Some WW1 related terminology, and other things
Friday, 6 December 2024 06:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
temrisA little background: I'm currently writing a WW1-related fanfiction, that's supposed to be practice for an actual story I've been building on my mind. I've had consumed a lot of documentaries, non-fiction text, and also movies about it, but since I'm writing fiction I thought it would be good to read some of the best examples first. I was lucky enough to find that the library had "All Quiet on the Western Front" in English, and took notes while I was reading it to find the war/army-related terms in English. I hope it would be helpful for others as well, so I'm posting it here.
! Not all of them are totally related to war, but I noted down nearly every word that would be useful to get the feeling of that time/era.
!! I'll try to update this when I read more and need to note down more terms :)
about-face: An about-face is a complete change of attitude or opinion.
artillery: Artillery consists of large, powerful guns which are transported on wheels and used by an army. (TR: Top, ağır silah.)
barmy: adj. If you say that someone or something is barmy, you mean that they are slightly crazy or very foolish. A barmy idea.
CB: abbreviation, "Confined to Barracks". The official punishment for a minor breach of discipline.
Coal Box: A German high explosive artillery shell, nickname deriven from the fact that it emits a heavy black smoke.
copse: a small group of trees growing very close to each other
CSM: abbreviation, "Company sergeant major". In combat, their prime responsibility is the supply of ammunition to the company. They also oversee the distribution of other supplies, such as water or food, although that responsibility is mainly that of the company quartermaster sergeant (CQMS), and evacuating the wounded and collecting prisoners of war.
dressing station: a first-aid post close to a combat area
emplacements: Emplacements are specially prepared positions from which a heavy gun can be fired.
ersatz: adj. a poor quality product that is used to replace something that is not available. Ersatz coffee.
flack: a press or publicity agent.
Froggy: a French person.
moor: an area of open and usually high land with poor soil that is covered mainly with grass and heather. [mainly British]
NCO: abbreviation, "noncommissioned officer". A military officer appointed by a commissioned officer, generally to supervise enlisted soldiers and aid the commissioned officer corps.
orderly: Normally it means a person who works in a hospital and does jobs that do not require special medical training; but in this case, it can be use to mean "an orderly officer", meaning officer of the day (a military officer whose duty is to take charge of the security of the unit or camp for a day).
palliasse: a straw-filled mattress; pallet.
! Not all of them are totally related to war, but I noted down nearly every word that would be useful to get the feeling of that time/era.
!! I'll try to update this when I read more and need to note down more terms :)
about-face: An about-face is a complete change of attitude or opinion.
artillery: Artillery consists of large, powerful guns which are transported on wheels and used by an army. (TR: Top, ağır silah.)
barmy: adj. If you say that someone or something is barmy, you mean that they are slightly crazy or very foolish. A barmy idea.
CB: abbreviation, "Confined to Barracks". The official punishment for a minor breach of discipline.
Coal Box: A German high explosive artillery shell, nickname deriven from the fact that it emits a heavy black smoke.
copse: a small group of trees growing very close to each other
CSM: abbreviation, "Company sergeant major". In combat, their prime responsibility is the supply of ammunition to the company. They also oversee the distribution of other supplies, such as water or food, although that responsibility is mainly that of the company quartermaster sergeant (CQMS), and evacuating the wounded and collecting prisoners of war.
dressing station: a first-aid post close to a combat area
emplacements: Emplacements are specially prepared positions from which a heavy gun can be fired.
ersatz: adj. a poor quality product that is used to replace something that is not available. Ersatz coffee.
flack: a press or publicity agent.
Froggy: a French person.
moor: an area of open and usually high land with poor soil that is covered mainly with grass and heather. [mainly British]
NCO: abbreviation, "noncommissioned officer". A military officer appointed by a commissioned officer, generally to supervise enlisted soldiers and aid the commissioned officer corps.
orderly: Normally it means a person who works in a hospital and does jobs that do not require special medical training; but in this case, it can be use to mean "an orderly officer", meaning officer of the day (a military officer whose duty is to take charge of the security of the unit or camp for a day).
palliasse: a straw-filled mattress; pallet.
parapet: a low wall along the edge of something high such as a bridge or roof.
There's also a related expression that's "put one's head above the parapet/keep one's head below the parapet": If you say that someone puts their head above the parapet, you mean they take a risk. If you say they keep their head below the parapet, you mean they avoid taking a risk.
peat: decaying plant material which is found under the ground in some cool, wet regions. Peat can be added to soil to help plants grow, or can be burnt on fires instead of coal. Peat digging's done for this reason.
sawdust: dust and very small pieces of wood which are produced when you saw wood.
shell shock: the confused or nervous mental condition of people who have been under fire in a war.
shellfire: (TR: Top mermisi.) a weapon consisting of a metal container filled with explosives that can be fired from a large gun over long distances. A shell, in a modern military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Shellfire is the firing of these guns. (TR: Top ateşi)
sortie: If a military force makes a sortie, it leaves its own position and goes briefly into enemy territory to make an attack.
stretcher-bearer: a person who helps to carry the sick or injured on stretchers
tarpaulin: a sheet of heavy waterproof material that is used as a protective cover
trench mortar: A mortar is essentially a short, stumpy tube designed to fire a projectile at a steep angle (by definition higher than 45 degrees) so that it falls straight down on the enemy.
upright: a column, post, rod fixed vertically, especially as a structural support.
Verey (or Very) lights: flares used for signalling and lighting at night; they came in several colours and were fired from a pistol. Usually red, white or green. Meanings may change daily.
W/T operator: Wireless Telegraphy operator, also used as "W/T/O".
wire cradle: the barbed wire entanglements.
shell shock: the confused or nervous mental condition of people who have been under fire in a war.
shellfire: (TR: Top mermisi.) a weapon consisting of a metal container filled with explosives that can be fired from a large gun over long distances. A shell, in a modern military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Shellfire is the firing of these guns. (TR: Top ateşi)
sortie: If a military force makes a sortie, it leaves its own position and goes briefly into enemy territory to make an attack.
stretcher-bearer: a person who helps to carry the sick or injured on stretchers
tarpaulin: a sheet of heavy waterproof material that is used as a protective cover
trench mortar: A mortar is essentially a short, stumpy tube designed to fire a projectile at a steep angle (by definition higher than 45 degrees) so that it falls straight down on the enemy.
upright: a column, post, rod fixed vertically, especially as a structural support.
Verey (or Very) lights: flares used for signalling and lighting at night; they came in several colours and were fired from a pistol. Usually red, white or green. Meanings may change daily.
W/T operator: Wireless Telegraphy operator, also used as "W/T/O".
wire cradle: the barbed wire entanglements.
