frog

frogs (plural)
frock (alternative dialectal)
frosk (alternative dialectal)
frosh (alternative dialectal)

→ Esperanto: frogo

→ Hawaiian: poloka

→ Irish: frog

From Middle English frogge, from Old English frogga, from Proto-West Germanic *froggō (“frog”). Cognate with Old Norse frauki.
Possibly related to Saterland Frisian Poage (“frog”), German Low German Pogg, Pogge (“frog”).
Sense 5 is a calque of Ancient Greek βάτραχος (bátrakhos).

calque

squirrel tree frog (Dryophytes squirellus

switches to a different political party
cross the floor

(politics, slang, derogatory, Malaysia) Defector: politician who switches to a different political party.


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

en-noun

IP (countable and uncountable, plural IPs)

(law enforcement) Initialism of injured party.

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, 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.


lattice

→ Japanese: ラティス (ratisu)

From Middle English latis, from Middle French lattis (“lathing”), from Old French lattis, from latte (“a lath”), from Frankish *lattā, *lattu (“a lath”), from Proto-Germanic *lattǭ, *lattō, *laþþō (“board; plank; ledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)latn-, *(s)lat- (“beam; log”). Cognate with Old High German latta (“lath”), (German Latte), Old English lætt (“lath”), Middle Low German lāde (“plank, counter, sales counter”), German Laden (“shop”). More at lath.

cog

(heraldry) A bearing with vertical and horizontal bands that cross each other.


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


chief

→ Japanese: チーフ (chīfu)

→ Swahili: chifu

From Middle English cheef, chef, from Old French chef, chief (“leader”), from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”) (from which also captain, chieftain), from Proto-Italic *kaput, from Proto-Indo-European *káput.
Doublet of cape (“point of land”), capo, caput, and chef through Latin (possibly also related to cape (“sleeveless garment”) and cap (“head covering”) from Latin cappa); doublet of head and Howth through Proto-Indo-European.

doublet

When the Chief is Charged with any figure, in blazon it is said to be "On a Chief".

1889, Charles Norton Elvin, A Dictionary of Heraldry:

(heraldry) The top part of a shield or escutcheon; more specifically, an ordinary consisting of the upper part of the field cut off by a horizontal line, generally occupying the top third.


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.


opposition

/ˌɒp.əˈzɪʃ.ən/

/ˌɑ.pəˈzɪʃ.ən/

From Middle English opposicioun, from Old French oposicion (whence French opposition), from Late Latin oppositiō, translating Ancient Greek ἀντίθεσις (antíthesis), from the past participle stem of classical Latin oppōnō (“I set against”).

leader of the opposition

(politics) A political party or movement opposed to the party or government in power.

opozitë

politics: party or movement opposed to government


rehab

rehab (countable and uncountable, plural rehabs)

(firefighting) A brief period of time spent away from the fire by a firefighter at a fire scene, for purposes of recuperation.


joey

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


Saturn

From Old English Sætern, from Latin Sāturnus, probably from Etruscan 𐌔𐌀𐌕𐌓𐌄 (satre), plausibly influenced by Latin satus, past participle of serere (“to sow”).

12. Venus, a Staff in Pale Sol, and thereupon a Cross Pattee, Luna surmounted off a Pall of the last, charged with 4. like Crosses fitched Saturn, edged and stringed as the second. This Coat belongs to the Archiepiscopal See of Canterbury, to whose place it appertains to Crown and Inaugurate the Kings of England.

1693, Richard Blome, The Art of Heraldry, in two parts ... second edition ..., pages 76-77:

[…] The Field is Luna, a Chevron, Mars, between three Bull's Heads couped Saturn, armed Sol. This Coat-Armour pertained to the Right Noble Family of Thomas Bulleine Lord hoo and Hastings, Viscount Rochford, […] [pages 200-201:] I have omitted, in this Edition, that Escucheon Sol, charged with three Toads erected Saturn, which, according to some Authors, was the Coat-Armour of the ancient Kings of France; […]

1724, John Guillim, A Display of Heraldry, page 151:

The Archiepiscopal See of Armagh bears Jupiter, a Pastoral Staff in Pale Luna, ensigned with a Cross Pattee Sol, surmounded by a Pall of the second, edged and fringed of the third, charged with four like Crosses Pattee Fitched Saturn.

1739, James Ware, Walter Harris, The Whole Works of Sir James Ware Concerning Ireland, volume 1, page 1:

(heraldry, rare) Sable (black), in the postmedieval practice of blazoning the tinctures in the arms of certain sovereign people and places as planets.

