wet

en-noun

wet (countable and uncountable, plural wets)

From Middle English wet (“wet, moistened”), wett, wette, past participle of Middle English weten (“to wet”), from Old English wǣtan (“to wet, moisten, water”), from Proto-West Germanic *wātijan, from Proto-Germanic *wētijaną (“to wet, make wet”), from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (“water, wet”) (also the source of water).
Cognate with Scots weit, wete (“to wet”), Saterland Frisian wäitje (“to wet; drench”), Icelandic væta (“to wet”). Compare also Middle English weet (“wet”), from Old English wǣt (“wet, moist, rainy”), from Proto-West Germanic *wāt, from Proto-Germanic *wētaz (“wet, moist”), related to Scots weit, weet, wat (“wet”), North Frisian wiat, weet, wäit (“wet”), Saterland Frisian wäit (“wet”), West Frisian wiet (“wet”), Middle Dutch wet (“wet, damp, watery”), Swedish and Norwegian våt (“wet”), Danish våd (“wet”), Faroese vátur (“wet”), Icelandic votur (“wet”).

cog

(British, UK politics, derogatory) A moderate Conservative; especially, one who opposed the hard-line policies of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.


wind

en-noun

wind (countable and uncountable, plural winds)

winds (plural)
winde (alternative obsolete)

Tok Pisin: win

Torres Strait Creole: win

From Middle English wynd, wind, from Old English wind (“wind”), from Proto-West Germanic *wind, from Proto-Germanic *windaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥tos (“wind”), from earlier *h₂wéh₁n̥ts (“wind”), derived from the present participle of *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”).
Cognates
Cognate with Dutch wind, German Wind, West Frisian wyn, Norwegian and Swedish vind, Icelandic vindur, Latin ventus, Welsh gwynt, Sanskrit वात (vā́ta), Russian ве́тер (véter), perhaps Albanian bundë (“strong damp wind”). Doublet of athlete, vent, weather and nirvana.

it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good

you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows

(boxing, slang) The region of the solar plexus, where a blow may paralyze the diaphragm and cause temporary loss of breath or other injury.


withdraw

en-verb

withdraw (third-person singular simple present withdraws, present participle withdrawing, simple past withdrew, past participle withdrawn)

withdraws (present singular third-person)
withdrawing (participle present)
withdrew (past)
withdrawn (participle past)
withdraw (infinitive)
withdraw (first-person present singular)
withdrew (first-person past singular)
withdraw (present second-person singular)
withdrawest (archaic present second-person singular)
withdrew (past second-person singular)
withdrewst (archaic past second-person singular)
withdraws (present singular third-person)
withdraweth (archaic present singular third-person)
withdrew (past singular third-person)
withdraw (plural present)
withdrew (past plural)
withdraw (present subjunctive)
withdrew (past subjunctive)
withdraw (imperative present)
withdrawing (participle present)
withdrawn (participle past)

PIE word
 *wí
From Middle English withdrawen, withdrauen (“to depart, leave, move away; (reflexive) to go away; (reflexive) to leave someone’s service; (often reflexive) to draw back or retreat (from a battlefield or dangerous place), withdraw; to abandon, desert; to go, go forth; to move; of the sea, water, etc.: to (cause to) ebb, recede, subside; to disappear; to slacken, wane; (often reflexive) to cease, stop; to desist, refrain; (reflexive) to go back on, recant; to avoid, eschew; to bring under control, contain, suppress; to curb, curtail; to delay, put off; to demur, refuse; to carry or take away, deprive of, remove; to contract, draw away or in, retract; to deny, refuse; to revoke; to withhold; to divert; to separate; to adopt, borrow, imitate”) [and other forms], from with- (prefix meaning ‘away; back’) + drawen, drauen (“to drag, pull, tow, tug, draw [and other senses]”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to drag, pull; to run”)); see further at with- and draw. The English word is analysable as with- + draw.

nb...

widdraw, witdrawe, withdrah, withdraugh, withdraughe, withdrauh, withdrauʒ, withdrawe, withdrawine, withdraʒ, withedrawe, withedrawin, wtdrau, (Northern England) widdrau, witdrau

вывадзі́ць

to draw or pull (something) aside, away, or back from its original position or situation

retiriĝi

to leave a place, someone’s presence, etc., to go to another room or place

King A horſe, a horſe, my kingdome for a horſe. / [Sir William] Cateſ[by]. VVithdravv my lord, Ile helpe you to a horſe.

c. 1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedy of King Richard the Third. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Sims [and Peter Short] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1597, →OCLC, [Act V, scene vii]:

I beg your Greatneſs not to give the Lavv / In others Realms, but, beaten, to vvithdravv.

1697, Virgil, “The Eleventh Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 554, lines 558–559:

All the forces in the field, both of the enemy and the confederates, are preparing to withdraw into winter-quarters.

1709 October 31 (Gregorian calendar), Isaac Bickerstaff [et al., pseudonyms; Richard Steele], “Thursday, October 20, 1709”, in The Tatler, number 83; republished in [Richard Steele], editor, The Tatler, […], London stereotype edition, volume II, London: I. Walker and Co.; […], 1822, →OCLC, page 68:

Chiefly followed by from: to leave a place, someone's presence, etc., to go to another room or place.

(specifically, military) Of soldiers: to leave a battle or position where they are stationed; to retreat.

تَرَاجَعَ

of soldiers: to leave a battle or position where they are stationed — see also retreat


cook

en-verb

cook (third-person singular simple present cooks, present participle cooking, simple past cooked, past participle cooked or (rare, nonstandard) cooken)

cooks (present singular third-person)
cooking (participle present)
cooked (past)
cooked (participle past)
cooken (nonstandard participle past rare)
cook (infinitive)
cook (first-person present singular)
cooked (first-person past singular)
cook (present second-person singular)
cookest (archaic present second-person singular)
cooked (past second-person singular)
cookedst (archaic past second-person singular)
cooks (present singular third-person)
cooketh (archaic present singular third-person)
cooked (past singular third-person)
cook (plural present)
cooked (past plural)
cook (present subjunctive)
cooked (past subjunctive)
cook (imperative present)
cooking (participle present)
cooked (participle past)
cooken (nonstandard participle past rare)

→? Cantonese: 焗 (guk⁶)

→ Norman: coutchi

From Middle English coken, from the noun cook. In the slang sense of "proceed with some plan", coined by American rapper from California Lil B in 2010 and popularized in viral tweets and TikToks in mid-2022.

coinage

Audio (UK) "to cook"

some speakers from Northern England and Ireland

cuck (most accents without the foot-strut split)

there's more than one way to cook an egg

I always cook my frags, in case they try to grab one and throw it back.

(transitive, military slang) To hold on to a grenade briefly after igniting the fuse, so that it explodes almost immediately after being thrown.


comb

en-verb

comb (third-person singular simple present combs, present participle combing, simple past and past participle combed)

combs (present singular third-person)
combing (participle present)
combed (participle past)
combed (past)

From Middle English comb, from Old English camb (“comb”), from Proto-West Germanic *kamb, from Proto-Germanic *kambaz (“comb”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbʰos (“tooth”), a doublet of cam. The verb is derived from the noun and displaced the older verb kemb.
Cognates
Compare Saterland Frisian Koum, Swedish/Dutch kam, Norwegian kam, German Kamm); also Tocharian B keme, Lithuanian žam̃bas (“sharp edge”), Old Church Slavonic зѫбъ (zǫbŭ), Albanian dhëmb, Ancient Greek γομφίος (gomphíos, “backtooth, molar”), Sanskrit जम्भ (jambha)).

cog

The aircraft split up so as to attack from different, preselected bearings, thus confusing the gunners and making it difficult for the ship to comb torpedo tracks.

2010, Jim Crossley, Bismarck: The Epic Chase:

Sixteen torpedo bombers divided their attention between the two ships. Repulse combed the torpedo wakes and knocked down two of the attackers.

2013, Steve Backer, British Battlecruisers of the Second World War, page 10:

(naval, transitive) To turn a vessel parallel to (the track of) (a torpedo) so as to reduce one's size as a target.


box

en-noun

box (plural boxes or (nonstandard, computing, humorous) boxen)

boxes (plural)
boxen (humorous nonstandard plural)

Tok Pisin: bokis

→ Afrikaans: boks

→ Bengali: বাক্স (bakśo)

→ Bulgarian: бокс (boks)

→ Crimean Tatar: boks

→ Danish: boks

→ Dutch: box m

→ Faroese: boks

→ French: box m

→ German: Box f

→ Hindustani:

Hindi: बकस m (bakas), बक्सा m (baksā)

Urdu: بکس m (baks, bakas)

→ Icelandic: box n

→ Indonesian: boks

→ Irish: bosca m

→ Italian: box m

→ Japanese: ボックス (bokkusu)

→ Korean: 박스 (bakseu)

→ Maori: pāka

→ Marwari: बकस (baks, bakas)

→ Nepali: बाकस (bākas)

→ Norman: bosc m

→ Norwegian: boks m

→ Pashto: بکس (baks)

→ Persian: باکس (bâks)

→ Polish: boks m

→ Portuguese: box m

→ Russian: бокс m (boks)

→ Scottish Gaelic: bogsa m, bocsa

→ Spanish: box m

→ Swedish: box c

→ Welsh: bocs

Etymology tree
Ancient Greek πῠ́ξος (pŭ́xos)
Ancient Greek -ις (-is)
Ancient Greek πυξίς (puxís)bor.
Late Latin buxisbor.
Proto-West Germanic *buhsā
Old English box
Middle English box
English box
From Middle English box (“container, box, cup”), from Old English box (“box, case”), from Proto-West Germanic *buhsā (“box”) from Late Latin buxis (“box”), Latin pyxis (“small box for medicines or toiletries”), of uncertain origin; compare Ancient Greek πύξος (púxos, “box or tablet made of boxwood; box; cylinder”) and Ancient Greek πυξίς (puxís, “box or tablet made of boxwood; box; cylinder”). Doublet of piseog, pyx, and pyxis.
Cognate with Middle Dutch bosse, busse (“jar; tin; round box”) (modern Dutch bos (“wood, forest”), bus (“container, box; bushing of a wheel”)), Old High German buhsa (Middle High German buhse, bühse, modern German Büchse (“box; can”)), Swedish bössa (“box”).
The humorous plural form boxen is from box + -en, by analogy with oxen.

кутия

compartment or receptacle for receiving items

ramme

rectangular border around an image, text, etc.

квадратче

small area on a document for a tick mark

tofu

empty box displayed by some computer systems in place of a character not supported by available fonts

In electric fencing, foil and saber fencers wear lames, which are thin outer jackets that cover their target areas. Lames are made from fabric that conducts electricity. When a fencer touches an opponent's lame with his or her blade, an electronic signal is sent to the scoring box. A colored light goes on to signal a touch. […] In épée, the whole body is the target, so épée fencers do not need to wear lames. A signal is sent to the scoring box from the épée any time a touch is made.

2009, Suzanne Slade, “Electric Fencing: Get Hooked Up”, in Fencing for Fun!, Mankato, Minn.: Compass Point Books, →ISBN, pages 30–31:

Senses relating to a three-dimensional object or space.

