or

en-noun

or (countable and uncountable, plural ors)

From late Middle English or (“gold”), borrowed from Middle French or (“yellow”), from Old French or, from Latin aurum (“gold”). Doublet of aurum.

The metals are gold and silver, these being termed "or" and "argent".

1909, Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, A Complete Guide to Heraldry:

In engraving, "Or" is expressed by dots.

1889, Charles Norton Elvin, A Dictionary of Heraldry:

or:

(heraldry) The gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms.


or

(heraldry) Of gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms.

guld

of yellow or gold tincture on a coat of arms


parallel

General American, Mary–marry–merry merger

From Middle French parallèle, borrowed from Latin parallelus.

(military) One of a series of long trenches constructed before a besieged fortress, by the besieging force, as a cover for troops supporting the attacking batteries. They are roughly parallel to the line of outer defenses of the fortress.


twenty

From Middle English twenty, twenti, from Old English twēntiġ (“twenty”, literally “two tens”), from Proto-Germanic *twaintigiwiz, *twai tigiwiz, an old compound of *twain- (“two”) + *-tigaz (“group of ten”), equivalent to two + -ty, or twain + -ty. Cognate with Scots twenty, tuenty (“twenty”), West Frisian tweintich (“twenty”), Dutch twintig (“twenty”), German zwanzig (“twenty”), Danish tyve.

compound

(UK, historical, military) An old English division of infantry.


X

Introduced by René Descartes in the context of mathematical notation, but has since widened to other contexts.

Malcolm X

(anthroponymy, politics) A surname, used by those who have had their identity or heritage, including their proper ancestral names, erased or forgotten.


invest

en-verb

invest (third-person singular simple present invests, present participle investing, simple past and past participle invested)

invests (present singular third-person)
investing (participle present)
invested (participle past)
invested (past)

Borrowed from Middle French investir or Medieval Latin investire, from Latin investio (“to clothe, cover”), from in- (“in, on”) + vestio (“to clothe, dress”), from vestis (“clothing”); see vest. The sense “to spend money etc.” probably via Italian investire, of the same root.

надели́ть

полномочиями, властью, правами

The outcome also makes it very difficult for Feijóo to become the next PM, because he does not have the support to be invested as such, unless there are changes in the initial positions of key players such as the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV).

2023 July 24, Carlos Cué, “In Spain, the left's resistance thwarts a PP-Vox majority and leaves all possibilities open”, in El País, retrieved 2023-08-06:

(Spanish politics) To inaugurate the Prime Minister of Spain after a successful parliamentary vote.


league

en-noun

league (countable and uncountable, plural leagues)

→ Japanese: リーグ (rīgu)

→ Korean: 리그 (rigeu)

From Middle English liege, ligg, lige (“a pact between governments, an agreement, alliance”), from Middle French ligue, from Italian lega, from the verb legare, from Latin ligō (“I tie”).


chess

Compare French châssis (“a framework of carpentry”).

cog

the balks are laid and covered with chesses to within 1 foot of the trestle

1881, Thomas Wilhelm, A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer:

ach chess consists of three planks.

1885, Edward S. Farrow, Farrow's Military Encyclopedia; A Dictionary of Military Knowledge:

(military, chiefly in the plural) One of the platforms, consisting of two or more planks dowelled together, for the flooring of a temporary military bridge.


hand

From Middle English hond, hand, from Old English hand, from Proto-West Germanic *handu, from Proto-Germanic *handuz.
See also Dutch and Swedish hand (“hand”), Danish hånd, German Hand, West Frisian hân). Perhaps compare Old Swedish hinna (“to gain”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰-𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌸𐌰𐌽 (fra-hinþan, “to take captive, capture”); and Latvian sīts (“hunting spear”), Ancient Greek κεντέω (kentéō, “prick”), Albanian çandër (“pitchfork, prop”).

handvol

that which is, or may be, held in a hand at once

hand

set of cards held by a player in a card game

a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

catch someone with a hand in the cookie jar

close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades

give with one hand and take away with the other

one can't hold two watermelons in one hand

talk to the hand 'cause the face ain't listening

the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world

the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world

the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing

(firearms) The small part of a gunstock near the lock, which is grasped by the hand in taking aim.

handgreep

small part of a gunstock near the lock, grasped when aiming


fall

en-noun

fall (countable and uncountable, plural falls)

ascent

antonym(s) of “act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity”

ascent

antonym(s) of “loss of greatness or status”

Fall Classic
Fall of Baghdad
Fall of Constantinople
Fall of Rome
Fall of Saigon
Falls-to-Falls Corridor
fall

Verb from Middle English fallen, from Old English feallan (“to fall, fail, decay, die, attack”), from Proto-West Germanic *fallan (“to fall”), from Proto-Germanic *fallaną (“to fall”).
Cognate with West Frisian falle (“to fall”), Low German fallen (“to fall”), Dutch vallen (“to fall”), German fallen (“to fall”), Danish falde (“to fall”), Norwegian Bokmål falle (“to fall”), Norwegian Nynorsk falla (“to fall”), Icelandic falla (“to fall”), Lithuanian pùlti (“to attack, rush”).
Noun from Middle English fal, fall, falle, from Old English feall, ġefeall (“a falling, fall”) and Old English fealle (“trap, snare”), from Proto-Germanic *fallą, *fallaz (“a fall, trap”). Cognate with Dutch val, German Fall (“fall”) and German Falle (“trap, snare”), Danish fald, Swedish fall, Icelandic fall.
Sense of "autumn" is attested by the 1660s in England as a shortening of fall of the leaf (1540s), from the falling of leaves during this season. Along with autumn, it mostly replaced the older name harvest as that name began to be associated strictly with the act of harvesting. Compare spring, which began as a shortening of “spring of the leaf”.

inh

(sports) A crucial event or circumstance.

(wrestling) An instance of a wrestler being pinned to the mat.


finish

From Middle English finishen, finisshen, finischen, from Old French finiss-, stem of some of the conjugated forms of finir, from Latin fīnīre, from fīnis (“end, limit, border, boundary”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to stick, set up”) or from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”).

der

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

(professional wrestling, slang) The ending of a match and its structure.


to

From Middle English to, from Old English tō, from Proto-Germanic *tō ~ *ta, from Proto-Indo-European *de ~ *do (“to”). Cognate with Scots tae, to (“to”), North Frisian to, tö, tu (“to”), Saterland Frisian tou (“to”), Low German to (“to”), Dutch toe, te (“to”), German zu (“to”), West Frisian ta (“to”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian ndaj (“towards”), Irish do (“to, for”), Breton da (“to, for”), Welsh i (“to, for”), Russian до (do, “to”). Doublet of too.

Please push the door to.

He went in his room, pushed the door to, without fastening the latch.

1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 12”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:

Aware of the loud beating of my own heart I pulled the door to against the increasing rain.

1925, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, chapter V, in The Great Gatsby, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 104:

(regionalism) Toward a closed, touching or engaging position.


boy

en-noun

boy (countable and uncountable, plural boys or (eye dialect) boyz)

boys (plural)
boyz (plural pronunciation-spelling)
boi (alternative)

Jamaican Creole: bwoy

Sranan Tongo: boi, boy

→ Cebuano: boy

→ Chinese: boy

desctree

→ Dutch: boy
→ French: boy
→ Lingala: bɔ́i
→ Indonesian: boi

→ German: Boy

→ Hungarian: boy

→ Iraqi Arabic: بوي

→ Italian: boy

→ Japanese: ボーイ (bōi)

→ Polish: boy

→ Russian: бой (boj)

→ Spanish: boy

→ Swahili: boi

→ Tagalog: boy

→ Vietnamese: bồi

→ Welsh: boi

Etymology tree
Proto-West Germanic *bōjō
Old English *bōia
Middle English boye
English boy
From Middle English boy /boye (“servant, commoner, knave, boy”), from Old English *bōia (“boy”), from Proto-West Germanic *bōjō, from Proto-Germanic *bōjô (“younger brother, young male relation”), from Proto-Germanic *bō- (“brother, close male relation”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-, *bʰāt- (“father, elder brother, brother”).
Cognate with Scots boy (“boy”), West Frisian boai (“boy”), Dutch boi (“boy”), Low German Boi (“boy”), and probably to the Old English proper name Bōia. Also related to West Flemish boe (“brother”), Norwegian dialectal boa (“brother”), Dutch boef (“rogue, knave”), Bavarian Bua (“young boy, lad”), German Bube ("boy; knave; jack"; > English bub), Icelandic bófi (“rogue, crook, bandit, knave”). See also bully.

gloss

"boy; knave; jack"; > English <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">bub</i>

boy

formerly, African male servant in colonies

mutil

male of any age, used as a friendly diminutive

poika

affectionate term of address for male dog

all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

since Adam was an oakum boy in Chatham Dockyard

when Adam was an oakum boy in Chatham Dockyard

Wounded... 1 Boy, 1st class, severely.

He joined the Navy as a boy second class in 1898.

(historical, military) A former low rank of various armed services; a holder of this rank.


affirmative

/əˈfɜːmətɪv/

From Middle English affirmative, affirmatyve, from Old French affirmatif, from Latin affirmativus, from affirmare (“to assert”).

(military, especially radio communications) Yes; true; correct.


action

en-noun

action (countable and uncountable, plural actions)

→ Arabic: أَكْشِن (ʔakšin)

→ Bulgarian: екшън (ekšǎn)

→ German: Action

→ Irish: aicsean

→ Hebrew: אקשן (akshn)

→ Japanese: アクション (akushon)

→ Korean: 액션 (aeksyeon)

→ Russian: экшн (ekšn)

From Middle English accioun, accion, from Old French aucion, acciun, from Latin āctiō(n) (“act of doing or making”), from āctus + action suffix -iō(n), perfect passive participle of agere (“do, act”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti; see also act, active. By surface analysis, act + -ion.

der

pump-action shotgun

The way in which a mechanical device acts when used; especially a firearm.

(firearms) The way in which cartridges are loaded, locked, and extracted from the mechanism.

He saw some action in the Korean War.


regular

en-adj

regular (comparative more regular, superlative most regular)

more regular (comparative)
most regular (superlative)
reg'lar (alternative)
reg (alternative)
reg. (alternative)

/ˈɹɛɡ.jə.lɚ/

[ˈɹɛɡ.jɪ̈.lɚ]

From Middle English reguler, from Anglo-Norman reguler, Middle French reguler, regulier, and their source, Latin rēgulāris (“continuing rules for guidance”), from rēgula (“rule”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *reg- (“move in a straight line”).

register

not etymologically related but has semantic associations

(chiefly military) Permanently organised; being part of a set professional body of troops.


Taswegian

Blend of Tasmanian + Glaswegian. Royal Australian Navy slang from about 1930. Possibly a reference to the cold climate of Tasmania, comparing it to the cold climate of Glasgow.

(Australia, navy, slang) A Tasmanian seaman.


kiwi

en-noun

kiwi (countable and uncountable, plural kiwi or kiwis)

→ Catalan: kiwi

→ Dutch: kiwi

→ French: kiwi

→ German: Kiwi

→ Korean: 키위 (kiwi)

→ Polish: kiwi

desc

→ Portuguese: quivi, quiuí, kiwi (unadapted)

And as its role grew in importance, ground commanders, or kiwis as they were called, made many mistakes in judgment […]

1953, Air Force: Official Service Journal of the U.S. Army Air Forces:

(military, slang) A member of the air force who does not fly.


kiwi

Genericized trademark from the brand of shoe polish originating in Australia, from Maori kiwi.

