Adumbrate

Adumbrate (pronounced a-duhm-breyt or ad-uh m-breyt)

(1) To produce a faint image or resemblance of; to outline or sketch.

(2) To foreshadow; prefigure.

(3) To darken or conceal partially; overshadow.

(4) To give a faint indication of something.

1550s: From the Latin adumbrationem (nominative adumbratio) and adumbratus (shaded), past participle of adumbrare (to cast a shadow upon).  Ultimate root was umbrare (to cast in shadow).  The meaning "to overshadow" is from the 1660s at which time emerged the derived forms adumbrated and adumbrating and related forms are adumbration (noun), adumbrative (adjective) and adumbratively (adverb).

Lindsay Lohan adumberated.  Mercedes-Benz Academy Awards Party, Los Angeles, 2009.

Chevron

Chevron (pronounced shev-ruhn (U) or shev-run (non-U))

(1) In heraldry, an ordinary in the form of an inverted V-shaped charge on a shield, one of the most ancient of the English ordinaries.

(2) An insignia consisting of stripes meeting at an angle, worn on the sleeve by non-commissioned officers (NCO) in the military, police officers etc, as a mark of rank (variously upwards or downwards), length or service or for other purposes (usually always upwards).  In casual use, the use to the display the NCO ranks are referred to as “stripes”.

(3) In interior decorating, an ornamental form in a zigzag pattern used often on moldings and also called a dancette; the design most historically most associated with romanesque architecture in France, England and Sicily.

(4) In the manufacture of fabrics, as chevron weave, the application of the shape (the herringbone a subset of this use).

(5) In road-traffic management (1) a pattern of horizontal black and white V-shapes on a road sign indicating a sharp bend (usually in the plural) or (2) one of the V-shaped markings on the surface of roads used to indicate minimum distances between vehicles (use varies between jurisdictions).

(6) In design, any V-shaped pattern or device.

(7) In language, an informal term for the guillemet, either of the punctuation marks “«” or “»”, used in several languages to indicate passages of speech (the equivalent convention in the English language the same placement of inverted commas (“_”).

(8) In language, as “inverted chevron”, an informal term for a háček, a diacritical mark resembling an inverted circumflex.

(9) In publishing, an angle bracket used both as a typographic and scientific symbol.

(10) In architecture, a rafter (a specialized type of strut or beam) of this shape, usually load-bearing and supporting a structure such as a roof and sometimes exposed, doubling as a decorative device.

(11) In aerospace, components fashioned in a saw-tooth patterns used internally (and externally (briefly) on exhaust nacelles as a noise-suppression mechanism) in jet engines.

(12) In anatomy, a bone of this shape.

(13) In entomology, the moth Eulithis testata.

(14) In geology, (1) a fold of this shape in layers of rock and (2), a sediment deposit in this shape across the surface.

(15) In pediatric medicine, as chevron nail, a rare transient fingernail ridge pattern seen only in children.

(16) In mathematics, as chevron plot, a technique of data representation.

(17) In computing, the informal term for the angle bracket when used in HTML (also sometimes called the “wicket” reflecting the English origins of HTML in the Conseil européen pour la recherche nucléaire (CERN; the European Organization for Nuclear Research)).

(18) In folk arts & crafts, as chevron bead, glass beads in this shape.

(19) A style of moustache in this shape.

(21) In music, a wavy line indicating a trill

(22) In the optical devices associated with ballistics, a symbol used in reticles in firearm scopes.

1300–1350: From the Middle English cheveroun, from the Old French chevron (rafter; chevron), from chévre (a goat), from the Vulgar Latin capriōnem & capriōn- (stem of capriō), ultimately from the Latin caper (goat).  The alternative spelling was cheveron which in commercial use is still used, presumably as means to achieve product differentiation.  Chevron is a noun & verb, noun, chevroned & chevrony (also as chevronny) are adjectives, chevroning & chevroned are verbs and chevronwise is an adverb; the noun plural is chevrons.

Late twelfth century doorway at Gradefes Convent, Spain.

The technical class into which architects classify decorative (as opposed to structural) chevrons is “inflected ornament” or, in the slang the “zig-zag” (or zigzag) and they were widely used in romanesque architecture in France, England and Sicily.  In this decorative mode, it’s though at least one inspiration for their use was the metal casings frequently seen in early wood columns.  The meaning of the word in French is said to be based on structural engineering, the reference the rafters of a shallow roof, the idea based on there being some resemblance to the rather angular hind legs of a goat, the Vulgar Latin capriōnem & capriōn being from the Classical Latin caper (goat).  This actually had echoes in the Latin capreolus (props, stays, short pieces of timber joined at angles for support) which translated literally as “wild goat; chamoix”.  However, some historians of architecture doubt the story about the hind legs, suggesting the image was more likely the horns of a butting goat and there’s some support for this in that the first use of the word in English was in heraldry when chevrons began appearing on shields, the horns of a charging beast presumably more appealing to the military mind than the beast’s back legs.

