Muscle is the fibrous tissue in an animal or human body that contracts and expands in order to create movement, either internal or external. The word muscle is also used to describe someone or something that is powerful or influential or something that is accomplished through force. Informally, muscle also indicates a person who is physically strong or whose job it is to enforce rules. Muscle is derived from the Latin word musculus. A mussel is a bivalve mollusk of …
A wart is a benign growth on the skin that is caused by a human papillomavirus, a wart is also called a verruca. Warts are contagious. The word wart is also sometimes used to describe any undesirable trait, physical or otherwise. An obnoxious person is also sometimes referred to informally as a wart. Wart is derived from the Old English word wearte. Wort is a word that is used in plant names and herb names, particularly plants that were once …
A ewe is a female sheep. The word ewe is derived from the Old English word eowu, which means female sheep. A yew is an evergreen tree or bush, it is a coniferous tree or bush of the genus Taxus. Yews have long, flat needles and berries, which are poisonous. The word yew may refer to the wood of this type of tree or bush or to the tree or bush itself. Certain types of yews are very long-lived, the …
In grammar, a clause is a string of words that includes a subject and a predicate, but is not a full sentence. There are four types of clauses, including 1.) a main clause, which is a clause that may stand on its own 2.) a subordinate clause, which is a clause that is unable to stand on its own 3.) a relative clause, which is a clause that begins with a relative pronoun 4.) a noun clause, which is a …
A rail is 1.) a horizontal bar with supporting vertical posts that acts as a barrier or fence 2.) a horizontal bar affixed to a wall from which one may hang things 3.) the inside fence boundary of a racecourse 4.) a stile 5.) the tracks upon which a train runs 6.) sending something or traveling by train 7.) to complain about something loud and long or protest something loud and long 8.) a small wading bird. Rail is used …
Slay means to murder, to kill in a violent fashion. Slay may also be used informally to mean to amuse someone. Slay is a transitive verb, which is a verb that takes an object. Related words are slays, slayed, slaying, slain, slayer. Slay comes from the Old English word slean which means to strike, to slaughter. A sleigh is a conveyance on runners that slides over snow, usually pulled by horses or reindeer. Sleigh may be used as a noun …
Genes are hereditary units composed of DNA that occupy fixed places on chromosomes. Genes carry hereditary traits that are passed on from parent to child. Wilhelm Johannsen, a Danish botanist, coined the term gene to describe the fundamental unit of heredity in 1909, from the German word Gen. Genes is the plural form, and the singular form is gene. Jeans are trousers that are made of heavy cotton, usually denim. Most jeans are dyed a dark blue, and are called …
Maize is corn, a tall grass that grows edible seeds on a cob. The word maize may also refer to a light yellow color. Maize was first cultivated ten thousand years ago in Mexico, in the Balsas River Valley. The word maize comes from the Spanish word maÃz, which in turn was derived from the TaÃno word, mahiz. A maze is a puzzle consisting of a complex network of lines, hedges or other obstructions through which one must find the …
Dissent means to disagree with a commonly or officially held opinion, to refuse to conform with a church’s orthodox beliefs. Dissent may be used as a noun or a verb, related words are dissents, dissented, dissenting, dissentingly, dissenter, dissension. The word dissent is derived from the Latin word dissentire, which means to disagree, to quarrel, to contradict. Descent means to move in a downward direction, to slope downward, to fall, to decline. Descent may also refer to a degeneration, to …
Mail is a letter or a parcel sent by postal service. Mail may also describe the postal service, especially in the United States, the individual delivery of a batch of mail or the individual collection of a batch of mail. Mail is also used as a verb to describe sending a letter or parcel through the postal service. Related terms are mails, mailed, mailing. A second definition of the word mail is a type of flexible armor consisting of metal …