(fencing) A device used in electric fencing to detect whether a weapon has struck an opponent, which connects to a fencer's weapon by a spool and body wire. It uses lights and sound to notify a hit, with different coloured lights for on target and off target hits.


box

en-verb

box (third-person singular simple present boxes, present participle boxing, simple past and past participle boxed)

boxes (present singular third-person)
boxing (participle present)
boxed (participle past)
boxed (past)

⇒ French: boxer
→ Catalan: boxar

⇒ Galician: boxear

⇒ German: boxen

⇒ Portuguese: boxear, boxar

⇒ Spanish: boxear

From Middle English box (“a blow; a stroke with a weapon”); further origin uncertain, with relation to Proto-Germanic *boki-, whence Danish bask (“a blow; a stripe”), Danish baske (“to flap, move around, beat violently”), Middle Dutch boke (“a blow, a hit”), bōken (“to slap, strike”) (modern Dutch beuken (“to slap”)), West Frisian bûkje, bûtse, bûtsje (“to slap”), West Frisian and Saterland Frisian batsje (“to slap”), Low German betschen (“to slap, beat with a flat hand”), Middle High German buc (“a blow, a stroke”), bochen (“to slap, strike”), and further onomatopoeic shaping.
The verb is from Middle English boxen (“to beat or whip (an animal)”), which is derived from the noun.

inh

(transitive, boxing) To fight against (a person) in a boxing match.

боксирам

to fight against (a person) in a boxing match

(intransitive, stative, boxing) To participate in boxing; to be a boxer.


anchor

anchors (plural)
anchour (alternative archaic)

→ Chuukese: angko

From Middle English anker, from Old English ancor, ancra, from Latin ancora, from (or cognate with) Ancient Greek ἄγκυρα (ánkura). The modern form is a sixteenth-century modification after the Medieval Latin spelling anchora. Doublet of ancora, anker, angora, and Ankara.

doublet

(heraldry) Representation of the nautical tool, used as a heraldic charge.

(archery) A point that is touched by the draw hand or string when the bow is fully drawn and ready to shoot.


coal

en-noun

coal (countable and uncountable, plural coals)

coals (plural)
cole (alternative obsolete)
coale (alternative obsolete)
colle (alternative obsolete)
coole (alternative obsolete)
coell (alternative obsolete)
coile (alternative obsolete)

→ Hausa: kwal

From Middle English cole, from Old English col, from Proto-West Germanic *kol, from Proto-Germanic *kulą (compare West Frisian koal, Dutch kool, German Kohle, Danish kul), from *ǵwelH- (“to burn, shine”). Compare Old Irish gúal (“coal”), Lithuanian žvi̇̀lti (“to twinkle, glow”), Persian زغال (zoġâl, “live coal”), Sanskrit ज्वल् (jval, “to burn, glow”), Tocharian B śoliye (“hearth”), all from the same root.

cog

(military slang, World War I– World War II) Bombs emitting black smoke on impact.


ball

en-noun

ball (countable and uncountable, plural balls)

→ Cantonese: 波 (bo¹)

→ Japanese: ボール (bōru)

→ Makah: ba·la

→ Yoruba: bọ́ọ̀lù

From Middle English bal, ball, balle, from an unattested Old English *beall, *bealla (“round object, ball”) or Old Norse bǫllr (“a ball”), both from Proto-Germanic *balluz, *ballô (“ball”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰol-n- (“ball, bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to blow, inflate, swell”). Cognate with Old Saxon ball, Dutch bal, Old High German bal, ballo (German Ball (“ball”); Ballen (“bale”)). Related forms in Romance are borrowings from Germanic. See also balloon, bale.

ампыл

object, generally spherical, used for playing games

туп

ballistics: a solid nonexplosive missile

cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey

(ballistics, firearms) A solid, spherical nonexplosive missile for a cannon, rifle, gun, etc.

A jacketed non-expanding bullet, typically of military origin.

[…] the Good Old Cause, which, as they seemed to represent it, smelt of Gunpowder and ball […]

1659, Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, England’s Confusion, London, page 7:

I gave each of them a Musket with a Firelock on it, and about eight Charges of Powder and Ball, charging them to be very good Husbands of both, and not to use either of them but upon urgent Occasion.

1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 294:

[…] some headstrong Maroons were using a soldier of Captain Craskell’s ill, and compelling him to write to his commander, that it was too late to do any thing good, and that they wanted nothing, having got plenty of powder and ball […]

1803, Robert Charles Dallas, The History of the Maroons, London: Longman and Rees, Volume 1, Letter 5, p. 148:

This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 1, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 1:

(uncountable, obsolete) Such bullets collectively.


brake

brakes (plural)
break (alternative rare)

→ Japanese: ブレーキ (burēki)

→ Korean: 브레이크 (beureikeu)

→ Portuguese: breque

→ Swahili: breki

→ Thai: เบรก (brèek)

→ Welsh: brêc

Origin uncertain; possibly from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German brake (“nose ring, curb, flax brake”), which according to Watkins is related to sense 4 and from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”).

逼力

bik¹⁻⁶ lik⁶⁻¹

(military) An ancient engine of war analogous to the crossbow and ballista.


clean

en-adj

clean (comparative cleaner, superlative cleanest)

cleaner (comparative)
cleanest (superlative)

From Middle English clene, clane, from Old English clǣne (“clean, pure”), from Proto-West Germanic *klainī (“shining, fine, splendid, tender”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *glēy- (“gleaming”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to gleam”). Cognate with Scots clean (“absolute, pure, clear, empty”) and clene, clane (“clean”), North Frisian klien (“small”), West Frisian klien (“small”), klean (“clean”), Dutch klein (“small”), Low German kleen (“small”), German klein (“small”), Swedish klen (“weak, feeble, delicate”), Icelandic klénn (“poor, feeble, petty, snug, puny, cheesy, lame”).

skoon

not having used mind-altering or mood-changing substances

Our team won, but it wasn't clean.

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

Free of imperfections, blemishes, or defects.

(sports, for example, professional wrestling, slang) Of a victory or performance: without any blemishes such as submission holds, disqualification, interference, etc.


clear

en-verb

clear (third-person singular simple present clears, present participle clearing, simple past and past participle cleared)

clears (present singular third-person)
clearing (participle present)
cleared (participle past)
cleared (past)
CLR (alternative)

From Middle English clere, from Anglo-Norman cler, from Old French cler (Modern French clair), from Latin clarus. Displaced native Middle English schir (“clear, pure”) (from Old English scīr (“clear, bright”)), Middle English skere (“clear, sheer”) (from Old English scǣre and Old Norse skǣr (“sheer, clear, pure”)), Middle English smolt (“clear (of mind), serene”) (from Old English smolt (“peaceful, serene”)). Cognate with Danish klar, Dutch klaar, French clair, German klar, Italian chiaro, Norwegian klar, Portuguese claro, Romanian clar, Spanish claro, and Swedish klar.

çliroj

to remove obstructions or impediments from

raivata

to remove in order to make something else unobstructed

To prevent any shooting accidents, remember to clear your pistol and stay aware of your surroundings.

(transitive, firearms) To unload a firearm, or undergo an unloading procedure, in order to prevent negligent discharge; for safety reasons, to check whether one's firearm is loaded or unloaded.


base

en-noun

base (countable and uncountable, plural bases)

acid

antonym(s) of “chemical compound that will neutralize an alkali”

From Middle English base, bas, baas, from Old French base, from Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις (básis). Doublet of basis and bass.

أَسَاس

something from which other things extend

basis

chemical compound that will neutralize an acid

(heraldry) The lowest third of a shield (or field), or an ordinary occupying this space, the champagne. (Compare terrace.)

skjoldfod

heraldic charge: lowest third of a shield or field

(military, historical) The smallest kind of cannon.

(politics) A group of voters who almost always support a single party's candidates for elected office.


cover

cover (countable and uncountable, plural covers)

→ Hijazi Arabic: كَڤَر (kavar)

→ Portuguese: cover

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-?
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm
Proto-Italic *kom
Old Latin com
Latin cum
Latin con-
Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi
Proto-Indo-European *h₂wer-
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Latin operiō
Latin cooperiō
Old French covrirbor.
Middle English coveren
English cover
From Middle English coveren, borrowed from Old French covrir, cueuvrir (modern French couvrir), from Late Latin coperire, from Latin cooperiō (“I cover completely”), from co- (intensive prefix) + operiō (“I close, cover”). Displaced native Middle English thecchen and bethecchen (“to cover”) (from Old English þeccan, beþeccan (“to cover”)), Middle English helen, (over)helen, (for)helen (“to cover, conceal”) (from Old English helan (“to conceal, cover, hide”)), Middle English wrien, (be)wreon (“to cover”) (from Old English (be)wrēon (“to cover”)), Middle English hodren, hothren (“to cover up”) (from Low German hudren (“to cover up”)).
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the original sense of the verb and noun cover was “hide from view” as in its cognate covert. Except in the limited sense of “cover again”, the word recover is unrelated and is cognate with recuperate. Cognate with Spanish cubrir (“to cover”).

cog

throw nickels around like manhole covers

(military) A solid object, including terrain, that provides protection from enemy fire.

掩體 /掩体

military: solid object that provides protection from enemy fire

(espionage) A persona maintained by a spy or undercover operative; cover story.

peitetarina

espionage: persona maintained by an operative — see also cover story


cover

en-verb

cover (third-person singular simple present covers, present participle covering, simple past and past participle covered)

covers (present singular third-person)
covering (participle present)
covered (participle past)
covered (past)

→ German: covern

→ Danish: lave en cover

(military, law enforcement, transitive) To protect using an aimed firearm and the threat of firing; or to protect using continuous, heaving fire at or in the direction of the enemy so as to force the enemy to remain in cover; or to threaten using an aimed firearm.


collar

collar (third-person singular simple present collars, present participle collaring, simple past and past participle collared)

collars (present singular third-person)
collaring (participle present)
collared (participle past)
collared (past)

From Middle English coler, borrowed from Old French coler (Modern French collier), from Late Latin collāre, from Latin collāris, from collum (“neck”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐍃 (hals, “neck”), Old English heals (“neck”). Compare Spanish cuello (“neck”). More at halse. Doublet of collet.

Britain’s police are especially zealous. Officers spend thousands of hours sifting through potentially offensive posts and arrest 30 people a day. Among those collared were a man who ranted about immigration on Facebook and a couple who criticised their daughter’s primary school.

2025 May 15, “Europe’s free-speech problem”, in The Economist:

(law enforcement, transitive) To arrest.


iron

en-noun

iron (countable and uncountable, plural irons)

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

From Middle English iren, from Old English īsern, īsærn, īren, īsen, from Proto-West Germanic *īsarn, from Proto-Germanic *īsarną (“iron”), from Proto-Celtic *īsarnom (“iron”), a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésh₂r̥ (“blood”).

(military, slang) Dumb bombs, those without guidance systems.


buzzard

From Middle English bosart, from Anglo-Norman buisart, from Old French busart, busard, a derivative ( + -ard) of Old French buison, buson (French buse), possibly from Latin būteō (“hawk”).

(US, military slang, World War I) A fighter plane.

(US, military slang, 20th century) The insignia of a colonel, or a petty officer within the navy.

(US, military slang, 1860s–1920s) A military discharge (due to the military discharge certificate).


cuckoo

en-verb

cuckoo (third-person singular simple present cuckoos, present participle cuckooing, simple past and past participle cuckooed)

cuckoos (present singular third-person)
cuckooing (participle present)
cuckooed (participle past)
cuckooed (past)

From Middle English cokkou, kokkow, cukkuk, gokkouȝ, probably from Old French cocu, coquu, cucu (whence French coucou); ultimately onomatopoeic of the song of the male Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), perhaps via Latin cucūlus (“cuckoo”).
Compare dialectal English gowkoo (“cuckoo”). Displaced Middle English gnokken (“cuckoo”) and native Middle English yeke, ȝek (from Old English ġēac (“cuckoo”)), see English gowk.
The UK sense is by analogy from the bird's practice of brood parasitism.

