَخّ

trick or arrangement designed to catch someone in a more general sense

koppi

device used to hold and suddenly release an object

сифо́н

bend, sag, or other device in a waste-pipe to prevent the escape of noxious gases

vēuháutsīe

a type of trap to catch birds using bait with adjustable loop

After 100 traps, the arresting cables have to be replaced to minimize the danger of a worn or fatigued cable snapping under an aircraft.

(aviation, military, slang) A successful landing on an aircraft carrier using the carrier's arresting gear.


trap

en-verb

trap (third-person singular simple present traps, present participle trapping, simple past and past participle trapped)

traps (present singular third-person)
trapping (participle present)
trapped (participle past)
trapped (past)

After three consecutive bolters, the pilot finally trapped successfully on the Nimitz.

(aviation, military, slang, intransitive) To successfully land an aircraft on an aircraft carrier using the carrier's arresting gear.


bout

From Middle English bout, bowt, bught (whence also modern English bought (“bend, curve”)), probably from Old English *buht (“bend, turn”), an unrecorded variant of Old English byht (“a bend, curve”), from Proto-West Germanic *buhti, from Proto-Germanic *buhtiz (“a bend”). Equivalent to bow + -t. Doublet of bight and bought.
For the sense development compare bender.

An Italian boxer abandoned her bout at the Paris Olympics after only 46 seconds on Thursday, refusing to continue after taking a heavy punch from an Algerian opponent who had been disqualified from last year’s world championships over questions about her eligibility to compete in women’s sports.

2024 August 1, Tariq Panja, Jeré Longman, “Italian Boxer Quits Bout, Sparking Furor Over Gender at Olympics”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(fencing) An assault (a fencing encounter) at which the score is kept.


acquire

acquire (third-person singular simple present acquires, present participle acquiring, simple past and past participle acquired)

acquires (present singular third-person)
acquiring (participle present)
acquired (participle past)
acquired (past)
acquire (infinitive)
acquire (first-person present singular)
acquired (first-person past singular)
acquire (present second-person singular)
acquirest (archaic present second-person singular)
acquired (past second-person singular)
acquiredst (archaic past second-person singular)
acquires (present singular third-person)
acquireth (archaic present singular third-person)
acquired (past singular third-person)
acquire (plural present)
acquired (past plural)
acquire (present subjunctive)
acquired (past subjunctive)
acquire (imperative present)
acquiring (participle present)
acquired (participle past)

From Middle English acqueren, from Old French aquerre, from Latin acquirō; ad- + quaerō (“to seek for”). See quest.

(Canada, US, military) To begin tracking a mobile target with a particular detector or sight, generally with the implication that an attack on the target thereby becomes possible.


out

From Middle English out, oute, from a combination of Old English ūt (“out”, preposition & adverb), from Proto-West Germanic *ūt, from Proto-Germanic *ūt (“out”); and Old English ūte (“outside; without”, adverb), from Proto-Germanic *ūtai (“out; outside”); both from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“upwards, away”).
Cognate with Scots oot, out (“out”), Saterland Frisian uut, uute (“out”), West Frisian út (“out”), Dutch uit (“out”), German Low German ut (“out”), German aus (“out”), Norwegian/Swedish ut, ute (“out; outside”), Danish ud, ude (“out; outside”).

inh

Destruction. Two T-72s destroyed. Three foot mobiles down. Out.

[Galactic Federation official]: 'Does Samus suspect anything?' / Ship AI: 'No, I do not think so.' / [Galactic Federation official]: 'Good. Monitor her closely.' / Ship AI: 'Affirmative. Out.'

2002 November 18, Nintendo R&D1, Metroid Fusion, Nintendo, Game Boy Advance, scene: dispatch:

(procedure word, especially military) A radio procedure word meaning that the station is finished with its transmission and does not expect a response.


actual

en-noun

actual (countable and uncountable, plural actuals)

From Middle English actual, actuel (“active”), from Anglo-Norman actuel, actual, and its source Late Latin actuālis (“active, practical”), from Latin actus (“act, action, performance”), from agere (“to do; to act”) + -alis (“-al”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti, from the root *h₂eǵ-.

der

Bravo Six Actual, this is Charlie One. Come in, over.

(military) a radio callsign modifier that specifies the commanding officer of the unit or asset denoted by the remainder of the callsign and not the officer's assistant or other designee.


spot

en-verb

spot (third-person singular simple present spots, present participle spotting, simple past and past participle spotted)

spots (present singular third-person)
spotting (participle present)
spotted (participle past)
spotted (past)

From Middle English spot, spotte, partially from Middle Dutch spotte (“spot, speck”), and partially merging with Middle English splot, from Old English splott (“spot, plot of land”), from Proto-West Germanic *splott, from Proto-Germanic *spluttaz (“segment”), from Proto-Indo-European *splt-no- (“an off-split, segment”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to split”). Cognate with North Frisian spot (“speck, piece of ground”), Low German spot (“speck”), Old Norse spotti (“small piece”). See also splot, splotch.

cog

The aircraft is spotted on the catapult, and the console operator turns the crank to FIRST READY, causing the exhaust valve to close.

1959, Aviation Boatswain's Mate 3 & 2: Navy Training Courses, United States. Bureau of Naval Personnel, page 315:

This spotting order varies from carrier to carrier to suit the flight-deck layout. Certain aircraft must be spotted in a specific location to permit servicing, loading of ammunition, starting, maintenance, and so forth.

(aviation, military, transitive) To position (an aircraft) on the deck of an aircraft carrier ready for launch by catapult.


stale

From Middle English stale, from Old French estal (“place, something placed”) (compare French étal), from Frankish stal, from Proto-Germanic *stallaz, earlier *staþlaz. Related to stall and stand.

der

Wherefore they had a great avauntage, but in coclusion thie french menne were slayne, and their horses taken, and so the lyght horsement came wyth their catail, nere to the embushment, and the frenchimen folowed, that seyng the englyshmen that kept the stale, came in al hast & rescued their light horsemen, and draue the frenchemen backe, & then made returne to their beastes

1550, Edward Halle, The Vnion of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre and Yorke:

All these in great hast came to Newnam bridge, where they found other Englishmen that had woone the bridge of the Frenchmen, and so all togither set foward to assaile the Frenchmen that kept the stale, and tarie till the residue of their companie which were gone a forraging vnto Calis walles were come: for the other that had spoiled the marishes were returned with a great bootie.

1808, Raphael Holinshed, Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, page 580:

You cannot take the queen without giving a stale, therefore you lose the game.

1818, William Stopford Kenny, Practical Chess Exercises, page 205:

(military, obsolete) A fixed position, particularly a soldier's in a battle-line.

It is a stelling place and sovir harbry, Quhar ost in staill or embuschment may ly.

1513, Virgil, translated by G. Douglas, Æneid, XI x 96:

The erle of Essex...with .ii. C. speares was layde in a stale, if the Frenchmen had come neerer.

Neveryeles I knaw asweill by Englisemen as Scottishmen that their stale was no les then thre thowsand men.

1532, State Papers Henry VIII, published 1836, IV 626:

(Scotland, military, obsolete) The main force of an army.