(Singapore, military, slang) Any kind of black shoe polish.


kiwi

en-verb

kiwi (third-person singular simple present kiwis, present participle kiwiing or kiwi-ing, simple past and past participle kiwied)

kiwis (present singular third-person)
kiwiing (participle present)
kiwi-ing (participle present)
kiwied (participle past)
kiwied (past)

Johari Salleh: Ya, ya. Better not waste time. Must prepare, tomorrow morning got inspection.
Teo Ah Beng: Ya lah, must kiwi the boots. Can borrow [lend] me your cloth?
Krishnamoorthy: Ya, no problem. You better kiwi quickly. 11 pm lights off. […]

1987, Michael Chiang, Army Daze, Landmark Books, →ISBN:

(Singapore, military, slang) To polish (boots) with black shoe polish.


pommy

(heraldry) Alternative form of pommee (“having round shapes on the extremities”).


pommy

For quotations using this term, see Citations:pommy.

(modern heraldry, rare) Semé of (strewn with) pommes (roundels vert).


mill

mills (plural)
miln (alternative obsolete)

Sranan Tongo: miri

→ Hindi: मिल (mil)

From Middle English mylne, mille, from Old English mylen, from Proto-West Germanic *mulīnu (“mill”), from Late Latin molīna, molīnum, molīnus (“mill”), from Latin molō (“grind, mill”, verb), closely allied to Proto-Germanic *muljaną (“to crush, grind”) (see English millstone). Perhaps cognate with Milne (a surname). Doublet of moline, moulin, and blin.

cog

l-vocalizing: UK, General Australian, New Zealand

every miller draws water to his own mill

the mill cannot grind with water that is past

He spent some time in the mill after that escapade.

(US military slang, World War I, World War II) A military prison, either guardhouse or post prison.

(military slang, World War I, World War II) A delousing station: a cootie mill.


leather

en-noun

leather (countable and uncountable, plural leathers)

Tok Pisin: let

→ Esperanto: ledo

→ Ido: ledro

From Middle English lether, from Old English leþer (“leather”), from Proto-West Germanic *leþr, from Proto-Germanic *leþrą (“leather”), possibly borrowed from Proto-Celtic *ɸlitrom, *letros, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥tro-.
Cognate with West Frisian leare (“leather”), Low German Leder (“leather”), Dutch leder, leer (“leather”), German Leder (“leather”), Danish læder (“leather”), Swedish läder (“leather”), Icelandic leður (“leather”).


island

islands (plural)
iland (alternative obsolete)
ylond (alternative obsolete)
ylelond (alternative obsolete)
yland (alternative obsolete)

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

From earlier iland, from Middle English iland, yland, ylond, from Old English īeġland, from Proto-West Germanic *auwjuland, from Proto-Germanic *awjōlandą (from Proto-Germanic *awjō (“island, waterland, meadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂) + *landą (“land”), equivalent to ey + land.
Doublet of Öland. Cognate with Scots island, iland, yland (“island”), West Frisian eilân (“island”), Saterland Frisian Ailound (“island”), Dutch eiland (“island”), Low German Eiland (“island”), German Eiland (“island”), Swedish ö (“island”), Öland (“Sweden's second largest island”), Danish ø (“island”), Norwegian øy (“island”), øyland (“large island”), Icelandic eyland (“island”).
The insertion of ⟨s⟩—a 16th century spelling modification—is due to a change in spelling to the unrelated term isle, which previously lacked s (cf. Middle English ile, yle). The re-addition was mistakenly carried over to include iland as well. Related also to German Aue (“water-meadow”), Latin aqua (“water”). More at ea.

адгьылбжьаха

area of land completely surrounded by water

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

(government) An unincorporated area wholly surrounded by one or more incorporated areas.


POW

After his capture he was taken to a camp for POWs.

(military) Initialism of prisoner of war.


PX

The prices at the PX are incredibly reduced.

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

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

(US, military) Initialism of post exchange, the U.S. Army's Post Exchange.


BX

Despite the reduced price of goods at the BX, everything is of high quality.

(US, military) Initialism of base exchange, the U.S. Air Force's Base Exchange.


MIA

M.I.A. (alternative)
M. I. A. (alternative)

When his patrol didn't come back from the front, he and all his buddies were listed as MIA.

missing in action
missing in action#English

(military) Initialism of missing in action.


MIA

(military) Initialism of missing in action, a service member that did not return from action and was not found in the field.


fish

en-noun

fish (countable and uncountable, plural fish or fishes)

Sranan Tongo: fisi

→ Chinook Jargon: pish

→ Finnish: fisu

→ Zulu: ufishi

From Middle English fisch, from Old English fisċ (“fish”), from Proto-West Germanic *fisk, from Proto-Germanic *fiskaz (“fish”) (compare West Frisian fisk, Dutch vis, German Fisch, Danish fisk, Norwegian fisk, Swedish fisk, Icelandic fiskur), from Proto-Indo-European *peysk- (“fish”) (compare Irish iasc, Latin piscis).

a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle

a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle

give a man a fish and you feed him for a day

teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime

neither fish, flesh, nor good red herring

neither fish nor flesh, nor good red herring

the cat would eat fish but would not wet her feet

what does that have to do with the price of fish

The second and third fish went to the middle of her long superstructure and under her forward deck.

1977, Richard O'Kane, Clear the Bridge: The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang, Ballantine Books, published 2003, page 344:

As we came off patrol we had some torpedoes fired at us by an enemy submarine but we dived out of the way. About April 10 we fired our fish in two salvoes at a convoy.

1999, John Winton, The Submariners: Life in British Submarines 1901-1999, page 114:

(countable, nautical, military, slang) A torpedo (self-propelled explosive device).


quarantine

quarantine (countable and uncountable, plural quarantines)

quarantines (plural)
Quarantine (alternative obsolete)
quarentine (alternative obsolete)
quarantin (alternative obsolete)
quaranteen (alternative obsolete)
quarantain (alternative obsolete)
quarantaine (alternative obsolete)
quarrentine (alternative obsolete)
quarantene (alternative obsolete)
quarentene (alternative obsolete)
quarentyne (alternative obsolete)
querentyne (alternative obsolete)

Cuban Missile Crisis
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Louis IX of France
quarantine

From Medieval Latin quarentena and quarentīna (“40-day period, Lent”) via Middle English quarentine, Norman quarenteine, French quarenteine, and Italian quarantina, via proposed Late Latin *quaranta + -ēna (forming distributive adjectives), from Latin quadrāgintā (“four tens, 40”). Doublet of carene and quadragene.
In reference to French politics, calque of French quarantaine after edicts of Louis IX. In reference to a severance of political relations, popularized by the Roosevelt administration's 1937 approach to the Axis powers and the later Kennedy administration's 1962 approach to Cuba during the missile crisis.

kwarantyn

(figurative) any rigorously enforced isolation

When a great power establishes diplomatic quarantine against them it is well not to go too far on a course on which they appear to be embarking with a light heart.

President Roosevelt today challenged the effectiveness of a policy of neutrality in keeping the United States at peace and advocated instead a collective ‘quarantine’ of aggressor nations.

1937 Oct. 6, New York Herald Tribune, p. 1

To halt this offensive buildup, a strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated. All ships of any kind bound for Cuba from whatever nation or port will, if found to contain cargoes of offensive weapons, be turned back. This quarantine will be extended, if needed, to other types of cargo and carries.

1962 Oct. 22, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Address to the American People

diplomatic relations
diplomatic relations

(politics, figurative) A blockade of trade, suspension of diplomatic relations, or other action whereby one country seeks to isolate another.

karanténa

a place used for quarantining — see also lazaret


quarrel

quarrel (countable and uncountable, plural quarrels)

PIE word
 *kʷetwóres
From Middle English quarrel (“bolt for an arbalest, crossbow, or siege engine; (figurative) seductive glance, temptation to sin; needle (possibly one square in cross-section); small (perhaps square-shaped) opening in window tracery; a cushion (perhaps square-shaped)”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman quarel, quarele, quarrel, Middle French quarrel, and Old French quarel, quarrel, carrel (“crossbow bolt; floor tile or paving stone (rectangular- or square-shaped); small glass pane for windows”) (modern French carreau (“crossbow bolt; a tile; windowpane; a square”)), from Late Latin quarellus, quadrellus (“crossbow bolt; paving stone; a tile”), from Latin quadrum (“a square; square section; regular shape or form”) + -ellus (variant of -ulus (suffix forming diminutive nouns, indicating small size or youth)). Quadrum is ultimately derived from quattuor (“four”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres (“four”). Doublet of carreau.

nb...

quarel, quarele, quarell, quarelle, quareyll, quarrell, querel, querelle, qwarel, qwarell, (Lancashire) wharl

der

Twanged the ſtring, out flew the quarell long, / And through the ſubtile aire did ſinging pas, / It hit the knight the buckles rich among, / Wherewith his pretious girdle faſt'ned was, / It bruſed them and pearſt his hawberke ſtrong, / Some little blood downe trickled on the gras; [...]

1600, [Torquato Tasso], “The Seuenth Booke of Godfrey of Bulloigne”, in Edward Fairefax [i.e., Edward Fairfax], transl., Godfrey of Bulloigne, or The Recouerie of Ierusalem. […], London: […] Ar[nold] Hatfield, for I[saac] Iaggard and M[atthew] Lownes, →OCLC, stanza 103, page 137:

Here be two arblasts, comrade, with windlaces and quarrells—to the barbican with you, and see you drive each bolt through a Saxon brain.

1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter XIV, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 281:

The small cross-bow, called the arbalet or arbalest, is said to have been invented by the Sicilians. It was carried by the foot-soldiers, and when used was charged with a quarrel or bar-bolt, that is, a small arrow with a flat head, one of which occasioned the death of Harold [Godwinson] at the battle of Hastings, [...]

1829 January–July, [Edward Augustus Kendall], “Illustrations of History. Archery.”, in The Olio; or Museum of Entertainment, volume III, London: […] Shackell and Carfrae [for] Joseph Shackell, […], →OCLC, page 174, column 2:

"What was that?" he asked, as a hissing, sharp-drawn voice seemed to whisper in his ear. The steersman smiled, and pointed with his foot to where a short heavy cross-bow quarrel stuck quivering in the boards.

1891, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “How the Yellow Cog Fought the Two Rover Galleys”, in The White Company […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 71:

(countable, archery, historical) An arrow or bolt for a crossbow or an arbalest (“a late, large type of crossbow”), traditionally with the head square in its cross section.

cairell

arrow or bolt for a crossbow or arbalest


angle

From Middle English angle, angul, angule, borrowed from Middle French angle, from Latin angulus, anglus (“corner, remote area”). Cognate with Old High German ancha (“nape of the neck”), Middle High German anke (“joint of the foot, nape of neck”). Doublet of angulus and ankle.

cog

(slang, professional wrestling) A storyline between two wrestlers, providing the background for and approach to a feud.


arm

en-verb

arm (third-person singular simple present arms, present participle arming, simple past and past participle armed)

arms (present singular third-person)
arming (participle present)
armed (participle past)
armed (past)

Back-formation from arms (plural), from Middle English armes, from Old French armes, from Latin arma (“weapons”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-mo-, a suffixed form of *h₂er- (“to fit together”), hence ultimately cognate with etymology 1.

varustaa

to furnish with means of defence; to prepare for resistance; to fortify

Torpedoes were loosed, but the range was too short for them to actually arm, and they bounced harmlessly off the ship as it cut loose with its secondary and antiaircraft guns, smashing anything that it could see.

