E
(iː)
the fifth letter of the Roman alphabet, represents historically the Semitic 𐤄, which originally expressed a sound resembling that of h, but was adopted by the Greeks (and from them by the Romans) as a vowel, the pronunc. of which probably varied from the ‘mid-front’ (e) to the ‘low front’ (ɛ) vowels of Bell's system. In the Roman, as in the earliest Greek alphabet, the letter represented the long as well as the short quantity of the vowel. There are reasons for believing that in OE. the short e had two sounds, possibly (e) and (ɛ); the OE. long é seems to have been sounded approximately as (eː).
The sounds now expressed by E in standard English are the following:
1. (iː)in be (biː)
2. (ɪə)in here (hɪə(r))
3. (ɛə)in there (ðɛə(r))
4. (iː/ɪ)in acme (ˈækmiː, ˈækmɪ)
5. (ɛ)in bed (bɛd)
6. (ɜː)in alert (əˈlɜːt)
Exceptional sounds are (7) (eɪ) in eh!, (8) (ɪ) in England, English, and (9) (ɑː) occurring before r in clerk, sergeant, and in various proper names, as Berkeley, Hertford.
In unaccented syllables it has the obscure sounds:
10. (ɪ)in remain (rɪˈmein), added (ˈædɪd)
11. (ə)in moment (ˈməʊmənt), father (ˈfɑːðə(r))
12. the mere voice-glide(ə) as in sadden (ˈsæd(ə)n).
In foreign words not fully naturalized certain other sounds occur: the Fr. en occas. retains in Eng. use its two sounds of (ɑ̃) and (æ̃), as in ennui (ɑ̃nyi), bon-chretien (bɔ̃kretjæ̃); the Fr. unaccented e preserves the sound of (ə) in words like eau-de-vie (o də vi); and the Fr. é that of (e) in a few words, as café (kafe).
E is also the first element in many vowel-digraphs, most of which have more than one pronunciation.
(1) Ea is usually sounded (iː), as in bead (biːd); exceptionally as (eɪ) in break, great, steak. It frequently represents (ɛ) in cases where that sound descends from a long vowel or diphthong, either original, as in thread (θrɛd), dead (dɛd), or acquired in ME. through position, as in stead (stɛd). When followed by r it has the sounds of (ɪə) as in ear (ɪə(r)), of (ɛə) as in pear (pɛə(r)), and of (ɜː) as in earth (ɜːθ), (ɑː) as in heart (hɑːt). In final unaccented syllables it sometimes becomes (ɪ) as in guinea (ˈgɪnɪ).
(2) Eau, found only in words of Fr. origin, is sounded (juː) in beauty and its derivatives, and (iː) in a few proper names, as Beauchamp (ˈbiːtʃəm); in all other cases it is (əʊ) or (o), as in bureau (ˈbjuːrəʊ), rouleau (rulo).
(3) Ee has the sound of (iː) as in feel (fiːl), and before r that of (ɪə), as in peer (pɪə(r)). In been many persons sound it as (ɪ); it has also this sound in breeches (ˈbrɪtʃɪz), coffee (ˈkɒfɪ).
(4) Ei has the sound of (iː) chiefly in the combination cei, as in receive; also in teil, and in Sc. words, as teind. In other cases its usual sound is (eɪ), as in vein. In either, neither, it is variously sounded (iː) and (aɪ). In a few words, on account of German or Greek etymology, it is pronounced (aɪ), as in eider-down, ophicleide. In unaccented final syllables it becomes (ɪ), as in foreign (ˈfɒrɪn), sovereign.
(5) Eo (as a digraph) is sounded (iː) in people, (ɛ) in leopard, and (əʊ) in yeoman.
(6) Eu has the sound of (juː), and when followed by r that of (jʊə), as in euphony, Europe. (After l or r the first element in these diphthongs is wholly or partially obscured: see L, R.) In a few Fr. words not fully naturalized eu retains its original sounds (œ) and ({obar}).
(7) Ew has the sound of (juː), as in new (njuː), Matthew.
(8) Ey is sounded (iː) in key, and (eɪ) in obey, they, prey; it occurs most frequently in unaccented final syllables, with the sound (ɪ), as in donkey (ˈdɒŋkɪ), money. In eye and its derivatives and compounds it is pronounced (aɪ).
The cases in which E is silent are very numerous.