Mercury · Venus · Earth · Mars · Jupiter · Saturn · Uranus · Neptune [edit]


ping pong

ping pong (countable and uncountable, plural ping pongs)

ping pongs (plural)
ping-pong (alternative)
pingpong (alternative)

→ Chinese: 乒乓球 (pīngpāngqiú)

→ Greek: πινγκ πονγκ (pingk pongk)

→ Italian: ping pong

→ Japanese: ピンポン (pin pon)

→ Korean: 핑퐁 (pingpong)

→ Portuguese: pingue-pongue

→ Russian: пинг-понг (ping-pong)

→ Spanish: ping pong

Onomatopoeic. The name “ping-pong” was in wide use before British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. Jaques sold the rights to the “ping-pong” name in the United States to Parker Brothers. Registered in the United States in 1930, Ping-Pong (with dash) is still a registered wordmark of Parker Brothers, Inc. Contrary to a common misconception, the word does not originate from Chinese 乒乓 (pīngpāng), though there are possibilities that the coiners encountered Chinese themselves.

(UK politics) The exchange of proposed amendments between the House of Commons and House of Lords, particularly at the end of a session when compromises have to be made to complete the legislative process within the limited time available.


sinister

en-adj

sinister (comparative more sinister, superlative most sinister)

more sinister (comparative)
most sinister (superlative)
sinistre (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English sinistre (“unlucky”), from Old French senestre, sinistre (“left”), from Latin sinister (“left hand”).

(heraldry) On the left side of a shield from the wearer's standpoint, and the right side to the viewer.


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


ticket

→ Assamese: টিকট (tikot)

desc

→ Bengali: টিকিট (ṭikiṭ), টিকট (ṭikoṭ), টিকেট (ṭikeṭ) — anglicized pronunciation

→ Catalan: tiquet

→ Dhivehi: ޓިކެޓް (ṭikeṭ)

→ Dutch: ticket
→ Indonesian: tiket

→ French: ticket

→ German: Ticket

→ Hindustani:

Hindi: टिकट (ṭikaṭ)

Urdu: ٹکٹ (ṭikaṭ)

→ Irish: ticéad

→ Italian: ticket

→ Japanese: チケット (chiketto)

→ Korean: 티켓 (tiket)

→ Malay: tiket

→ Maori: tīketi

→ Marathi: तिकीट (tikīṭ)

→ Nepali: टिकट (ṭikaṭ)

→ Odia: ଟିକଟ (ṭikaṭa)

→ Portuguese: tíquete, ticket (Brazil)

→ Scottish Gaelic: tiogaid

→ Serbo-Croatian: тикет (tiket)

→ Spanish: ticket, tique, tiquete

→ Tagalog: tiket

→ Tamil: டிக்கட்டு (ṭikkaṭṭu)

→ Tamil: டிக்கட்டு (ṭikkaṭṭu)

→ Tibetan: ཏི་ཀ་སི (ti ka si, “postage stamp”)

→ Tok Pisin: tiket

From Middle English ticket, from Middle French etiquet m, estiquet m, and etiquette f, estiquette f (“a bill, note, label, ticket”), from Old French estechier, estichier, estequier (“to attach, stick”), (compare Picard estiquier (“to stick, pierce”)), from Frankish *stikkjan, *stekan (“to stick, pierce, sting”), from Proto-Germanic *stikaną, *stikōną, *staikijaną (“to be sharp, pierce, prick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to be sharp, to stab”). Doublet of etiquette. More at stick.

der

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

Joe has joined the party's ticket for the county elections.

Joe will be running on an anti-crime ticket.

Candidates like Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders are no longer too precious to run on the Democratic ticket, though the proposals they suggest are so ambitious — like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and free public college — that they don’t feel like compromises at all.

2019 March 3, Simon van Zuylen-Wood, “When Did Everyone Become a Socialist?”, in New York Magazine:

Harris’s victory comes 55 years after the Voting Rights Act abolished laws that disenfranchised Black Americans, 36 years after the first woman ran on a presidential ticket and four years after Democrats were devastated by the defeat of Hillary Clinton

2020 November 7, Chelsea Janes, “Kamala Harris, daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, elected nation’s first female vice president”, in Washington Post:

(politics, informal) A list of candidates for an election, or a particular theme to a candidate's manifesto.

[…] I need a ticket, Bobby.” Agnor knew a ticket meant a search warrant.

1999, Doug Most, Always in Our Hearts, page 148:


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.
The sense “electric battery” was coined by American polymath Benjamin Franklin by analogy with a military battery that his series of Leyden jars resembled.

coin

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.


interregnum

en-noun

interregnum (plural interregnums or interregna)

interregnums (plural)
interregna (plural)

/ˌɪntəɹˈɹɛɡnəm/

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

فترة

period of time between the end of a sovereign's reign and the accession of another sovereign

(politics) A period of time during which normal executive leadership is suspended or interrupted.


acquire

en-verb

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.


administration

en-noun

administration (usually uncountable, plural administrations)

/ədˌmɪnəˈstɹeɪʃən/

From Middle English administracioun, from Old French administration, from Latin administratio, from administrare; see administer; compare French administration.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Successive US administrations have had similar Middle East policies.