1938 Citroën 11B Traction Avant Coupé (sometime referred to as the Faux Cabriolet) with the company’s distinctive double chevron emblem in the radiator grill.

Designed by French engineer André Lefèbvre (1894-1964) and Italian industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni (1903-1964), the Citroën Traction Avant was introduced in 1933 and was the machine which more than any other legitimized both unitary construction (ie no separate chassis) and the front-wheel-drive (FWD) configuration (Traction Avant translates literally as “front traction”) in mass-produced cars.  Although a great success and in production until 1956 (with severe disruptions during wartime occupation 1940-1944), the costs incurred in its development and the tooling needed for volume production meant that by 1934 the company was compelled to declare bankruptcy, taken over by Michelin, the most exposed creditor by virtue of having for some time supplied tyres on the basis of “delayed payment”.  Although total Traction Avant production exceeded 760,000, there were only 15 coupés, all from the pre-war years and of these, only four were built in 1938.

1935 Citroën TA22 Traction Avant prototypes, cabriolet (left) and saloon (right).  To mark the installation of a V8, an appropriate numeral adorned the double chevron.  Unfortunately, because the chevrons weren’t inverted, the chance to make a “V8” statement was missed.  Perhaps the French found such a thing vulgar.

Another genuine rarity among the Traction Avants was the TA22, an intended top-of-the-range version equipped with a 3.8 litre (232 cubic inch) V8 created by joining two of Citroën’s 1.9 litre (116 cubic inch) four-cylinder units in a common crankcase.  Apparently 20 were built but the combination of the financial turmoil of bankruptcy and Michelin’s subsequent rationalization saw the project abandoned and although there are many stories about the fate of the prototypes, eighty years on none have ever surfaced so it’s reasonable to assume none survived (at least not with the unique power-train) although there have been some privately built (partial) recreations, most using some variation of the contemporary Ford Flathead V8 including the 2.2 litre (136 cubic inch) version which was used in Europe or the later 2.4 litre (144 cubic inch) unit built by Ford’s French operation (the tooling for which was sold to Simca which, in small volumes, offered V8 cars between 1954-1961.

Daimler SP250 (1959-1964).  Citroën’s double chevron remains their corporate emblem even though they no longer produce interesting or innovative machinery, their range in recent decades dreary and derivative.  Many others however use chevrons and inverted chevrons from time to time, sometimes as part of emblems as Cadillac has done and sometimes as a decoration.  Quite what the designers thought a chevron added to the Daimler SP250’s catfish-like face isn’t recorded but opinion seems to remain divided because some owners appear to have removed the embellishment.  Daimler didn't take advantage of the chevron to add an "8" either, even though that the time their marvelous little hemi-head 2.5 litre (155 cubic inch) V8 was a unique selling point.  They may have thought the splendid exhaust note was a sufficient advertisement.  

Boeing 747-8 with chevrons in the engine nacelles.

Not all exhaust notes were as pleasing as those emitted by the Daimler V8s and for some years Boeing produced passenger airliners with chevrons cut into the engine nacelles, a trick which reduced the blast noise by up to 15 decibels on the ground and in the forward cabin, the engineers referring to this as “fan-tone” adjustment.  Boeing defined and patented the technology as part of its second Quiet Technology Demonstrator (QTD2) program in 2005 and it was adopted (regardless of whether the installed engine was supplied by General Electric, Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney or CFM) for the 787 Dreamliner, 737 MAX aircraft and even the 747-8, the last generation of the old workhorse.  One benefit of a lower fan-tone was that Boeing was able to reduce the mass of sound deadening fitted to the fuselage by some 600 lbs (272 kg), something which made a measurable difference to the rate of fuel burn.  The QTD2 programme was conducted in conjunction with General Electric and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), using a Boeing 777-300ER as a benchmark device, a notable choice given it was already the quietest in its class.

Lindsay Lohan in chevron themed ensemble with gladiator sandals, Ibiza, Spain, July 2014.

