Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Embankment

Definition: Embankment

Embankment

Noun

1. A long artificial mound of stone or earth; built to hold back water or to support a road or as protection.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "embankment" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references)



Specialty Definitions: Embankment

DomainDefinitions

Building & Civil Engineering

Earth brought in to increase the elevation of land or to fill in a hollow. Source: European Union. (references)

Dream Interpretation

To dream that you drive along an embankment, foretells you will be threatened with trouble and unhappiness. If you continue your drive without unpleasant incidents arising, you will succeed in turning these forebodings to useful account in your advancement. To ride on horseback along one, denotes you will fearlessly meet and overcome all obstacles in your way to wealth and happiness. To walk along one, you will have a weary struggle for elevation, but will &ally reap a successful reward. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted ....

Geography

The inclined natural or artificial boundary of a watercourse. Source: European Union. (references)

Hydrologic

Fill material, usually earth or rock, placed with sloping sides and usually with length greater than height. All dams are types of embankments. (references)

Mining

A linear structure, usually of earth or gravel, constructed so as to extend above the natural ground surface and designed to hold back water from overflowing a level tract of land, to retain water in a reservoir, tailings in a pond, or a stream in its channel, or to carry a roadway orrailroad; e.g., a dike, seawall, or fill. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Synonyms by domain: emb (transportation), fill-in (building & civil engineering).

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Synonyms within Context: Embankment

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Abode

Street, place, terrace, parade, esplanade, alameda, board walk, embankment, road, row, lane, alley, court, quadrangle, quad, wynd, close, yard, passage, rents, buildings, mews.

Defense

Safeguard; (safety); balistraria; bunker, screen; (shelter); camouflage; (concealment); fortification; munition, muniment; trench, foxhole; bulwark, fosse, moat, ditch, entrenchment, intrenchment; kila; dike, dyke; parapet, sunk fence, embankment, mound, mole, bank, sandbag, revetment; earth work, field-work; fence, wall dead wall, contravallation; paling; (inclosure); palisade, haha, stockade, stoccado, laager, sangar; barrier, barricade; boom; portcullis, chevaux de frise; abatis, abattis, abbatis; vallum, circumvallation, battlement, rampart, scarp; escarp, counter-scarp; glacis, casemate; vallation, vanfos.

Refuge

Roadstead, anchorage; breakwater, mole, port, haven; harbor, harbor of refuge; seaport; pier, jetty, embankment, quay.

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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.

Crosswords: Embankment

English words defined with "embankment": bulwark, BundCovered wayDelphImbankmentprotective embankmentrampart, Revet, revetement, revetmentSea wall, Stank, stone facingTopsoilingwall. (references)
Specialty definitions using "embankment": bolsterscatch benchearth dam, earth slide, earth slump, Earthen Dam, earthfill damfalling apron, filter zone, finger drains, flood bank, flood control levee, flood embankment, flood levee, Floodwall, Fuse Plug SpillwayGRADE CHECKERIRRIGATOR, GRAVITY FLOW, IRRIGATOR, VALVE PIPElaunching apron, loose rock dumpoutslopePervious Zone, pitched island, placed stone facing, puddled corerearward dike, rearward flood bank, rip-rap, rock filling, Rockfill Dam, Rolled Filled Damsadd, semi-pervious zone, setback levee, slope stake, sludging, stone paving, stone pitched facing, stone pitching, suddthrust borer, transition zoneWagonZoned Embankment Dam. (references)

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Commercial Usage: Embankment

DomainTitle

Books

  • Another Life and the House on the Embankment (European Classics (Evanston, Ill.).) (reference)

  • Another Life: The House on the Embankment (reference)

  • Asphalt-Concrete Water Barriers for Embankment Dams (reference)

  • Embankment Dams: James L. Sherard Contributions (Geotechnical Special Publication, No 32) (reference)

  • Embankment Design and Construction in Cold Regions (reference)

    (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Embankment

Illustrations:
Embankment

More images...

Computer Images:
Embankment

More images...