(countable, government, politics) The executive part of government; the persons collectively who are entrusted with the execution of laws and the superintendence of public affairs; the chief magistrate and his cabinet or council; or the council, or ministry, alone, as in Great Britain.

The Obama administration

The Duterte administration

(government, politics) The country's government under the rule of a particular leader.


admiral

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

→ Cebuano: admiral

desctree

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

Swahili: admirali

→ Tagalog: ádmirál

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

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

cog

أَمِير اَلبَحْر

أَمِير الْمُؤْمِنِين

der

أَمِير الْأُمَرَاء

etymon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

admiraal

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


admiralty

en-noun

admiralty (countable and uncountable, plural admiralties)

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

(military) The office or jurisdiction of an admiral.

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

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


affair

affairs (plural)
affaire (alternative obsolete)

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

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


maneuver

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

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

مُنَاوَرَة

a movement, often one performed with difficulty

The army was on maneuvers.

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

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

مُنَاوَرَة

a large training exercise of military troops


maniple

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

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

cog

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


ambulance

→ Baharna Arabic: عمبلوص (ʕambalūṣ)

→ Chichewa: ambulansi

→ Hindi: एम्बुलेंस (embulẽs)

→ Malay: ambulans

→ Swahili: ambulensi

African-American Vernacular, also Southern American English

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

EtymOnLine

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


spear

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

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

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


pepper

en-noun

pepper (countable and uncountable, plural peppers)

peppers (plural)
piper (alternative archaic)

Tok Pisin: pepa

→ Hawaiian: pepa

→ Marshallese: pepa

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

cog

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

1906, Henry Downes Miles, Pugilistica, page 61:

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

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


grunt

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

der

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

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

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

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

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

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

(US, military slang) An infantry soldier.


overalls

/ˈoʊvəɹɔːlz/

(UK, military) Trousers traditionally worn by cavalry.


joker

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

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

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

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


goose-step

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

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

1806 Feb. 11, Robert Thomas Wilson, Journal

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

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

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


goose-step

en-verb

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

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

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


KIA

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

(military) A person who is killed in action.


KIA

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

killed in action
killed in action#English

(military) Initialism of killed in action.


alternate

Borrowed from Latin alternātus, the perfect passive participle of Latin alternō (“to take turns”) (see -ate (1,2 and 3)), from alternus (“one after another, by turns”), from alter (“other”) + -nus. Doublet of altern; see also alter.

Goldschmidt (Austria; creation July 27, 1862): [...] party, argent and gules, an eagle of alternate colors, [...]

1925, The Jewish Encyclopedia: Chazars-Dreyfus Case, page 128:

Happening by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; first one and then the other (repeatedly).

(heraldry) Alternating; (of e.g. a pair of tinctures which a charge is coloured) succeeding in turns, or (relative to the field) counterchanged.


diversion

en-noun

diversion (countable and uncountable, plural diversions)

/daɪˈvɜːʃən/

/daɪˈvɜːʒən/

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

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


guide

→ Hindi: गाइड (gāiḍ)

→ Japanese: ガイド (gaido)

→ Korean: 가이드 (gaideu)

→ Norwegian: guide

→ Swedish: guide

→ Urdu: گائیڈ (gāeḍ)

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

cog

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


trench

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

The soldiers in the trenches rely on logistical support.

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

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

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


trench

en-verb

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

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

No more shall trenching war channel her fields.

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

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

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

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


trace

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

der

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


Lombard

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

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

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


candlestick

candlesticks (plural)
canstick (alternative)

Sranan Tongo: kandratiki

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

inh

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

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

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


chandelier

/ˌʃæn.dəˈlɪə(ɹ)/

/ˌʃæn.dəˈlɪɚ/

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

llambadar

branched, often ornate, lighting fixture suspended from the ceiling

not the brightest bulb in the chandelier

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

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

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

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

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


conventional

en-adj

conventional (comparative more conventional, superlative most conventional)

more conventional (comparative)
most conventional (superlative)

atypical

antonym(s) of “pertaining to a convention”

weapon of mass destruction
weapon of mass destruction

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


ancient

[…] diſcarded, vniuſt ſeruingmen, yonger ſonnes to yonger brothers, reuolted tapſters, and Oſtlers, tradefalne, the cankers of a calme world, and a long peace, ten times more diſhonourable ragged then an olde fazd ancient, […]

c. 1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The History of Henrie the Fourth; […], quarto edition, London: […] P[eter] S[hort] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1598, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:

I got all things ready as he had directed, and waited the next morning with the boat washed clean, her ancient and pendants out, and everything to accommodate his guests..