2021 March 10, Drachinifel, 14:43 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - The Big Night Battle: Night 1 (IJN 3(?) : 2 USN), archived from the original on 2022-10-17:

(intransitive, of a tool, weapon, or system) To become prepared for action; to activate.


one eighty out

I read you loud and clear but it's still 180-out.


accident

en-noun

accident (countable and uncountable, plural accidents)

First attested in the late 14th century. From Middle English accident, from Old French accident, from Latin accidēns, present active participle of accidō (“happen”); from ad (“to”) + cadō (“fall”). See cadence, case. In the sense “unintended pregnancy”, first attested in 1932.

qawwalayla

unexpected event with negative consequences

инциде́нт

military: unplanned event resulting in injury

befalling

unexpected event that takes place without foresight or expectation

(heraldry) A point or mark which may be retained or omitted in a coat of arms.


left

en-adj

left (comparative more left or lefter, superlative most left or leftmost)

more left (comparative)
lefter (comparative)
most left (superlative)
leftmost (superlative)
Left (alternative)

From Middle English left, luft, leoft, lift, lyft, from Old English left, lyft (“weak, clumsy, foolish”), attested in Old English lyftādl (“palsy, paralysis”), from Proto-Germanic *luft-, from *lubjaną (“to castrate, lop off”) (compare dialectal English lib, West Frisian lobje, Dutch lubben), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lewp-, *(s)lup- (“hanging limply”). Compare Scots left (“left”), North Frisian lefts, leeft, leefts (“left”), West Frisian lofts (“left”), obsolete Dutch lucht, leftsch, lefts, lefs (“left”), dialectal Dutch loof (“weak, worthless”), archaic Low German lucht (“left”).

cog

It should be noted that there is now no intelligentsia that is not in some sense "Left". Perhaps the last right-wing intellectual was T. E. Lawrence. Since about 1930 everyone describable as an “intellectual” has lived in a state of chronic discontent with the existing order.

1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn:

(politics) Left-wing; pertaining to the political left.


left

The Left left workers behind, thinking they had a winning demographic coalition. It hasn't really worked out for them yet.

(politics) The left-wing political parties as a group; citizens holding left-wing views as a group.

يَسَار

the ensemble of left-wing political parties

The world 'as got me snouted jist a treat; Crool Forchin's dirty left 'as smote me soul.

1915, C.J. Dennis, The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke, published 1916, page 13:

(boxing) A punch delivered with the left fist.


right

en-adj

right (comparative further right or more right or righter, superlative furthest right or most right or rightmost or rightest)

further right (comparative)
more right (comparative)
righter (comparative)
furthest right (superlative)
most right (superlative)
rightmost (superlative)
rightest (superlative)
ryght (alternative)
reight (alternative)
rite (alternative)

→ Spanish: right

→ Welsh: reit

From Middle English right, from Old English riht, reht (“right,” also the word for “straight” and “direct”), from Proto-West Germanic *reht, from Proto-Germanic *rehtaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵtós (“having moved in a straight line”), from *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten, direct”).
The Germanic adjective which has been used also as a noun since the common Germanic period. Cognate with West Frisian rjocht, Dutch recht, German recht and Recht, Swedish rätt and rät, Danish ret, Norwegian Bokmål rett, Norwegian Nynorsk rett, Yiddish רעכט (rekht) and Icelandic rétt. The Indo-European root is also the source of Ancient Greek ὀρεκτός (orektós) and Latin rēctus; Albanian drejt was borrowed from Latin.

inh

even a stopped clock is right twice a day

have one's head screwed on the right way

(politics) Pertaining to the political right; conservative.


right

rights (plural)
ryght (alternative)
reight (alternative)
rite (alternative)

duty

antonym(s) of “legal or moral entitlement”

From Middle English right, from Old English riht, reht, ġeriht (“that which is right, just, or proper”), from Proto-West Germanic *reht, from Proto-Germanic *rehtą (“a right”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵtom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵt- (“to straighten; direct”).
Cognate with Dutch recht (“a right; privilege”), German Recht (“a right”), Danish ret (“a right”).

der

The political right holds too much power.

Sunak seems so scared of his party's swivel-eyed right wing that he has been panicked into focusing all new legislation on perceived 'red meat' issues which he hopes the Tory right will support.

2023 May 31, Nigel Harris, “Comment: GBR now! We have no Plan B”, in RAIL, number 984, page 3:

(politics) The ensemble of right-wing political parties; political conservatives as a group.


cold

en-adj

cold (comparative colder, superlative coldest)

colder (comparative)
coldest (superlative)

Sranan Tongo: kowru
Aukan: koo

From Middle English cold, from Anglian Old English cald. The West Saxon form, ċeald (“cold”), survived as early Middle English cheald, cheld, or chald. Both descended from Proto-West Germanic *kald, from Proto-Germanic *kaldaz, a participle form of *kalaną (“to be cold”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“cold”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots cald, cauld (“cold”), Saterland Frisian koold (“cold”), West Frisian kâld (“cold”), Dutch koud (“cold”), Low German kold, koolt, koold (“cold”), German kalt (“cold”), Danish kold (“cold”), Norwegian kald (“cold”), Swedish kall (“cold”).

faire froid (idiom in French; there is no translation for the adjective alone)

κάνει κρύο (kánei krýo) (idiom in Greek; there is no translation for the adjective alone)

хо́лодно (xólodno) (+ dative, “to be cold”)

olla kylmä (to feel cold; subject in the adessive case)

avoir froid (idiom in French; there is no translation for the adjective alone)

avere freddo (idiom in Italian; there is no translation for the adjective alone)

cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey

cold as a witch's tit

cold as a witch's teat, cold as a witch's tit in a brass bra

make someone's blood run cold

make the blood run cold, one's blood runs cold

(firearms) Not loaded with a round of live ammunition.


men

From Middle English men, from Old English menn (“people”), from Proto-Germanic *manniz, nominative plural of Proto-Germanic *mann- (“person”). Cognate with German Männer (“men”), Danish mænd (“men”), Swedish män (“men”). More at man.

"Muster up the men in the barracks at 0600," the lieutenant said to his sergeant.

(collective, military) Enlisted personnel (as opposed to commissioned officers).


hack

en-noun

hack (countable and uncountable, plural hacks)

From Middle English hacken, hakken, from Old English *haccian (“to hack”), from Proto-West Germanic *hakkōn, from Proto-Germanic *hakkōną (“to chop; hoe; hew”), from Proto-Indo-European *keg-, *keng- (“to be sharp; peg; hook; handle”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian häkje (“to hack”), West Frisian hakje (“to hack”), Dutch hakken (“to chop up; hack”), German hacken (“to chop; hack; hoe”), Danish hakke (“to chop”), Swedish hacka (“to hack; chop”), French hacher (“to chop”).
The computer senses date back to at least 1955 when it initially referred to creative problem solving. By 1963, the negative connotations of “black hat” or malicious hacking had become associated with telephone hacking (cf. phreaking).

inh

(slang, military) Time check, as for example upon synchronization of wristwatches.

You've been busted, you lost your qualifications as section leader three times, put in hack twice by me, with a history of high speed passes over five air control towers, and one admiral's daughter!

1986, Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., Top Gun (motion picture), spoken by Stinger (James Tolkan):

“Lieutenant Cauthen, you've got ten seconds to explain yourself before I put you in hack!”

2013, David Cauthen, When Destiny Comes to a Fork in the Road, page 426:

(uncountable, slang, naval) Confinement of an officer to their stateroom as a punishment.

Henebry's planes returned to Japan to reload, and early in the morning brought almost 3,000 more troopers to Korea […] Before sunrise next day, all troops in the maneuver had been picked up again and airlifted in “Henebry Hacks” back to Japan.

[…] so that he had to make the 300-mile journey in a “hack” plane which had spluttering engines, which did not conduce to an easy mind nor to a comfortable journey; […]

1967, Christian Advocate, volume 47, page 292:

(military, slang) An airplane of poor quality or in poor condition.


hack

Abbreviation of hackney (“an ordinary horse”), probably from place name Hackney.

(politics, slightly derogatory) A political agitator.


mine

From Middle English, from Old French mine, from Late Latin mina, from Gaulish (compare to Welsh mwyn, Irish mianach (“ore”)), from Proto-Celtic *meinis (“ore, metal”).

The most famous mine of the American Civil War led to the Battle of the Crater.

en:excavation for explosives under or near enemy lines

(military) A passage dug toward or underneath enemy lines, which is then packed with explosives.

минно поле

military: passage packed with explosives

Holonym: minefield

His left leg was blown off after he stepped on a mine.

The warship was destroyed by floating mines.

Pack ice, at times mounting to a height of 35 ft., snow, fog, and floating mines all played their part in the disorganisation of railway services, and most of the train ferry services were completely suspended for a month or more; [...].

1940 May, “Overseas Railways: Icebound Denmark”, in Railway Magazine, page 302:

(military) A device intended to explode when stepped upon or touched, or when approached by a ship, vehicle, or person.


azure

en-noun

azure (countable and uncountable, plural azures)

azures (plural)
az. (alternative)
b. (alternative)
bl. (alternative)

From Middle English asure, from Old French azur, derived from Arabic لَازَوَرْد (lāzaward, “lapis lazuli”), dropping the l as if it were equivalent to the French article l'. The Arabic is from Classical Persian لاجورد (lājward, “lapis lazuli”), from the region of Lajward in Badakhshan.
Compare with Italian azzurro and Spanish azul.

der

Berington of Chester (on the authority of Harleian manuscript No. 1535) is said to bear a plain shield of azure. Personally I doubt this coat of arms […]

1904, Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, The Art of Heraldry: An Encyclopaedia of Armory, London : T.C.; & E.C. Jack, page 41:

In Bb [Glover's Roll], the conventional letter B is used to indicate azure in most items.

Sir Henry "Hotspur" Percy: before 1399: or, a lion rampant azure, differentiated with a label gules (a blue lion rampant on a field of gold, differentiated with a red label signifying the first-born son) […]

2010, E. Baumgaertner Wm E. Baumgaertner, Wm E. Baumgaertner, Squires, Knights, Barons, Kings: War and Politics in Fifteenth Century England, Trafford Publishing, →ISBN:

azure (heraldry):

(heraldry) A blue colour on a coat of arms, represented in engraving by horizontal parallel lines.


azure

‘I forget your coat of arms.’
‘A human foot d’or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.’

1846, Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado:

(heraldry) In blazon, of the colour blue.

azurový

heraldry: of blue colour on a coat of arms


quarterly

The arms of Hohenzollern is quarterly argent and sable.

(heraldry) (of a coat of arms) Divided into four parts crosswise.


quarterly

It consisted of the arms of the City of London, Middlesex (three seaxes, or Saxon swords), Buckingham (a swan), and Hertford (a hart), arranged quarterly, on a background of crimson and ermine mantling […].