She'll have been cuckooed. That'll be the Knezevics. They can't launder fast enough, so what do you do with it? Where do you put it? You hide it in somebody else's place; somebody who han't got a clue what's going on and couldn't do a fat lot about it if they did.

2023, Sally Wainwright, 26:06 from the start, in Happy Valley, season 3, episode 2, spoken by Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire):

(UK, law enforcement) To take over the home of a vulnerable person for the purposes of carrying out organized crime in a concealed way.


acoustic

Borrowed from Medieval Latin acūsticus, acousticos, from Ancient Greek ἀκουστῐκός (akoustĭkós, “of or for hearing”), from ἀκούω (akoúō, “to hear”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, adjectival suffix). Sense 4 ("autistic") was popularized on TikTok in late October 2023. Doublet of hear.

af

acoustick (alternative obsolete)
acoustical (alternative)

صَوْتِيّ

pertaining to hearing or the science of sounds

Pertaining to the sense of hearing, the organs of hearing, or the science of sounds.

(weaponry, of an explosive mine or other weapon) Able to be set off by sound waves.


dry

drys (plural)
dries (plural)
drie (alternative)

[d̠͡ɹ̠˔ʷaɪ̯]

Adjective and noun from Middle English drye, dryge, drüȝe, from Old English drȳġe (“dry; parched, withered”), from Proto-West Germanic *drūgī, *draugī, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz, *draugiz (“dry, hard”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“to strengthen; become hard”), from *dʰer- (“to hold, support”). The verb derives from Middle English drien, from Old English drȳġan (“to dry”), from Proto-West Germanic *drūgijan, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz (“hard, desiccated, dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“strong, hard, solid”).
cognates and related terms
 Cognate with Scots dry, drey (“dry”), North Frisian drüg, driig, Saterland Frisian druuch (“dry”), West Frisian droech (“dry”), Dutch droog (“dry”), Low German dröög (“dry”), German dröge (“dull”), Icelandic draugur (“a dry log”). Related also to German trocken (“dry”), West Frisian drege (“long-lasting”), Danish drøj (“tough”), Swedish dryg (“lasting, hard”), Icelandic drjúgur (“ample, long”), Latin firmus (“strong, firm, stable, durable”). See also drought, drain, dree.

cog

(British, UK politics) A radical or hard-line Conservative; especially, one who supported the policies of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.


difference

en-noun

difference (countable and uncountable, plural differences)

From Middle English difference, from Old French difference, from Latin differentia (“difference”), from differēns (“different”), present participle of differre. Doublet of differentia. Morphologically differ + -ence.

know the difference between one's ass and a hole in the ground

know the difference between one's ass and one's elbow

(heraldry) An addition to a coat of arms to distinguish two people's bearings which would otherwise be the same. See augmentation and cadency.


electric

electrics (plural)
electrick (alternative archaic)

De Magnete
Thomas Browne
William Gilbert (physician)

First appears c. 1646 in a publication by Thomas Browne, from New Latin ēlectricus (“electrical; of amber”), from ēlectrum (“amber”) + -icus (“adjectival suffix”), from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, “amber”), related to ἠλέκτωρ (ēléktōr, “shining sun”), of unknown origin; see there for further information. The Latin term was apparently used first with the sense “electrical” in 1600 by the English physician and scientist William Gilbert in his work De Magnete.

der

(fencing) Fencing with the use of a body wire, box, and related equipment to detect when a weapon has touched an opponent.


butterfly

From Middle English buterflie, butturflye, boterflye, from Old English buterflēoge, equivalent to butter + fly. Cognate with Dutch botervlieg, German Butterfliege (“butterfly”). The name may have originally been applied to butterflies of a yellowish color, or reflected a belief that butterflies ate milk and butter (compare German Molkendieb (“butterfly”, literally “whey-thief”) and Low German Botterlicker (“butterfly”, literally “butter-licker”)), or that they excreted a butter-like substance (compare Dutch boterschijte (“butterfly”, literally “butter-shitter”)). Compare also German Schmetterling from Schmetten (“cream”), German Low German Bottervögel (“butterfly”, literally “butter-fowl”). More at butter, fly.
An alternate theory suggests that the first element may have originally been Old English butor- (“beater”), a mutation of bēatan (“to beat”), but this would not explain the cognates in other languages or the other names formed with milk products.
Superseded non-native Middle English papilion (“butterfly”) borrowed from Old French papillon (“butterfly”).

cog

(Philippines, Philippine politics, often derogatory) party switcher; turncoat.


partridge

en-noun

partridge (plural partridges or partridge)

/ˈpɑːtɹɪd͡ʒ/

/ˈpɑɹtɹɪd͡ʒ/

From Middle English partrich, partriche, pertriche, perdriz, from Old French perdriz, partriz, from Latin perdīx (“partridge”), from Ancient Greek πέρδιξ (pérdix, “partridge”), probably from πέρδομαι (pérdomai, “to fart”).

partridge-wood

Andira inermis; Millettia stuhlmannii; Stereum frustulosum

(obsolete, military) A type of cannon charge composed of several missiles fired all together, similar to langrage or case-shot. Also a large cannon that shoots stones.


magpie

From Mag, a nickname for Margaret that was used to denote a chatterer, + archaic pie (“magpie”), from Old French pie, from Latin pīca, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peyk- (“woodpecker, magpie”). Displaced native Old English agu, "magpie".

(military, firearms) The third circle on a target, between the inner and outer.


woodpecker

From wood + pecker. Compare Middle English wod spek (“woodpecker”), Middle English wodehake (“woodpecker”), Middle English wodewale (“woodpecker”). Displaced speight.

(military slang) A Type 92 heavy machine gun.


owl

From Middle English oule, owle, from Old English ūle, from Proto-West Germanic *uwwilā, from Proto-Germanic *uwwalǭ (compare West Frisian ûle, Dutch uil, Danish and Norwegian ugle, German Eule), diminutive of *uwwǭ (“eagle-owl”) (compare German Uhu), of imitative origin or a variant of *ūfaz, *ūfǭ (compare Old English ūf or hūf, Swedish uv (“horned owl”), Bavarian Auf), from Proto-Indo-European *up- (compare Latvian ũpis (“eagle-owl”), Czech úpět (“to wail, howl”), Avestan 𐬎𐬟𐬌𐬌𐬈𐬌𐬨𐬌 (ufiieimi, “to call out”). A Germanic variant *uwwilǭ was the source of Old High German ūwila (German Eule).

cog

(politics, uncommon) A politician with moderate views that are neither hawkish nor dovish.


CRO

(military) Initialism of COMSEC responsible officer.


ibex

ibex (plural)
ibexes (plural)
ibices (plural)
ibecks (alternative obsolete)

From Latin ībex (“chamois”), possibly from Iberian or Aquitanian; akin to Old Spanish bezerro (“bull”) (modern becerro (“yearling”)).

(heraldry) An imaginary creature with serrated horns, somewhat similar to the heraldic antelope.


donkey

en-noun

donkey (plural donkeys or (obsolete) donkies)

donkeys (plural)
donkies (obsolete plural)

→ Afrikaans: donkie

→ Northern Sotho: tonki

→ Tok Pisin: donki

desc

→ Urdu: ڈَنْکی (ḍaṅkī)

→ Urdu: ڈَنْکی (ḍaṅkī)

The origin is uncertain. Originally a slang term from the late eighteenth century. Perhaps from Middle English *donekie (“a miniature dun horse”), a double diminutive of Middle English don, dun, dunne (a name for a dun horse), equivalent to modern English dun (“brownish grey colour”) + -ock (diminutive suffix) + -ie (diminutive suffix). Compare Middle English donning (“a dun horse”), English dunnock. Became more common than the original term ass due to the latter's homophony and partial merger with arse (compare similar development between coney and rabbit).

inh

(naval slang, dated) A box or chest, especially a toolbox.


hedgehog

/ˈhɛd͡ʒ.hɒɡ/

/ˈhɛd͡ʒ.hɔɡ/

From Middle English heyghoge; equivalent to hedge + hog. Eclipsed non-native Middle English yrchoun, irchoun (“hedgehog”), from Old French hirchoun, herichon (“hedgehog”); and Middle English il, from Old English īl, iġil (“hedgehog”).
In the philosophical sense, from the 1953 essay The Hedgehog and the Fox by Isaiah Berlin.

Ukrainian civilians have been DIY-ing hedgehogs, welding two bars or beams at an angle to make a cross and then adding a third to ensure it holds its shape even if it's knocked over.

2022 March 21, Bill Chappell, “SWIFT, hedgehog, MiG: Here's a guide to the terms of war in Ukraine”, in SPECIAL SERIES: Ukraine invasion — explained, NPR, retrieved 2022-03-21:

(military) Ellipsis of Czech hedgehog (“an antitank obstacle constructed from three steel rails”).

Czech hedgehog

(informal, military, historical) A spigot mortar-type of depth charge weapon from World War II that simultaneously fires a number of explosives into the water to create a pattern of underwater explosions intended to attack submerged submarines.


hedgehog

en-verb

hedgehog (third-person singular simple present hedgehogs, present participle hedgehogging, simple past and past participle hedgehogged)

hedgehogs (present singular third-person)
hedgehogging (participle present)
hedgehogged (participle past)
hedgehogged (past)

/ˈhɛd͡ʒ.hɒɡ/

/ˈhɛd͡ʒ.hɔɡ/

Hedgehogging means — let us call a spade a spade — that we're were encircled: It's something that has been forced upon us, a predicament from which we ought to try to escape as fast as possible.

1966, Theodor Plievier, Stalingrad, page 43:

Luettwitz hedgehogged his regiment and held his positions until the rest of the division arrived two days later.

2012, Samuel W. Mitcham Jr., Gene Mueller, Hitler's Commanders, →ISBN:

During the night of May 27 the 90th Light Division hedgehogged south of El Adem.

2007, Samuel W. Mitcham Jr., Rommel's Desert War: The Life and Death of the Afrika Korps, →ISBN:

(military) To make use of a hedgehog barricade as a defensive maneuver.


wildcat

wildcats (plural)
wild-cat (alternative)
wild cat (alternative)

From Middle English wyld cat, wylde cat (in the plural as wild cattes, wylde catis, wyle cattes), equivalent to wild + cat. Cognate with Middle Low German wiltkatte, German Wildkatze, Swedish vildkatt.
Its adjectival senses were originally American and derived from the "wildcat banks" of Michigan, following its elevation to statehood in 1837. Two laws—one easing the requirements for establishing a new bank and another occasioned by the Panic of 1837 that removed the need for payment in specie—led to the creation and collapse of around 50 banks within two years. The term is apocryphally derived from a wildcat supposedly featured on the currency printed by one of these banks, but more probably derived from the remote locations "where the wildcats roamed" chosen by these banks to avoid oversight and minimize redemption of notes.