1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC:

(heraldry, archaic) A flag, banner, standard or ensign.


carte

en-noun

carte (countable and uncountable, plural cartes)


Apache

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

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

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


strap

strap (countable and uncountable, plural straps)

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

→ Japanese: ストラップ (sutorappu)

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

lak

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

kawerapa

part of a bag that goes over the shoulder

ивица

a narrow strip of anything, as of iron or brass

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


piste

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

planš

(fencing) the field of play of a fencing match


bastard

en-noun

bastard (countable and uncountable, plural bastards)

From Middle English bastard, bastarde, from Old English bastard (used as an epithet), from Anglo-Norman bastard, Old French bastart (“illegitimate child”), perhaps via Medieval Latin bastardus, of obscure origin.
Possibly from Frankish *bāst (“marriage, relationship”) + Old French -ard, -art (pejorative suffix denoting a specific quality or condition). Frankish *bāst derives from a North Sea Germanic variety of Proto-Germanic *banstuz (“bond, connection, relationship, marriage with a second woman of lower status”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie, bind”) and is related to West Frisian boaste (“marriage, matrimony”), Middle Dutch bast (“lust, heat”), and more distantly to English boose (“cow-stall”). The term probably originally referred to a child from a polygynous marriage of heathen Germanic custom — a practice not sanctioned by the Christian churches.
Alternatively, Old French bastart may have originated from the Old French term fils de bast (“packsaddle son”), meaning a child conceived on an improvised bed (medieval saddles often doubled as beds while travelling). However chronology makes this difficult, as bastard is attested in Old French from 1089 (Middle Latin bastardus as early as 1010), yet Old French bast (modern French bât), though attested since 1130 with the meaning of "beast of burden", doesn't acquire the specific meaning of "packsaddle" until the 13c., making it too late to have given rise to the terms bastard and bastardus with this sense. The French Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales supports the Germanic theory further above as being most likely.

unk

obscure

cog

If you are a politician, you make sure that you know all such references in case an interviewer suddenly asks, 'Are you one of the bastards in Mr Major's cabinet?'

2000, Peter Hobday, Managing the message, Allison & Busby:

While John Major managed to get the Maastricht Treaty through parliament, despite the efforts of the “bastards” in his cabinet, the 2001 Conservative General Election campaign was fought on entirely eurosceptic lines.

2011, Duncan Hall, A2 Government and Politics: Ideologies and Ideologies in Action, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 62:

In the UK, Conservative Maastricht rebels (the 'bastards') almost brought down Conservative Prime Minister John Major's government.

2014 September 23, Stanley Johnson, Stanley, I Resume: Further recollections of an exuberant life, Biteback Publishing, →ISBN:

One “bastard,” the Minister for Wales, John Redwood (who mounted an unsuccessful campaign to displace the Tory chief, John Major), was removed in a Cabinet reshuffle; but was his young successor William Hague any more reliable?

2014, Melvin J. Lasky, Profanity, Obscenity and the Media, Transaction Publishers, →ISBN:

But there is no doubt that the “bastards,” who had tormented so many Tory leaders over the years, had won. The longed-for break with “Europe” had finally come, but at the same price that Americans paid for Trump's takeover of the Republican Party.

2020 September 3, Ian Buruma, The Churchill Complex: The Rise and Fall of the Special Relationship from Winston and FDR to Trump and Johnson, Atlantic Books, →ISBN:

(UK, politics, derogatory) A Eurosceptic Conservative MP, especially in the government of John Major.


drop

From Late Middle English droppe, Middle English drope (“small quantity of liquid; small or least amount of something; pendant jewel; dripping of a liquid; a shower; nasal flow, catarrh; speck, spot; blemish; disease causing spots on the skin”) [and other forms], from Old English dropa (“a drop”), from Proto-West Germanic *dropō (“drop (of liquid)”), from Proto-Germanic *drupô (“drop (of liquid)”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewb- (“to crumble, grind”).

nb...

dropan, droupe, (Northern England) droipe

afval

small quantity of liquid, just large enough to hold its own round shape through surface tension

piisk

very small quantity of liquid, or of anything

piisk

that which hangs or resembles a liquid globule

langemine

decline in degree, quality, quantity, or rate

afgrond

As the prisoners prepared to leave, they had seen Dan and Steve standing together in the breezeway, ‘for all the world like two condemned prisoners on the drop’.

