Search

Browse: General Information Actors People Gazetteer Nature Heraldry

Mythology Warfare Money Costume Ships Aircraft Architecture Science &
Technology Music Medicine Food & Drink Rocks & Minerals Movies Computer
Viruses Sports & Pastimes Shakespeare Slang Dictionary

General Information (E)

Traduisez cette page dans français Traduzca esta página en español (Translations
provided by freetranslation.com)
EARTH

The earth is the third planet from the sun.

EARTHQUAKE

An earthquake is a movement of the earth, caused either by volcanic activity below the
surface or by a large area of earth, weaker than that which surrounds it, slipping a little
downwards. Earthquakes need not be severe. In some parts of the Pacific they are a daily,
and not especially frightening, occurrence.
EASEL

An easel is a stand or support for an artist's canvas.

EASTENDERS

Eastenders is a successful BBC television soap-opera, first aired in 1985, about the
everyday lives of a fictional community in 'Albert Square' in the East End of London.
The show's relentless melancholy inspired viewers to joke that the only game never
played by the residents of Albert Square is 'Happy Families'.

EASTER

Easter is an ancient religious festival occurring at or around the vernal equinox. It

originally marked the end of the old year and the dawn of a new year. In Rome the sacred
fire in the temple of Vesta was rekindled on the first of March each year marking the start
of the Roman year.

ECLIPSE

An eclipse is the passage of a celestial body through the shadow of another.

EFFICIENCY LEAGUE

The Efficiency League was founded in 1903 with the object of raising the standard of
duty among public servants.
EFFORT

Effort is strenuous exertion.

EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE

The Egyptian language is the language spoken in ancient Egypt. Its daughter language,
Coptic, died out in the 17th century AD. It thus has one of the longest histories of any
language. There is a vast literature, both secular and religious. From 650 BC the
classicizing tendencies of the scribes gave way to Demotic Egyptian, and Demotic
inscriptions are found until the mid- 5th century AD. Coptic became dominant in the 4th
century AD, but started to decline after the introduction of Arabic in the 7th century.
Egyptian inscriptions were written in hieroglyphs. There were also two cursive scripts
based on the hieroglyphs: Hieratic, used for religious documents; and Demotic, for
ordinary documents. Coptic was written in the Greek alphabet, with seven extra letters
taken from Demotic. Egyptian is part of the Afro-Asiatic group of languages, a larger
group which includes Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, and the Semitic languages.

EISTEDDFOD

Eisteddfod is a Bardic Congress held periodically in Wales for the encouragement and
development of Welsh music and literature. Its origins date back to pre-Christian times,
though the first recorded Eisteddfod was held in the 6th century.

EJECTMENT

Ejectment was a common law action, abolished in 1852, to recover possession of land
and damages for the wrongful withholding of it.

ELEGIT

Elegit is a legal writ ordering the seizure of a debtor's land so as to satisfy a judgement
debt.

ELEGY

Elegy is a form of poetry of a mournful and reflective character, particularly a mourning

song for a departed friend.

ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES

The Eleusinian Mysteries were Greek initiation ceremonies connected with the worship
of Demeter, believed to have been first performed at Eleusis.
ELF-ARROW

See "Elf-Bolt"

ELF-BOLT

Elf-bolt (also elf-arrow, elfer-stone and fairy-dart) was a name given to the flint arrow
heads found in Britain. It was thought that these were fired by elves at domesticated
animals.

ELFER-STONE

See "Elf-Bolt"

ELGIN MARBLES

The Elgin marbles are a collection of ancient Greek sculptures assembled by the 7th earl
of Elgin and brought to England in 1812

ELL

The ell was a European unit of measurement. In England the ell was used as a
measurement for cloth fixed at 45 inches by Henry I in 1101 and used until 1600. The
French ell (or aune) was 46.79 inches in length. The Swiss aune is 47.25 inches, the
Scottish ell 37 inches and the Flemish ell 27 inches.

ELLIPSIS

An ellipsis is a printing symbol consisting of three full stops in a row, indicating that a
word or passage has been omitted from the printed matter.

EM

Th em is a unit of length used in printing. The 12-point em is a standard unit in

typography, equal to 1/6 of an inch. An em rule is a horizontal line one em long.
EMANATION

Emanation is a theological doctrine which regards individuals as outpourings of the

divine essence. It denies the personality of both God and man.