John Audubon
bobcat
wildcat
wildcat (disambiguation)
wildcat cartridge

wildcat cartridge
wildcat cartridge#English

(firearms) Clipping of wildcat cartridge.


wildcat

wild-cat (alternative)
wild cat (alternative)

(firearms) Of or concerning customized or hand-made cartridges.


ermine

en-noun

ermine (countable and uncountable, plural ermines or ermine)

From Middle English ermine, ermin, ermyn, from Old French ermin, ermine, hermine.
There are two main theories for the origin of Old French ermine. Germanic origin is suggested via Old Dutch *harmino (“stoat skin”), from *harmo (“stoat, weasel”) (compare Dutch hermelijn and dialectal herm), from Proto-Germanic *harmǭ, *harmô (compare Old English hearma, Old High German harmo (harmin (adjective), obsolete German Harm), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱormō (compare Romansch carmun, obsolete Lithuanian šarmuõ). Romance sources identify the animal with the corresponding word for Armenian, possibly from Medieval Latin mūs Armenius (“Armenian mouse”) or a posterior compound.

der

(heraldry) The fur of this animal, used as a heraldic tincture: a white field with a repeating pattern of stylized black spots.

hermelín

(heraldry) a white field with black spots


ermine

(heraldry) In blazon, of the colour ermine (white with black spots).

hermelínový

of white colour with black spots on a coat of arms


pig

en-noun

pig (countable and uncountable, plural pigs)

Hawaiian Creole: pig

Torres Strait Creole: pig

Tok Pisin: pik

→ Abenaki: piks (from "pigs")

→ Malecite-Passamaquoddy: piks (from "pigs")

Pronunciation example of the word Pig in British English.ogg

From Middle English pigge (“pig, pigling”) (originally a term for a young pig, with adult pigs being swyn), apparently from Old English *picga (attested only in compounds, such as picgbrēad (“mast, pig-fodder”)), from Proto-West Germanic *piggō, *puggō (“piglet”). Compare Middle Dutch pogge, puggen, pigge, pegsken (“pigling”), Middle Low German pugge, pûke (“piglet”). Pokorny suggests this root might be somehow related to *bū-, *bew- (“to blow; swell”), which could account for the alternation between "pig" and "big".
A connection to early modern Dutch bigge (contemporary big (“piglet”)), West Frisian bigge (“pigling”), and similar terms in Middle Low German is sometimes proposed, "but the phonology is difficult". Some sources say the words are "almost certainly not" related, others consider a relation "probable, but not certain".
The slang sense of "police officer" is attested since at least 1785.

cuto (Northern Spain - specifically Aragon, La Rioja and Navarra)

even a blind pig can find an acorn once in a while

Unfortunately, the M60 is about twenty-four pounds and is very unbalanced. You try carrying the pig around the jungle and see how you feel.

(US, military, slang) The general-purpose M60 machine gun, considered to be heavy and bulky.


mole

moles (plural)
mool (alternative)
moule (alternative)
mowle (alternative)
mold (alternative)

From Middle English molle (“mole”), molde, mole, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *mulaz, *mulhaz (“mole, salamander”), from Proto-Indo-European *molg-, *molk- (“slug, salamander”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)melw- (“to grind, crush, beat”).
Cognate with North Frisian mull (“mole”), Saterland Frisian molle (“mole”), Dutch mol (“mole”), Low German Mol, Mul (“mole”), German Molch (“salamander, newt”), Old Russian смолжь (smolžʹ, “snail”), Czech mlž (“clam”).
Derivation as an abbreviation of Middle English molewarpe, a variation of moldewarpe, moldwerp (“mole”) in Middle English is unexplained and probably unlikely due to the simultaneous occurrence of both words. See mouldwarp.

der

(espionage) An internal spy, a person who involves themself with an enemy organisation, especially an intelligence or governmental organisation, to determine and betray its secrets from within.


fox

en-noun

fox (countable and uncountable, plural foxes or (nonstandard, dialectal) foxen)

foxes (plural)
foxen (dialectal nonstandard plural)

→ Cheyenne: vóhkéso

→ Japanese: フォックス (fokkusu)

→ Maori: pōkiha

Isaiah Berlin
The Hedgehog and the Fox
en:fox

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *púḱsos
Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz
Old English fox
Middle English fox
English fox
From Middle English fox, from Old English fox (“fox”), from Proto-West Germanic *fuhs, from Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz (“fox”), from Proto-Indo-European *púḱsos (“the tailed one”), possibly from *puḱ- (“tail”).
Cognate with Scots fox (“fox”), North Frisian foos, fos (“fox”), Saterland Frisian Foaks (“fox”), West Frisian foks (“fox”), Dutch vos (“fox”), Low German vos (“fox”), German Fuchs (“fox”), Icelandic fóa (“fox”), Tocharian B päkā (“tail, chowrie”), Russian пух (pux, “down, fluff”), Sanskrit पुच्छ (púccha) (whence Torwali پوش (pūš, “fox”), Hindi पूंछ (pūñch, “tail”)).
In the philosophical sense, from the 1953 essay The Hedgehog and the Fox by Isaiah Berlin.

inh

the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

coyote · dog · fox · jackal · wolf [edit]

Got a lock! Fox, Fox!

2007 September 25, Bungie, Halo 3, Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360, level/area: The Ark:

Defense Technical Information Center
w:Defense Technical Information Center

(military, aviation) Air-to-air weapon launched.


CSS

en-noun

CSS (countable and uncountable, plural CSSs or CSSes)

People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

(military) Initialism of Chinese surface-to-surface (missile), a NATO prefix-code for systems developed by the People's Republic of China.

Chinese surface-to-surface

Confederate States
Confederate States#English

(historical, nautical, military) Initialism of Confederate States Ship (the designation for a commissioned warship operated by the Confederate States Navy).


GNU

/ˈd͡ʒiːˌɛnˈjuː/

This scenario would hark back to the post-apartheid era when South Africa operated under a GNU to oversee the new constitution, led by Mandela as president and FW de Klerk and Thabo Mbeki as deputy presidents, between April 1994 and February 1997.

2024 May 30, Sarah Dean and David McKenzie, “First results in South Africa’s election suggest it is heading for biggest political shift since apartheid”, in CNN:

government of national unity
w:government of national unity

(politics) Abbreviation of government of national unity.


USA

USA (canonical)
the USA (canonical)
U.S.A. (alternative)
U. S. A. (alternative)

→ German: USA

→ Ido: Usa

VSA

abbreviation of the United States of America

The Defense Distinguished Service Medal was awarded to GEN Martin Dempsey, USA.

(US, military) Initialism of United States Army.


URL

/ˌjuːˌɑːɹˈɛl/

ΟΕΠ

ομοιόμορφος εντοπιστής πόρων (omoiómorfos entopistís póron)

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of unrestricted line officer.


JS

(military, nautical) Initialism of Japanese ship (a ship of Japan from the Maritime Self Defense Force (MSDF/JMSDF)) (a ship prefix).


ram

From Middle English ram, rom, ramme, from Old English ramm (“ram”), from Proto-Germanic *rammaz (“ram”), possibly from *rammaz (“strong”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Rom (“ram”), Dutch ram (“a male sheep”), German Ramm, Ramme (“ram”). Possibly akin also to Danish ram (“sharp; acrid; rank”), Swedish ram (“strong; perfect”), Faroese ramur (“strong; competent”), Icelandic rammur (“strong; sturdy”).

About a couple of miles out lay an ironclad very low in the water, almost, to my brother's perception, like a water-logged ship. This was the ram Thunder Child.

1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 178:

(military, nautical, chiefly historical) A warship intended to sink other ships by ramming them.

таран

warship that sinks other ships by ramming them

(military, nautical, chiefly historical) A reinforced section of the bow of a warship, intended to be used for ramming other ships.


sap

From French saper (compare Spanish zapar and Italian zappare) from sape (“sort of scythe”), from Late Latin sappa (“sort of mattock”).

(military) A narrow ditch or trench made from the foremost parallel toward the glacis or covert way of a besieged place by digging under cover of gabions, etc.


sap

en-verb

sap (third-person singular simple present saps, present participle sapping, simple past and past participle sapped)

saps (present singular third-person)
sapping (participle present)
sapped (participle past)
sapped (past)

(transitive, military) To pierce with saps.


plate

→ Maori: pereti

→ Hindi: प्लेट (pleṭ)

From Middle English plate, from Old French plate, from Medieval Latin plata, from Vulgar Latin *plat(t)us, from Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús, “broad, flat, wide”). Compare Spanish plato.
(foot): Cockney rhyming slang, from "plates of meat" for "feet".

der

The SAPI plate in his vest protected him from the bullet's impact.


plate

(heraldry) A roundel of silver or argent.


list

From Middle English lī̆st, lī̆ste (“band, stripe; hem, selvage; border, edge, rim; list, specification; barriers enclosing area for jousting, etc.”), from Old English līste (“hem, edge, strip”), or Old French liste, listre (“border; band; strip of paper; list”), or Medieval Latin lista, all from Proto-West Germanic *līstā, from Proto-Germanic *līstǭ (“band, strip; hem, selvage; border, edge”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *leys- (“to trace, track”).
Cognates
* Saterland Frisian Lieste (“margin, strip, list”)
*Dutch lijst (“picture frame, list”)
* German Low German Liest (“edging, border”)
* German Leiste (“strip, rail, ledge; (heraldry) bar”)
* Swedish lista (“list”)
* Icelandic lista listi (“list”)
* Italian lista (“list; strip”)
* Portuguese lista (“list”)
* Spanish lista (“list, roll; stripe”)
* Galician lista (“band, strip; list”)
* Finnish lista (“(informal) list; batten”).

cog

The sun’s bright lances rout the mists of morning, and by George! Here’s Longstreet struggling in the lists, hemmed in an ugly gorge. Pope and his Yankees, whipped before, “Bay’nets and grape!” hear Stonewall roar; “Charge, Stuart! Pay off Ashby’s score!” in “Stonewall Jackson’s Way.”

1862, John Williamson Palmer, Stonewall Jackson's Way

(in the plural, military, historical) The scene of a military contest; the ground or field of combat; an enclosed space that serves as a battlefield; the site of a pitched battle.


list

en-verb

list (third-person singular simple present lists, present participle listing, simple past and past participle listed)

lists (present singular third-person)
listing (participle present)
listed (participle past)
listed (past)

(transitive, military) To enclose (a field, etc.) for combat.


solid

en-adj

solid (comparative more solid or solider, superlative most solid or solidest)

more solid (comparative)
solider (comparative)
most solid (superlative)
solidest (superlative)

From Middle English solide, borrowed from Old French solide, from Latin solidus (“solid”), from Proto-Indo-European *solh₂-i-dʰ-o-s (“entire”), suffixed form of root *solh₂- (“integrate, whole”). Doublet of sol, sold, soldo, solidus, sou, and xu.

doublet

The delegation is solid for a candidate.

(US, politics, slang) United; without division; unanimous.


melt

en-noun

melt (countable and uncountable, plural melts)

From Middle English melten, from a merger of Old English meltan (intransitive) and mieltan (transitive), both meaning “to melt, digest,” from Proto-West Germanic *meltan and *maltijan, from Proto-Germanic *meltaną and *maltijaną, both from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meld- (“melt”). Cognate with Icelandic melta (“to digest”).

Anyone who said different was a Tory, a melt or – worse – a Blairite. Centrists (mostly Labour voters) were the devil incarnate.

2019 December 17, Suzanne Moore, The Guardian:

They developed their own lexicon, with Corbyn critics referred to as 'melts' or 'slugs' while their man was lauded as 'the absolute boy'.