1950 June, Michael Robbins, “Heraldry of London Underground Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 380:

(heraldry) In the four, or in two diagonally opposite, quarters of a shield.


rat

With regards to the testing of his product, the initial blood analysis had come back confirming huge, distinctive nutritional superiority for Stewart's military ration pack. Given that the policy of the British Army is to be fully ready for war at the drop of a hat, he was sitting on the potential of supplying new rats for the entire army […]


navy

en-adj

navy (comparative more navy, superlative most navy)

more navy (comparative)
most navy (superlative)

From Middle English nave, navye, from Anglo-Norman, Old French navie, from Latin nāvigia < nāvigium, from Latin nāvigō, nāvis (“boat”), from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂us. Compare Ancient Greek ναῦς (naûs, “ship”), Persian ناو (nâv, “boat, warship”), Sanskrit नाव (nāva, “ship”), Old English nōwend (“mariner, sailor”).
Displaced native Old English sċiphere (literally “ship army”).

ncog

[…] there are chess ships and checker ships and those where acey-deucey is almost the only game, the sailors' own improved version of backgammon. Fliers from the seacoast of Iowa, anxious to be as navy as the rest, are usually the first to pick it up.

1943, Fletcher Pratt, The Navy has wings, page 167:

Lieutenant Lindquist is navy through and through. I know she doesn't want to get out. Now, I know there's no way you can assign her to a navy ship, but there has to be something the navy can give her to keep her in space.

1993, Robert A. Frezza, McLendon's Syndrome, page 299:

It was not what you would picture as a typical meeting with a naval officer. In fact, it was about as navy as an Abbott and Costello movie.

1994, Harry Carey, Company of heroes: my life as an actor in the John Ford stock company, page 76:

He was navy through and through; no-nonsense, humorless, and all spit and polish—every hair in its place, every thought gleaned from the manual compiled by brilliant sea dogs of long ago.

2003, Jedwin Smith, Fatal treasure: greed and death, emeralds and gold, page 88:

Goodwin was navy through and through.

2003, Edwin Palmer Hoyt, Thomas H Moorer, The Men of the Gambier Bay: The Amazing True Story, page 21:

(military) Belonging to the navy; typical of the navy.


turtle

Modification of Middle English tortou, tortu, from Old French tortüe (under the influence of Middle English turtel, turtur (“turtledove”), see Etymology 2 below), from Medieval Latin tortuca (compare Spanish tortuga), the same source of tortoise (see there for more). Displaced native Old English byrdling.

(military, historical) An Ancient Roman attack method, where the shields held by the soldiers hide them, not only left, right, front and back, but also from above.


lavender

en-adj

lavender (comparative more lavender, superlative most lavender)

more lavender (comparative)
most lavender (superlative)

From Middle English lavendre, from Anglo-Norman lavendre (French lavande), from Medieval Latin lavendula, possibly from Latin lividus (“bluish”), but influenced by lavō (“wash”) due to use of lavender in washing clothes.

“Now in here,” their guide, sweating dark tentacles into his tab collar, briefed them, “you are going to see the members of the third sex, the lavender crowd this city by the Bay is so justly famous for.

1966 March, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 5, in The Crying of Lot 49, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, published November 1976, →ISBN, page 81:

My sother (significant other) and I have been together almost nineteen years. Exactly half of the usual wedding vows taken traditionally by non-lavender couples — for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, — have been characteristic of our relationship.

1981 August 22, Nancy Walker, “Still Coming Out, After All These Years”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 6, page 11:

(politics) Pertaining to LGBT people and rights.

(politics) Pertaining to lesbian feminism; opposing heterosexism.


copper

From cop (“to take, capture, seize”) + -er (agent noun suffix).

af

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

One evening as I was lying down in Leicester Square / I was picked up by the coppers and kicked in the balls

1985, Shane MacGowan, “The Old Main Drag”, in Rum Sodomy & the Lash, performed by The Pogues:

(slang, law enforcement) A police officer.


rose

en-noun

rose (countable and uncountable, plural roses)

→ Marshallese: rooj

→ Tokelauan: loha

From Middle English rose, roose, from Old English rōse, but with its vowel influenced by Old French rose, both from Latin rosa.
cognates and more remote and uncertain etymology
The Latin is of uncertain origin, but likely via Oscan from Ancient Greek ῥόδον (rhódon, “rose”) (Aeolic ϝρόδον (wródon)), from Old Persian *vr̥dah (“flower”) (compare Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬜𐬀- (var^əδa-), Sogdian ward, Parthian wâr, late Middle Persian [Term?] (gwl /gul/), Persian گل (gol, “rose, flower”), and Middle Iranian borrowings including Old Armenian վարդ (vard, “rose”), Aramaic וַרְדָּא (wardā) / ܘܪܕܐ (wardā), Arabic وَرْدَة (warda), Hebrew וֶרֶד (wéreḏ)), from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥dʰos (“sweetbriar”) (compare Old English word (“thornbush”), Latin rubus (“bramble”), Albanian hurdhe (“ivy”)). Possibly ultimately a derivation from a verb for "to grow" only attested in Indo-Iranian (*Hwardʰ-, compare Sanskrit वर्धति (vardhati), with relatives in Avestan).

(heraldry) The rose flower, usually depicted with five petals, five barbs, and a circular seed.


sill

From Middle English sille, selle, sülle, from Old English syll, syl (“sill, threshold, foundation, base, basis”), from Proto-Germanic *sulī (“bar, sill”), from Proto-Indo-European *sel-, *swel- (“beam, board, frame, threshold”).
Cognate with Scots sil, sill (“balk, beam, floor, sill”), Dutch zulle (“sill”), Low German Sull, Sülle (“threshold, ramp, sill”), German Süll, Sülle (“threshold, sill”), Danish syld (“base of a framework building”), Swedish syll (“joist, cross-tie”), Norwegian syll, Icelandic syll, sylla (“sill”). Related also to German Schwelle ( > Danish svelle), Old Norse svill, Latin silva (“wood, forest”), Ancient Greek ὕλη (húlē).

cog

(military, historical) The inner edge of the bottom of an embrasure.


retreat

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

From Middle English retret, from Old French retrait or retret, from Latin retractus, from retraho. Doublet of retract, retrait, and ritratto.

doublet

The general opted for a swift retreat because he saw his troops were vastly outnumbered.

The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant.

(military) Withdrawal by a military force from a dangerous position or from enemy attack.

(military) A signal for a military withdrawal.

to-morrow the Royal Standard will be hoisted at Edinburgh Castle from reveille to retreat.

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

(military) A bugle call or drumbeat signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset, as on a military base.

(military) A military ceremony to lower the flag.


teal

en-noun

teal (countable and uncountable, plural teals)

teals (plural)
teale (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English tele, probably from an unrecorded Old English *tǣle, cognate with West Frisian tjilling (“teal”), Middle Dutch teling (“teal”) (modern Dutch taling), Middle Low German telink, from Proto-Germanic *tailijaz, of unknown ultimate origin, with no cognates outside of Germanic. As the name of a shade of dark greenish-blue like the color patterns on the fowl's head and wings, it is attested from 1923. The Australian political sense derives from the colour teal being intermediate between green (signifying environmentalism) and blue (signifying the conservative Australian Liberal Party).

unk

unknown

In a bid to defend their inner-city seats, the Liberal Party has moved towards the environmental and progressive left in what can be described as a “teal strategy” that blurs the lines between the Liberals and the Greens.

2021 September 21, Kurt Wallace, “Navigating the great dividing voter range”, in IPA Today, Institute of Public Affairs:

Concerns of a targeted dirty tricks campaign targeting “teal” independents has prompted the Australian Electoral Commission to bring in its electoral integrity assurance taskforce as pre-polling opens.

2022 May 9, “AEC mobilises taskforce to investigate corflute damage”, in Sydney Morning Herald, page 10:

Ms Haines is a strong proponent of this, and many of the teal cross benchers support her approach to appointing a whistleblower protection commissioner.

2022 September 26, “Teals, Greens list watchdog demands”, in The Canberra Times, page 6:

(countable, Australia, politics, chiefly attributive) A teal independent.


moose

Borrowed from Japanese むすめ (“daughter”).

In military bases in the rear areas it was common for soldiers to have a moose.

2005, Rupert Nelson, Like the Rings of a Tree, page 279:

Even the lowest ranked serviceman, because of his salary, benefits, and status as an American occupationaire, could afford to “maintain a ‘Moose’ and still take care of his other obligations.”

2011, Michael Cullen Green, Black Yanks in the Pacific, page 75:

(US, military, slang) An Asian girl taken as a lover.


gun

Sranan Tongo: gon

From Middle English gunne, gonne, possibly from Gunnhild, a female given name formerly used as a nickname for engines of war. The name is composed of the Norse elements gunnr and hildr, both meaning "battle".

is that a gun in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me

you get more with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone

A device for projecting a hard object very forcefully; a firearm or cannon.

(military) A cannon with relatively long barrel, operating with relatively low angle of fire, and having a high muzzle velocity.

kanon

military: cannon with relatively long barrel, operating with relatively low angle of fire, and having a high muzzle velocity

(military) A cannon with a 6-inch/155mm minimum nominal bore diameter and tube length 30 calibers or more. See also: howitzer; mortar.

arm-tan

military: cannon with tube length 30 calibers or more


boss

From Middle English bos, bose, boce, from Old French boce (“lump, bulge, protuberance, knot”), from Frankish *bottja, from Proto-Germanic *bautaną (“to hit, strike, beat”). Doublet of beat; see there for more.

der

(archery) A target block, made of foam but historically made of hay bales, to which a target face is attached.


minister

Pijin: minista

→ Hausa: ministà

From Middle English ministre, from Old French ministre, from Latin minister (“an attendant, servant, assistant, a priest's assistant or other under official”), from minor (“less”) + -ter; see minor. Doublet of Minorite.

He was newly appointed to be Minister of the Interior.

Ministers to kings, whose eyes, ears, and hands they are, must be answerable to God and man.

1661 (first printed), Francis Bacon, A Letter of Advice to the Duke of Buckingham:

(government) A politician who heads a ministry


grape

en-noun

grape (countable and uncountable, plural grapes)

From Middle English grape, from Old French grape, grappe, crape (“cluster of fruit or flowers, bunch of grapes”), from graper, craper (“to pick grapes”, literally “to hook”), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *krappō (“hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *greb- (“hook”), *gremb- (“crooked, uneven”), from *ger- (“to turn, bend, twist”). Cognate with Middle Dutch krappe (“hook”), Old High German krapfo (“hook”) (whence German Krapfen (“Berliner doughnut”). Doublet of grappa. More at cramp.

mountain grape

Vitis rupestris; Berberis aquifolium, syn. Mahonia aquifolium

possum grape

Vitis vulpina; Vitis baileyana; Cissus spp.

racoon grape

Vitis labrusca et al.; Ampelopsis cordata

I was horrified to see three grapes standing by the aircraft with the hose still connected.

