We normally refer to mountains as "Mount ___" or a foreign equivalent (e.g. "Mont Blanc"), or by their name alone (e.g. "Everest"). However, we refer to mountains in German-speaking countries as "the ___" (e.g. the Matterhorn, the Eiger, the Jungfrau, the Gros...

dean

A senior official of some kind in a university, college, cathedral, church etc.

From Latin decanus, a person in charge of ten people. (Surprisingly, the English word deacon does not come from this root.)

Fell

Evil, cruel, wicked, deadly, fierce. E.g. "a fell deed".

Usually found nowadays in the expression "in/at one fell swoop" (originally from Shakespeare's Macbeth).

extrinsic (adjective)

Not part of the essential nature of something; originating or operating from outside it.

(A rarer word than its opposite, intrinsic.)

Yes, only quotes 1 and 2 are applicable here. I think one could use a different (but related) noun, e.g. "he was dismissed the army/navy/force", but the construction only works with the verb "dismiss", and only in the passive. (The active form "to dismiss the service" i...

Here is etymonline 's explanation: https://www.etymonline.com/word/colonel It seems the English could not make up their minds between the French 'r' and the original Latin/Italian 'l'. It is an interesting question how spelling and pronunciation can go different ways like this, and why some language...

But then, if 'take' is the opposite of 'give', a care giver (sometimes called a carer) suggests that a caretaker is the recipient of care - a caree, if you like. But he or she is not. I think we have two different senses of 'care' here. To take care is to take on a burden (responsibility or attenti...

"He was dismissed the service." The above sentence, often used in a military context, is grammatically rather odd. What grammatical role does "the service" play here? Is there a particular name for this construction? Are there any other examples of it? One can, of course, altern...

Catachresis An unconventional use of a word, either through error (e.g. mitigate instead of militate ), or deliberately for effect (e.g. the weeping of the clouds), or in order to create a new expression (e.g. soap opera , disc jockey ). Malapropisms (e.g. 'philanthropy' for 'philately') and single...

Thank you. That is very detailed and informative.

I can't think of another word in English ending in -eat that is pronounced -et. There is "threat". Incidentally, if the re- in repeat means again, surely peat is a word? Not as in peat bogs; that's different of course. But peat as in do or say something. Is there a history here? "Rep...

rococo (noun or adjective)

A highly ornamental style of furniture and architecture, found in continental Europe in the late Baroque period (18th century).

Noisome, noise, nuisance, noxious, nausea. All these words denote something unpleasant - but most of them are unrelated etymologically, it seems.

Notes: The plural of today's word is bon mots Most English dictionaries give only the French spelling for the (English) plural, i.e. bons mots . Those that give both spellings put bons mots first. That is the spelling I would use. The same applies to bons vivants (not bon(s) viveurs , which is pseu...

Slava wrote:What sound does barge end in? Is it not a zh preceded by a d?

I mean the pure 'zh' sound (not a component of the 'j' sound), as found in borrowings from French such as massage, mirage, cortege and beige.