[2019 October 17, Asa Bennett, Romanifesto: Modern Lessons from Classical Politics, Biteback Publishing, →ISBN:

(UK, politics, slang, derogatory) A centre-left or liberal person, when in opposition to a leftist; (especially) a critic of Jeremy Corbyn within the Labour Party.


house

house (countable and uncountable, plural houses or (dialectal) housen or (chiefly humorous) hice)

houses (plural)
housen (dialectal plural)
hice (humorous plural)
howse (alternative obsolete)

Chinese Pidgin English: houso

Nigerian Pidgin: haus

Tok Pisin: haus

Sranan Tongo: oso
→ Dutch: osso

→ Cantonese: house (hau¹ si²)

→ Japanese: ハウス (hausu)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH-der.?
Proto-Germanic *hūsą
Proto-West Germanic *hūs
Old English hūs
Middle English hous
English house
From Middle English hous, hus, from Old English hūs (“dwelling, shelter, house”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūs, from Proto-Germanic *hūsą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kews-, from *(s)kewH- (“to cover, hide”).
See also Scots hoose, West Frisian hûs, Dutch huis, German Haus, German Low German Huus, Danish hus, Faroese hús, Icelandic hús, Norwegian Bokmål hus, Norwegian Nynorsk hus and Swedish hus.
Eclipsed non-native Middle English meson, measoun (“house”), borrowed from Old French maison (“house”). More at hose. The uncommon plural form housen is from Middle English husen, housen. (The Old English nominative plural was simply hūs.)

huis

debating chamber for government politicians

a house divided against itself cannot stand

it takes a heap of living to make a house a home

it takes a heap o' livin' to make a house a home

it takes a lot of living to make a house a home

the call is coming from inside the house

use the master's tools to dismantle the master's house

The petition was so ridiculous that the house rejected it after minimal debate.

(politics) A building where a deliberative assembly meets; whence the assembly itself, particularly a component of a legislature.


metal

en-noun

metal (countable and uncountable, plural metals)

nonmetal

antonym(s) of “any of a number of chemical elements in the periodic table that form a metallic bond with other metal atoms”

From Middle English metal, a borrowing from Old French metal, from Latin metallum (“metal, mine, quarry, mineral”), itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek μέταλλον (métallon, “mine, quarry, metal”).

аметалл

atomic element or material made of such atoms

(heraldry) A light tincture used in a coat of arms, specifically argent (white or silver) and or (gold).


salt

en-verb

salt (third-person singular simple present salts, present participle salting, simple past and past participle salted)

salts (present singular third-person)
salting (participle present)
salted (participle past)
salted (past)

PIE word
 *séh₂ls
From Middle English salt, from Old English sealt, from Proto-West Germanic *salt, from Proto-Germanic *saltą, from Proto-Indo-European *séh₂ls (“salt”). Doublet of sal, ultimately from Latin sāl (“salt”), which it superseded as the general term for "salt".

In this place were put to the ground and salted the houses of José Mascarenhas.

(military, transitive) To sow with salt (of land), symbolizing a curse on its re-inhabitation.


whip

→ Irish: fuip

⇒ Jamaican Creole: wip

From Middle English whippen, wippen (“to flap violently”), from Middle Dutch wippen (“to swing, leap, dance, oscillate”) and Middle Low German wippen (“to move quickly”), from Proto-Germanic *wipjaną (“to move back and forth”). Some similarity to Sanskrit root वेप् (vep, “shake, flourish”), Latin vibrō (“I shake”). (See Swedish vippa and Danish vippe (“to shake”)).
The unetymological wh- is probably expressive of the sound of a whip; compare the same development in whisk and onomatopoeias such as whack and whoosh.
The political senses are from whipper-in (“huntsman who keeps the hounds from wandering”), 18th century hunting terminology.

der

I was going to vote against the bill, but the party whip came to see me and made it clear I needed to vote for it.

The Conservative deputy chief whip has resigned after admitting he had “embarrassed myself and other people” following reports that he drunkenly groped two men at a private club.

2022 June 30, “Tory deputy chief whip resigns after ‘drunkenly groping two men’”, in The Guardian:

Therefore, welcome new Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper, a man about whom even my esteemed political journalist friends know little - apart from the fact he was once Chief Whip, a job that requires knowing about every Tory MP's misdemeanours.

2022 November 16, Christian Wolmar, “Can Merriman use his rail knowledge to make a difference?”, in RAIL, number 970, page 44:

(politics) A member of a political party who is in charge of enforcing the party's policies in votes.

(UK politics, with definite article) A document distributed weekly to MPs by party whips informing them of upcoming votes in parliament.

to withdraw the whip

As a result, he was stripped of the whip on Tuesday, preventing him from voting in the fourth ballot to narrow down candidates to be the next party leader.

2022 July 20, Heather Stewart, “Tobias Ellwood temporarily given back Tory whip to vote in leadership contest”, in The Guardian:

In the letter, Hancock said he had spoken to the Conservatives’ chief whip, Simon Hart, last week, and been told the whip would be restored in time, “but that is now not necessary” – meaning he will sit as an independent until the next election.

2022 December 7, Peter Walker, “Row grows over Matt Hancock’s announcement he is quitting as MP”, in The Guardian:

(UK politics, by extension) The regular status of an MP within a parliamentary party, which can be revoked by the party as a disciplinary measure.


whip

en-verb

whip (third-person singular simple present whips, present participle whipping, simple past and past participle whipped)

whips (present singular third-person)
whipping (participle present)
whipped (participle past)
whipped (past)

(transitive, politics) To enforce a member voting in accordance with party policy.


blade

blade (third-person singular simple present blades, present participle blading, simple past and past participle bladed)

blades (present singular third-person)
blading (participle present)
bladed (participle past)
bladed (past)

From Middle English blade, blad, from Old English blæd (“leaf”), from Proto-West Germanic *blad, from Proto-Germanic *bladą, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥h₃-o-to-m, from *bʰleh₃- (“to thrive, bloom”).
See also West Frisian bled, Dutch blad, German Blatt, Danish blad, Irish bláth (“flower”), Welsh blodyn (“flower”), Tocharian A pält, Tocharian B pilta (“leaf”), Albanian fletë (“leaf”). Similar usage in German Sägeblatt (“saw blade”, literally “saw leaf”). Doublet of blat. More at blow.

m+

(transitive, professional wrestling, slang) To cut a person (usually oneself) so as to provoke bleeding.


brass

en-noun

brass (usually uncountable, plural brasses)

From Middle English bras, bres, from Old English bræs (“brass, bronze”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps representing a backformation from Proto-Germanic *brasnaz (“brazen”), from or related to *brasō (“fire, pyre”). Compare Old Norse and Icelandic bras (“solder”), Icelandic brasa (“to harden in the fire”), Swedish brasa (“a small controlled fire”), Danish brase (“to fry”); French braser ("to solder"; > English braise) from the same Germanic root. Compare also Middle Dutch braspenninc ("a silver coin", literally, "silver-penny"; > Dutch braspenning), Old Frisian bress (“copper”), Middle Low German bras (“metal, ore”).
In the military sense an ellipsis of the brass hats.

unc

uncertain

gloss

"to solder"; > English <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">braise</i>

"a silver coin", literally, "silver-penny"; > Dutch <i class="Latn mention" lang="nl">braspenning</i>

The brass are not going to like this.

The brass is not going to like this.

I don't want to keep the brass waiting, Chief.

2004 November 9, Bungie, Halo 2, spoken by Avery Johnson (David Scully), Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox, level/area: The Armory:

(military, business or other organizations, uncountable, used as a singular or plural noun, metonymic) High-ranking officers: the brass hats.


heavy

en-adj

heavy (comparative heavier, superlative heaviest)

heavier (comparative)
heaviest (superlative)

Sranan Tongo: hebi

From Middle English hevy, heviȝ, from Old English hefiġ, hefeġ, hæfiġ (“heavy; important, grave, severe, serious; oppressive, grievous; slow, dull”), from Proto-West Germanic *habīg (“heavy, hefty, weighty”), from Proto-Germanic *habīgaz (“heavy, hefty, weighty”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂p- (“to take, grasp, hold”).
Cognate with Scots hevy, havy, heavy (“heavy”), Saterland Frisian heeuwich, häwich (“violent, angry”), West Frisian hevich (“violent”), Dutch hevig (“violent, severe, intense, acute”), German Low German hevig (“violent, fierce, intense, angry”), German hebig (compare heftig (“fierce, severe, intense, violent, heavy”)), Icelandic höfugur (“heavy, weighty, important”), Latin capāx (“large, wide, roomy, spacious, capacious, capable, apt”).


heavy

Cavalry […] is divided into mediums, heavies, and light cavalry. The mediums consist of 13 regiments; the heavies of 2 regiments; and the light of 13.

1891, Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, The Historic Note-book: With an Appendix of Battles, page 153:

(military, historical) A member of the heavy cavalry.


sharp

From Middle English scharp, from Old English sċearp, from Proto-West Germanic *skarp, from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerb-, from *(s)ker- (“to cut”).
Cognate with West Frisian skerp, Low German scherp, scharp, schaarp, Dutch scherp, German scharf, Danish skarp. Compare Irish cearb (“keen; cutting”), Latin acerbus (“tart, bitter”), Tocharian B kärpye (“rough”), Latvian skârbs (“sharp, rough”), Russian щерба (ščerba, “notch”), Polish szczerba (“gap, dent, jag, chip, nick, notch”), Albanian harb (“rudeness”). More at shear.

(usually in the plural) Something that is sharp.

(psychiatry, healthcare) A sharp object; any item pointed enough to injure human skin.


rough

en-verb

rough (third-person singular simple present roughs, present participle roughing, simple past and past participle roughed)

roughs (present singular third-person)
roughing (participle present)
roughed (participle past)
roughed (past)
ruff (alternative pronunciation-spelling)

From Middle English rough, roughe, roȝe, row, rou, ru, ruȝ, ruh, from Old English rūg, rūh, from Proto-Germanic *rūhaz.
Cognate with Scots ruch, rouch (“rough”), Saterland Frisian ruuch, rouch (“rough”), West Frisian rûch (“rough”), Low German ruuch (“rough”), Dutch ruig (“rough”), German rau(h) (“rough”), Danish ru (“uneven on the surface, "rough", "rugged"”).

cog

[…] roughing is not a part of the sport, and will not be tolerated. Referees will not permit unfair practices that may cause injury to a contestant, and are held strictly responsible for enforcing these rules.

1938, California. State Athletic Commission, Rules, Regulations and Law Regulating Boxing and Wrestling (page 42)

(boxing, wrestling, intransitive) To break the rules by being excessively violent.


pull

en-verb

pull (third-person singular simple present pulls, present participle pulling, simple past and past participle pulled)

pulls (present singular third-person)
pulling (participle present)
pulled (participle past)
pulled (past)

push

antonym(s) of “apply force to (something) so it comes towards one”

-ʊl (accents with foot–goose merger or full–fool merger)

Verb from Middle English pullen, from Old English pullian (“to pull, draw, tug, pluck off”), of uncertain ultimate origin. Related to West Frisian pûlje (“to shell, husk”), Middle Dutch pullen (“to drink”), Middle Dutch polen (“to peel, strip”), Low German pulen (“to pick, pluck, pull, tear, strip off husks”), Icelandic púla (“to work hard, beat”).
Noun from Middle English pul, pull, pulle, from the verb pullen (“to pull”).

cog

it's not the whistle that pulls the train

pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire

The state trooper pulled me for going 60 in a 55 zone.

(transitive, law enforcement) To pull over (a driver or vehicle); to detain for a traffic stop.

(martial arts) In practice fighting, to reduce the strength of a blow (etymology 3) so as to avoid injuring one's practice partner.


push

en-noun

push (countable and uncountable, plural pushes)

From Middle English pushen, poshen, posson, borrowed from Middle French pousser (Modern French pousser) from Old French poulser, from Latin pulsare (“to beat, strike”), frequentative of pellere (past participle pulsus). Doublet of pulsate and pulse (verb). Partly displaced native Old English sċūfan, whence Modern English shove.

(military) A marching or drill maneuver/manoeuvre performed by moving a formation (especially a company front) forward or toward the audience, usually to accompany a dramatic climax or crescendo in the music.

(professional wrestling slang) An attempt to give momentum to a wrestler's career in the form of victories and/or more screen time.


smoke

smoke (countable and uncountable, plural smokes)

smokes (plural)
smoak (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English smoke, from Old English smoca (“smoke”), probably a derivative of the verb (see below). Related to Dutch smook (“smoke”), Middle Low German smôk (“smoke”), dialectal German Schmauch (“smoke”).