The rule may be laid down that (except in foreign words not fully naturalized as to form) a final e is never sounded when there is another vowel in the word. The silent e is due primarily to the ME. obscure -e (:—OE. a, e, o, u, or a. Fr. e), which continued to be written long after it ceased to be sounded. In imitation of the cases in which the silent e had this historical justification, it was in 16th c. very frequently added to almost all words ending phonetically with a cons.; when the preceding vowel was short and accented, the final cons. was doubled, as in bludde, bedde for blood, bed; a mute e after a single cons. implied that the preceding vowel was long. In our present spelling the use of silent e has been greatly narrowed, but it is retained in the following cases: (1) When it serves to indicate that the vowel in the syllable is long; e.g. in wine (waɪn) compared with win (wɪn), paste (peɪst) compared with past (pɑːst, pæst). When the quantity of the vowel is already shown by the use of a digraph, the e is no longer added, e.g. in soon, mean (in 16th c. often soone, meane), unless the final cons. is s, z, or the voiced th (ð), as in house, breeze, sheathe. (2) When a word ends phonetically with certain consonants which custom does not permit to be written in a final position, as v, and l, r after consonants. (3) Where the silent e affects the pronunc. of a preceding c or g. (4) After s or z preceded by a cons., as in purse, pulse, corpse, bronze, furze. (5) In words like infinite, rapine, etc., where the vowel of the final syllable has become short since the establishment of the existing rules of spelling; and in words adopted from Fr. (6) In some anomalous cases of diverse origin, as are, were, come, done, gone, some, one, none. The silent e is omitted before flexional suffixes beginning with a vowel, as in moving; before -able it has been usually retained, as in moveable, loveable, unmistakeable, though many writers now prefer to omit it, esp. when the vb. is a polysyllable. Before suffixes beginning with a cons. the mute e is nearly always written; in abridgment, acknowledgment, fledgling, judgment, nursling, it is commonly omitted, but usage is divided except in the last instance; in this Dictionary the e is retained after dg, in accordance with general English analogies.
The following are illustrations of the literary use of the letter: a. simply.
| c 1000 ælfric Gram. (1880) 6 Þa syx ongynnað of ðam stæfe e. 1668 O. Price in Ellis E.E. Pronunc. i. iii. (1867) 81 E soundes like, ee, in be, euen, euening, England, English, etc. 1865 C. M. Yonge Clever Woman I. x. 249, I can very easily alter the L into an E. |
b. as representing the sound of which it is the usual symbol.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 485 If þe child a woman be, When it es born it says ‘e, e’..þe first letter..of Eve. |
II. Used as a symbol, with reference to its place (5th) in the alphabet, or (2nd) in the series of vowels; also on various other grounds.
1. E, e,
e is used to denote anything occupying the fifth place in a series (
cf. A,
B,
C).
2. in
Music. E is the name of the 3rd note of the diatonic scale of C major, corresponding to
mi in the Sol-fa notation. Also the scale or key which has that note for its tonic.
| 1848 Rimbault First Bk. Pianof. 54 Every black key except B-flat and E-flat. 18.. As it was Written 229 A leap of the bow and fingers back to A and E. |
3. in
Logic: A universal negative.
| 1827 Whately Logic (1850) 49. |
4. Naut. E. The second class of rating on Lloyd's books for the comparative excellence of merchant ships. (
Adm. Smyth.)
5. Math. The lower-case e or
e denotes:
a. The quantity 2·71828.., the base of Napier's system of logarithms.
b. The
eccentricity of a conic.
| 1860 Salmon Conic Sect. xi. (1879) 161 The quantity e is called the eccentricity of the curve. 1873 B. Williamson Diff. Calc. i. 21 The system [of logarithms] whose base is e. |
6. in
Dynamics:
e is the symbol of the coefficient of restitution or of elasticity.
| 1856 Tait & Steele Dynam. Particle x. (1871) 344 Let e be the coefficient of restitution. |
7. in
Electricity.
e stands for the electro-motive force of a single cell, E for the sum of such forces.
| 1885 S. P. Thompson Electr. & Magn. §345. |
8. in
Chem. E represents the element Erbium.