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Photo Album: Embankment

ThumbnailDescription & CreditThumbnailDescription & Credit

Crossing a railway embankment on the Salt Lake City Base Using the Eimbeck base bar apparatus Figure No. 8, Appendix No. 12 Part II, Report of the Superintendent ... 1897, p. 774.Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

Log house, Kuskov Embankment (19th century), Tot'ma, Russia.Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540.

Garden plots near Kuskov Embankment, Tot'ma, Russia.Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540.

Washing in the Sukhona River below the Kuskov Embankment, Tot'ma, Russia.Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540.

Wooden (log) apartment house, Dvina River embankment (1990s), Arkhangelsk, Russia.Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540.

Astafev house, Prechistenka Embankment #22 (1890s), Vologda, Russia.Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540.

Head-on into action. British tank, which took part in the great battle before Cambrai, when General Byng's forces bit five miles into the German lines, ... British tank climbing a steep embankment on the battlefield before Cambrai, ... ; American officers.Credit: Library of Congress.

Algiers - the embankment and Boulevard de la Republique.Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Use in Literature: Embankment

TitleAuthorQuote

Grapes of Wrath

Steinbeck, John

There was no sign of the embankment left.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Usage Frequency: Embankment

"Embankment" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 91.33% of the time. "Embankment" is used about 323 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Noun (singular)91.33%29516,921
Noun (proper)8.67%2865,706
                    Total100.00%323N/A

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expressions: Embankment

Expressions using "embankment": embankment fill flood embankment protective embankment railway embankment. Additional references.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Embankment

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

embankment

9

embankment garden victoria

2

embankment landscaping

2

embankment slide

2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Embankment

Language Translations for "embankment"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Albanian

  

pendë (barrage, dam, dike, feather, fin, mole, pinion, plumage, plume, quill, seawall, sluice, span, Weir, yoke), breg i lumit, argjinaturë (dike, levee, seawall). (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏سد (bar, barrage, block, bung, clog, close, close up, congest, dam, dike, dyke, fill, floodgate, foul, lock, mure, obturate, obturation, occlude, occlusion, pack, plug, seal, shut, stem, stop, stop up, stuff, tamp, wad, weir), ‏جسر (bridge, dare, pier, viaduct), ‏إقامة سد. (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

укрепяване, крайбрежна улица, кей (cob, front, jetty, landing stage, levee, moorage, pier, quay, slip, wharf), насип (bank, dike, escarp, hilling, jetty, levee, mound), дига (dike, jetty, levee, mole, sea-bank). (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

(generous, thick), (dam, dyke), , . (various references)

   

Czech

  

nábřeží (quay), hráz (dam, dyke, Weir). (various references)

   

Danish

  

dige (dike, dyke, levee), dæmning (back-filling, barricade, dike, fill, fill embankment, retention dam). (various references)

   

Dutch

  

waterkering (dike), dijk (dike, dyke, sea wall). (various references)

   

Esperanto

  

digo (dike). (various references)

   

Farsi 

  

پشته (Barrow, Heap, Hill, Hillock, Mound, Rick, Stack), خاکریزی , دیوارخاکی . (various references)

   

Finnish

  

pato (barrage, barrier, dam, dike, dyke, levee, weir). (various references)

   

French

  

digue (flood embankment), berge. (various references)

   

Frisian

  

dyk (dike). (various references)

   

German

  

damm (back-filling, bank, barrage, barricade, bund, causeway, dam, dike, dyke, fill, fill embankment, flood bank, flood control levee, flood embankment, flood levee, levee, perineum, ridge), deich (dam, dike, dyke, flood bank, flood control levee, flood embankment, flood levee, levee, seawall), Uferdamm, uferböschung (bank, bank slope), Eindämmung (attenuation, boundary, containment), böschung (bank, bank slope, slope, talus). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

ανάχωμα (bank, border, dike, dyke, levee, mound, ridge, sea wall), επίχωμα (back-filling, fill, fill embankment). (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

töltés (bank, bund, burden, cartridge, charge, charging, dike, dyke, escarp, expletive, fill, load, loading, pen, rampart), vasúti töltés (fill, railway embankment), védőgát (bulwark, dam), kiépített rakpart. (various references)

   

Indonesian

  

empang (pond), tambak (banking, earthen dam, fishpond), penambahan (anghmentation). (various references)

   