Curiously, given they were dealing with the same physics Airbus never used the chevrons on the nacelles of their airplanes and according to them, Boeing’s patent had no effect on their decision.  Airbus say they detected no advantages when testing the chevrons but there was a penalty because fuel consumption increased.  Instead, Airbus developed what they call a “zero splice” acoustic inner barrel to lower the fan-tone, the combination of new-generation insulation materials and the zero-splice’s “high-bypass” technology achieving a similar outcome, without the additional weight and fuel burn induced by the chevrons.  Boeing too has recently announced development of the chevrons would not continue and despite the early publicity shots of the 777X being built with the chevrons, the production versions have appeared without them.  That attracted some comment and Boeing released a statement which indicated the change was part of normal product development and that while the chevrons were at the time a way to achieve noise reduction, ongoing research has found a method which achieves that without the associated costs in drag, weight and thus fuel burn.  The essence of the new system appears to be the application of a honeycomb acoustic treatment in strategic areas of the exhaust ducting, the drilling of thousands of holes in the composite skin to disperse and capture noise in the core.  It’s noted however chevrons, for many reasons, remain an essential part of many internal components in jet engines, as they’ve been since the early days of the technology in the 1930s.

Oral & Verbal

Oral (pronounce awr-uhl or ohr-uhl)

(1) Uttered by the mouth; spoken.

(2) Of, using, or transmitted by speech.

(3) Of, relating to, or involving the mouth.

(4) Done, taken, or administered through the mouth.

(5) In phonetics, articulated with none of the voice issuing through the nose, as the normal English vowels and the consonants b and v.

(6) In psychoanalysis, of or relating to the earliest phase of infantile psychosexual development, lasting from birth to one year of age or longer, during which pleasure is obtained from eating, sucking, and biting.

(7) In psychology, of or relating to the sublimation of feelings experienced during the oral stage of childhood.

(8) In zoology, pertaining to that surface of polyps and marine animals that contains the mouth and tentacles.

1620–1625: From the Late Latin oralis, from ōr, the stem of ōs (genitive oris) (mouth, opening, face, entrance), from the primitive Indo-European root os & ous (mouth) and cognate with the Sanskrit āsya, asan & asyam (mouth, opening), the Avestan ah, the Hittite aish, the Old Norse oss (mouth of a river) and the Old English or (beginning, origin, front).  The meaning in psychology is from 1910, the sexual sense first recorded by US professor of zoology Alfred Kinsey (1894–1956) in his two seminal reports on human sexuality, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) & Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953) (usually referred to as "the Kinsey Reports") although, few doubt the actual acts had been practiced for sometime prior.  The noun use is attested from 1876.  Oral is a noun & adjective, oralize is a verb, oralization is a noun & orally is an adverb; the noun plural is orals.

Verbal (pronounced vur-buhl)

(1) Of or relating to words.

(2) Consisting of or in the form of words.

(3) Consisting of or expressed in words (as opposed to actions).

(4) As a technical use in linguistics, of, relating to a word, particularly a noun or adjective, derived from a verb.  Alternative form is verbid.

(5) In formal grammar, used in a sentence as or like a verb, as participles and infinitives.

(6) In the plural, modern slang term of abuse or invective.

(7) A slang term for a criminal's (real or faked) admission of guilt on arrest or under interrogation (the idea of “putting words in the mouth”).

1483: From the Middle English verbal, from the Old French verbal, from the Latin verbālis (belonging to a word; consisting of words) the construct being verb(um) (word) + ālis (the Latin suffix which, when added to a noun or numeral, forms an adjective of relationship with that noun or numeral).  The phrase verbal conditioning dates from 1954 and the colloquial "verbal diarrhea" (needlessly or excessively loquacious) was noted as early as 1823 and then in relation to speech which hints at the long tradition of the word being used in places pedants would have insisted on "oral".  Verbal is a noun, verb & adjective, verballed is a verb, verballing & verbilization are nouns, verbalize is a verb and verbally is an adverb; the noun plural is verbals.

Oral or Verbal?

Lindsay Lohan, Speak (Casablanca Records, 2004).  Usually, whether text is oral or verbal hangs on whether it was spoken.

The classical distinction is that verbal applies to anything put into words, whether written or spoken, while oral pertains to the mouth, like medications taken by mouth and things spoken; the homophone “aural” is related to the sense of hearing.  Whether or not because of oral’s prurient associations, it’s one of those rules modern grammar Nazis like to try to enforce but verbal and oral have become so inextricably conflated that the tautological phrase “verbal and written” has become entrenched and verbal has enjoyed the meaning “spoken” since the late sixteenth century.  There’s a contested attestation of verbal meaning “composed of words” from 1530 but the first confirmed use meaning “conveyed by speech” is “verbale sermons” in 1589 and it was common by 1617 when a description of advocates before a court was phrased “… the Chamber of the Pallace where verball appeales are decided”.