9. E-layer,
E-region: a stratum in the ionosphere, above the D-layer, that reflects medium frequency radiation;
= Heaviside layer.
| 1930, 1935 [see D. II. 1 c]. 1955 Sci. Amer. Sept. 128/2 The E layer (extending from about 60 to 90 miles above the earth's surface). 1959 Davies & Palmer Radio Stud. Universe ix. 162 Far below the F-region is the E-region which is centred at a height of 110 km. |
10. E-type, a type of ‘Jaguar’ sports-car.
| 1961 Autocar 17 Mar. 403/2 Independent rear suspension is still a rarity on British cars, and Jaguar have not introduced it on the E-type without a great deal of investigation. 1964 J. Welcome Hard to Handle v. 56 The note of the ‘E’ type's exhaust. 1967 L. Deighton Expensive Place v. 41 On the corner an E-type was parked. |
11. e, a symbol used chiefly on the packaging of certain foodstuffs and other products to indicate that they comply with relevant EEC directives;
spec. printed with the indication of weight or volume, and stating the average contained; also (cap.) on washing-powder packs, etc.; also
E-pack.
| 1972 tr. EEC Directive 71/316 in European Communities Secondary Legislation (Foreign & Commonwealth Office) xii. 301 The final ratification mark is composed of two stamps: (a) the first consists of the small letter ‘*e’ containing:—in the top half, the capital letter indicating the State where the primary examination takes place..in the lower half, the number indicating the examining agent or office; [etc.]. 1975 Monthly Rev. Inst. Trading Standards Mar. 50/1 The E.3 cartons will start to replace Giant sizes in January, the E.2 replaces Large sizes from February and the conversion from Regular to E.1 and Family to E.5 will be completed in June. 1975 Measuring Instruments (EEC Requirements) Regulations No. 1173. Schedule 1 para. 5 The mark of EEC initial verification is composed of two stamps... The first stamp consists of a letter ‘e’. 1975 Grocer 8 Mar. 7 The Soap and Detergent Industry Association have issued amended amounts for their packed weights of Euro-size (E-packs) products. 1984 A. Scrivener in Halsbury's Laws Eng. (ed. 4) L. para. 39 The EEC mark..is a lower case letter ‘e’. |
b. E number, a code number preceded by the letter E, assigned to an additive that accords with EEC Food Additive directives, and listed as an ingredient on the packaging of food or drink; also, an E number itself, as
E200, etc.
| 1977 Grocer 31 Dec. 31/3 Other labelling disagreement stems from EEC Commission recommendations that all additives be declared by their name or by their ‘E’ number (an ‘E’ number means the additive has been approved). 1981 Statutory Instruments 1980 III. ii. 6105 Lecithins E322..Alginic acid E400 [etc.]. 1984 M. Hanssen E for Additives 9 All foods made after 1 January 1986 will (except for flavourings) have to have the ‘E’ number or the actual name in the list of ingredients. 1986 Financial Times 7 June (Suppl.) p. xiv/8 A merry dance of dietary fibre, polyunsaturates and E-numbers. |
III. Abbreviations.
a. E. = various proper names, as Edward, Ellen;
= Engineer(s) in
C.E. and
R.E.;
b. = East, a point of the compass;
c. E.A.,
E/A, enemy aircraft;
E.A.M., Ethnikon Apeleutherotikon Metopon ([Greek] National Liberation Front);
E.B.S., emergency bed service;
E.C., European Community;
E.C.G., electrocardiogram;
E.C.T., electro-convulsive therapy;
ECU,
ecu [after F.
écu: see
écu], European Currency Unit;
E.D.C., European Defence Community;
E.D.D., English Dialect Dictionary;
E.D.P.,
e.d.p., electronic data processing;
E.D.S., English Dialect Society;
EDTA, ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid; also, ethylenediamine tetra-acetate;
E.E., Early English (see
early a. 4 b);
E.E.,
E. & O.E. (
Comm.)