2003, Ian Jones, Ned Kelly: A Short Life, revised edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Hachette Australia, published 2010, →ISBN:

Crook: "I'll find the killers for you, I swear." / Cop: "So why didn't you?" / Crook: "I'm scared of 'em." / Cop: "More than the drop?" / Crook: "Aye. Maybe."

2015 November 25, Benjamin Ross, Barry Langford, “All the Lost Children” (26:40 from the start), in The Frankenstein Chronicles, season 1, episode 3:

(law enforcement) A trapdoor (“hinged platform”) on a gallows; a gallows itself.

She. Have you ever seen a man hanged?
 He. Yes. Once.
 She. What was it for?
 He. Murder, of course.
 She. Murder. Is that so great a sin after all? I wonder how he felt before the drop fell.

1889, Rudyard Kipling, “The Hill of Illusion”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 84:

[A]ll those present shared the all-important political connections required to get a ticket to the execution. News reporters, doctors, and members of the juries had prime spots right by the platform, so that they could see the drop and record the time of death.

2011, Elizabeth Dale, “Justice is Served”, in The Chicago Trunk Murder: Law and Justice at the Turn of the Century, DeKalb, Ill.: Northern Illinois University Press, →ISBN, page 74:

An act or instance of dropping (in all senses).

(law enforcement, informal) Preceded by the: execution by hanging.

The distance through which something drops, or falls below a certain level.

(law enforcement) The distance that a person drops when being executed by hanging.


drop

en-verb

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

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

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

спадам

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

laskea

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

laskea

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

Drop and give me 20, now!

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


DAC

en-noun

DAC (countable and uncountable, plural DACs)

deputy assistant commissioner
deputy assistant commissioner#English

(UK, law enforcement) Initialism of deputy assistant commissioner, a police rank used in London's Metropolitan Police.


CRT

CRT (countable and uncountable, plural CRTs)

crisis response team
crisis response team#English

(law enforcement) Initialism of crisis response team.


IO

IO (countable and uncountable, plural IOs)

(Singapore, law enforcement) Initialism of investigation officer.


FET

FET was the only legal party in Spain in the 60s.

(historical, politics) Ellipsis of FET y de las JONS, a political party in Francoist Spain.


AAC

AAC (countable and uncountable, plural AACs)

airborne aircraft carrier
airborne aircraft carrier#English

(military, aviation) Abbreviation of airborne aircraft carrier.

aircraft armament change
aircraft armament change#English

(aviation, military) Initialism of aircraft armament change.

(military) Initialism of anti-aircraft command.


AAC

(military) Initialism of Anti-aircraft Corps.


ASA

air sovereignty alert
air sovereignty alert#English

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


NTC

(politics) Initialism of National Transitional Council (in Libya or the Republic of Congo).


RF

RF (countable and uncountable, plural RFs)

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

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

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

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

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


RF

Combination of prefix F and prefix modifier R

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


IC

Intelligence Community
w:United States Intelligence Community

(US politics) Initialism of Intelligence Community.


grab

grab (countable and uncountable, plural grabs)

From Middle Dutch grabben (“to grab”) or Middle Low German grabben (“to snap”), from Old Dutch or Old Saxon gravan, from Proto-West Germanic *graban, from Proto-Germanic *grab-, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ-.
See also Sanskrit गृह्णाति (gṛhṇā́ti), गृभ्णाति (gṛbhṇā́ti, “he seizes”), Avestan 𐬔𐬭𐬀𐬠 (grab, “to seize”)). Cognate with Danish grabbe (“to grab”), Swedish grabba (“to grab”), Old English ġegræppian (“to seize”), Middle English grappen (“to feel with the hands; grope”), Macedonian грабне (grabne, “to snatch”), Bulgarian грабя (grabja, “to rob, to grab”).

cog

2022, Mark van der Feyst, Matt Wehrle, Rob Wiggins, The Tactical Firefighter
There have been many rescues made as a result of an aggressive search team who went in without a hoseline to make the grab.

(firefighting, slang) The rescue of a person from a burning structure.

kapje

the act of grabbing something or someone


AWOL

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

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

acronym

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

luvaton poissaolo

military: absence without proper authority

unerlaubte Entfernung f unerlaubte Entfernung von der Truppe

(military) A person who holds AWOL status.


naval infantry

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


politburo

politburos (plural)
Politburo (alternative)
politbureau (alternative)
Politbureau (alternative)

/ˈpɒlɪtˌbjʊəɹəʊ/

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

Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Joseph Stalin

Borrowed from Russian Политбюро́ (Politbjuró, “politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union”), a contraction of полити́ческое бюро́ (politíčeskoje bjuró, “political bureau”).

bor

(communism, Marxism) The governing council and chief policymaking body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and other Marxist-Leninist political systems.