Italian

  

terrapieno (back-filling, bank, earthwork, fill, fill embankment, rampart, terrace), diga (barrage, breakwater, causeway, check dam, dam, dike, dyke, flood bank, flood control levee, flood embankment, flood levee, jetty, levee, mole, pier, sea wall, Weir), argine (bank, bay, bulwark, bund, dam, defence, defense, dike, dyke, flood bank, flood control levee, flood embankment, flood levee, levee, passage, riverbank). (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

盛土 , (bank), 土手 (bank), 土塁 (earthen walls, earthwork), (bank, dike). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

どるい (earthen walls, earthwork), どて (bank), つつみ (bale, bank, bundle, dike, package, parcel), もりつち (fill, raise the ground level), ちくてい (bank, landscape gardening). (various references)

   

Korean 

  

축대. (various references)

   

Manx

  

cleih, cleigh (fence, hedge). (various references)

   

Norwegian

  

voll, demning (dam, dike). (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

embankmentay

   

Portuguese

  

aterro (back-filling, bank, banking, butt, dump, earthwork, fill, fill embankment, go ahead, hillock, spoilbank, tip). (various references)

   

Romanian

  

zãgaz (bank, barrier, breakwater, dam, dike, flood gate, groin, levee, pier, Weir), terasament (bank, earthwork, groundwork, roadbed), splai, rambleu (mound), dig (breakwater, dam, dike, jetty, levee, mole, pier), chei (fountain, gap, gorge, jetty, levee, mole, opening, pier, quay, wharf), îndiguire. (various references)

   

Russian 

  

насыпь (bank, banquette, levee, mound), набережная (levee, quay), дамба (barrage, causeway, dam, dike, levee, mole, pen, seawall, sea-wall). (various references)

   

Scottish

  

g radh (dike, garden). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

zagat, nasip (bank, bulwark, causeway, causey, dam, dike, jetty, levee, mound). (various references)

   

Spanish

  

terraplén (back-filling, bank, earthwork, fill, fill embankment, mound, rampart, terrace, terreplein). (various references)

   

Sranan

  

dan (dike). (various references)

   

Swedish

  

vägbank (back-filling, fill, fill embankment), vall (bank, cushion, dike, grazing ground, mound, ridge, wall), kaj (dock, jetty, levee, pier, platform, quay, whar, wharf), fördämning (barrage, dam, debris dam, dike, dyke, fish garth, weir). (various references)

   

Thai

  

เขื่อน (dike), การสร้างเขื่อนกั้น. (various references)

   

Turkish

  

toprak set, set yapma, set (bank, barrage, barrier, dam, dike, dyke, floodgate, groyne, obstruction, rampart, seawall, set, setting, studio, wall, Weir), bent (article, barrage, clause, dike, dyke, limb, paragraph, strophe, Weir). (various references)

   

Ukranian 

  

кам'яна набережна, насип (bank, banking, banquette, bund, cam, mound), дамба (bank, barrage, bund, causeway, dam, dike, dyke, jetty, mole, pen, pier, sea-bank). (various references)

   

Vietnamese 

  

đê (bank, dike, dyke, water-wall). (various references)

   

Welsh

  

morglawdd (breakwater, mole), co\b (cop), clawdd (barrage, dyke, hedge), argae (barrage, dam, enclosed place, weir). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Embankment

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Sumerian3100 BCE-2500 BCE

kar. (various references)

Latin500 BCE-Modern

tribunal. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Embankment

Derivations

Words beginning with "embankment": embankments. (additional references)