= errors (and omissions) excepted;
E.E.C., European Economic Community;
E.E.G., electro-encephalogram (see
electro-);
E.E.T.S., Early English Text Society;
EFL, English as a foreign language;
cf. TEFL,
TOEFL s.v. T 6 a;
E.F.T.A. (see
Efta as a main entry);
e.g. = exempli gratia, for the sake of example;
E.H.P., effective (or electrical) horse-power;
E.H.T., extra high tension;
E.I., East India;
E.I.C., East India(n) Company;
E.L.A.S., Ethnikos (or Ellinikos) Laikos Apeleutherotikos Stratos (National (or Greek) Popular Liberation Army);
E.L.D.O. (see
quot. 1962);
ELT, English language teaching;
E.M. = Earl Marshal;
E.M.F.,
e.m.f., electromotive force;
EMP, electromagnetic pulse (as emitted by an atmospheric nuclear explosion);
E.N.I.A.C., also
eniac (see
quots.);
E.N.S.A. (see
Ensa as a main entry);
E.N.T., ear, nose, and throat;
E.P., electro-plate(d);
E.P., extended-play (record) (see
quot. 1962);
E.P.A. (
U.S.), Environmental Protection Agency;
E.P.D., excess profits duty;
EPG, Eminent Persons Group;
E.P.N.S., electro-plated nickel silver;
EPOS, electronic point of sale;
cf. POS s.v. P II;
E.P.T., excess profits tax;
E.P.U., European Payments Union;
ER (
U.S.), emergency room;
E.R.A. (
Baseball), earned run average;
ERA (
U.S.), Equal Rights Amendment;
ESL, English as a second language;
cf. TESL s.v. T 6 a;
E.S.N.,
e.s.n., educationally subnormal;
ESP, English for special (or specific) purposes;
E.S.P., extra-sensory perception (see
extra-sensory a.);
E.S.R.,
e.s.r., electron spin resonance;
E.S.R.O. (see
quot. 1961);
E.S.T., Eastern Standard Time (in the eastern parts of the U.S and Canada);
E.S.T., electro-shock (or electric shock) treatment (see
electro-);
E.S.U.,
e.s.u., electrostatic unit (see
electrostatic a.);
ET, extra-terrestrial (being); popularized by the film of this name (1982);
E.T.A., estimated time of arrival;
E.T.A. (
ˈɛtə) [Basque, acronym
f. the initial letters of
Euzkadi ta Azkatasuna Basque Homeland and Liberty], the name of a Basque separatist organization formed in 1959;
E.T.D., estimated time of departure;
e.V.,
eV, electron volt;
E.V.A., extravehicular activity (activity outside a space-craft).
| 1916 T. E. Lawrence Lett. (1938) 214 The feed-block of one of the *E.A. German Maxims. 1942 ‘B. J. Ellan’ Spitfire 42 A faint silhouette even if the E/A was not actually illuminated. |
| 1944 Time 16 Oct. 45/3 The Greek resistance forces wore the insignia of *E.A.M. (left-wing National Liberation Front) or E.L.A.S. (E.A.M.'s fighting arm). 1945 Spectator 21 Sept. 265/1 There were those..who regarded E.A.M. as little more than a group of unscrupulous adventurers who were employing the brigand bands of E.L.A.S. to seize power by violent means. 1966 P. P. Argenti Occupation of Chios vi. 61 The Communist E.A.M. (Ἐθνικὸν ἀπελευθερωτικὸν Μέτωπον, i.e. National Freedom Front). |
| 1973 Business Week 1 Dec. 37/1 (heading) Europe: The *EC feud over nuclear fuel. 1980 Daily Tel. 6 Dec. 18 The abbreviation EEC is now taboo...‘The European Community’ is the Council [of Ministers]'s approved designation, with the abbreviation EC. 1986 Ibid. 4 Jan. 12/6 It's the EC now, the European Community, a syntactical change intended to heighten our feeling of Europeanness. |
| 1952 *E.C.G. [see electrocardiogram s.v. electro-]. 1962 Lancet 5 May 946/2 The first three cases show that ST and T-wave depression can occur in the left chest leads of E.C.G.s in acute pulmonary embolism... The reasons for these E.C.G. changes are debatable. |
| 1970 Guardian 28 May 4/1 M. Rey, president of the EEC Commission in Brussels, yesterday forecast the *écu (crown) as the name of the future European currency... [It] would..stand for ‘European Currency Unit’. 1972 Times 5 Jan. 15/2 The European currency unit, the Ecu, failed to make an impact. 1983 Times 2 July 6/6 The European Commission yesterday agreed a supplementary budget for this year which would use up every single European currency unit (ECU) available to the EEC budget. Ibid., The proposed budget totals 2,380m ecus. |
| 1952 Times 22 May 5/4 (heading) *E.D.C. talks end in Paris. 1954 Encounter Nov. 51/1 And so [certain elements of the Right] were led to oppose EDC, which was conceived precisely in order to safeguard France against the extreme risks of German rearmament pure and simple. 1960 Electronic Engin. Mar. 153/2 In the early days of business *e.d.p. it was not unusual for the manufacturer's programmers and analysts to guide, control, and even supplement the efforts of the user's personnel. 1960 Times Rev. Industry Dec. 3/1 Electronic data processing (E.D.P.). |