1998, Approach, volume 43, number 10, page 10:

(US, naval slang) A purple-shirted technician responsible for refueling aircraft.


emerald

en-noun

emerald (countable and uncountable, plural emeralds)

→ Welsh: emrald, emrallt

From Middle English emeraude, borrowed from Old French esmeraude, from Vulgar Latin *smaralda, *smaraldus, *smaraudus, variant of Latin smaragdus, from Ancient Greek σμάραγδος (smáragdos), μάραγδος (máragdos), from a Semitic language. Compare Hebrew בָּרֶקֶת (bāréqeṯ, “emerald, flashing gem”), Akkadian 𒁀𒊏𒄣 (baraqu, literally “scintillation”), Arabic بَرْق (barq, literally “flashing”), Egyptian bwyrqꜣ (literally “to sparkle”):D58-Z7-Z4:D21-N29-Z1-G1-D6 and loanwords with Semitic etymon such as Sanskrit मरकत (marakata) and Persian زمرد (zomorrod) (whence Turkish zümrüt and Russian изумру́д (izumrúd)).

cog

16. As the first. Crest, on a Mount Emerald, a Falcon rising Topaz.

1726, John Guillim, The Banner Display'd, page 504:

Crest. On a Wreath, a demi Dragon, Emerald, armed and langued, Roby [...] Supporters. Two Dragons reguardant, Emerald, [...]

1754, John Lodge, The Peerage of Ireland; Or, a Genealogical History of the ..., page 212:

Some of the lagoons, said to have subterranean outlets, have no visible ones; the inclosing island, in such cases, being a complete zone of emerald.

1847 March 30, Herman Melville, Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas; […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC:

(heraldry) Vert, when blazoning by precious stones.


squid

Unknown. Perhaps a sailors' alteration of squirt.

(US, military, slang, mildly derogatory) A sailor in the Navy.


egg

en-noun

egg (countable and uncountable, plural eggs)

→⇒ German: not the yellow from the egg

Jamaican Creole: eg

Sranan Tongo: eksi

The noun is derived from Middle English eg, egg, egge (“egg of a domestic or wild fowl; egg of a snake”) [and other forms] (originally Northern England and Northeast Midlands), from Old Norse egg (“egg”), from Proto-Germanic *ajją (“egg”) (by Holtzmann’s law), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (“egg”), probably from *h₂éwis (“bird”), from *h₂ew- (“to clothe oneself, dress; to be dressed”) (in the sense of an animal clothed in feathers). Doublet of huevo, oeuf, and ovum.
The native English ey [and other forms] (plural eyren) (obsolete), from Old English ǣġ, is also derived from Proto-Germanic *ajją. It survived into at least c. 16th century before being fully displaced by egg.
The verb is derived from the noun.

wôwan

approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals, housing the embryo within a membrane or shell during its development

egg

person regarded as having not yet realized they are transgender, or who has not yet come out as transgender or is in the early stages of transitioning; one’s lack of awareness that one is transgender

kill the goose that lays the golden eggs

there's more than one way to cook an egg

there's more than one way to crack an egg

(countable) A thing which looks like or is shaped like an egg (sense 1.1).


ruby

en-noun

ruby (countable and uncountable, plural rubies)

From Middle English ruby, rube, from Old French rubi, from Medieval Latin rubīnus. Doublet of rubine.

Elgin. Topaz a Saltier and Chief Ruby, on a Canton Pearl a Lyon Rampant Saphyr, which last is their paternal Coat; and the Field Topaz, and Saltier, and Chief Ruby, was the Arms of King Robert the Bruce, they altering the Field from Pearl (as he bore it) to Topaz.

1720, Francis Nichols, Rudiments of Honour, page 296:

The Field is Ruby, on a Bend Topaz, three Martlets Diamond. [...] Checkie Topaz and Saphire, a Fesse within a Bordure Ruby, by the Name of Clifford.

1726, John Guillim, The Banner Display'd; Or, an Abridgment of Guillim, page 504:

(1) Pearl, a Cross, Ruby, with the Effigies of our Saviour thereon, Topaz, born in Memory of one of the Family's fighting against the Turks. (2) Topaz, a Chief Indented, Saphire. (3) Ruby, three covered Cups, Topaz [...]

1754, John Lodge, The Peerage of Ireland; Or, a Genealogical History of the ..., page 71:


sapphire

sapphire (countable and uncountable, plural sapphires)

→ Tokelauan: hafaila

→ Welsh: saffir

From Middle English saphir, from Old French saphir, from Latin sapphir, sappir, sapphīrus, from Ancient Greek σάπφειρος (sáppheiros, “precious stone, gem”), from a Semitic language such as Hebrew סַפִּיר (sappī́r, “lapis lazuli”), originally from Assyrian Akkadian šipirtu (“lapis lazuli”).

cog

Elgin. Topaz a Saltier and Chief Ruby, on a Canton Pearl a Lyon Rampant Saphyr, which last is their paternal Coat; […]

3. Saphire, ten Bezants, 4, 3, 2, 1, by the Bisset.

(2) Topaz, a Chief Indented, Saphire.

Topaz, on a Cross, Sapphire, a Crosier thrust through a Mitre, Topaz.

1756, Francis Nichols, The Irish Compendium, Or, Rudiments of Honour, Containing the Descent, Marriage, Isssue, Titles, Posts, and Seats, of All the Nobility of Ireland..., page 440:

(heraldry) Azure, when blazoning by precious stones.


amethyst

From Middle English ametist, from Old French ametiste (French améthyste), from Ancient Greek ἀμέθυστος (améthustos, “not drunk”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + μεθύω (methúō, “I am drunk”), from μέθυ (méthu, “wine”).
The name was based on the ancient belief that amethyst gemstones could prevent intoxication. People in ancient Greece and Rome would wear amethyst or drink from cups made of amethyst to ward off the effects of alcohol.

der

The Field is Topaz, a Lion rampant Amethyst [...]

1726, John Guillim, The Banner Display'd, page 407:

Purple, on the arms of princes Mercury, of peers amethyst, and of commoners purpure, [is represented] by diagonal lines from the sinister chief to the dexter base.

1834, The Art of Heraldry; Explaining the Origin and Use of Arms and Armorial Bearings, Etc, page 14:

1st & 4th grand Quarter alike viz. Field Pearl, on a bend Sapphire 3 Buckheads, coup'd topaz for Stanley. The 2d Quarter, Field Sapphire with an inverted Chief, amethyst. The 3d, A Checque topaz & Amethyst, this seems prior to Bosworth field, to have belong'd to Sr Robt Goushill whose Dr a Stanley married …

1906 (printed), The Beetham Repository, 1770 (eds. William Hutton, John Rawlinson Ford), page 115

(heraldry) The tincture purpure, when blazoning by precious stones.


whitewash

en-noun

whitewash (countable and uncountable, plural whitewashes)

Received Pronunciation, wine–whine merger

General American, wine–whine merger, Canadian raising

“She has developed an arrogance of power,” Mr. Richardson said by telephone during a layover in Tokyo on his way back to New Mexico from Myanmar. “I’ve known her a long time and am fond of her, but she basically is unwilling to listen to bad news, and I don’t want to be part of a whitewash.”

2018 January 24, Hannah Beech, Rick Gladstone, “Citing ‘Whitewash,’ Bill Richardson Quits Rohingya Post”, in New York Times:

A report by the City watchdog into the scandal at Royal Bank of Scotland’s turnaround unit has been described as a whitewash after the regulator confirmed it would not punish the bank for mistreating business customers following the financial crash.

2019 June 13, Kalyeena Makortoff, “FCA report into RBS called a 'complete whitewash' by critics”, in The Guardian:

(politics) A campaign to paper over unfavorable elements; (everyday life) pretense.

hvidvask

politics: campaign to paper over unfavorable elements


forlorn

From Middle English forlorn, forloren, from Old English forloren (past participle of forlēosan (“to lose”)), from Proto-Germanic *fraluzanaz (“lost”), past participle of Proto-Germanic *fraleusaną (“to lose”), equivalent to for- + lorn. Cognate with West Frisian ferlern (“lost”), Saterland Frisian ferlädden (“lost”), Dutch verloren (“lost”), German Low German verloren (“lost”),
German verloren (“lost”), Swedish förlorad (“lost”). See further at lese/leese, lorn.

The Regiment being drawn up into the former Figure, they may proceed to Firings upon it, firſt let the Forlorns fire five or six times over, being commanded by the eldeſt Captains Lieutenant, who is to be aſſiſted by a couple of able Serjeants; after let him wheel off to the right and left, and bring them down in the Reer of the Pikes. Then let the ſecond Captains Lieutenant being aſſiſted by two Serjeants lead up the reſerves by the out-ſide of the Pikes, at ſuch time when the Forlorns begin to come off, […]

1659, Richard Elton, “Severall Firings to be Performed upon the Former Figure, and how to be Mannaged by the Severall Officers”, in The Compleat Body of the Art Military: Exactly Compiled, and Gradually Composed for the Foot, in the Best Refined Manner, According to the Practice of the Modern Times. …, 2nd edition, London: Printed by R[obert] and W[illiam] Leybourn, in Monkswel-Street, in Lambes Chappel neer Criplegate, →OCLC, book III, page 152:

[…] I ordered the forlorns to advance and to march, at their open order, towards the upland, and by this time the tide was upon the ground wee ſtood on: The forlorn were no ſooner advanced a few rods, before there was firing on both ſides; […]

1765, [Thomas] Hutchinson, “[Appendix.] Number XXI. Major Walley’s Journal in the Expedition against Canada in 1692. A Narrative of the Proceedings to Canada, soe far as Concerned the Land Army.”, in The History of the Colony of Massachuset’s Bay, from the First Settlement thereof in 1628, until Its Incorporation with the Colony of Plimouth, Province of Main, &c. by the Charter of King William and Queen Mary, in 1691, 2nd edition, London: Printed for M. Richardson, in Pater-noster Row, →OCLC, page 556:

I was this day in the van, and our forlorn having entered Huntingdon without any great reſiſtance till they came to the bridge, finding it barricaded, they ſent me word; I cauſed the troops to halt, and rode up to the forlorn, to view the countenance of the enemy, and found by the poſture they had put themſelves in, that they reſolved to ſell us the paſſage as dear as they could.

1782, “a Shropshire gentleman” [i.e., Daniel Defoe], “Memoirs of a Cavalier, &c. Part Second.”, in E. Staveley, editor, The History of the Civil Wars in Germany, from the Year 1630 to 1635: Also Genuine Memoirs of the Wars of England, in the Unhappy Reign of Charles the First; Containing the Whole History of Those Miserable Times; until the King Lost His Head on the Scaffold, in the Memorable Year 1648, Newark, Nottinghamshire: Printed by James Tomlinson, for the publisher, →OCLC, page 339:

The garrison, taken by surprise, had the first intelligence of the assault in the "forlorns plunging into the canal."

1861, Evert A[ugustus] Duyckinck, “Henry Lee”, in National Portrait Gallery of Eminent Americans: Including Orators, Statesmen, Naval and Military Heroes, Jurists, Authors, etc., etc., from the Original Full Length Paintings by Alonzo Chappel. With Biographical and Historical Narratives, [...] In Two Volumes, volume I, New York, N.Y.: Johnson, Fry & Company, 27 Beekman Street, →OCLC, page 236:


overweight

overweight (countable and uncountable, plural overweights)

/ˌəʊvəˈweɪt/

SCHOOL MEAL ISSUES FOR CHILDREN AT RISK FOR OVERWEIGHT

2007, Josephine Martin, Charlotte Oakley, Managing child nutrition programs: leadership for excellence, page 462:

(uncountable, healthcare) The condition of being overweight.


AC

ACs (plural)
a.c. (alternative)
A/C (alternative)
a/c (alternative)
A.C. (alternative)
a.c. (alternative)
ac (alternative)
A.C. (alternative)
A.C. (alternative)
A. C. (alternative)
a.c. (alternative)

(US, military) Initialism of Auxiliary Collier (a naval coal transport that travels with the fleet to provide coal for coal-powered warships).