Misspellings

"Embankment" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Embankmant, embankmeent, embnkment, emparkment, enbankment. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Embankment"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "embankment" (pronounced emba"ngkmunt)
4-m u n tabandonment, abatement, accompaniment, accomplishment, accouterment, achievement, acknowledgement, acknowledgment, adamant, adjournment, adjustment, adornment, advancement, advertisement, advisement, aggrandizement, agreement, ailment, alignment, allotment, amazement, amendment, amusement, announcement, annulment, antigovernment, apartment, appeasement, appointment, apportionment, argument, armament, arraignment, arrangement, assessment, assignment, assortment, astonishment, atonement, attachment, attainment, banishment, basement, battlement, bemusement, bereavement, betterment, bewilderment, blandishment, bombardment, claimant, Clement, commandment, commencement, commitment, compartment, complement, comportment, concealment, condiment, confinement, consignment, containment, contentment, copayment, curtailment, debarment, debasement, deferment, department, deployment, deportment, derailment, detachment, determent, detriment, development, diminishment, disagreement, disappointment, disarmament, disbarment, disbursement, discernment, discouragement, disenchantment, disenfranchisement, disengagement, disestablishment, disgruntlement, disillusionment, disinvestment, dismantlement, dismemberment, displacement, divestment, dormant, easement, element, embarrassment, embayment, embellishment, embezzlement, embodiment, emplacement, employment, empowerment, enactment, encampment, enchantment, encirclement, encouragement, encroachment, endangerment, endearment, endorsement, endowment, enforcement, engagement, enhancement, enjoyment, enlargement, enlightenment, enlistment, enrichment, enrollment, enslavement, entanglement, entertainment, enticement, entitlement, entombment, entrapment, entrenchment, environment, equipment, escapement, escarpment, establishment, estrangement, excitement, excrement, experiment, extinguishment, figment, filament, formant, fragment, fulfillment, garment, garnishment, government, harassment, impairment, impeachment, impediment, implement, impoundment, impoverishment, impressment, imprisonment, improvement, incitement, inclement, increment, indictment, inducement, informant, infotainment, infringement, installment, instrument, integument, internment, intersegment, investment, involvement, judgement, judgment, ligament, maltreatment, management, measurement, micromanagement, misgovernment, misjudgment, mismanagement, misstatement, mistreatment, moment, monument, movement, nongovernment, nonmanagement, nonpayment, nourishment, ointment, ornament, orpiment, outplacement, overpayment, overstatement, parchment, parliament, pavement, payment, pigment, placement, postponement, postretirement, predicament, prejudgment, prepayment, presentment, procurement, pronouncement, punishment, puzzlement, readjustment, realignment, reappointment, reapportionment, rearmament, rearrangement, reassessment, reassignment, recruitment, redeployment, redevelopment, reemployment, reenactment, refinement, refreshment, refurbishment, regiment, reimbursement, reinforcement, reinstatement, reinvestment, repayment, replacement, replenishment, requirement, resentment, resettlement, restatement, retirement, retrenchment, rudiment, sacrament, sediment, segment, sentiment, settlement, shipment, statement, supplement, temperament, tenement, testament, tournament, treatment, underdevelopment, underemployment, undergarment, underpayment, understatement, unemployment, vehement, wonderment.
3-u n taberrant, abhorrent, abortifacient, absent, absorbent, abstinent, abundant, accelerant, accident, accountant, adherent, adjacent, adjutant, adolescent, afferent, affiant, affluent, agent, ambient, ambivalent, ancient, antecedent, antidepressant, antioxidant, apparent, applicant, ardent, argent, arrant, arrogant, ascendant, aspirant, assailant, assistant, astringent, attendant, belligerent, beneficent, benevolent, blatant, brilliant, buoyant, celebrant, clairvoyant, client, coefficient, cogent, cognizant, coherent, coincident, combatant, competent, complacent, complainant, complaisant, compliant, component, concomitant, concurrent, confident, confluent, consequent, consistent, consonant, constant, constituent, consultant, contaminant, contestant, continent, contingent, convalescent, convenient, convent, convergent, conversant, coolant, corespondent, cormorant, correspondent, Courant, covenant, Crescent, crosscurrent, current, decadent, decedent, decent, declarant, decongestant, defendant, defiant, deficient, defoliant, delinquent, deodorant, dependent, depressant, descendant, descendent, despondent, detergent, determinant, deterrent, deviant, different, diligent, discordant, disinfectant, disobedient, dispersant, dissident, dissonant, distant, divalent, divergent, docent, dominant, ebullient, efferent, effervescent, efficient, effluent, elegant, elephant, eloquent, emergent, emigrant, eminent, entrant, equivalent, errant, esculent, evanescent, evident, excellent, exigent, existent, exorbitant, expectant, expectorant, expedient, exponent, extant, extravagant, exuberant, exultant, Fabricant, fervent, flagrant, flamboyant, flatulent, flippant, fluent, fluorescent, fragrant, fraudulent, frequent, gallant, giant, grandiloquent, grandparent, hesitant, hydrant, ignorant, immanent, immigrant, imminent, impatient, impertinent, important, impotent, imprudent, inadvertent, incandescent, incessant, incident, incipient, incoherent, incompetent, inconsistent, incontinent, inconvenient, incumbent, indecent, independent, indifferent, indigent, indignant, indolent, indulgent, inefficient, infant, infrequent, ingredient, inhabitant, inhalant, inherent, innocent, inpatient, insignificant, insistent, insolent, insolvent, instant, insufficient, insurgent, intelligent, intercurrent, interdependent, intermittent, intolerant, intransigent, invariant, iridescent, irrelevant, irreverent, irritant, itinerant, jubilant, latent, leant, lenient, lieutenant, litigant, lubricant, lucent, luminescent, luxuriant, magnificent, malevolent, malignant, merchant, migrant, militant, miscreant, monovalent, mordant, mutant, nascent, negligent, noncombatant, nonexistent, nonresident, nonviolent, nutrient, obedient, observant, obsolescent, occupant, odorant, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, operant, opponent, opulent, outpatient, overconfident, oxidant, pageant, parent, participant, patent, patient, peasant, penchant, pendant, penitent, pennant, percipient, permanent, persistent, pertinent, petulant, pheasant, piquant, pleasant, pliant, poignant, pollutant, potent, preadolescent, precedent, predominant, preeminent, pregnant, prescient, present, prevalent, proficient, prominent, propellant, proponent, protestant, provident, prudent, prurient, pungent, pursuant, quadrant, quiescent, quotient, radiant, rampant, reagent, recalcitrant, recent, recipient, recombinant, recurrent, redundant, refrigerant, Regent, registrant, relevant, reliant, reluctant, reminiscent, remnant, repellent, repentant, repugnant, resident, resilient, resistant, resonant, resplendent, respondent, resultant, resurgent, retardant, reticent, reverent, rodent, ruminant, salient, seafront, sealant, semipermanent, Sequent, sergeant, serpent, servant, significant, silent, solvent, somnolent, stagnant, stimulant, strident, stringent, student, subcontinent, subsequent, subservient, succulent, sufficient, supergiant, superintendent, supplicant, suppressant, surfactant, talent, tangent, tenant, tetravalent, tolerant, torrent, transcendent, transient, translucent, transparent, trenchant, trident, triumphant, truant, truculent, tumescent, turbulent, tyrant, undercurrent, unimportant, unpleasant, unrepentant, urgent, vacant, vagrant, valiant, variant, verdant, vibrant, vigilant, violent, virulent, warrant.