| 1873 N. & Q. 4th Ser. XII. 342/1 Walter W. Skeat, Hon. Sec. *E.D.S. |
| [1950 Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med. LXXIV. 415/1 Ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid (E.D.T.A.A.).] 1951 Plant Physiol. XXVI. 542 The use of *EDTA was tested in mass culture conditions under daylight illumination in the greenhouse. 1959, 1964 [see ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid s.v. ethylene 2]. 1966 Phillips & Williams Inorg. Chem. II. xx. 82 For the complexes of ethylenediaminetetraacetate, EDTA4-.., the stability orders are IIIa > IIa > Ia, [etc.]. 1977 Time 31 Jan. 42/1 The grime was removed with cotton swabs wet with an aqueous solution called E.D.T.A. |
| 1877 G. F. Chambers Handbk. Sussex 26 The Ch...is chiefly Perpendicular, with an *E.E. tower. 1966 Listener 3 Feb. 166/2 Things like that little E.E. job in Palermo, now closed, could not possibly be mistaken for any Sicilian place of worship. |
| 1958 Times Rev. Industry July 75/1 Exchanges with the other members of *E.E.C. accounted for 27 per cent. of imports. 1961 Listener 10 Aug. 196/2 The preferences British goods enjoyed on the Australian market would disappear if Britain joined E.E.C. 1969 Times 27 Jan. 10/6 Union thinking..is strongly against exchanging present guaranteed prices for any ‘target’ prices on the E.E.C. model. |
| 1867 Skeat Piers Plowman p. xii, My tract published for the *E.E.T.S. in 1866. 1891 Schick Lydgate's Temple of Glas p. xii, Dr. Erdmann's forthcoming edition of the Story of Thebes, for the E.E.T.S. 1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 17 Jan. 35/1 Few E.E.T.S. introductions can show such grace, style and wit. |
| 1965 Language Learning XV. 131 Future plans are to hire regularly trained *EFL teachers for part of the staff. 1986 Times Educ. Suppl. 9 May 109/2 (Advt.), Qualified/Experienced E.F.L. Teachers required for Summer Courses. |
| 1682 R. Baxter Answer to Mr. Dodwell 226 What if they hold, *e.g. Arrianism, Socinianism, Manichisme, &c... Are they not Heretical? 1818 Moore Fudge Fam. Paris (ed. 5) 106 Like him, Tiberius loved his joke, On matters, too, where few can bear one; E.g. a man, cut up, or broke Upon the wheel—a devilish fair one! 1871 B. Jowett Dial. Plato I. 110 In this or that passage—e.g. in the explanation of good as pleasure. 1892 J. Wright Primer Gothic Lang. viii. 42 In the former case they are said to be voiced (e.g. the mediæ), and in the latter voiceless (e.g. the tenues). 1922 Joyce Ulysses 700 Requisite farming implements, e.g., an end-to-end churn. 1970 J. McN. Dodgson Place-Names of Cheshire p. xlv, Sources whose dates cannot be fixed to a particular year are dated by century (e.g. 12, 13 etc.), by regnal year (e.g. E1, H2 etc.) or a range of years (e.g. 1189–1217). |
| 1920 Conquest June 360/1 An average of about {pstlg}50 per *E.H.P. at power house must be allowed. |
| 1948 Electronic Engin. XX. 160 The circuit..derives its H.T. from the *E.H.T. supply which feeds the cathode ray tube. |
| 1814 Statutes 54 Geo. III Index 2/2 *E.I. Co... Cap. xxxiv. The East India Company. 1898 J. J. M. Innes Sir H. Lawrence 103 The E.I. Board. |
| 1944, 1945 *E.L.A.S. [see M. above]. 1945 W. S. Churchill Victory (1946) 7, I have been told that I made a mistake in under-rating the power of the Communist-directed E.L.A.S. 1966 P. P. Argenti Occupation of Chios vi. 67 E.L.A.S. (Ἐθνικὸς λαῖκὸς ἀπελευθερωτικὸς στρατός, i.e. National Popular Liberation Army). |
| 1962 Daily Tel. 22 Feb. 24/4 ESRO is independent of the European Launcher Development Organisation (*ELDO),..which seeks European support for converting Britain's abandoned Blue Streak defence rocket into a satellite launcher. |
| 1967 (title) *E.L.T. Selections..Articles from the journal English Language Teaching. 1969 Eng. Lang. Teaching Oct. 63 Experimental summer school on ELT methods in northern Nigeria. 1977 P. Strevens New Orientations Teaching Eng. v. 56 The principal British cover term is English language teaching (ELT), which normally excludes English as the mother tongue. |