քաղբյուրո

governing council and chief policymaking body of a Marxist-Leninist political system

They were the people who surrounded Biden who were the true believers: Ricchetti, Donilon, etc. The Politburo would argue that the decisions were always fine and sound and never problematic.

2025 May 21, Ezra Klein, quoting Jake Tapper, “How Groupthink Protected Biden and Re-elected Trump”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(by extension, politics, sometimes derogatory) A senior governing or policymaking body in a political or other organization, generally consisting of members who are either appointed by the party in control of the organization, or who attain membership through their personal political affiliations; an inner circle.


commodore

→ Italian: commodoro

→ Portuguese: comodoro

→ Spanish: comodoro

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

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

commodore admiral
commodore admiral#English

(military, nautical) Ellipsis of commodore admiral.

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

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


lieutenant

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

→ Irish: leifteanant

→ Malay: leftenan

→ Swahili: luteni

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

пору́чик

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

по́ру́чник

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

commissioned officer
commissioned officer

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

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

lieutenant commander
lieutenant commander

lieutenant junior grade
lieutenant junior grade

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

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

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

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

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


ensign

en-verb

ensign (third-person singular simple present ensigns, present participle ensigning, simple past and past participle ensigned)

ensigns (present singular third-person)
ensigning (participle present)
ensigned (participle past)
ensigned (past)

From Middle English ensigne, from Old French enseigne, from Latin īnsignia, nominative plural of īnsigne, meaning marked, distinguished. Doublet of insignia.

Any charge which has a crown immediately above or upon it, is said to be ensigned.

(heraldry) To distinguish by an ornament, especially by a crown.


cavalry

en-noun

cavalry (countable and uncountable, plural cavalries)

cavalries (plural)
cavalery (alternative)

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

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

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

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

kavallerie

military service that fights with riding horses

የፈረሰኞች ጭፍራ

yäfäräsäñoč č̣əfra

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

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


reduce

en-verb

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

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

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

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

(transitive, military) To strike off the payroll.


commander

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

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


take French leave

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

term-label

(idiomatic, intransitive, informal, dated)

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

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

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

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

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

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

absent without leave
absent without leave

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

lähteä bundelle

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


Uniform Code of Military Justice

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


greens

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

բանջար

any vegetable eaten by humans, regardless of colour

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

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


green party

(politics) A political party whose principal concern is the protection of the environment.


crescent

crescents (plural)
cres. (alternative abbreviation)

From Middle English cressaunt, from Anglo-Norman cressaunt and Old French creissant (“crescent of the moon”) (French croissant), from Latin crēscēns, present active participle of crēscō (“arise, thrive”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱreh₁- (“to grow”). See Old Armenian սերիմ (serim, “be born”) and սերեմ (serem, “bring forth”), Ancient Greek κόρη (kórē, “girl”) and κούρος (koúros, “boy”), Latin creāre (“produce, create, bring forth”) and Ceres (“goddess of agriculture”). Doublet of croissant.
The pronunciation with /z/ is a comparatively recent innovation due to the influence of words such as pheasant and present.

der

Something shaped like a crescent, especially:

(heraldry) The emblem of the waxing moon with horns directed upward, when used in a coat of arms; often used as a mark of cadency to distinguish a second son and his descendants.

makaava kuu

heraldry: waxing Moon with horns directed upward


crucifixion

en-noun

crucifixion (countable and uncountable, plural crucifixions)

/ˌkɹuːsɪˈfɪkʃən/

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

kruisiging

execution by being nailed or tied to an upright cross

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


Thatcherism

From Thatcher + -ism. Popularized by Jamaican-born British sociologist and cultural theorist Stuart Hall in an article in Marxism Today, see quotations.

coin

Thus “Thatcherism” is—give or take one or two elements—the corresponding political bedfellow of a period of capitalist recession: the significant differences between this and other variants of Tory “philosophy” being conceived as without any specific pertinent political or ideological effects.

1979 January, Stuart Hall, “The Great Moving Right Show”, in Marxism Today, page 14:

(UK politics) The political ideology attributed to the governments of British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1979–1990), characterised by, among other things, a free market economy, privatisation, low taxation, austerity and opposition to unionisation.

撒切爾主義 /撒切尔主义

political ideology of Thatcher's governments


Thatcherite

en-adj

Thatcherite (comparative more Thatcherite, superlative most Thatcherite)

more Thatcherite (comparative)
most Thatcherite (superlative)

/ˈθæt͡ʃəɹaɪt/

From Thatcher + -ite, named after British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013).

named-after

a Thatcherite policy

Morgan, by his own description represented the new spirit of Thatcherite enterprise.

