All Questions
Tagged with single-word-requests etymology
106
questions
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1
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63
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What's the meaning of "QTY"? [closed]
I found the abbreviation "QTY" in an assay (not essay!😊). Can you tell me the meaning of this abbreviation? How can I paraphrase/explain it into ordinary words?
- 131
2
votes
1
answer
64
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How come that "bimonthly" means "twice a month" and "every two months" simultaneously? [duplicate]
What's the story behind this word, and how did it end so ambiguous, while other languages differ?
There's already "Bimestral"why does every dictionary still uses "once every two months&...
- 21
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1
answer
103
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Is there a word for when the name of something describes or defines how it is made?
I am wondering if there is a word for this as described in the title.
My example: I am writing about a SWANA ingredient/food product by the name of "Freekeh", which is based on the Arabic ...
0
votes
3
answers
92
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Does "transparent" have contradictory meanings?
Varous definitions of the word "transparent" seem almost contradictory:
nearly invisible
easy to perceive
functioning without the user's perception
The first two definitions seem to be in ...
- 139
1
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0
answers
43
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Meaning of "she has hern" in Faulkner's 'As I Lay Dying' [duplicate]
I am reading "As I Lay Dying" and have usually been able to look up the meaning behind the choice of words that Faulkner uses. However, I am unable to find a satisfactory definition of the ...
- 111
0
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2
answers
154
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What does "Sandbagging" (or sometimes sandboxing) mean as an expression in startup or sales and where is it coming from?
I have heard one meaning of it in the context of a personal goal is to set a too-easy goal (i.e., that you know you can easily achieve). I also heard it is coming from golf. Can someone shed more ...
- 117
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3
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687
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Word to describe someone with all knowledge in some field [closed]
Word that describes someone that has all possible knowledge in some specific field, like an expert.
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2
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1
answer
253
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Is "samuraily" correct?
Pahlavāni, knighthood, and samuraily may be different in forms of
cultural output, but all three are inherently from the same
historical essence.
Pahlavāni (پهلوانی) is a Persian word. In its ...
- 289
6
votes
5
answers
4k
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Transformation Of The Meaning Of the Word "Idiot" [closed]
The historical core meaning of the word "idiot" was a person with a low IQ to a developmentally disabled degree.
This sense of the word is now used infrequently as it is considered rude. ...
- 2,424
1
vote
0
answers
52
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Is there a word in a dead or lost language that we lost the definition to? [closed]
Is there a word we lost the definition to?
A word whose definition we lost to history?
Something that is a part of our history but we forgot the meaning with time
- 111
2
votes
2
answers
76
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How to describe Bipolar-like behaviour in a positive sense? [closed]
Little bit of background that might seem technical - I'm looking for a name for this common pattern in web design - if you are not logged-in, the homepage shows a marketing landing page. But once you ...
- 121
0
votes
1
answer
349
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Doctrine as a verb or adjective [closed]
Doctrine should definitely be a verb in the English language, but apparently, it is not. What would then be the word that best suits such a purpose?
Ex: He was doctrined to uphold such beliefs.
- 159
2
votes
3
answers
1k
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What word was used with the meaning of "suicide" pre-1650s?
Online Etymology Dictionary puts the origin as such:
"deliberate killing of oneself," 1650s, from Modern Latin suicidium
Wiktiobary here puts:
Suicide, 1651, New Latin coinage (probably ...
- 1,927
0
votes
1
answer
72
views
What is a word which means "un-deliberately uncooperative"? (originating back to at least the 17th-century)
I am looking for a word for the quality of being un-deliberately uncooperative?
So not the likes of "stubborn" which has a connotation of deliberate uncooperativeness to reason or what-have-...
- 1,927
0
votes
1
answer
248
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What is it called when two senses of the same word are etymologically independent?
Sometimes different senses of the same word have different etymons. For example, mole as a small burrowing animal and mole as a chemical quantity are etymologically unrelated.
Is there a name for ...
- 103