Something like phone sex can be helpfully illustrative.  The provider in speaking is selling a service delivered orally but it's not "oral sex" because that depends on physical contact and phone sex is too remote; even if oral sex comes up un conversation, over the phone it's still not and is just an emulation delivered orally.  Of course, provider & customer can make arrangements to meet and enjoy oral sex in its accepted sense and that would be a contact, entered into by both parties on the basis of oral statements and it’s probably only in law the distinction between oral a verbal remains important.  In contract law, a contract is often verbal, indeed is frequently reduced to writing but contracts can be created in other ways, either by conduct alone or by oral statements, both of which can be enough in the absence of anything in writing.  A plaintiff issuing a writ alleging a verbal contract exists can expect to be asked to produce the appropriately executed document; if they meant there was just a discussion between the parties, they should avoid any ambiguity by claiming the existence of an oral contract.  This is often done when offering evidence to argue the conduct of a party being such that a contract by acquiescence has been created.

Wiglomeration

Wiglomeration (pronounced wig-glom-uh-rey-shuhn)

Needlessly or pointlessly complicated, time-consuming legal wrangling (listed by most sources as “always derogatory” but it’s presumed within the profession it’s sometimes an expression of admiration).

1852: The construct was wig + (agg)lomeration.  Wiglomeration is a noun, the noun plural is wiglomerations.  Although some must have been tempted, there seems no evidence anyone has ever created derived forms such as wiglomerative, wiglomerating, wiglomerator etc.

Wig (a head of real or synthetic hair worn on the head (1) to disguise baldness, (2) for cultural or religious reasons, (3) for fashion, (4) by actors better to resemble the character they are portraying or (4) in some legal systems by advocates or judges during court proceedings) was a shortened form of periwig, from the Middle French perruque which was probably borrowed from the western Lombard perrucca & parrucca which are of uncertain origin, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) suggesting there may be some relationship with the Latin pilus (hair) but, noting the phonetic variations, ponder that instead it could be related to parrocchetto (parakeet), the reference being to the bird’s feathers.  Linguistically, the process might have been similar to the phonetic changes of the intervocalic “L” into “R” of Italian parlare and Sicilian parrari.  Among fisherman, a wig was also “an old seal” although that use is now rare.  The meaning “to reprimand” is thought related to the slang term “bigwig” (that dating from the seventeenth century fashion in England of wearing big (and in the era increasingly bigger) wigs in England, a trend which peaked in early in 1700s) because of the association with aristocrats, nobles, lawyers and judges, the size and grandeur of one’s powdered wig a status symbol used to convey a perception of wealth and social standing.  Fashions however change and during the eighteenth century, the use declined and while among a few they lingered into the early 1800s, the French Revolution (1789) really was their death knell just about everywhere except courtrooms.

Interestingly, academic sources inside the construct was wig + (agg)lomeration rather than the more obvious wig + (g)lomeration, this based on an analysis of the unpublished notes of the author who coined the word.  Glomerate (to gather or wind into a spherical form or mass; to collect certain objects) was from the Latin glomeratus, past participle of glomerāre (to wind or add into a ball; to glomerate).  Agglomerate (the act or process of collecting in a mass; a heaping together; the state of being collected in a mass; a mass; cluster) was from the Latin agglomerātus, past participle of agglomerāre, the construct being ad- (to) + -glomerāre, from glomus (a ball; a mass), from globus (genitive glomeris), (a ball of yarn) of uncertain origin.

Wigs galore: Court of Chancery, Lincoln's Inn Hall (1808-1810), a book illustration created by Rudolph Ackermann, WH Pyne, William Combe, Augustus Pugin & Thomas Rowlandson, British Library collection.

Wiglomeration was coined by Charles Dickens (1812–1870) for a bit of a rant by Mr Jarndyce in the serialized novel Bleak House (1852-1853) which told the tale of the fictional probate case Jarndyce vs Jarndyce (spoken as “Jarndyse and Jarndyse” in the conventions of English legal language) which, over the decades it unfolded in the Court of Chancery Court, absorbed in legal fees all of the vast estate which the proceedings were initiated to distribute to the rightful beneficiaries.  The legal establishment at the time of publication criticized the depiction as “an exaggeration” but while it wasn’t typical, nor was it without basis because cases lasting over a decade were known and one famously ended (with the subject estate exhausted in legal costs) only in 1915 after running for 117 years.  Even well into the twentieth century, judicial sluggishness was not unknown: the House of Lords once took almost 19 years to hand down a decision.  In his youth as a court reporter Dickens had witnessed much wiglomeration.

