Oxford English DictionaryHistorical dictionary of the English languageThe Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house.
SlangSlang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usage) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of particular in-groups in order to establish group identity, exclude outsiders, or both. The word itself came about in the 18th century and has been defined in multiple ways since its conception, with no single technical usage in linguistics.
NonsenseNonsense is a form of communication, via speech, writing, or any other formal logic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. In ordinary usage, nonsense is sometimes synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous. Many poets, novelists and songwriters have used nonsense in their works, often creating entire works using it for reasons ranging from pure comic amusement or satire, to illustrating a point about language or reasoning.
Samuel JohnsonEnglish writer and polymath (1709–1784)Samuel Johnson (18 September [O.S.7 September] 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer and polymath who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer (creator of dictionaries). The work for which he is best known is his 42,733-entry Dictionary of the English Language (1755).
Wycliffe's BibleMiddle English translations of the BibleWycliffe's Bible (also known as the Middle English Bible [MEB], Wycliffite Bibles, or Wycliffian Bibles) is a sequence of orthodox Middle English Bible translations from the Latin Vulgate which appeared over a period from approximately 1382 to 1395.
Proto-Indo-European languageAncestor of the Indo-European languagesProto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European has been discovered; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. Far more work has gone into reconstructing PIE than any other proto-language.
British EnglishBritish English is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to the collective dialects of English throughout the United Kingdom taken as a single umbrella variety, for instance additionally incorporating Scottish English, Welsh English, and Northern Irish English.
Middle EnglishMiddle English (abbreviated to ME) refers to the variations of the English language that were spoken in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century, roughly coinciding with the High and Late Middle Ages. The Middle English dialects evolved from Old English under the influence of Anglo-Norman French and Old Norse.
CastrationSurgical or chemical action that removes use of testiclesA 15th century Ottoman medical illustration by Sabuncuoğlu Şerafeddin depicting an operation for castrationCastration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, that disables the function of testes in males: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceutical drugs to deactivate the testes.
PhallusA phallus (pl.: phalli or phalluses) is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history, a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisely, iconically—resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus; however, such objects are more often referred to as being phallic (as in "phallic symbol").
VernacularVernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken form of a language or dialect. The term particularly carries the perception of a language variety with lower social status or less prestige than standard language, which is more codified, institutionally promoted, literary, or formal.
Hiberno-EnglishDialect of English spoken in IrelandHiberno-English or Irish English (IrE), also formerly sometimes called Anglo-Irish, is the set of dialects of the English language native to the island of Ireland. In both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, English is the first language in everyday use and, alongside the Irish language, one of two official languages (with Ulster Scots, in Northern Ireland, being another local language or dialect).
Proto-Germanic languageAncestor of the Germanic languages
bollocksRelated word or term.testiclesRelated word or term.dog's bollocksRelated word or term.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.