Auxiliary Collier

assistant commissioner
assistant commissioner#English

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


DC

DC (countable and uncountable, plural DCs)

detective constable
detective constable#English

(law enforcement) Initialism of detective constable, a police rank used in Commonwealth countries.


ACT

A.C.T. (alternative)
A. C. T. (alternative)

w:Association of Consumers and Taxpayers

liberal conservative
liberal conservative

Initialism of Association of Consumers and Taxpayers, a political party of New Zealand.

(New Zealand politics) ACT New Zealand, a liberal conservative political party in New Zealand.


AP

AP (countable and uncountable, plural APs)

(US, military) Abbreviation of Auxiliary Provisions (a naval transport).


AP

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

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

Armed Forces – Pacific
w:United States Armed Forces

(US, military) Initialism of Armed Forces – Pacific.


AP

(military) Initialism of anti-personnel.

(military) Initialism of armor-piercing.


DF

(military) Initialism of decoupling factor.


MA

MA (countable and uncountable, plural MAs)

(US, military) Initialism of master-at-arms; also MAA.


MG

MG (countable and uncountable, plural MGs)

(countable, military) Initialism of machine gun.


MT

MT (countable and uncountable, plural MTs)

(military, British) Initialism of mechanical transport.


PB

PB (countable and uncountable, plural PBs)

(US, military, aviation) Initialism of patrol bomber.


PI

PI (countable and uncountable, plural PIs)

People's Initiative
w:People's Initiative

(Philippines, politics) Initialism of People's Initiative.


RN

registered nurse
registered nurse#English:_Q13608061

(healthcare) Initialism of registered nurse.


RN

John Richards, RN, was a guest at the inn last night.

A chart of Singapore, by Mr. John Richards, R.N., has recently been published by the Admiralty on the scale of 12 inches to a mile; it shows at a glance the docks, coal-wharfs, and other accommodation at that flourishing entrepôt of the trade of the East.

1862, “Address to the Royal Geographical Society of London; Delivered at the Anniversary Meeting on the 26th May, 1862, by the Lord Ashburton, President”, in Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, volume 32, page civ-clxxii:

(UK, military, nautical) Initialism of Royal Navy.


RS

(military, US) Initialism of recruiting station.


SP

SP (countable and uncountable, plural SPs)

SPs (plural)
S.P. (alternative)
S. P. (alternative)

(US, military, navy) Initialism of shore patrol.

(law enforcement) Initialism of state police.

(law enforcement) Abbreviation of superintendent.


beat

→ Pennsylvania German: biede

From Middle English beten, from Old English bēatan (“to beat, pound, strike, lash, dash, thrust, hurt, injure”), from Proto-West Germanic *bautan, from Proto-Germanic *bautaną (“to push, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewd- (“to hit, strike”).
Compare Old Irish fo·botha (“he threatened”), Latin confutō (“to strike down”), fūstis (“stick, club”), Albanian bahe (“sling”), Lithuanian baudžiù, Old Armenian բութ (butʻ)).

der

march to the beat of a different drummer

(fencing) A smart tap on the adversary's blade.


beat

en-verb

beat (third-person singular simple present beats, present participle beating, simple past beat or (nonstandard) beated, past participle beaten or (colloquial) beat or (nonstandard) beated)

beats (present singular third-person)
beating (participle present)
beat (past)
beated (nonstandard past)
beaten (participle past)
beat (colloquial participle past)
beated (nonstandard participle past)
beat (infinitive)
beat (first-person present singular)
beat (first-person past singular)
beat (present second-person singular)
beatest (archaic present second-person singular)
beat (past second-person singular)
beatest (archaic past second-person singular)
beats (present singular third-person)
beateth (archaic present singular third-person)
beat (past singular third-person)
beat (plural present)
beat (past plural)
beat (present subjunctive)
beat (past subjunctive)
beat (imperative present)
beating (participle present)
beaten (participle past)

it is easy to find a stick to beat a dog

The drummers beat to call soldiers to their quarters.

(military, intransitive) To make a succession of strokes on a drum.

rummuttaa

military: to make a succession of strokes on a drum


AB

en-noun

AB (countable and uncountable, plural ABs)

(military, aviation) Initialism of airbase.

AB-89 would have required that participation in sex-segregated California school programs, athletic teams, and facility use be based on a pupil’s sex, not gender identity.

2025 April 1, FOX26 News Staff, “Both transgender athlete bills fail in California”, in FOX26 News:

(law, politics) Initialism of assembly bill.


MB

MBs (plural)
mb (alternative adverb interjection)

(military, US) Initialism of marine barracks.


NS

→ French: NS

National Socialism
National Socialism#English

(politics, Internet slang) Initialism of National Socialism.


CH

CH (countable and uncountable, plural CHs)

cargo helicopter
cargo helicopter#English

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


CI

CI (countable and uncountable, plural CIs)

(espionage) Initialism of counterintelligence.

(law enforcement) Initialism of chief inspector, a police rank used in Commonwealth countries.

confidential informant
confidential informant#English

(law enforcement) Initialism of confidential informant.

Three of the Montana professionals who signed onto the Oct. 17 letter spoke in a news conference about the letter and why they were supporting CI-128 and urging others to do so as well.

2024 October 17, Blair Miller, “More than 250 Montana medical professionals sign letter supporting CI-128”, in Daily Montanan:

(politics) Initialism of constitutional initiative.


CL

CL (countable and uncountable, plural CLs)

(US, navy) Initialism of light cruiser, a type of warship.


CM

CM (countable and uncountable, plural CMs)

Sense "commercial" is a borrowing from Japanese CM (CM, “commercial video ad”), from English commercial + message.

(military) Initialism of cruise missile.


CS

chief superintendent
w:chief superintendent

(UK, law enforcement) Initialism of chief superintendent.


MC

(US military) Initialism of Marine Corps.


ML

ML (countable and uncountable, plural MLs)

(countable, military) Initialism of muzzleloader.

(military) Initialism of munitions list, a category of controlled goods under the Wassenaar Arrangement.


MX

LGM-118 Peacekeeper
w:LGM-118 Peacekeeper

(military, US, historical, weaponry) Initialism of Missile, Experimental (original project name of the LGM-118 Peacekeeper ICBM).


SL

(politics) Initialism of Sendero Luminoso.


TB

TB (countable and uncountable, plural TBs)

(military, nautical) Initialism of torpedo boat.

(military, aviation) Initialism of torpedo bomber.

(military, aviation) Initialism of trainer bomber (“a bomber that also serves as a trainer aircraft”).


VC

VC (countable and uncountable, plural VCs)

→ Bengali: ভিসি (bhiśi)

(US, military, historical) Initialism of Victor Charlie (“Vietcong”).


YC

Combination of prefix C and prefix modifier Y

(US, military, aviation) prototype cargoplane (prefix)


AR

AR (countable and uncountable, plural ARs)

In its August 2003 issue, while the ban was still in effect, Guns & Ammo ran a feature story titled “Stoner’s ‘Black Rifle’ Marches On,” subtitled “The basic AR platform has been refined, improved, upgraded, power-boosted and accurized.”

2017 December 14, David Heath, Elise Hansen and AJ Willingham, CNN Design: Joyce Tseng, “How an ‘ugly,’ unwanted weapon became the most popular rifle in America”, in CNN:

(countable, weaponry) An AR-15 personal semi-automatic rifle, M-16 assault rifle, M-4 carbine, derivative or related gun; the Armalite AR family and derivatives.

(countable, weaponry, informal) An assault rifle or automatic rifle.

(law, politics) Initialism of assembly resolution.


CA

(Canadian politics) Initialism of Canadian Alliance, Conservative-Reform Alliance Party, Reform-Conservative Alliance Party.


CA

CA (countable and uncountable, plural CAs)

(US, military) Initialism of civil affairs, a military occupational specialty or branch.


CO

commanding officer
commanding officer#English

(military) Initialism of commanding officer.

(military) Initialism of commissioned officer.

corrections officer
corrections officer#English

(US, law enforcement) Initialism of corrections officer.

correctional officer
correctional officer#English

(US, law enforcement) Initialism of correctional officer.

conscientious objector
conscientious objector#English

(military) Initialism of conscientious objector.


CT

CT (countable and uncountable, plural CTs)


DE

DE (countable and uncountable, plural DEs)

destroyer escort
destroyer escort#English

(US, navy) Initialism of destroyer escort, a type of warship of the destroyer subtype, also called a frigate.


GA

(organic chemistry, military) Abbreviation of German agent A, US designation for the nerve gas tabun.


GA

GA (countable and uncountable, plural GAs)

(politics) Initialism of global affairs.


IA

Indian Army at the Encyclopedia of India

Indian Airlines at the Encyclopædia Britannica

Provided that they [the Indian Army or IA] do their duty, armed insurrection in India would not be an insoluble problem. If however the IA go the other way, the picture would be very different.
We do not have the military force to hold India against a widespread guerrilla movement or to reconquer India ... It is doubtful if we could keep the Indian troops loyal. Attlee to Chiefs of Staff, TOP, XI, p.68

2014, Daniel Marston, The Indian Army and the End of the Raj, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 1:

(military, uncountable) Initialism of Indian Army.


IA

IA (countable and uncountable, plural IAs)

internal affairs
internal affairs#English

(law enforcement) Initialism of internal affairs, a department responsible for investigating complaints against police officers.

internal affairs

individual augmentee
individual augmentee#English

(military) Initialism of individual augmentee.

international affairs
international affairs#English

(politics) Initialism of international affairs.


MD

MDs (plural)
M.D. (alternative)
M. D. (alternative)

(military, US) Initialism of Marine detachment.


MI

MI (countable and uncountable, plural MIs)

Three months ago, after a minor argument between a small group of students and a tea shop owner, police arrived on the scene, arrested the students, and beat them up in a nearby police station. Apparently, the tea shop was owned by an MI agent.

2009, Karen Connelly, Burmese Lessons: A Love Story, Toronto: Random House Canada, →ISBN, page 108:

(military) Initialism of military intelligence.


MO

MO (countable and uncountable, plural MOs)

(military, UK) Initialism of medical officer.


NH

(firefighting) Initialism of National Hose.


ND

(Greek politics) Initialism of New Democracy.


ND

NDs (plural)
N.D. (alternative)
N. D. (alternative)

(military) Initialism of negligent discharge (accidental firing of a weapon).


OH

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


OR

OR (countable and uncountable, plural ORs)

Max Fischer: I like your nurse's uniform, guy. -- Dr. Peter Flynn: These are O.R. scrubs. -- Max Fischer: Oh, are they?

(healthcare, countable) Initialism of operating room.


RI

(monarchy) rex imperator (“king-emperor”) or regina imperatrix (“queen-empress”); the initials by which a British monarch signed documents after his or her name from 1877 until 1947.


SD

(law enforcement) Initialism of sheriff's department.


VT

(military, historical, of an artillery fuze) Initialism of variable-time (WWII cover designation for the proximity fuse).


VA

He is in a VA hospital.

Mr. Musk’s cuts will affect thousands of veterans — a powerful constituency and a core part of the Trump base. Mr. Collins made the point that they should not wield a blunt instrument and cleave off everyone from the V.A.