EMANCIPATION ACT

The Emancipation Act abolished slavery throughout the British colonies on August 28th
1833. 20 million pounds was paid as compensation to slave-owners.

EMBASSY

An embassy is an ambassador's residence.

EMBER DAYS

Ember Days are the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday following September 14th,
December 13th, the first Sunday of Lent and Whitsunday, set apart in the Roman Catholic
Church and the Church of England for prayer, especially for those about to be ordained.

EMBEZZLEMENT

In law, embezzlement is the theft by a clerk or servant of money or goods received by

him on behalf of his employer. It differs from larceny in that the original receiving of the
property was lawful.

EMBLEMENTS

Emblements is the right of an agricultural tenant, whose lease lapses before harvest, to
enter the land and gather crops.

EMBOSSING

Embossing is the art of producing a design on paper, cardboard, metal, leather &c., by
forcing or stamping out appropriate portions of the under- side to give a raised effect.

EMBRACERY

In law, embracery is the misdemeanour of attempting to influence a juryman to favour

one side, otherwise than by evidence and argument given in open court. A juryman
allowing himself to be corrupted is equally guilty of embracery.
EMBROIDERY

Embroidery is the art of ornamenting woven fabric into designs in needle-work.

Embroidery differs from tapestry in that the design is stitched on the top of a woven
material, whereas in tapestry the design is woven into it.

EMIGRATION

Emigration is the departure from one's native country so as to take up permanent

residence in another.

EMINENT DOMAIN

Eminent Domain is the right of the State to use private property for public purposes,
particularly in war-time.

EMMERDALE FARM

Emmerdale Farm is a British soap opera television show following the daily lives of a
fictional rural farming family, the 'Sugdens'. Emmerdale Farm was created by Kevin
Laffan and was first broadcast in 1972.

EMPIRE

An Empire is a large state or federation of states extending over a wide geographical area,
and usually developed by the absorption of other peoples and countries. Empires are
nearly always built up by the virile conquering and colonising expansion of a single
State, but subsequently the individual provinces gradually attain independence.

EMPIRE DAY

Empire Day (originally Victoria Day) was an annual festival inaugurated in 1902 to
celebrate on May 24th the achievement of the British Empire and Queen Victoria's
Birthday.

EMPIRICISM

Empiricism is the theory that personal experience is the source of all knowledge and that
the mind was originally an absolute blank. The theory originated with Heraclitus and was
characteristic of Greek speculative thought.

ENCAUSTIC
Encaustic is a term used to describe a picture painted by means of heated wax. At the
close of the 18th century experiments were made by Emma J Greenland to ascertain the
ancient methods; but the process, in which gum mastic and wax were the principle
vehicles used, produced neither so brilliant a tint nor so durable a texture as oil painting.

ENCLOSURE AWARDS

From about 1760 onwards, the normal method of enclosing commons or open fields in
Britain was by private Act of Parliament. The Act authorised the appointment of
commissioners to survey the lands to be enclosed. A large- scale plan of the lands was
prepared, to assist the commissioners to draw up an award allocating the land to
individuals. These awards, with their plans, record the boundaries of the fields and the
courses and widths of the roads and trackways as laid out afresh by the enclosure
commissioners. Occasionally this is accompanied by a map showing the pre-enclosure
picture of open-field farming, with much land remaining as commons.

ENCYCLICAL

An encyclical is a circular letter on ecclesiastic affairs written in Latin and addressed by

the Pope to all the clergy and faithful of the Roman Catholic Church. The first was issued
by Benedict XIV in 1740, but encyclicals only became common in the 19th century.

ENCYCLOPAEDIA

The word Encyclopaedia (Encyclopedia) was first defined in Sir Thomas Elyot' s Latin
Dictionary (1538) as 'that lernynge whiche comprehendeth all lyberall science and
studies.' It was first used as the title of a book by Johann Heinrich Alsted in 1608, by
which time it had acquired its modern meaning of a book covering every branch of
human knowledge. The term is also, however, applied to a work confined to some
particular branch of knowledge. The distinction between an encyclopaedia and a
dictionary is that the former explains subjects and the latter explains words. And the
distinction between a glossary and an encyclopaedia is one of depth, the glossary being
much more concise and often restricted to a particular subject, for example horticulture.

ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA

The Encyclopaedia Britannica was first published as three volumes in 1771, and the
second enlarged edition was published in 1778 and has been republished ever since to
become one of the most famous encyclopaedias of all time.