(UK politics) Of or relating to Thatcherism.

He has a Thatcherite outlook on life.


Thatcherite

/ˈθæt͡ʃəɹaɪt/

(UK politics) An advocate of Thatcherism.


over

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

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


over

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

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

How do you receive? Over!

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


deluge

From Middle English deluge, from Old French deluge, alteration of earlier deluvie, from Latin dīluvium, from dīluō (“wash away”). Doublet of diluvium.

deluge system, deluge gun, deluge set

2002, NAVEDTRA, Gunner's Mate 14324A
In the event of a restrained firing or canister overtemperature condition, the deluge system sprays cooling water within the canister until the overtemperature condition no longer exists.

On June 8, 2005, a decomposition reaction occurred in the manifold system on a mobile acetylene trailer at Western's Bellville plant that caused the fusible plugs of five cylinders to melt, releasing the products of decomposition. The materials released did not ignite before the deluge system was manually activated, controlling the incident. The incident started when a mobile acetylene trailer, with the cylinder valves open and the manifold fully pressurized, was moved into another bay and the block valve was opened, which initiated an acetylene decomposition reaction.

2009 January 13, National Transportation Safety Board, “Earlier Western Accidents”, in Special Investigation Report: Mobile Acetylene Trailer Accidents: Fire During Unloading in Dallas, Texas, July 25, 2007; Fire During Unloading in The Woodlands, Texas, August 7, 2007; and Overturn and Fire in East New Orleans, Louisiana, October 20, 2007, archived from the original on 2022-01-20, page 18:

(firefighting) A system for flooding or drenching a space, container, or area with water in an emergency to prevent or extinguish a fire.


PDD

People Demand Democracy
w:People Demand Democracy

(UK politics) Initialism of People Demand Democracy.


OCPD

Lahad Datu OCPD, ACP Hamzah Ahmad said both suspects, believed to be Malaysian nationals aged 46 and 47, were detained at 2pm after police received information from the public on the drug trafficking activities at a car parking area in the town centre.

2015 March 29, “Two men detained, drugs worth RM250k seized”, in New Straits Times:

The remand for nine individuals, including two officers-in-charge of police districts (OCPD) has been extended by five days […]

2017 May 22, “Remand for Melaka cops extended over protection money racket probe”, in Malay Mail:

Home minister Hamzah Zainudin said the OCPDs would act as ground commanders to coordinate the operation, which will be conducted jointly with other enforcement agencies.

2021 July 1, “OCPDs to lead nationwide SOP crackdown”, in Free Malaysia Today:

(Malaysia, law enforcement) Initialism of Officer in Charge of the Police District.


demi-

From Middle English demi (“half, half-sized, partial”), from Anglo-Norman demi (“half”), from Vulgar Latin *dimedius, from Latin dīmidius, from dis- (“apart; in two”) + medius (“middle”).

inh

The Barony of Pennicuik, the property of Sir George Clerk, Bart., is held by the following singular tenure: The proprietor is bound to sit upon a large rock, called the Buckstone, and wind three blasts of a horn when the king comes to hunt on the Borough Moor near Edinburgh. On account of this singular custom the family have adopted as their crest a demi-forester proper, winding a horn with the motto, Free for a blast.

1885, E. J. Guthrie, Old Scottish Customs, page 84:

(heraldry) Only the upper or front half of


crotchet

/ˈkɹɑt͡ʃ.ɪt/

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

doublet

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

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


punto

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

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

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


lone

tlb

(chiefly attributively, otherwise archaic or poetic)

lone congressional district

(Philippines, politics, of an election or elected position) Not divided into multiple districts.


queue

From Middle English queue, quew, qwew, couwe, from Anglo-Norman queue, keu and Old French cöe, cue, coe (“tail”), from Vulgar Latin cōda, from Latin cauda. See also Middle French queu, cueue. Doublet of coda and cola.

HESSE: Az., a lion, queue fourchée, rampt., barry of ten, arg. and gu., crowned, or, and holding in his dexter paw a sword, ppr., hilt and pommel, gold.

1863, Charles Boutell, A Manual of Heraldry, page 369:


sleet

en-noun

sleet (countable and uncountable, plural sleets)

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

cog

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


appointment

[əˈpʰɔɪ̯nʔmɪnʔ]

[əˈpʰɔɪ̯̃ʔmɪnʔ]

From Middle English appoyntement, apoyntement, from Old French appointement, equivalent to appoint + -ment.