| 1881 Heaviside in Jrnl. Soc. Telegr. Engin. X. 271 The phase of the current is behind that of the *E.M.F. 1905 N. H. Schneider Study Electr. 76 The e.m.f. is raised. |
| 1963 N.Y. Times 26 July 10/8 The so-called ‘*EMP’ or electromagnetic pulse, induced by a major explosion has widespread effects. 1983 Listener 15 Sept. 7/2 EMP would also, en passant, knock out huge numbers of satellites. |
| 1946 N.Y. Times 15 Feb. 1/7 The *Eniac, known more formally as ‘the electronic numerical integrator and computer’, has not a single moving mechanical part. 1946 Lancet 30 Nov. 795/1 Another war secret now disclosed is an electrical calculating machine which has been built in the United States and has been called an ‘electronic brain’, or more accurately an Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer—ENIAC. 1947 Ann. Reg. 1946 392 The one [electronic calculating machine] which has gained most publicity is the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Automatic Calculator (E.N.I.A.C.). |
| 1944 Dorland's Med. Dict. 503/2 *E.N.T. Abbreviation for ear, nose and throat. 1952 ‘R. Gordon’ Doctor in House xiv. 154 The E.N.T. clinic was busy..for the London atmosphere silted up patients' sinuses and roughened their lungs. |
| c 1895 Catal. R.S. Rowell, Oxford 43 Best *E.P. Entrée Dish 50/-. |
| 1954 Gramophone May 491/2 The second batch of *EPs to appear. Ibid. Sept. 165/2 The other side of the new EP. Ibid., Two of them..now make an EP appearance. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio 252 E.P. (extended play) record, a 45 rpm 7-inch fine groove record which may carry more material than a coarse-groove 10 or 12-inch 78. |
| 1970 Time 23 Nov. 42/3 When *EPA opens for business on Dec. 2, it will take over 15 component parts of five different (and often conflicting) agencies. 1976 N.Y. Times 11 Dec. 1/3 (heading) E.P.A. faults 208,000 cars. 1984 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 19 Aug. 14/3 She has done more for the environment today than during her entire tenure at E.P.A. |
| 1921 Times 4 Feb. 11/4 The End of *E.P.D. |
| 1986 Guardian 13 May 12/2 The return to South Africa this week of the Commonwealth ‘Eminent Persons Group’ (*EPG) ought to remind Pretoria that the outside world has not forgotten apartheid. 1986 EPG [see Eminent Persons Group s.v. eminent a. 2 e]. |
| 1897 Illustr. Price List (Edward Morrison, Parsonstown) 22, *E.P.N.S. Preserve Dish with Glass, 9/-. E.P. Butter with Glass, 3/6. 1949 Canning Handbk. Electro-Plating (ed. 16) xxi. 338 For best quality hotel plate and E.P.N.S. spoons and forks it is customary to give a deposit of 0.002 inch in thickness. 1970 Daily Tel. (Colour Suppl.) 24 Apr. 3/2 If he's after antiques you know he's an amateur if he takes EPNS stuff and reproduction porcelain and ignores the real thing. |
| 1980 Which Computer? June 37 We look briefly at *EPOS 80, a conference and exhibition this month in Kensington which is devoted to POS systems and applications. 1985 Times 6 Aug. 23/8 Electronic point of sale (EPOS) systems..link cash registers to larger computers for data processing. |
| 1940 Economist 6 Jan. 3/1 There is the unknown yield of *E.P.T. |
| 1950 Times (Suppl.) 18 Sept. p. iv/5 A number of European countries,..might not have felt justified in exposing themselves to the inevitable risks of *E.P.U. |
| 1965 Acronyms & Initialisms Dict. (Gale Research Co.) 266 *ER, Emergency Room (Medicine). 1976 N.Y. Times Mag. 23 May 80 Deborah Scher is waiting in the ER. A huddle of nurses moves to the side as Basil wheels the stretcher in. |
| 1949 P. Cummings Dict. Sports 121/2 Earned run average... Abbreviation: *ERA. 1975 New Yorker 23 June 46/2 At contract-renewal time, earned-run averages below 3.30 are invariably mentioned by pitchers; an E.R.A. close to or above the 4.00 level will always be brought up by management. |
| 1973 Americana Ann. 747/2 Acting 32 minutes after the vote, Hawaii became the first state to ratify *ERA. 1981 Gossip (Holiday Special) 52/3 How would you explain your position on the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) and feminism—your personal view? |
| 1967 C. C. Cate in Calif. Jrnl. Educ. Research XVIII. 184 (title) Test behaviour of *ESL students. 1985 Toronto Sun 10 Oct. 55/1 Volunteers are needed to conduct tours of the hospital for schoolchildren and pupils of E.S.L. classes. |