2025 March 7, Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman, “Inside the Explosive Meeting Where Trump Officials Clashed With Elon Musk”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

w:United States Department of Veterans Affairs

(US, government) Initialism of United States Department of Veterans Affairs.


save

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *sl̥h₂-wós
Proto-Italic *salawos
Latin salvus
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin salvō
Latin salvāre
Old French sauverbor.
Middle English saven
English save
From Middle English saven, sauven, a borrowing from Old French sauver, from Late Latin salvāre (“to save”).

etymon

The giant wrestler continued to beat down his smaller opponent, until several wrestlers ran in for the save.

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

An instance of preventing (further) harm or difficulty.

(professional wrestling, slang) A point in a professional wrestling match when one or more wrestlers run to the ring to aid a fellow wrestler who is being beaten.


vert

en-noun

vert (countable and uncountable, plural verts)

From Middle English vert, borrowed from Old French vert, from Vulgar Latin virdis, syncopated from Classical Latin viridis. Doublet of virid, which was borrowed directly from Latin.

vert:

(heraldry) A green colour, now only in heraldry; represented in engraving by diagonal parallel lines 45 degrees counter-clockwise.


vert

en-adj

vert (comparative more vert, superlative most vert)

more vert (comparative)
most vert (superlative)

(heraldry) In blazon, of the colour green.


piece

pieces (plural)
peece (alternative obsolete)

Belizean Creole: pees

Sranan Tongo: pisi

→ Finnish: biisi

→ Irish: píosa

→ Japanese: ピース (pīsu)

→ Scottish Gaelic: pìos

From Middle English pece, peece, peice, from Old French piece, from Late Latin petia, pettia, possibly from Gaulish *pettyā, from Proto-Celtic *kʷezdis (“piece, portion, quota”); doublet of English fit, fytte, fytt (“musical piece, chapter”), Icelandic fit (“web”), German Fitze (“skein”), from Old High German *fitjâ. Compare Welsh peth, Breton pez (“thing”), Irish cuid. Compare French pièce, Portuguese peça, Spanish pieza, Italian pezza, Italian pezzo.

der

[…] all our Ammunition was spent. Those of us who had Money made Slugs of it; their next Shift was to take the middle Screws out of their Guns, and charge their Pieces with them.

1743, Robert Drury, The Pleasant, and Surprizing Adventures of Mr. Robert Drury, during his Fifteen Years Captivity on the Island of Madagascar, London, page 55:


draw

en-verb

draw (third-person singular simple present draws, present participle drawing, simple past drew, past participle drawn or (colloquial and nonstandard) drew)

draws (present singular third-person)
drawing (participle present)
drew (past)
drawn (participle past)
drew (colloquial nonstandard participle past)
draw (infinitive)
draw (first-person present singular)
drew (first-person past singular)
draw (present second-person singular)
drawest (archaic present second-person singular)
drew (past second-person singular)
drewest (archaic past second-person singular)
draws (present singular third-person)
draweth (archaic present singular third-person)
drew (past singular third-person)
draw (plural present)
drew (past plural)
draw (present subjunctive)
drew (past subjunctive)
draw (imperative present)
drawing (participle present)
drawn (participle past)

The verb is derived from Middle English drauen, drawen, draȝen, dragen (“to drag, pull; to draw (out); to attract; to entice, lure; to lead; to make a drawing; to move, travel; etc.”), from Old English dragan (“to drag, draw”), from Proto-West Germanic *dragan (“to carry; to haul”), from Proto-Germanic *draganą (“to carry; to pull, draw”); further etymology uncertain, often said to be from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to pull, draw”), but possibly from a non-Indo-European substrate root which is also the source of Latin trahō (“to pull, draw; etc.”). Doublet of drag and draught.
The noun is derived from Middle English drau, draue (“action of shooting with a bow”), from drauen, drawen (verb).
cognates
* Albanian dredh (“to turn, spin”)
* Danish drage
* Dutch dragen
* German tragen (“to carry”)
* Old Armenian դառնամ (daṙnam, “to turn”)
* Sanskrit ध्रजस् (dhrájas, “gliding course or motion”)
* West Frisian drage

vyluhovávat

of drinks: to leave temporarily so as to allow the flavour to increase

изтеглям

cardgames: to take the top card of a deck into hand

every miller draws water to his own mill

one hair of a woman can draw more than a hundred pair of oxen

Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.

(transitive, archery) To pull back (an arrow or bowstring) in preparation for shooting the arrow; also, to cause (a bow) to bend by pulling back the bowstring.

(intransitive, archery) To pull back an arrow or bowstring in preparation for shooting the arrow; also, to cause a bow to bend by pulling back the bowstring.


draw

(archery) Pull back your bowstring in preparation to shoot.


draw

en-noun

draw (countable and uncountable, plural draws)

This configuration offered the capacity for an exceptionally long draw – Manchu archers drew all the way back to the point of the right shoulder[…]

2016 August 25, Mike Loades, The Composite Bow, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 21:

(archery) The act of pulling back the strings in preparation of firing; the distance the strings are pulled back.


cadre

Borrowed from French cadre, from Italian quadro (“framed painting, square”), from Latin quadrum, from quattuor (“four”).

der

From the original plan, thirty-four cadre battalions, with a total of 116 companies, had actually been formed, a total of about 700 officers and another 600 key enlisted men.

2002, Barry M. Stentiford, chapter 9, in The American Home Guard: the State Militia in the Twentieth Century, →ISBN, page 202:

(military) The framework or skeleton upon which a new regiment is to be formed; the officers of a regiment forming the staff.

kader

military: skeleton upon which regiment is formed; its officers


vox populi

Borrowed from Latin vox populi (“voice of the people”).

bor+

“To the extent that the Council passed a local law amending the Charter and the Council represents the people, it may be considered that the vox populi, which secured the initiated legislation, changed its own voice,” Justice Arthur E. Blyn of State Supreme Court wrote in the lower-court decision in 1987.

2001 February 22, Eric Lipton, “Vox Populi Aside, Power to the City Council”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(politics) The public comment portion of a public meeting.


graft

en-noun

graft (countable and uncountable, plural grafts)

Uncertain. Some lexicographers suggest an extended use of Etymology 2, above, expanding from “digging” to work more generally, and from there to dishonest work. Others, however, suggest an extension from Etymology 1, shifting from “a shoot or scion” to the notion of corruption through the idea of excrescence.

If policemen take graft now from the liquor dealers for the privilege of keeping open on Sunday, what is to prevent them, if this bill is passed, from taking graft from the liquor men for the privilege of selling liquor before 1 p.m. on Sunday[…]?

(uncountable, US, politics) A bribe, especially on an ongoing basis.


hair

hair (countable and uncountable, plural hairs)

From Middle English her, heer, hær, from Old English hǣr, from Proto-West Germanic *hār, from Proto-Germanic *hērą (“hair”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hier (“hair”), West Frisian hier (“hair”), Dutch haar (“hair”), German Low German Haar (“hair”), German Haar (“hair”), Swedish, Danish and Norwegian hår (“hair”), Icelandic hár (“hair”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English cheveler, chevelere (“hair”), borrowed from Old French chevelëure (“hair, head-hair, coiffure, wig”).
The modern spelling with ai is not a regular representation of the vowel developed from Middle English. Rather, it is from Middle English here (haircloth) influenced by Old French haire.

noncog

(countable, engineering, firearms) A locking spring or other safety device in the lock of a rifle, etc., capable of being released by a slight pressure on a hair-trigger.


leg

→ Finnish: legi

→ Hungarian: leg

From Middle English leg, legge, from Old Norse leggr (“leg, calf, bone of the arm or leg, hollow tube, stalk”), from Proto-Germanic *lagjaz, *lagwijaz (“leg, thigh”) (see it for more).
Cognate with Scots leg (“leg”), Icelandic leggur (“leg, limb”), Norwegian Bokmål legg (“leg”), Norwegian Nynorsk legg (“leg”), Swedish lägg (“leg, shank, shaft”), Danish læg (“leg”), Lombardic lagi (“thigh, shank, leg”), Latin lacertus (“limb, arm”), Persian لنگ (leng). Upon borrowing, mostly displaced the native Old English term sċanca (Modern English shank).

der

don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining

don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining

piss on someone's leg and tell them it's raining

Which was lower than whale shit in the eyes of any paratrooper; it would have been a disgrace to be a leg.

2019, Elliot Murphy, A Vietnam Story, page 94:

(US, slang, military) An army soldier assigned to a paratrooper unit who has not yet been qualified as a paratrooper.


foot

en-noun

foot (plural feet or (UK colloquial, unit of measure) foot)

feet (plural)
foot (plural)
foote (alternative obsolete)
feets (alternative dialectal)
foots (alternative nonstandard)

→ Assamese: ফুট (phut)

q

from <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">feet</i>

→ Japanese: フット (futto), フート (fūto); フィート (fīto) (from feet)

→ Russian: фут (fut)

Sranan Tongo: futu

Aukan: futu

Saramaccan: fútu

→ Swahili: futi

→ Thai: ฟุต (fút)

Tok Pisin: fut, put

→ Urdu: فٹ (fuṭ)

→ Phalura: fuṭ

From Middle English fot, fote, foot, from Old English fōt, from Proto-West Germanic *fōt, from Proto-Germanic *fōts, from Proto-Indo-European *pṓds. Doublet of pes, pie (“Spanish unit of length”), and pous.

doublet

not touch something with a ten-foot pole

you cannot put the same shoe on every foot

King John went to battle with ten thousand foot and one thousand horse.

His forces, after all the high discourses, amounted really but to eighteen hundred foot.

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

(collective, military) Foot soldiers; infantry.


neck

From Middle English nekke, nakke, from Old English hnecca, *hnæcca (“neck, nape”), from Proto-Germanic *hnakkô (“nape, neck”), from Proto-Indo-European *knog-, *kneg- (“back of the head, nape, neck”). Cognate with Scots nek (“neck”), North Frisian neek, neeke, Nak (“neck”), Saterland Frisian Näkke (“neck”), West Frisian nekke (“neck”), Dutch nek (“neck”), German Low German Nack (“neck”), German Nacken (“nape of the neck”), Danish nakke (“neck”), Swedish nacke (“nape of the neck”), Icelandic hnakki (“neck”), Tocharian A kñuk (“neck, nape”). Possibly a mutated variant of *kneug/k (compare Old English hnocc (“hook, penis”), Welsh cnwch (“joint, knob”), Latvian knaūķis (“dwarf”). Doublet of nek. More at nook. Displaced halse (“neck, throat”) and swire (“neck”).

(firearms) The small part of a gun between the chase and the swell of the muzzle.

kaula

firearms: part between the chase and the swell of the muzzle


snail

From the Middle English snaile, snayle, from the Old English sneġel, from Proto-Germanic *snagilaz. Cognate with Low German Snagel,
Snâel, Snâl (“snail”), German Schnegel (“slug”). Compare also Old Norse snigill, from Proto-Germanic *snigilaz.