(government) The assignment of a person by an official to perform a duty, such as a presidential appointment of a judge to a court.


orb

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

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


bottom

en-noun

bottom (countable and uncountable, plural bottoms)

bottoms (plural)
botton (alternative dialectal)

→ Dutch: bottom

→ French: bottom

→ Portuguese: bottom

PIE word
 *bʰudʰmḗn
From Middle English botme, botom, from Old English botm, bodan (“bottom, foundation; ground, abyss”), from Proto-West Germanic *butm, from Proto-Germanic *butmaz, *budmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn (“bottom”). Cognate with Dutch bodem, German Boden, Icelandic botn, Danish bund; also Irish bonn (“sole (of foot)”), Ancient Greek πυθμήν (puthmḗn, “bottom of a cup or jar”), Sanskrit बुध्न (budhna, “bottom”), Persian بن (bon, “bottom”), Latin fundus (“bottom”) (whence fund, via French).
The sense “posterior of a person” is first attested in 1794; the verb “to reach the bottom of” is first attested in 1808. bottom dollar (“the last dollar one has”) is from 1882.

cog

Edward Hoby of Bisham in Berkshire, Esq; Or, a Fess, Sable, between three Hobby-Hawks, proper; otherwise, Azure, three Bottoms in Fess, Gules.

1724, John Guillim, A Display of Heraldry, page 207:

BOTTOM, a trundle or quill of gold thread. See TRUNDLE. Argent three bottoms, in fess gules, the thread or; name, Hoby, of Badland.

1866, Hugh Clark, An Introduction to Heraldry ... Eighteenth edition. Revised and corrected by J. R. Planché, page 99:

[...] three “bottoms or clewes” (elsewhere called “spindles” or “fusils upon slippers”) in fesse gules threaded or, for Badlond;

1873, Henry Sydney Grazebrook, The Heraldry of Worcestershire, page 285:

(heraldry, rare) A trundle or spindle of thread.


tattoo

en-noun

tattoo (countable and uncountable, plural tattoos)

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

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

(military) A military display or pageant.


quart

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

cog

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

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

(fencing) The fourth defensive position; quarte.


defect

en-verb

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

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

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

bor+

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


coat of arms

From Middle English cote of armes, from Old French cote a armer, cote d'armes, originally a tunic embroidered with heraldic arms.

(heraldry) Hereditary designs and symbols depicted on an escutcheon, sometimes accompanied by other elements of a heraldic achievement, such as a helm, crest, crest coronet, torse, mantling and supporters; described by a blazon.

агерб

hereditary design depicted on an escutcheon

våbenmærke

the heraldic symbol shown without the shield

វរលញ្ឆករ

vĕəʼrĕəʼlañchaʼkɑɑ


chapter

en-verb

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

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

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

der

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

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

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

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

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


correction

en-noun

correction (countable and uncountable, plural corrections)

corrections (plural)
correxion (alternative obsolete)

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

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

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


sock

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

socks (plural)
sox (informal nonstandard plural)

desctree

→ French: socquette
→ Portuguese: soquete

Japanese: ソックス (sokkusu) < socks

Swahili: soksi < socks (plural)

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

der

(firearms, informal) Ellipsis of gun sock.


spoon

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

coinage

he who sups with the devil should have a long spoon

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


provost

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

steward

deputy overseeing medieval estates or fees

police officer

deputy overseeing medieval law enforcement; military police

A senior deputy, a superintendent, particularly:

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

(fencing, historical) An assistant fencing master.

A senior deputy, a superintendent
An assistant fencing master.

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


provost

en-verb

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

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

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

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


canton

1530s, from Middle French canton, from Old French canton (“corner”); heraldic sense from the 1570s, geographic sense from c. 1600.

The king gave us the arms of England to be borne in a canton in our arms.

1662 August 31 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 21 August 1662]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:

(heraldry) A division of a shield occupying one third of the chief, usually on the dexter side, formed by a perpendicular line from the top meeting a horizontal line from the side.


middle

From Middle English middel, from Old English middel (“middle, centre, waist”), from Proto-Germanic *midlą, *midilą, *medalą (“middle”), a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *midjō (“middle, midst”) (compare *midjaz (“mid, middle”, adjective)), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between, in the middle, middle”).
Cognate with West Frisian middel, Dutch middel, German mittel (“middle”, adjective), German Mittel (“middle, means”, noun), Danish middel (“means, agent, medicine; middle/medium”). Related also to Swedish medel (“means, medium”), Icelandic meðal (“means, medicine”). See also mid.

cog

As part of his successful re-election strategy, Clinton began governing from the middle.

(politics) the center of the political spectrum.


battle

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

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

պայքար

struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life

Father Charles goes down and ends battle

no battle plan survives contact with the enemy

no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy

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

betejë

general action, fight, or encounter; a combat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

batalla

(obsolete) a division of an army; a battalion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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