| 1955 Special Schools Jrnl. June 13/2, I have a strong conviction that Mary is not *E.S.N. at all. On the orthodox tests of intelligence she certainly gains a score which puts her in the upper level of the E.S.N. group. 1960 Where? III. 13/2 Educationally Subnormal (ESN), an expression used to describe children whose I.Q. is between about 55 and about 80. |
| 1976 Studies in Sci. Educ. (Univ. Leeds) III. 63 *ESP requires that teachers of English should define the aims of each language course with great precision, and devise teaching syllabuses and materials that lead only to those ends. 1977 P. Strevens New Orientations Teaching Eng. viii. 89 ‘English for Special Purposes’ (ESP)..is generally used in circumstances in which the command of English being imparted relates to a specific job, or subject, or purpose. 1982 English World-Wide III. i. 92 Lines of interest and research..have converged in the attention currently being paid to ESP. |
| 1955 Jrnl. Chem. Physics XXIII. 2441/2 The other two dichloro compounds each give a pair of additional *ESR lines. 1972 R. A. Jackson Mechanism iv. 53 Spectroscopic techniques, particularly n.m.r., e.s.r., u.v., and mass spectroscopy may be used to provide evidence for intermediates. 1976 Ann. Rev. Microbiol. XXX. 458 The molecular environments within cell membranes have been studied with the use of..electron spin resonance (ESR). |
| 1961 Engineering 21 July 71/1 In the scientific field there would be close cooperation with the proposed European Space Research Organization (*E.S.R.O.). 1968 Times 19 Nov. 6/8 Britain is not getting value for money from the European Space Research Organization (Esro). |
| 1937 Printers Ink Monthly Apr. 53/1 *EST, a term used by NBC to denote Eastern Standard Time. 1966 Punch 4 May 658/2 The National Broadcasting Company found a sponsor willing to put the British General Election up on prime time (9.30 EST to be precise). |
| 1957 S. H. Kraines Mental Depressions xvi. 456 Many names are given to this technique and its modifications: electric shock therapy (*E.S.T.), shock therapy (S.T.), electrocoma (E.C.), electric treatments (E.T.), electroconvulsive therapy (E.C.T.), [etc.]. Ibid., In the Manic-Depressive Illness, E.S.T. has proved to be of value in shortening the illness. 1969 L. L'Abate in C. M. Franks Behavior Therapy iii. xiv. 480 More concrete mediators in general psychiatric practice would be drugs, EST, and allied ancillary practices. |
| 1957 T. Sturgeon Thunder & Roses 189 The xenologists and *e-t mineralogists who were crazy enough to work out there. 1982 Nature 23 Sept. 377/1 A pop-eyed, stick-figured ET..looks out from the cover of The Biology of Human Conduct. 1983 Ibid. 27 Jan. 291/1 (heading) Can honeycomb weathering be ET? |
| 1939 Flight 26 Oct. 335/1 A quickly estimated *E.T.A., too, will narrow down the area of search if the next outstanding landmark fails to turn up. 1958 ‘N. Shute’ Rainbow & Rose vi. 231 E.T.A. is seven-fifteen. |
| 1963 Times 12 Jan. 6/5 All are said to be members of a movement known as *E.T.A., which stands for Euzkadi ta Azkatasuna (Basque country and liberty). 1973 Times 18 Jan. 1/2 ETA..sources in Biarritz said they could not say what would happen to the industrialist. 1980 Guardian Weekly 16 Mar. 10 In an election which seems to have been fair, both the Basque extremist organisation ETA and the Spanish national police kept off the streets. |
| 1939 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XLIII. 85 Three hours before the *E.T.D. of the aircraft. |
| 1965 Newsweek 14 June 30/3 White climbed into a new ‘extravehicular activity’ (*EVA) suit. 1969 Daily Tel. 24 Feb. 21/3 In connection with the space-walk, Schweikart who ‘will go Eva’ (extra-vehicular activity) said ‘I am looking forward to it’. |
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Sense III. c in
Dict. becomes III. d. Add:
[III.] c. The hallucinogenic drug Ecstasy (see *
ecstasy n. 5).
slang.
| 1988 Observer 28 Aug. 3/1 Ecstasy, known as ‘*E’ in the clubs, is currently on sale at {pstlg}20–{pstlg}25 a tablet. 1989 Blitz Dec. 47/2 In Manchester a teenage girl died after a tainted dose of E allegedly invaded her lymph system and caused her body weight to double in the space of two or three hours. 1990 New Musical Express 30 June 11/5 ‘People will dance to anything now,’ muses Mal. ‘I blame the E meself!’ |
d. EAROM (
Computing), electrically alterable read-only memory.