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Embankment

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Words within the letters "a-b-e-e-k-m-m-n-n-t"

-3 letters: betaken, meatmen.

-4 letters: bannet, batmen, beaten, bemean, bename, bennet, betake, embank, neaten.

-5 letters: akene, ament, anent, benne, eaten, emmet, enate, enema, meant, menta, taken.

 Words containing the letters "a-b-e-e-k-m-m-n-n-t"
 

+1 letter: embankments.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

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Alternative Orthography: Embankment


Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

45 6D 62 61 6E 6B 6D 65 6E 74

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)

=

Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)

Braille (1829, in France) (references)

Morse Code (1836) (references)

.    --    -...    .-    -.    -.-    --    .    -.    -

Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01000101 01101101 01100010 01100001 01101110 01101011 01101101 01100101 01101110 01110100

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#69 &#109 &#98 &#97 &#110 &#107 &#109 &#101 &#110 &#116

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

0045 006D 0062 0061 006E 006B 006D 0065 006E 0074

British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

39796867807779718086

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Crosswords
3. Usage: Commercial
4. Images: Slideshow
5. Images: Photo Album
6. Quotations: Fiction
7. Usage Frequency
8. Expressions
9. Expressions: Internet
10. Translations: Modern
11. Translations: Ancient
12. Derivations
13. Rhymes
14. Anagrams
15. Orthography
16. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.