(military, uncountable) A particulate of solid or liquid particles dispersed into the air on the battlefield to degrade enemy ground or for aerial observation. Smoke has many uses--screening smoke, signaling smoke, smoke curtain, smoke haze, and smoke deception. Thus it is an artificial aerosol.


smoke

en-verb

smoke (third-person singular simple present smokes, present participle smoking, simple past smoked, past participle smoked or (rare, nonstandard) smoken)

smokes (present singular third-person)
smoking (participle present)
smoked (past)
smoked (participle past)
smoken (nonstandard participle past rare)
smoak (alternative obsolete)

Sranan Tongo: smoko

→ Dutch: smoken

→ Welsh: smocio

From Middle English smoken, from Old English smocian (“to smoke, emit smoke; fumigate”), from Proto-West Germanic *smokōn, from Proto-Germanic *smukōną (“to smoke”), ablaut derivative of Proto-Germanic *smaukaną (“to smoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mewg- (“to smoke”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian smookje (“to smoke”), West Frisian smoke (“to smoke”), Dutch smoken (“to smoke”), Low German smöken (“to smoke”), German Low German smoken (“to smoke”). Related also to Old English smēocan (“to smoke, emit smoke; fumigate”), Bavarian schmuckelen (“to smell bad, reek”).

cog

(transitive, US military slang) To punish (a person) for a minor offense by excessive physical exercise.


field

→ Japanese: フィールド (fīrudo)

From Middle English feeld, feld, from Old English feld, from Proto-West Germanic *felþu, from Proto-Germanic *felþuz (“field”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“field, plain”) or *pleth₂- (“flat”) (with schwebeablaut).
Cognate with Scots feld, feild (“field”), North Frisian fjild (“field”), West Frisian fjild (“field”), Dutch veld (“field”), German Feld (“field”), Swedish fält (“field”). Related also to Old English folde (“earth, land, territory”), Old English folm (“palm of the hand”). More at fold.

veld

land area free of woodland, cities, and towns; open country

fushë

sports: area reserved for playing a game

Euclidean domain ⊂ principal ideal domain ⊂ unique factorization domain

Noetherian domain ⊂ integral domain ⊂ commutative ring

Any of various figurative meanings, often dead metaphors.

A physical or virtual location for the input of information in the form of symbols.

(heraldry) The background of the shield.


field

en-verb

field (third-person singular simple present fields, present participle fielding, simple past and past participle fielded)

fields (present singular third-person)
fielding (participle present)
fielded (participle past)
fielded (past)

bat

antonym(s) of “be the team throwing and catching the ball”

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

to field a new land-mine detector

(transitive, military) To deploy in the field.


crown

→ Japanese: クラウン (kuraun)

→ Korean: 크라운 (keuraun)

→ Maori: karauna

From Middle English coroune, from Anglo-Norman corone, from Latin corōna (“crown, wreath”), from Ancient Greek κορώνη (korṓnē). Doublet of corona, korona, koruna, krona, króna, and krone. Displaced native Old English corenbēag (“crown”); and Middle English kinehelm, kynehelm, from Old English cynehelm (“crown”).
* (paper size): So called because originally watermarked with a crown.

doublet

Before so many of Europe's crowns came tumbling off the heads of their royal owners, Continental Europe could show a rich variety in the matter of royal trains.

1945 September and October, C. Hamilton Ellis, “Royal Trains—V”, in Railway Magazine, page 250:

en:royal, imperial or princely headdress

(clothing, monarchy) A royal, imperial or princely headdress; a diadem.

(firearms) A rounding or smoothing of the barrel opening.


crown

en-verb

crown (third-person singular simple present crowns, present participle crowning, simple past and past participle crowned)

crowns (present singular third-person)
crowning (participle present)
crowned (participle past)
crowned (past)

(firearms) To widen the opening of the barrel.

avartaa

firearms: to widen the opening of the barrel

(military) To effect a lodgment upon, as upon the crest of the glacis, or the summit of the breach.


Jew

Jews (plural)
Jewes (archaic plural)
Joo (alternative derogatory usually)

Sranan Tongo: Dyu

From Middle English Jew, Giu, Giw, Ju, from Old French juiu, Giu, gyu, from Latin iūdaeus (“Judean (i.e. Jew)”), from Ancient Greek Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaîos), from Ἰουδά (Ioudá), Ἰούδας (Ioúdas, “Judah, Judas, Jude”) + -ιος (-ios, suffix forming adjectives), from Biblical Hebrew יְהוּדָה (y'hudá, “male given name, Yehuda; Judah, Judea”). Doublet of Yid. Displaced Old English Iūdēisċ.


earl

From Middle English erl, erle, from Old English eorl, from Proto-West Germanic *erl, from Proto-Germanic *erlaz (compare Old Saxon erl, Old Norse jarl), from Proto-Germanic *erōną, *arōną (compare Old Norse jara (“fight, battle”)). Doublet of eorl and jarl. Unrelated to ealdorman (“alderman”).

(nobility) A British or Irish nobleman next in rank above a viscount and below a marquess; equivalent to a European count. A female using the style is termed a countess.

эрл

in Anglo-Saxon England before Norman conquest


organ

→ Japanese: オルガン (orugan)

→ Korean: 오르간 (oreugan)

→ Maori: ōkana

→ Vietnamese: oóc-gan

From Middle English organe, from Old French organe, from Latin organum, from Ancient Greek ὄργανον (órganon, “an instrument, implement, tool, also an organ of sense or apprehension, an organ of the body, also a musical instrument, an organ”), from Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-. Doublet of organon, organum, and orgue.

Lieutenant Roberts was also severely wounded by a missile, or weapon called an Organ, which is composed of about thirty-six gun barrels so joined as to fire at once.

1790, H. Compton, A particular account of the European military adventurers of Hindustan, from 1784 to 1803, page 61:

(historical, military) An Asian form of mitrailleuse.


vertical

verticals (plural)
vertic (alternative poetic)

Borrowed from Middle French vertical, from Late Latin verticālis.

Russian opposition outlet Vazhnye Istorii reported on August 19 that Russian President Vladimir Putin's reaction to the "Kursk situation" has exposed certain shifts within the Kremlin's power vertical, many of which have been underway over the last several months ... Russian investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov noted that the FSB has generally shifted its mandate away from controlling Russian oligarchs and towards controlling Russia’s military and Russia’s military-industrial complex as well as countering "saboteurs and terrorists," and Vazhnye Istorii reported that several long-time Russian economic oligarchs are also gradually losing their influence within the Kremlin's wider power vertical ... ISW has reported at length on Putin's efforts to maintain a core cadre of loyal siloviki (Russian strongmen with political influence) within the Russian power vertical, particularly since the risks to Putin's regime first introduced by the Wagner Group's armed rebellion in June 2023.

2024 August 19, Christina Harward, Nicole Wolkov, Grace Mappes, Davit Gasparyan, Karolina Hird, George Barros, “Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 19, 2024”, in Ukraine Project, The Institute for the Study of War:

(politics) A command structure for exertion of political power.


dagger

From Middle English daggere, daggare, dagard, probably adapted from Old French dague (1229), related to Occitan, Italian, Spanish daga, Dutch dagge, German Degen, Middle Low German dagge (“knife's point”), Old Norse daggarðr, Danish daggert, Faroese daggari, Welsh dager, dagr, Breton dac, Albanian thikë (“a knife, dagger”), thek (“to stab, to pierce with a sharp object”).
In English attested from the 1380s.
The ultimate origin of the word is unclear. Grimm suspects Celtic origin.
Others have suggested derivation from an unattested Vulgar Latin *daca "Dacian [knife]", from the Latin adjective dācus. Chastelain (Dictionaire etymologique, 1750) thought that French dague was a derivation from German dagge, dagen, although not attested until a much later date).
The knightly dagger evolves from the 12th century. Guillaume le Breton (died 1226) uses daca in his Philippide. Other Middle Latin forms include daga, dagga, dagha, dagger, daggerius, daggerium, dagarium, dagarius, diga; the forms with -r- are late 14th century adoptions of the English word).
OED points out that there is also an English verb dag (“to stab”) from which this could be a derivation, but the verb is attested only from about 1400.
Relation to Old Armenian դակու (daku, “adze, axe”) has also been suggested. Alternatively, a connection from Proto-Indo-European *dʰāg-u- and cognate with Ancient Greek θήγω (thḗgō, “to sharpen, whet”).

cog

The dagger, under the title cultellum and misericorde, has been the constant companion of the sword, at least from the days of Edward I. and is mentioned in the statute of Winchester.

1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 34:

(weaponry) A stabbing weapon, similar to a sword but with a short, double-edged blade.


communist

communists (plural)
Communist (alternative)

From French communiste, from commun (“common, communal”) + -iste (“-ist”). By surface analysis, commune + -ist.

anarcho-communist

anarchist communist, communist anarchist, free communist, libertarian communist

(communism) An advocate of a society based on the common ownership of property; a proponent of communism.

kommunis

person who follows a communist philosophy


katana

(weaponry) A type of Japanese longsword, having a single edge and slight curvature, historically used by samurai and ninja.


daisho

daishos (plural)
daishou (alternative)
daishoh (alternative)
daisyou (alternative)
daisyoh (alternative)
daisyo (alternative)
daishō (alternative)

From Japanese 大小(だいしょう) (daishō), from 大(だい) (dai, “large”) + 小(しょう) (shō, “small”), in reference to the comparative size of the swords.

(weaponry) A traditional Japanese pair of swords, consisting of the katana and wakizashi.


tanto

tanto (plural)
tantos (plural)
tantō (alternative)
tantou (alternative)

Borrowed from Japanese 短刀(たんとう) (tantō), from Middle Chinese 短刀 (twan^X taw, “dagger”).

der

(weaponry) A traditional Japanese small sword or knife; often used as a secondary weapon to a katana.


laissez faire

/ˌlɛ(ˌ)seɪ ˈfɛəɹ/

Borrowed from French laissez faire (“leave it be”, literally “let do”).

bor

laissez-faire (alternative)
laisser faire (alternative)
laisser-faire (alternative)

In brief, all this Mammon-Gospel of Supply-and-demand, Competition, Laissez-faire, and Devil take the hindmost, begins to be one of the shabbiest Gospels ever preached on Earth; or altogether the shabbiest.

1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, chapter 9, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book I (Proem), page 106:

While laissez-faire economy was the product of deliberate State action, subsequent restrictions on laissez-faire started in a spontaneous way. Laissez-faire was planned; planning was not.

2001 [1944], Karl Polanyi, “12. Birth of the Liberal Creed”, in The Great Transformation:

(economics, politics) A policy of governmental non-interference in economic affairs.

放任

economics: a policy of governmental non-interference in economic affairs


laissez faire

en-adj

laissez faire (comparative more laissez faire, superlative most laissez faire)

more laissez faire (comparative)
most laissez faire (superlative)
laissez-faire (alternative)
laisser faire (alternative)
laisser-faire (alternative)

/ˌlɛ(ˌ)seɪ ˈfɛəɹ/

I think the city should take a laissez faire approach to this; getting involved would only make things worse.

(economics, politics) Practicing or representing governmental noninterference, or minimal interference, especially in economic affairs; pertaining to free-market capitalism.

laissez-faire

economics, politics: practicing or representing governmental noninterference, or minimal interference

The Senator claims to be laissez faire, but he voted in favor of the subsidies.