(military, historical) A tortoise or testudo; a movable roof or shed to protect besiegers.


angel

angels (plural)
Angel (alternative)
angell (alternative obsolete)

Jamaican Creole: ienjel

→ Chinese: 安琪兒 /安琪儿 (ānqí'ér)

→ Hawaiian: ʻānela

→ Lingala: anjelu, anzelu

→ Malagasy: anjely

Florence Baptistery
Seven churches of Asia
en:Angel (disambiguation)
en:angel

Two Baroque angels from southern Germany, from the mid-18th century
From Middle English angel, aungel, ængel, engel, from Old English anġel, ænġel, enġel, enċġel (“angel, messenger”), from Proto-West Germanic *angil, borrowed from Latin angelus, itself from Ancient Greek ἄγγελος (ángelos, “messenger”); and also in part from Anglo-Norman angele, angle, from the same Latin source. The religious sense of the Greek word first appeared in the Septuagint as a translation of the Hebrew word מַלְאָךְ (malʾāḵ, “messenger”) or יהוה מַלְאָךְ (malʾāḵ YHWH, “messenger of YHWH”). Doublet of Angelus.
Use of the term in some churches to refer to a church official derives from interpreting the "angels" of the Seven churches of Asia in Revelation as being bishops or ministers rather than angelic beings.

𐔰𐕎𐔲𐔴𐔾𐕒𐕚

in Christian angelology, the lowest order of angels

don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly

Climb to angels sixty.

And even now part of me flies over Dresden at angels one five; / Though they’ll never fathom it, behind my sarcasm desperate memories lie.

1983 March 21, Roger Waters, “The Hero’s Return”, in The Final Cut, performed by Pink Floyd:

(military slang, originally Royal Air Force) An altitude, measured in thousands of feet.


face

Sranan Tongo: fesi

→ Danish: fjæs

→ Norwegian:

Norwegian Bokmål: fjes

Norwegian Nynorsk: fjes

→ Swedish: fejs, fjäs

→ Wu: 番斯 (¹fe-sy)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-?
Latin faciēs
Late Latin facia
Old French facebor.
Middle English face
English face
From Middle English face, from Old French face, from Late Latin facia, from Latin faciēs (“form, appearance”). Doublet of facies. Displaced native onlete (“face, countenance, appearance”), anleth (“face”), from Old English anwlite, andwlita, compare German Antlitz; Old English ansīen (“face”), Middle English neb (“face, nose”) (from Old English nebb), Middle English ler, leor, leer (“face, cheek, countenance”) (from Old English hlēor), and non-native Middle English vis (“face, appearance, look”) (from Old French vis) and Middle English chere (“face”) from Old French chere.
In the sense of face as in reputation, influenced by Chinese 面子 (miànzi) or 臉／脸 (liǎn), both of which mean literally the front of the head and metaphorically one's public image. See lose face.

noncog

talk to the hand 'cause the face ain't listening

The fans cheered on the face as he made his comeback.

(professional wrestling, slang) A headlining wrestler with a persona embodying heroic or virtuous traits and who is regarded as a "good guy", especially one who is handsome and well-conditioned; a baby face.

técnico

professional wrestling: headlining wrestler

(heraldry) The head of a lion, shown face-on and cut off immediately behind the ears.


unmask

en-verb

unmask (third-person singular simple present unmasks, present participle unmasking, simple past and past participle unmasked)

unmasks (present singular third-person)
unmasking (participle present)
unmasked (participle past)
unmasked (past)
unmasque (alternative)
un-mask (alternative)

He recalled his horse. This, retiring, unmasked the heavy infantry, which Hannibal called in from either flank and sent with a vigorous élan in close column across the ford against the ill-arrayed barbarians, followed by the cavalry, which had formed again in its rear.

1893, Theodore Ayrault Dodge, Hannibal: a History of the Art of War Among the Carthaginians and Romans […] , page 156:

In less than an hour the batteries were unmasked. The Confederate works were visible and at 5:08 a.m., Seymour ordered the batteries to commence firing.

2021, Stephen R. Wise, “To Capture an Island: Amphibious Operations in the Department of the South, 1861–1863”, in Theodore P. Savas, editor, Charleston: Battles and Seacoast Operations, page 10:

(transitive, military, dated) To expose something that was concealed or shielded from an enemy.


heel

From Middle English hele, from Old English hēla, from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄hilō, from Proto-Germanic *hanhilaz, diminutive of Proto-Germanic *hanhaz (“heel, hock”), equivalent to hock + -le. More at hock.
Compare North Frisian haiel, West Frisian hyl, Dutch hiel, German Low German Hiel, Danish and Norwegian hæl, Swedish häl.

couldn't pour water out of a boot with the instructions on the heel

(firearms) The back, upper part of the stock.

Freedman began his analysis by noting two important facts about professional wrestling: First, that heels triumph considerably more often than do babyfaces[…]

1992, Bruce Lincoln, Discourse and the Construction of Society, page 158:

(by extension, slang, professional wrestling) A headlining wrestler regarded as a "bad guy," whose ring persona embodies villainous or reprehensible traits and demonstrates characteristics of a braggart and a bully.


swan

From Middle English swan, from Old English swan, from Proto-West Germanic *swan, from Proto-Germanic *swanaz (“swan”, literally “the singing bird”), from Proto-Indo-European *swonh₂-/*swenh₂- (“to sing, make sound”).
Cognate with West Frisian swan, Low German Swaan, swan, Dutch zwaan, German Schwan, Danish svane, Norwegian svane, Swedish svan. Related also to Old English ġeswin (“melody, song”), Old English swinsian (“to make melody”).
Further cognates include (possibly) Russian звон (zvon, “ring, chime”); Latin sonus (“sound”), Sanskrit स्वन् (svan, “sound”).
Doublet of sound.

inh

(heraldry) This bird used as a heraldic charge, sometimes with a crown around its neck (e. g. the arms of Buckinghamshire).


loose

en-verb

loose (third-person singular simple present looses, present participle loosing, simple past and past participle loosed)

looses (present singular third-person)
loosing (participle present)
loosed (participle past)
loosed (past)

From Middle English loos, los, lous, from Old Norse lauss, from Proto-Germanic *lausaz, whence also -less, leasing; from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- (“to untie, set free, separate”), whence also lyo-, -lysis, via Ancient Greek.


loose

In throwing a Dart, or Iavelin, wee force back our armes, to make our loose the stronger.

1641, Ben Jonson, Discoveries Made upon Men and Matter:


loose

(archery) begin shooting; release your arrows


trail

en-verb

trail (third-person singular simple present trails, present participle trailing, simple past and past participle trailed)

trails (present singular third-person)
trailing (participle present)
trailed (participle past)
trailed (past)

From Middle English trailen, from Old French trailler (“to tow; pick up the scent of a quarry”), from Vulgar Latin *tragulāre (“to drag”), from Latin tragula (“dragnet, javelin thrown by a strap”), probably related to Latin trahere (“to pull, drag along”).

der

(military) To carry (a firearm) with the breech near the ground and the upper part inclined forward, the piece being held by the right hand near the middle.


turnpike

From Middle English turnpyke (“spiked barrier across a road”), originally used to block access to such a road until toll was paid. Equivalent to modern turn + pike (“shaft”).

inh

(military) A beam filled with spikes to obstruct passage; a cheval de frise.


chat

'Do officers have chats, then, the same as us?'
'Not the same, no. The chats they got is bigger and better, with pips on their shoulders and Sam Browne belts.'

1977, Mary Emily Pearce, Apple Tree Lean Down, page 520

May a thousand chats from Belgium crawl under their fingers as they write.

2007, How Can I Sleep when the Seagull Calls?, →ISBN, page 18:

Trench foot was a nasty and potentially fatal foot disease commonly caused by these conditions, in which chats or body lice were the bane of all.

2013, Graham Seal, The Soldiers' Press: Trench Journals in the First World War, →ISBN, page 149:

(British, Australia, New Zealand, World War I military slang) A louse (small, parasitic insect).


hard

en-adj

hard (comparative harder or more hard, superlative hardest or most hard)

harder (comparative)
more hard (comparative)
hardest (superlative)
most hard (superlative)

→ Finnish: haarti

→ Spanish: hard

From Middle English hard, from Old English heard, from Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī), from Proto-Germanic *harduz, from Proto-Indo-European *kort-ús, from *kret- (“strong, powerful”). Cognate with German hart, Swedish hård, Ancient Greek κρατύς (kratús), Sanskrit क्रतु (krátu), Avestan 𐬑𐬭𐬀𐬙𐬎 (xratu).

صَعْب

requiring a lot of effort to do or understand

a hard site

(personal or social) Having a severe property; presenting difficulty.

(military) Hardened; having unusually strong defences.

hard right, hard left


Bangalore

/ˌbæŋ.ɡəˈlɔː/

/ˌbæŋ.ɡəˈloɹ/

From Kannada ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು (beṅgaḷūru). See Bengaluru for details.

Bangalore torpedo
Bangalore torpedo#English

(military, slang) Ellipsis of Bangalore torpedo.


distance

en-noun

distance (countable and uncountable, plural distances)

distances (plural)
distaunce (alternative)

From Middle English distance, distaunce, destance (“disagreement, dispute; discrimination; armed conflict; hostility; trouble; space between two points; time interval”), from Anglo-Norman distance, distaunce, destance, Middle French distance, and Old French destance, destaunce, distaunce (“debate; difference, distinction; discord, quarrel; dispute; space between two points; time interval”) (modern French distance), and directly from their etymon Latin distantia (“difference, diversity; distance, remoteness; space between two points”) (whence also Late Latin distantia (“disagreement; discrepancy; gap, opening; time interval”)), from distāns (“being distant; standing apart”) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Distāns is the present active participle of distō (“to be distant; to stand apart; to differ”), from dis- (prefix meaning ‘apart, asunder; in two’) + stō (“to stand”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”)).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Cognates
* Middle Dutch distancie, distantie (modern Dutch distantie); Dutch afstand (“distance”, literally “off-stand, off-stance”)
* German Distanz; German Abstand
* Italian distanza
* Portuguese distância
* Spanish distancia

afstand

(countable, uncountable) amount of space between points

The amount of space between points (often geographical points), usually (but not necessarily) measured along a straight line.

The maximum amount of space between a boxer and their opponent within which the boxer can punch effectively.

etäisyys

(boxing) maximum amount of space between a boxer and their opponent within which the boxer can punch effectively

Often in go the distance, last the distance, or stay the distance: the scheduled duration of a bout.

[William] Page. I haue heard the French-man hath good skill in his Rapier. / [Robert] Shal[low]. Tut ſir: I could haue told you more: In theſe times you ſtand on diſtance: your Paſſes, Stoccado's, and I knovv not vvhat: […]

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 II, scene i], page 45, column 1:

(fencing) The amount of space between a fencer and their opponent, which the fencer tries to control in order to gain an advantage over the opponent.

etäisyys

(military) The amount of space between soldiers or cavalry riders marching or standing in a rank; also, the amount of space between such ranks.

väli

amount of space between soldiers or cavalry riders marching or standing in a rank; amount of space between such ranks


unit

Formerly unite, a later form of unity; see unity.

The fifth tank brigade moved in with 20 units. (i.e., 20 tanks)

(military, informal) A member of a military organization.

table of organization and equipment
table of organization and equipment

(US, military) Any military element whose structure is prescribed by competent authority, such as a table of organization and equipment; specifically, part of an organization.

поделение

military: military element with prescribed structure

(US, military) An organization title of a subdivision of a group in a task force.

(US, military) A standard or basic quantity into which an item of supply is divided, issued, or detailed. In this meaning, also called unit of issue.

(US, military) With regard to Reserve Components of the Armed Forces, denotes a Selected Reserve unit organized, equipped, and trained for mobilization to serve on active duty as a unit or to augment or be augmented by another unit. Headquarters and support functions without wartime missions are not considered units.