Bleak House Chapter 8 (Covering a Multitude of Sins):

“He must have a profession; he must make some choice for himself. There will be a world more wiglomeration about it, I suppose, but it must be done.”

“More what, guardian?” said I.

“More wiglomeration,” said he. “It’s the only name I know for the thing. He is a ward in Chancery, my dear. Kenge and Carboy will have something to say about it; Master Somebody—a sort of ridiculous sexton, digging graves for the merits of causes in a back room at the end of Quality Court, Chancery Lane—will have something to say about it; counsel will have something to say about it; the Chancellor will have something to say about it; the satellites will have something to say about it; they will all have to be handsomely feed, all round, about it; the whole thing will be vastly ceremonious, wordy, unsatisfactory, and expensive, and I call it, in general, wiglomeration. How mankind ever came to be afflicted with wiglomeration, or for whose sins these young people ever fell into a pit of it, I don’t know; so it is.”

Lindsay Lohan in blonde bob wig, appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, New York, November 2012.

The word does not of necessity imply complex or intricate legal reasoning or argument although that can be part of things.  In the jargon, the trick to successful wiglomeration is to use the court’s processes to prolong proceedings (barristers are usually paid for each day’s appearance), either by causing delays or requiring the other side to respond to matters raised which may be so arcane as to be irrelevant, even if that’s not immediately obvious.  Obviously, the more time consuming (and thus more lucrative) these maneuvers prove the better and even if cases don’t literally become interminable, to some they must seem so.  There is also the possibility wiglomeration can fulfill a strategic purpose: if one party has access to effectively unlimited legal resources (ie money) while the other party is financially constrained, sufficient wiglomeration (which manifest as another day’s fees to be paid) can compel the poorer party either to end proceedings or settle on terms less favorable than might have been achieved had the case been brought to judgment.  The most egregious examples of the practice can be classified as an “abuse of process” but judges are sometimes reluctant to intervene because (1) the tactics being used are usually technically correct and (2) it might be seen as denying a party their rights.  The problem is the system but a wholly equitable solution is not immediately obvious.

Central criminal court Old Bailey 1840.

The tradition of barristers wearing wigs in English courts began in the seventeenth century when powdered wigs were a fashionable upper class accessory.  Culturally, lawyers tend to identify upwards so the adoption would not have been seen as “aping their betters” but just a natural alignment of style.  The courtroom style persisted even after wigs had elsewhere fallen from fashion and are still worn in many jurisdictions with traditions inherited from England.  The rationale offered is (1) the wig & gown have by virtue of long use become a symbol of formality and professionalism which lends dignity to proceedings and (2) the garb helps create a sense of anonymity and impartiality, presenting the officers of the court as representatives of the law rather than individuals with personal biases or prejudices, once a matter of some significance at a time when, for historic and structural reasons, there were perceptions of a lack of impartiality in the legal system.  They’re now not always a feature of proceedings but in most systems where they’ve been retained, barristers seem still to want to cling to the tradition although in recent years there’s been a tendency for judges to avoid them where possible and some more recently convened courts have reserved them only for ceremonial occasions and the odd photo opportunity.  Some courts (notably the UK’s recently established Supreme Court has made it possible for cases to be conducted without anybody be-wigged or gowned although, in a sign of the times, vegan wigs are now available as an alternative to the traditional horsehair.

The opinion the younger Dickens formed of the ways of lawyers has been shared by many.  Adolf Hitler’s (1889-1945; German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945) movement in its early days had much need of the services of lawyers and their efforts saved many Nazis from the consequences of their actions but Hitler showed little gratitude to the profession, declaring more than once “I will not give up until every German realizes that it is shameful to be a lawyer.”  Hitler’s own lawyer was Hans Frank (1900–1946) who in 1939 was appointed Governor General of occupied Poland where his rule was corrupt and brutal by even the Nazi's standards of awfulness and few have ever doubted he deserved the death sentence handed down by the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at Nuremberg (1945-1946).  Even in 1946 Frank was still describing Hitler as “…that great man” and regretted his one “…conspicuous failing…” was his mistrust of both the law and lawyers.  What Frank wanted was an authoritarian state but one under the rule of law; he was appalled not by the mass murder which would come to be called genocide but by it not being authorized by a duly appointed judge.  In Nuremberg he claimed to have undergone a number of religious experiences and was received into the Roman Catholic Church, apparently anxious either to atone for his sins or avoid an eternity of torture in Hell.  Of his death sentence he remarked “I deserved it and I expected it.” and of Hitler’s “thousand year Reich” he observed “…a thousand years will pass and still this guilt of Germany will not have been erased.”