(economics, politics) Advocating such noninterference.


generalissimo

en-noun

generalissimo (plural generalissimos or generalissimi)

generalissimos (plural)
generalissimi (plural)

/ˌd͡ʒɛnəɹəˈliːsɪməʊ/

/ˌd͡ʒɛnəɹəˈlɪsɪməʊ/

Borrowed from Italian generalissimo, superlative of generale.

Where stands Marshal Chiang Kai-shek in this conflict of opinion concerning the tactics which China should adopt towards the aggressor? Chiang Kai-shek, according to officials who know his mind with whom I have talked, is all for resistance—as soon as he thinks he can win! “It is a fatal mistake for the Japanese to imagine that I will not fight under any circumstances,” he has said. But the Chinese Generalissimo is too well versed in the philosophy of his country not to recollect that it is foolish to fight with the certainty of defeat.

1936, H. Hessell Tiltman, The Far East Comes Nearer, Jarrolds, page 249:

(military) A supreme commander of the armed forces of a country, especially one who is also a political leader.


bo

From Japanese 棒 (bō), from Middle Chinese 棒 (baewng^X, “staff, club”) (compare modern Chinese 棒 (bàng)).

der

(martial arts) A quarterstaff, especially in an oriental context.


display

en-verb

display (third-person singular simple present displays, present participle displaying, simple past and past participle displayed)

displays (present singular third-person)
displaying (participle present)
displayed (participle past)
displayed (past)

From Middle English displayen, from Anglo-Norman despleier and Old French despleier, desploiier, from Medieval Latin displicare (“to unfold, display”), from Latin dis- (“apart”) + plicāre (“to fold”). Doublet of deploy.

der

The Englishmen[…]display their ranks and[…]press hard upon their enemies.

1610, William Camden, translated by Philémon Holland, Britain, or A Chorographicall Description of the Most Flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland, […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press for] Georgii Bishop & Ioannis Norton, →OCLC:

(military) To extend the front of (a column), bringing it into line, deploy.


stop

From Middle English stoppen, stoppien, from Old English stoppian (“to stop, close”), from Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn, from Proto-Germanic *stuppōną (“to stop, close”), *stuppijaną (“to push, pierce, prick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp-, *(s)tewb- (“to push; stick”), from *(s)tew- (“to bump; impact; butt; push; beat; strike; hit”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian stopje (“to stop, block”), West Frisian stopje (“to stop”), Dutch stoppen (“to stop”), Low German stoppen (“to stop”), German stopfen (“to be filling, stuff”), German stoppen (“to stop”), Danish stoppe (“to stop”), Swedish stoppa (“to stop”), Icelandic stoppa (“to stop”), Middle High German stupfen, stüpfen (“to pierce”). More at stuff, stump.
Alternative etymology derives Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn from an assumed Vulgar Latin *stūpāre, *stuppāre (“to stop up with tow”), from stūpa, stīpa, stuppa (“tow, flax, oakum”), from Ancient Greek στύπη (stúpē), στύππη (stúppē, “tow, flax, oakum”). This derivation, however, is doubtful, as the earliest instances of the Germanic verb do not carry the meaning of "stuff, stop with tow". Rather, these senses developed later in response to influence from similar sounding words in Latin and Romance.

cog

(fencing) A coup d'arret, or stop thrust.


stroke

The noun is derived from Middle English strok, stroke (“blow from a weapon, cut”), from Old English strāc, from Proto-West Germanic *straik, from Proto-Germanic *straikaz (“stroke”), from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- (“to rub, stroke; to shear; to strike”).
Sense 3.6.2.2 (“the oblique, slash, or virgule (‘/’)”) is a contraction of oblique stroke, a variant of oblique which was originally used in telegraphy.
The verb is derived from the noun.
Cognates
* German Streich (“stroke”)
* Middle Low German strēk (“stroke, trick, prank”)
* Scots strak, strake, straik (“blow, stroke”)

isku

one of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished

ход

single movement or thrust of a part (such as a piston) of a machine that moves back and forth; length of this movement

(professional wrestling) Backstage influence.

pancada

(professional wrestling) backstage influence


stroke

en-verb

stroke (third-person singular simple present strokes, present participle stroking, simple past and past participle stroked)

strokes (present singular third-person)
stroking (participle present)
stroked (participle past)
stroked (past)
stroke (infinitive)
stroke (first-person present singular)
stroked (first-person past singular)
stroke (present second-person singular)
strokest (archaic present second-person singular)
stroked (past second-person singular)
strokedst (archaic past second-person singular)
strokes (present singular third-person)
stroketh (archaic present singular third-person)
stroked (past singular third-person)
stroke (plural present)
stroked (past plural)
stroke (present subjunctive)
stroked (past subjunctive)
stroke (imperative present)
stroking (participle present)
stroked (participle past)

The verb is derived from Middle English stroken, straken (“to caress, fondle, pat, rub, smooth, stroke; to pass something over (someone or something); to brush or rub against;”) [and other forms], from Old English strācian (“to stroke”), from Proto-West Germanic *straikōn (“to caress, stroke”), from *straik (“a line, stroke; a dash”) (see further at etymology 1) + *-ōn (suffix forming verbs from nouns).
The noun is derived from the verb.
Cognates
* German streicheln (“to stroke, fondle”)
* German Low German straken, strieken, strakeln, striekeln (“to stroke; caress; fondle”)
* Middle Low German strēken, Middle Dutch strēken (modern Dutch streeken)
* Old High German strīhhan, streihhōn, Middle High German strīchen (modern German streichen (“to stroke; to rub; to spread; to apply; to paint; to cancel; to cross out, strike out; to delete; to discard”))
* Saterland Frisian strookje (“to stroke; caress”)
* West Frisian streakje (“to stroke; caress”)

nb...

strok, stroke, (Northern England, Scotland) straike, strake, (Early Middle English) straca, stracien

cog

(by extension, chiefly US, politics) To influence (someone) by convincing or flattering them.


nut

→ Japanese: ナット (natto)

From Middle English nute, note, from Old English hnutu, from Proto-West Germanic *hnut, from Proto-Germanic *hnuts (“nut”), from a root *knu- possibly shared with Proto-Celtic *knūs and Latin nux (“nut”). Based on the form of the nouns and the restriction of the root to Germanic, Celtic and Italic, it has been argued to be of non-Indo-European (substrate) origin.
See also West Frisian nút, Dutch noot, German Nuss, Danish nød, Swedish nöt, Norwegian nøtt.

dió

walnut in particular and an element in the name of some other nuts

dióféle

literally: ’walnut-like’, the family of this fruit

walnuts, hazelnuts/peanuts, chestnuts, and related fruits

even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while

Edward H[enry] Knight
w:Edward H. Knight


flash

en-noun

flash (countable and uncountable, plural flashes)

→ Catalan: flaix

→ Polish: flesz

In some senses, from Middle English flasshen, a variant of flasken, flaskien (“to sprinkle, splash”), which was likely of imitative origin; in other senses probably of North Germanic origin akin to Swedish dialectal flasa (“to burn brightly, blaze”), related to flare. Compare also Icelandic flasa (“to rush, go hastily”).

onomatopoeic

imitative

I just got my first commando flash.


pass

en-verb

pass (third-person singular simple present passes, present participle passing, simple past and past participle passed)

passes (present singular third-person)
passing (participle present)
passed (participle past)
passed (past)
passe (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English passen, from Old French passer (“to step, walk, pass”), from Vulgar Latin *passāre (“step, walk, pass”), derived from Latin passus (“a step”), from Proto-Italic *pat-s-tus, from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread, stretch out”). Cognate with Old English fæþm (“armful, fathom”). More at fathom.
Displaced native Old English genġan.

مَرَّ

medicine: to eliminate (something) from the body by natural processes; to go through the intestines

اِجْتَازَ

to go through any inspection or test successfully

(sports) To make various kinds of movement.

(intransitive, fencing) To make a lunge or swipe.

To change place.
To make various kinds of movement.
To make a lunge or swipe.


pass

→ Tibetan: སྤ་སེ (spa se)

From Middle English pas, pase, pace, from passen (“to pass”).

(fencing) A thrust or push; an attempt to stab or strike an adversary.


muffler

→ Japanese: マフラー

→ Spanish: mofle

→ Welsh: myffler

(World War I military slang, rare) A gasmask.


hammer

From Middle English hamer, from Old English hamor, from Proto-West Germanic *hamar, from Proto-Germanic *hamaraz (“tool with a stone head”) (compare West Frisian hammer, Low German Hamer, Dutch hamer, German Hammer, Danish hammer, Swedish hammare). This is traditionally ascribed to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱmoros, from *h₂éḱmō (“stone”), but see *hamaraz for further discussion.
(declare a defaulter on the stock exchange): Originally signalled by knocking with a wooden mallet.

sense

Nonstop hammer cock, violent mannered shots land a lot

2016, Doseone, “Enter the Gungeon”, in Enter the Gungeon OST:

In the course of a single month this year, the following news reports emanated from Florida: A gun enthusiast in Tampa built a 55-foot backyard pool shaped like a revolver, with a hot tub in the hammer.

2023 March 27, Helen Lewis, “How Did America’s Weirdest, Most Freedom-Obsessed State Fall for an Authoritarian Governor?”, in The Atlantic:

(firearms) A moving part of a firearm that strikes the firing pin to discharge a gun.


array

en-noun

array (countable and uncountable, plural arrays)

From Middle English arrayen, from Anglo-Norman arraier (compare Old French arraier, areer (“to put in order”)), from Medieval Latin arrēdō (“to put in order, arrange, array”), from *rēdum (“preparation, order”), from Frankish *raid or *raidā (“preparation, order”) or Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃 (garaiþs, “ready, prepared”), from Proto-Germanic *raidaz, *raidiz (“ready”). Compare Old English rād (“condition, stipulation”), Old High German antreitī (“order, rank”). Doublet of ready.


profile

en-noun

profile (countable and uncountable, plural profiles)

From French profil, from Italian profilo (“a border”), later also proffilo (“a side-face, profile”), from Latin pro (“before”) + filo (“a line, stroke, thread”), from filum (“a thread”); see file. Doublet of purfle.

(military slang) An exemption from certain types of duties due to injury or disability.


dojo

dojos (plural)
dojo (plural)
dōjō (alternative)

→ Russian: додзё (dodzjó)

Borrowed from Japanese 道場 (dōjō, literally “place of the ways”). Doublet of dojang.

bor

[ˈdəʊ̯d͡ʒəʊ̯]

/ˈdoʊˌd͡ʒoʊ/

[ˈdoʊ̯ˌd͡ʒoʊ̯]

I was to be there [Helsinki, Finland] for over two weeks; and because a hotel room affords a rather awkward place of practice, I went looking for a dojo. Finally after hearing rumors of dojos from various citizens I turned to the equivalent of Helsinki's Yellow Pages. There I found listed, under Meido-Kan, the name of one Kare K. Käyhkö.

1965 October, Dean Nelson, “Finland Welcomes Karateman”, in Norman Fogel, editor, Black Belt: Magazine of the Martial Arts, volume III, number 10, Los Angeles, Calif.: Black Belt, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 47:

When his teacher moved from the area, Mr. Demura was relocated to another dojo which taught both karate and kendo.

1971, Fumio Demura, “About the Author”, in Nunchaku: Karate Weapon of Self-defense, Los Angeles, Calif.: Black Belt Books, Ohara Publications, published 2005, →ISBN, page 6:

Most dojo, unless they maintain a group coverage for their students, will require you to sign a waiver before you begin attending class.

1974, Tonny Tulleners, “Want to Learn Karate?”, in Beginning Karate, Santa Clarita, Calif.: Ohara Publications, →ISBN, page 12:

The first thing the students had to do when they entered the dojo was to rei (bow) to the floor. This showed respect for the dojo, treating it with humbleness.

