A to Z Blogging Challenge. My topic is MILITARY DEFINITIONS.
T– Tango
morse code - dash
Tare weight — the
weight of a container. The gross weight
[weight of the entire filled container] minus the tare weight [weight of the container itself] equals the net weight [weight of the contents].
Terrorism — the
intentional use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to cause fear;
to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals
that are generally political, religious, or ideological.
Treason — betrayal
of one's country.
Troops - a military sub-subunit. Members of the military collectively, as in
"the troops".
Tropical storm — a
tropical cyclone with a surface wind speed at least 34, but not more than 63
knots.
"Troops" is interesting. Its definition is a collection of people, as you say, but I see it used more and more to refer to people who serve, as in "100 troops were deployed" where the meaning is 100 people, not 100 units. This is probably because we don't have a good general word for "someone serving in the military." Soldier is specific to the army, serviceman is specific to males. So English usage is changing once more.
ReplyDeleteYes, a twist on the dreaded "what can we use for a plural pronoun" problem. I've seen "servicemember" used. The word "troops" gives me a mental picture of infantry or other on-the-ground folks, not folks in the air or in the water. I suppose we won't be satisfied with anything we use. Kind of like the singular "they."
DeleteI missed Friday so I got in a double dose today, but I'm glad I went back. Sure, I already knew Semper Fi, but some things are comforting in a way just to read about it even if you already know about it. Thanks for including that.
ReplyDeleteHow can I do military definitions without including Semper Fi?" But glad you enjoyed your double dose =)
DeleteOK, so, what's the reasoning behind including Tropical Storm? Are the meteorological agencies that monitor weather phenomenon actually branches of the military?
ReplyDeleteIt was included on a military definition site, so I used it because I thought it was interesting. No other reason. I'm unpredictable that way =)
DeleteTare weight is a new one for me. We are almost through the alphabet.
ReplyDeleteYep, six letters left!
Delete