There’s a popular view William Shakespeare (1564–1616) shared the general disapprobation of the profession because one of his most quoted phrases is “The first thing we do is, let’s kill all the lawyers.”  However, the context is rarely discussed and quite what the bard was intending to convey is open to interpretation.  The words were given to a character Dick the Butcher and spoken in Act IV, Scene II of Henry VI, Part II (1596-1599).

JACK CADE: I am able to endure much.

DICK [aside]: No question of that; for I have seen him whipp’d three market-days together.

JACK CADE: I fear neither sword nor fire.

SMITH [aside]: He need not fear the sword; for his coat is of proof.

DICK [aside]: But methinks he should stand in fear of fire, being burnt i’ th’ hand for stealing of sheep.

JACK CADE: Be brave, then; for your captain is brave, and vows reformation. There shall be in England seven half-penny loaves sold for a penny: the three-hoop’d pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it felony to drink small beer: all the realm shall be in common; and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to grass: and when I am king,– as king I will be,–

ALL. God save your majesty!

JACK CADE: I thank you, good people:– there shall be no money; all shall eat and drink on my score; and I will apparel them all in one livery, that they may agree like brothers, and worship me their lord.

DICK: The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.

Dick is a villain and the henchman of Jack Cade, who is leading a rebellion against King Henry and their view is that if they kill all who can read and write and burn all books then they’ll find a population easier to rule.  Knowing that, the more generous interpretation is that civilization depends for its fairness and tranquillity on the protection afforded by law and administered by lawyers, Shakespeare representing the rule of law as society’s most fundamental defense against those hungry for power at any price.  Lawyers of course support this version of Shakespeare’s intent, Justice John Paul Stevens (1920–2019; associate justice of the US Supreme Court 1975-2010) even discussing it in a dissenting opinion (Professional Real Estate Investors Inc vs Columbia Pictures Industries Inc (1993)) when he noted “As a careful reading of that text will reveal, Shakespeare insightfully realized that disposing of lawyers is a step in the direction of a totalitarian form of government.”  However, as many a neo-Marxist would point out “He would say that, wouldn’t he.”  If one’s world view is a construct in which the law and lawyers are agents acting in the interests only of the ruling class (the 1% in the popular imagination), then Dick the Butcher and Cade the labourer in seeking to overthrow an unfair, oppressive system are victims whose only hope of escaping their roles as slaves of the nobility is to revolt, a part of which will be the killing of the lawyers because, as the profession offers their skills only to those who can pay, those with no money have no choice.

Malefic

Malefic (pronounced muh-lef-ik)

(1) Productive of evil; malign; doing harm; baneful.

(2) In astrology, as malefic planet, those heavenly bodies believed to exert a negative or challenging influence on individuals when prominent in a person's birth chart or during specific planetary transits.

1645–1655: From the Latin maleficus (evil-doing, wicked), the construct being male- (badly; wrongly) + -ficus (the suffix denoting making or doing).  The Latin male was from malus (bad, wicked), from the Proto-Italic malos and related to the Oscan mallom and mallud (bad) which wqs probably related to the primitive Indo-European mel- (to deceive) and cognate with the Lithuanian melas (lie) and the first element of the Ancient Greek βλάσφημος (blásphēmos) (jinx).  The alternative etymology is that the source was the primitive Indo-European smal- & mal- which would make it a cognate with the English "small".  Historically, it was thought associated with the Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas) (black, dark), but modern etymologists increasingly doubt this and any link with either the Avestan (mairiia) (treacherous) and the Sanskrit मल (mala) (dirtiness, impurity) remains uncertain.  The most familiar modern use of the form is probably the word maleficence.  Malefic is a useful word to have in one’s vocabulary because it’s a handy substitute for “evil” and its rarity adds interest to a text.  Malefic is a noun & adjective, maleficent is an adjective, malefically is an adverb and maleficence is a noun; the plural forms are malefic & malefics depending on the context.

The 2016 US presidential election: malefactor vs malefactress.

A malefactor is “a man who violates the law or is an evildoer”.  It was from the Middle English malefactour, from the Late Latin malefactor, from the Latin malefaciō, the construct being male (evilly) + factus (made or done), past participle of facio (I make or do).  The feminine form is malefactress (a woman who violates the law or is an evildoer).  The -ess suffix was from the Middle English -esse, from the Old French -esse, from the Late Latin -issa, from the Ancient Greek -ισσα (-issa) and was appended to words to create the female form.   It displaced the Old English -en (feminine suffix of nouns).