ENGLISH

English is a term used to denote someone or something from England.

ENGRAVING

Engraving is the art of cutting a design on a hard substance, such as wood or metal.

ENIGMARELLE

Enigmarelle was the first robot. It was an automaton constructed of 365 different parts,
and actuated by electricity. The figure rode a bicycle, wrote its name on a blackboard and
performed other tasks similar to a human being. Enigmarelle was exhibited at the London
Hippodrome in June 1905.

ENJAMBEMENT

Enjambement is the arranging of sentences and clauses in verse so that their ends do not
coincide with the ends of the lines. It was introduced in order to give fluency and ease to
verses.

ENSIGN

An ensign is a flag or banner used in the Army and Navy. The British naval ensign is red,
white or blue, with a small Union Jack in the upper corner. The red ensign is flown by the
Merchant fleet, the blue by the Royal Navy Reserve and the white, which includes a red
St George's cross by the Royal Navy.

ENTENTE CORDIALE
The Entente Cordiale was the semi-formal alliance between England and France before
the Great War. The alliance was first sought by France in 1903 seeking that in the event
of a conflict with Germany, England would be at least neutral. In 1904 an agreement was
signed whereby France had a free hand in Morocco and England a free hand in Egypt.

ENVELOPE

Envelopes for letters were first mentioned by Jonathan Swift in 1726, and came into
general use with the introduction of the penny post in 1840.

EPEOLATRY

Epeolatry is the worship of words.

EPHEBOPHILIA

Ephebophilia is being sexualy attracted by adolescents.

EPHOD

Ephod was a term applied to some part of the dress of Jewish high-priests, and used in the
Old Testament where it appears to have several meanings.

EPIC

An epic is a poetical narrative of heroic achievements. It is largely dramatic in character,

but embraces a greater area and admits many incidents, each of which might serve as a
dramatic plot. In an epic the personality of the narrator is made much more obvious than
is that of the author of a drama.

EPIGRAM

An epigram is a short witty or poignant poem used as an inscription on a tomb,

monument or altar.

EPIGRAPH

An epigraph is an inscription carved on a stone, statue or coin.

EPIGRAPHY
Epigraphy is the study of ancient inscriptions incised on some hard material, such as
wood, stone or metal, as distinct from palaeography which is the study of ancient
manuscripts written on papyrus, parchment or a similar material.

EPILOGUE

Epilogue is a term usually applied in English literature to a speech or short poem

addressed to the spectators by one of the actors at the close of a play. It may also be the
additional chapter of a book, after the tale proper has finished.

EPISCOPACY

Episcopacy is a form of Church government whereby churches are grouped together in

dioceses under the authority of a bishop.

EPITAPH

An epitaph is a short composition in verse or prose, nominally for the tomb of a deceased
person and generally setting forth his or her virtues and the survivors' regrets.

EPITHALAMIUM

An epithalamium is a nuptual song sung at marriages in honour of the newly- wedded

pair.

EPITHANY

Epithany is a church festival held on January 6th. It was originally held to commemorate
the baptism of Jesus, but now some churches celebrate it as the visit of the three wise
men to Jesus.

ERGONOMICS

Ergonomics is a discipline treating the consideration of human factors in design of the

working environment and its components; intended to promote productivity and safety in
the tools people work with.

EROSION

In geography, erosion is the wearing away of the land by sun, wind, rain, frost, running
water, moving ice and the sea.

ERSE
Erse is a variant of the word Irish and is a designation given to the ancient Celtic
languages of the Scottish Highlands and Ireland, but more usually confined to that of
Ireland.

ESCALATOR

An escalator is a moving stairway used to transport passengers between two different

levels, such as floors of a building or the street and the platforms of an underground
station. The first escalator was designed and patented by Seeburger and subsequently
developed by the Otis Elevator Company in the USA and by Waygood-Otis Ltd in
Britain. The escalator was first demonstrated to the public at the Paris Exhibition in 1900.