2012 November 26, Reese Rigby, “Proper Dojo Etiquette”, in They Call Me Sensei, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 6:

(martial arts) A training facility, usually led by one or more sensei; a hall or room used for such training.

đạo trường

chiefly for those of Japanese martial arts

In this class of truck it’s all about torque, and the Hilux has that in spades. [...] Its traction control stamps the ground with the immovable authority of a sumo wrestler entering the dojo.

2017 September 3, Martin Love, “Toyota Hilux pick-up review: ‘A work horse, not a fashion pony’”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2018-10-05:

Women [...] considered "impure", are not allowed on the dojo, circular location of the fight considered a sacred place. The inflexibility of the sumo world on this point had caused a scandal last year when women doctors and nurses had come to the dojo to help an elected official feeling uncomfortable during a speech at a tournament. The sumo association had to present "sincere apologies" for asking them to come down as soon as possible.

2019 January 16, “Sumo: Kisenosato, only current yokozuna born in Japan, retires”, in Pakistan Today, Lahore: Arif Nizami, →ISSN, →OCLC:

Most stables are off-limits but Hakkaku's allows paying guests accompanied by a guide to watch a morning training session. Because sumo competitions are held just six times a year, it's a great way for visitors to experience this uniquely Japanese phenomenon. [...] Guests silently shuffle into the small dojo to sit or kneel just feet from where the enormous fighters are practising.

2019 July 27, Declan McVeigh, “Hakkaku stable: How to watch Tokyo’s sumo stars train live”, in The National, Abu Dhabi: International Media Investments, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-07-29:

Novak Djokovic had fought against other sumo players in a dojo before he started Japan Open, but the tennis champion was clearly out of his league. [...] "I had a slight weight deficit but I was very close to moving the guy an inch. They say they eat at least 10.000 calories a day to be strong and big. Don't know if I can match that to be honest", Nole commented on his poor performance in the dojo.

2019 October 2, Claudiu Pop, “Djokovic Tried Sumo Wrestling before Japan Open, but Failed to Impress”, in Tennis World, archived from the original on 2019-10-08:

(sumo) Synonym of dohyo (“the ring in which a sumo wrestling match is held”).


CEO

en-noun

CEO (countable and uncountable, plural CEOs)

CEOs (plural)
C.E.O. (alternative)
C. E. O. (alternative)
ceo (alternative)

(Philippines, government) Initialism of city engineering office.


party

→ Bulgarian: парти (parti)

Chinese:

desc

Cantonese: → 派對 /派对 (paai³ deoi³), → party, ⇒ P

→ Mandarin: 趴體 /趴体 (pātǐ), 派對 /派对 (pàiduì)

→ Dhivehi: ޕާޓީ (pāṭī)

→ Japanese: パーティー (pātī)

→ Korean: 파티 (pati)

→ Maori: pāti

→ Malay: parti

→ Russian: пати (pati), → Russian: парти (parti)

From Middle English party, partye, partie, from Anglo-Norman partie, from Old French partie (“side, part; portion, share; separation, division”, literally “that which is divided”), noun use of feminine of past participle of Old French partir (“to divide, separate”), from Latin partire (“to share, part, distribute, divide”), from pars (“a part, piece, a share”); see also part. First attested in c. 1300. Doublet of partita. The sense of communist party of a communist state derives Russian партия (partija), short for Коммунистическая партия (Kommunističeskaja partija).

حِزْب

group of people forming one side in a given dispute, contest etc.

гру́па

group of people travelling or attending an event together

business in the front, party in the back

(now rare in general sense) A group of people forming one side in a given dispute, contest, etc., or united in maintaining a cause, policy, or opinion in opposition to others; a faction.

(politics) A political group considered as a formal whole, usually organized on a national basis, which contests elections and aims to form or take part in a government; a political party.

(with the and capital initial) The Communist Party, especially as the sole political party of a communist state.

(dated, now rare) The feeling of solidarity with and support for one's political party; partisanship, especially in political matters.

The green party took 12% of the vote.

"A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day.[…]A strong man—a strong one; and a heedless." ¶ "Of what party is he?" she inquired, as though casually.

1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.

1949, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, page 103:

In the freer political atmosphere before the 1989 repression, peasant protests against the Party in Henan were sometimes openly discussed. A transcript of a meeting between peasants and cadres in Jili district near Luoyang published in the Peasants’ Daily recorded some vivid complaints.

1996, John Gittings, “Peasants in Revolt”, in Real China: From Cannibalism to Karaoke, Pocket Books, published 1997, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 46:

boarding party

The settlers were attacked early next morning by a scouting party.

(military) A detachment of troops selected for a particular service or duty.


party

From Middle English party, from Old French parti (“parted”), from Latin partītus (“parted”), past participle of partiō (“to divide”). More at part.

an escutcheon party per pale

(obsolete, except in compounds) Divided; in part.

(heraldry) Divided into parts of different tinctures, usually equal, and especially following the lines of one of the ordinaries.


platform

From Middle French plateforme (“a flat form”), from plate (“flat”) (from Old French plat, from Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús, “flat”)) + forme (“form”) (from Latin fōrma (“shape; figure; form”)); compare flatscape.

Now if the earth could be enjoyed in such a manner as every one might have provision, as it may by this platform I have offered, then will the peace of the commonwealth be preserved, and men need not act so hypocritically as the clergy do, and others likewise, to get a living.

1652, Gerrard Winstanley, chapter 1, in The Law of Freedom in a Platform:

The Communist Party and its candidates stand on the following platform, which expresses the immediate interests of the majority of the population of our country.

1936, Communist Election Platform 1936, New York City: Workers Library Publishers, page 6:

Surely there is nothing strange or new or threatening about such a platform. It will distress only those who have the essentially un-American view that change itself is frightening and should be avoided at all costs.

1972, Mike Gravel, Citizen Power: A People's Platform, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, →ISBN, page xii:

(politics, figurative) A political stance on a broad set of issues, which are called planks.

պլատֆորմ

politics: political stance on a broad set of issues


platform

en-verb

platform (third-person singular simple present platforms, present participle platforming, simple past and past participle platformed)

platforms (present singular third-person)
platforming (participle present)
platformed (participle past)
platformed (past)

Among them I scarcely can plot out one truth / Plain enough to be platformed by some voting sleuth / And paraded before the precinct polling-booth.

1955, Amy Lowell, Complete Poetical Works, page 408:

(politics, transitive) To include in a political platform


constitution

PIE word
 *ḱóm
From Middle English constitucioun, constitucion (“edict, law, ordinance, regulation, rule, statute; body of laws or rules, or customs; body of fundamental principles; principle or rule (of science); creation”) from Old French constitucion (modern French constitution), a learned borrowing from Latin cōnstitūtiō, cōnstitūtiōnem (“character, constitution, disposition, nature; definition; point in dispute; order, regulation; arrangement, system”), from cōnstituō (“to establish, set up; to confirm; to decide, resolve”). Equivalent to constitute + -ion.

1693, Edmund Bohun, A Geographical Dictionary
They have in their present Constitution a Grand Council of the Nobility, a Senato, a College of Twenty six who give Audience to Ambassadors and report their Demands to the Senate, a Council of Ten; and a Triumvirate (monthly chosen by, and out of, the Ten) of three Inquisitors of State; whose Authority is so absolute, as to extend to the taking away of the Life of the Doge no less than the meanest Artisan, without acquainting the Senate, provided they all three agree in the Sentence.

Our constitution had begun to exist in times when statesmen were not much accustomed to frame exact definitions.

1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter X, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

(government) The formal or informal system of primary principles and laws that regulates a government or other institutions.

grondwet

formal or informal system of primary principles and laws regulating a government or other institutions

ሕገ መንግሥት

ḥəgä mängəśt

រដ្ឋធម្មនុញ្ញ

rŏət thŏəmmĕəʼnuñ


asset

→ Malay: aset

Back-formation from assets, from Anglo-Norman asetz, from Old French assez (“enough”). Compare Middle English asseth.


governor

governors (plural)
gouernour (alternative obsolete)
gouvernor (alternative obsolete)
gouvernour (alternative obsolete)
governer (alternative obsolete)
governour (alternative obsolete)
guvnah (alternative informal)
guvnuh (alternative informal)

Bahamian Creole: governor

Belizean Creole: govna

Gullah: gobna

Krio: governor

Pichinglis: gɔvna, gɔbna

Pijin: gavna

Tobagonian Creole English: governor

Tok Pisin: gavana

→ Hausa: gwamna

→ Irish: gobharnóir

→ Maori: kāwana

→ Samoan: kavana

→ Swahili: gavana

→ Malay: gabenor

/ˈɡʌvənə(ɹ)/

From Middle English governour, from Old French gouvreneur, from Latin gubernator, from Ancient Greek κυβερνήτης (kubernḗtēs, “steersman, pilot, guide”), from κυβερνάω (kubernáō, “to steer, to drive, to guide, to act as a pilot”), of disputed origin. By surface analysis, govern + -or. Doublet of gubernator. Doublet of cybernetics and Kubernetes.

der

Younger voters are more libertarian in political philosophy than older voters and are credited with the success of libertarian governor Jesse Ventura of Minnesota.

1999, Karen O'Connor, The essentials of American government: continuity and change, page 17

en:chief executive officer of a first-level administrative division

chief executive officer
chief executive officer

(politics) The chief executive officer of a first-level administrative division of a country.

goewerneur

chief executive officer of first-level division of a country

viceroy

of large divisions of a kingdom or empire


squash

en-noun

squash (countable and uncountable, plural squashes)

→ Catalan: esquaix

→ Czech: squash

→ Dutch: kwast

Afrikaans: kwas

→ Finnish: squash

→ French: squash

→ Japanese: スカッシュ (sukasshu)

→ Korean: 스쿼시 (seukwosi)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: squash

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: squash

→ Polish: squash

→ Portuguese: squash

→ Russian: сквош (skvoš)

→ Swedish: squash

From Middle English squachen, squatchen, from Old French esquacher, escachier, from Vulgar Latin *excoāctiāre, from Latin ex + coāctāre. Probably influenced by Middle English quashen, quassen, from Old French esquasser, escasser (“to crush, shatter, destroy, break”), from Vulgar Latin *exquassare, from Latin ex- + quassare (“to shatter”) (see quash).

It was one of the most shocking WWE title matches ever witnessed, and effectively a 20-minute squash match as Brock Lesnar "conquered" his opponent.

Orr, James (2014 August 18) “WWE SummerSlam 2014: How Twitter reacted to John Cena vs Brock Lesnar”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), The Independent, retrieved 2015-07-30

(slang, professional wrestling) An extremely one-sided, usually short, match.


device

From Middle English devis, devise, devyce, devys, devyse, from Old French devis and devise, from Latin dīvīsus, past participle of dīvidō (“to divide”). Doublet of devise (noun).

1736. O'Callaghan, Edmund Bailey. The Documentary History of the State of New York Chapter I, Article III: Enumeration of the Indian Tribes.
The devices of these savages are the serpent, the Deer, and the Small Acorn.

(heraldry) A motto, emblem, or other mark used to distinguish the bearer from others. A device differs from a badge or cognizance primarily as it is a personal distinction, and not a badge borne by members of the same house successively.


password

passwords (plural)
pass-word (alternative)

From pass + word; the sentry-passing sense predates the cryptographic sense and was its inspiration.

Only if a would-be visitor knew the password du jour could he pass; the guards allowed no exceptions.

(military, security) A word relayed to a person to gain admittance to a place or to gain access to information.