Lindsay Lohan’s birth chart; malefically speaking, it could have been worse.

In astrology, malefic planets are those believed to exert a negative or challenging influence on individuals when prominent in a person's birth chart or during specific planetary transits, astrologers noting these planets bring difficulties, obstacles, and adverse effects in various aspects of life.  Historically, the malefic planets were Saturn, Mars, Rahu (North Node of the Moon), and Ketu (South Node of the Moon):

Saturn: The most malefic planet in astrology, it’s associated with limitations, delays, restrictions, and hardships while governing areas such as discipline, responsibility, karma, and the lessons of life.

Mars: Mars is associated with energy, aggression, and assertiveness. It can bring forth conflicts, accidents, impulsiveness, and aggressive behavior if poorly positioned or afflicted in a birth chart.

Rahu: The North Node of the Moon, it represents worldly desires, obsession, and illusion.  If well placed in one’s chart, it can bestow material success and create opportunities but when malefic, it induces confusion & makes one a likely victim of deception.

Ketu: The South Node of the Moon, it represents spirituality, detachment, and karmic lessons so it can confer spiritual growth and liberation but its malefic influence will manifest as separation, torment or loss.

Submerge

Submerge (pronounced suhb-murj)

(1) To put or sink below the surface of water or any other enveloping medium.

(2) To cover or overflow with water; to immerse.

(3) Figuratively, to cover over; suppress; conceal; obscure; repress.

(4) To overwhelm (with work, problems etc).

(5) To sink or plunge under water or beneath the surface of any enveloping medium.

(6) Literally & figuratively, to be covered or lost from sight.

1600–1610: From the fourteenth century submerger or the Latin submergere (to plunge under, sink, overwhelm), the construct being sub- + mergere (to dip, to immerse; to plunge), the construct in English thus sub + merge.  The sub- prefix was from the Latin sub (under), from the Proto-Italic supo (under), from the primitive Indo-European upó.  The transitive form was the original, the intransitive (sink under water, sink out of sight) dating from the 1650s and becoming common in the twentieth century because of the association with submarines.  Used by submariners and others, the derived forms (resubmerge, resubmerged, resubmerging, unsubmerging et al are coined as needed and the word submerge is a little unusual in that it can be used to describe both an object going underwater (like a submarine) and water flooding somewhere (like a valley when a dam is built).  Submerge, submerged & submerging are verbs, submerse is a verb & adjective, submersible & submergible are nouns & adjectives, submersion, submerger & submergence are nouns and submersive is an adjective; the noun plural is submersibles.

The noun submersion in the sense of “suffocation by being plunged into water” was first noted in the mid-fifteenth century and was from the Late Latin submersionem (nominative submersio) (a sinking, submerging), the noun of action from the past participle stem of submergere; the general sense emerged in the early seventeenth century.  The transitive verb submerse (to submerge, plunge) was an early fifteenth century form, from the Latin submersus, past participle of submergere and etymologists suggest the modern use (dating from the 1700s) was a back-formation from submersion. The adjective submersible was formed from submerse and was noted first in 1862, the creation necessitated by the building of one of the early “submarines” used by the Confederate forces in the US Civil War (1861-1865).  The term “submersible craft” lasted for a while in admiralty use but was in the early 1900s supplanted by submarine and the alternative adjective submergible (dating from 1820) is probably extinct although there may be the odd technical niche in which it endures.

Lindsay Lohan, partially submerged, Miami, Florida, May 2011.

Fairly obviously, the construct of submarine was sub + marine.  Marine was from the early fifteenth century Middle English marin, from the Middle French marin, from the Old French, from the Latin marinus (of the sea), from mare (sea), from the primitive Indo-European móri (body of water, lake).  It was cognate with the Old English mere (sea, lake, pool, pond), the Dutch meer and the German Meer, all from the Proto-Germanic mari.  Just as obviously then it means “underwater” and that certainly accords with the modern understanding of the concept of a submarine (which the Admiralty once called “submarine-boats” and ever since, submarines, regardless of size, “boats” they have been even though some, such as the Russian Navy’s Typhoon-class submarines with a length of about 175 meters (574 feet) and a displacement of around 48,000 tons (when submerged) are larger and heavier than many ships in the surface fleet) but for the first few decades of their existence, they were better understood as “submersible boats”.  That was because they were compelled to spend most of their time on the surface, submerging only while attacking or when there was fear of detection.  However, despite them being “boats” both the US Navy and Royal Navy continue respectively to prefix their names with USS (United States Ship) and HMS (His Majesty’s Ship), ignoring anyone who points out the inconsistency.