ESCHATOLOGY

Eschatology is a term used primarily in Christian and Jewish theology to refer to the 'last
things', including the ultimate fate of the world and the individual soul. However, almost
all religions of the world have eschatological features, which may be divided into those
based on mythological explanations of the origins and end of the world and those based
on historical explanations. The biblical accounts of the history of the Jewish people and
the teaching and parables of Jesus are examples of historical eschatology, leading to
millenarian expectations of the coming of the Messiah among Jews, and of the Second
Coming among Christians. Contrasting with such views is the expectation of the
apocalyptic or cataclysmic intervention of God in history. In both Hinduism and
Buddhism, eschatological beliefs focus on the longing for release from the cycle of birth
and rebirth.
ESCHEAT

In feudal tenure, escheat is a reversion of land to the lord, for want of a tenant qualified to
perform the services.

ESCROW

An escrow is a deed that has been signed and sealed but is delivered on the condition that
it will not become operative until some stated event happens. It will become effective as
soon as that event occurs and it cannot be revoked in the meantime.

ESPALIER

An espalier is a wooden framework on which fruit-trees or creepers are trained.

ESPERANTO

Esperanto is an artificial key-language designed as a means of international

communication. It was invented by Dr Zamenhof, who first produced his system in 1887
by publication of 'An International Language, by Dr. Esperanto'. The leading
characteristics of Esperanto are its simplicity of construction, the facility by which it may
be acquired, and the practical ease and euphony of its pronunciation. The alphabet is
composed of 28 letters each having an invariable sound. The vocabulary consists of about
900 roots selected from the most familiar languages.

ESSAY

Essay is a literary term which was originally applied to a draft or rough copy, and hence,
by the modesty of the author, to an unpretentious but complete composition. It is now
used to mean a prose composition of moderate length, limited to a single subject.

ESTUARY
In geography, an estuary is the broad mouth of a river which is affected by the tides, or
more strictly, the region where sea and fresh water meet.

ETCH

See "Etching"

ETCHING

Etching is a process of putting a drawing or design onto a surface, usually metal, by

corroding or scratching away the top surface so as to form the lines of the design.

ETHICAL INTUITIONISM

In philosophy, ethical intuitionists deny that moral judgements are merely expressions of
emotion or approval. They argue that there is a special faculty of moral intuition which
gives us access to moral truths, to facts about what we ought and ought not to do. This
intuitive faculty may render certain rules of conduct self- evidently correct and then
moral conduct will be a matter of following those rules. Ethical knowledge, so conceived,
has been compared to mathematical knowledge, where the latter consists of knowing the
consequences of certain self-evident axioms, axioms grasped by some form of
mathematical intuition. On the other hand, the faculty of moral intuition may be more like
our sensory organs. It may enable me to see the good in my brother helping an old person
across the road, just as we can see that the road is wide.

ETHICAL RELATIVISM

In philosophy, ethical relativism is the view that ethical judgements are true or false only
relative to a particular context. So if I say that eating people is wrong, while you say it is
right, we may both be speaking the truth. For cannibalism may be wrong in my context
and right in yours. Relativists disagree about what the relevant context for us is. Some
would say it is a particular cultural or historical setting, so cannibalism may be
permissible among ' primitive' natives of a Pacific Island but not in a modern European
city. Other relativists claim that the relevant context is that of a specific individual, so that
cannibalism may be right for you and wrong for me simply because we are different
people with different inclinations. But all relativists deny that there is any way of
formulating moral claims that will make them true in all conceivable contexts. In this
they depart for the common-sense view that we can reasonably make moral assessments
of the behaviour of other people, even when they come from a rather different social or
historical context.