Confederate States of America man-powered underwater boat CSS H. L. Hunley (1863-1864).

Quite when man first pondered the possibility of an “underwater boat” isn’t known but just as flight fascinated the ancients as they gazed at birds, presumably so did the fishes intrigue.  Sketches from the medieval period which appear to be “designs” for “underwater boats” have been discovered but as far as is known, it wasn’t until the 1500s that prototypes were tested and a proof-of-concept exercises some can be considered a qualified success and there were even innovations still used today such as ballast tanks but the limitations imposed by the lack of lightweight, independent power sources meant none appear to have been thought useful, certainly not for the (predictably) military purposes for which so many were intended.  The idea didn’t die however and over the centuries many inventors were granted patents for this and that and the what all seem to have concluded was that, given the available technology, an underwater boat would have to be a short range weapon capable of limited duration while submerged and man-powered by a crew of probably no more than two.  Given that, development stagnated.

The planned German Type 50 U-boat which was never launched (1918).

However, improvements in metallurgy continued and by the mid-nineteenth century, several underwater boats had been built in Europe although the admirals remained sceptical, an attitude which by many wasn’t revised even after 1864 when the one which entered service with the Confederate Navy during the US Civil War succeeded in sinking a warship nearly 200 times her displacement of 7-off tons.  However, because the method of attack was a explosive device on a long spar (the technique to ram the charge into the ship’s hull), the explosion damaged both craft to the extent both were lost.  That seemed to confirm the admirals’ view but technology moved on and by the outbreak of the First World War (1914-1918), submarines were an integral part of many navies, their usefulness made possible by the combination of diesel-electric propulsion and the development of the torpedo which meant charges detonated at a safe distance.  However, they remained submersible boats which could operate underwater only briefly.  Despite that, they proved devastatingly effective and in 1917 the Imperial German Navy’s Unterwasserboot (underwater boat (usually clipped to U-Boat)) flotillas were a genuine threat to the UK’s ability to continue the war.

German Type XII Elektroboot (1945).

In World War II (1939-1945), the course of the war could have been very different had OKM (Oberkommando der Marine; the high command of the Kriegsmarine (the German Navy 1935-1945)) followed the advice of the commander of the submarines and made available a fleet of 300 rather than building a surface fleet which wasn’t large enough to be a strategic threat but of sufficient size to absorb resources which, if devoted to submarines, could have been militarily effective.  With a fleet of 300, it would have been possible permanently to maintain around 100 at sea but at the outbreak of hostilities, only 57 active boats were on the navy’s list, not all of which were suitable for operations on the high seas so in the early days of the conflict, it was rare for the Germans to have more than 12 committed to battle in the Atlantic.  Production never reached the levels necessary for the numbers to achieve critical mass but even so, in the first two-three years of the war the losses sustained by the British were considerable and the “U-Boat menace” was such a threat that much attention was devoted to counter-measures and by 1943 the Allies could consider the battle of the Atlantic won.  The Germans’ other mistake was not building a true submarine capable of operating underwater (and therefore undetected) for days at a time.  It was only in 1945 when the armaments staff and OKM were assessing their “revolutionary” new design that it was concluded there was no reason why such craft couldn’t have been built in the 1930s because the capacity and technology existed even then.  It was a classic case of what Donald Rumsfeld (1932–2021: US defense secretary 1975-1977 & 2001-2006) would later call an “unknown known”.  The Germans in 1939 knew how to build a modern submarine but didn’t know that they knew.  Despite the improvements however, military analysts have concluded that even if deployed in numbers, such was the strength of forces arrayed against Nazi Germany that by 1945, not even such a force could have been enough to turn the tide of war.

Royal Navy Dreadnought class SSBN (Submarine, Ballistic Missile, Nuclear-powered), due to enter service in the 2030s.The concept the Germans in 1945 demonstrated in the Type XXI Elektroboot (electric boat) provided the model for post-war submarines which, once nuclear-powered, were able to remain submerged theoretically for decades, the only limitations in functional duration being the supply of food and the psychological strain on the crew.  This ability explains why they’re used by members of the “nuclear club” such as China, France, Russia, the UK & US operate them as part of their independent deterrents, equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), armed with nuclear warheads.  At this time, the boats are undetectable and they’re still been updated or replaced but there are suggestions advances in the capability of underwater sensors might erode or even remove this advantage which would mean the submarine would follow the big bomber, the battle ship and debatably the aircraft carrier as a once dominant weapon, the time of which has passed.  Already there are those in think tanks pondering whether the loss invulnerability of the SLMB platform would make war more or less likely.  Certainly, such a situation might change the math of the preemptive strike.