ETHICS
Ethics (from the Greek ethikos, 'dealing with nature'), in philosophy, can roughly be
characterised as dividing into three parts: normative ethics; practical ethics; and meta-
ethics. Normative ethics is the study of general normative principles or virtues. There are
various doctrines concerning general normative principles. Altruists hold that when
deciding how to act one ought to take the interests of others into account, as well as one's
own. Hedonists hold that one ought to pursue only pleasure or happiness for oneself and
others. The Golden Rule states that one should act towards others-as one wants them to
act towards oneself. Consequentialists believe that one ought to do whatever will have the
best consequences. (Utilitarianism, the doctrine that one ought to do whatever will
maximise well-being or happiness is one version of consequentialism). Deontologists
hold that the rightness or wrongness of actions is a matter of how they accord with moral
rules, not of their consequences. One must obey the rule that one ought to tell the truth,
even if the consequences of breaking the rule would be better. Others hold that rightness
or wrongness cannot be captured by a set of moral rules at all, and that it is not simply the
consequences of an action which determine its moral status. Rather, one ought to be a
virtuous person, one who has certain emotional reactions to various situations, reactions
which lead one to behave in ways which are virtuous, honest, generous or kind. Practical
ethics is the study of specific, practical ethical problems such as abortion, euthanasia, war
and out treatment of animals. Clearly, the study of practical ethical issues is not
independent of the study of general normative principles. General normative principles
have implications for specific practical ethical problems, so acceptance of a general
normative principle may lead one to change one's opinions about a specific practical
issue, and one's firm conviction concerning a specific practical issue may lead one to see
the failing of a general normative principle. Meta-ethics is not concerned with which
moral principles which we should follow, or how they relate to specific practical
problems, but investigates abstract conceptual and metaphysical issues which arise for
any moral principle. One meta-ethical claim is that any moral judgement concerning a
particular is universalizable to all similar particulars. Emotivism claims that moral
judgements are simply expressions of emotions. Descriptivism claims that moral terms
are purely descriptive. Prescriptivism claims that moral terms have two independent
components of meaning: descriptive and evaluative. Ethical relativism is the doctrine that
moral judgements are true or false only relative to a particular context. Some hold that
murder is wrong because God has commanded us not to commit murder. Ethical
Intuitionism is the doctrine that there is a special faculty of moral intuition which gives us
access to moral facts, to facts about how we ought to behave. The naturalistic fallacy is
the supposed fallacy of inferring an 'ought' from an 'is': the issue being whether ethics is
objective or subjective.

ETIQUETTE

Etiquette (or manners) are the conventional rules governing personal behaviour in polite
society. During the Victorian and Edwardian eras in Britain the rules and rituals of
etiquette became so complex and sophisticated that a general revolt against them took
place. Today the rules are less laws than guidelines, the most reliable being contained in '
Debrett's' which offers advice on the correct terms of address for royalty and other
members of the aristocracy.
ETRUSCAN LANGUAGE

The Etruscan language was spoken by the people of ancient Eturia which corresponds to
the modern Tuscany.

EUGUBINE

The eugubine or Iguvine tables are seven tablets of brass engraved with inscriptions of
ancient Umbrian, discovered in 1444 in a ruined theatre near Gubbio in Central Italy.

EUPHUISM

Euphuism is an affected style of language which was prevalent during the time of
Elizabeth I and arose from ' Euphues; the Anatomy of Wit' by John Lyly published in
1581.

EURHYTHMICS

Eurhythmics is a system of mental and physical culture invented by Jacques Dalcroze,

based on the interpretation of music by means of rhythmical movements of the body and
limbs. A carefully graded series of exercises aims at producing an intellectual
appreciation of rhythm, combined with perfect physical control, enabling the head and
limbs to be moved independently of one another, and so to express several separate
rhythms simultaneously.

EUSKARA

See "Basque"

EVIL MAY DAY

Evil May Day was the 1st of May, 1517 when apprentices rioted in London, directing
their aggression against foreigners, particularly the French. The rioters were headed by
Lincoln, who, with fifteen others was hanged. 400 more rioters were bound with ropes
and halters around their necks and carried to Westminster, where they cried 'mercy mercy'
and were all pardoned by the king, Henry VIII.

EXAMINER

The Examiner was a liberal weekly journal established in January 1808, it's last issue was
in February 1881.

EXCELLENCY
Excellency is a title of honour. It was first assumed by Charlemagne in the 9th century.
Today it is applied to all ambassadors.

EXCLUSION BILL

The Exclusion Bill was passed by the house of commons, but rejected by the house of
lords in 1681. The bill sought to exclude the duke of York, afterwards James II, from the
throne. the revival of the question led to the dissolution of parliament in 1681.

EXEQUATUR

An exequatur is a document issued by the Head of a State, granting recognition to a

foreign consul appointed thereto.

EXETER BOOK

The Exeter Book or Codex Exoniensis is a folio given by Bishop Leofric to the library of
his cathedral between 1046 and 1073, and dating probably from the first half of the same
century. It contains some thirty-three poems including: Cynewulf's poems Crist and
Juliana, Guthlac, Azarias, Widsith.

EXTRADITION

Extradition is the delivery of a person accused or convicted of a crime to the State on

whose territory the crime was committed, by the State on whose territory the criminal
happens to be.

Go
Search For:
 Home | Quiz | Products | FAQ | Privacy Policy | Contact Us

Advertising supplied by Fastclick

Updated: 06/03/2004