| 1972 WESCON Technical Papers XVI. iv/ii. 4–1/1 The flexibility of computers using large amounts of ROM is greatly increased if *EAROM's are used, since they need no longer be dedicated to a single purpose. 1983 Austral. Personal Computer Oct. 116/2 EAROMs (electrically alterable ROMs) are more likely to succeed, once they can be produced..in versions which require a lot less power than existing ones. |
EB (
Med.) [initials of Epstein and Barr: see
Epstein–Barr virus n.], of, pertaining to, or designating the Epstein–Barr virus;
cf. *
EBV below.
| 1964 Pathologie-Biologie XII. 1234/1 The virus found in both *EB1 and EB2 lymphoblasts..is in many respects similar to that in the Lucké frog neoplasm. 1966 Jrnl. Bacteriol. XCI. 1252/1 EB cells were subjected to various procedures which increase their death rates. 1968 Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 15 Jan. 139/1 Tests on sera from 50 randomly selected college freshmen revealed EB virus antibodies in 12. 1983 Oxf. Textbk. Med. I. iv. 43 Patients with infectious mononucleosis due to EB virus show the same effect of polyclonal B cell activation. |
EBV (
Med.), Epstein–Barr virus.
| 1968 Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 19 Aug. 595/1 A case of infectious mononucleosis with *EBV antibodies. 1985 Sci. Amer. Dec. 77/2 The response of the B cells to the EBV was not affected. |
ELF, Eritrean Liberation Front, formed in 1958.
| 1968 Current Hist. Feb. 79/1 The fact that *E.L.F. elements are receiving financial and other support from several Arab states has heightened Amhara anxieties. 1970 Foreign Affairs XLVIII. 543 The Liberation Front, a largely Moslem organization, was formed a full year before Ethiopia annexed Eritrea in 1962... The interesting thing about the progress of the ELF insurgency to date is its localized character. 1989 Encycl. Brit. IV. 544/3 The ELF works with the..Marxist Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). |
EMG, electromyogram; also, electromyography.
| 1950 *E.M.G. [see electromyography s.v. electro-]. 1964 New Scientist 12 Mar. 668/3 The EMG may be regarded as the stimulation reaching the muscle and actually precedes its mechanical response. 1972 Village Voice (N.Y.) 1 June 26/3 (Advt.), The new summer course includes training in: 1. Alpha wave 2. Theta wave 3. E.M.G. 1989 Guitar Player Mar. 24/3 A thorough examination including EMG should be able to locate the problem. |
EMS, European Monetary System.
| 1978 Washington Post 8 July C7/5 West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt..said the new European Monetary System (*EMS) would have a positive effect on the dollar. 1989 Times 4 Mar. ii. 17/5 The time is ‘very ripe indeed’ for sterling to participate fully in the EMS. |
EMU,
Emu (also with
pronunc. (
ˈiːmjuː)), economic and monetary union (also European monetary union),
spec. as a stage in the development of increased co-operation between members of the European Community.
| 1972 Economist 12 Feb. 62/1 European monetary union (*Emu), the half-baked try at unifying the currencies of the Six (which was due to start last June but never did), is now right back at the top of the common market agenda. 1972 Times 15 Sept. 17/4 The initiative for EMU is a result of the currency crises of 1969 involving France and Germany. 1977 Times 5 Oct. 7/7 A bold..attempt to relaunch the EEC towards economic and monetary union (EMU) is being prepared by the European Commission... Regional disparities need not be an insuperable barrier to EMU, Mr Jenkins believes. 1989 Barron's 24 Apr. 68/4 She has always been against joining the European Monetary System, which many see as a halfway house on the road to European monetary union, or EMU. |
ENSO (also with
pronunc. (
ˈɛnsəʊ)), El Niño–Southern Oscillation;
freq. attrib.| 1984 Science 5 Oct. 50 The *ENSO phenomenon is now recognized as a global event arising from large-scale interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere. 1987 Nature 14 May 96/2 In February and March 1986, the breeding success of seabirds in the Pacific was extremely low, as is typical during an El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Pacific Ocean. |
EOF (
Computing), end of file.
| 1961 Leeds & Weinberg Computer Programming Fund. v. 140 The end-of-file mark (*EOF)..enables us to combine records into groups of any size up to an entire tape length. 1989 PC World Oct. 32/2 For text operations..the EOF marker signifies the end of the file. |
EOT (
Computing and
Telecommunications), end of tape; end of transmission.
| 1963 Mag. Standards (Amer. Standards Assoc.) Aug. 236/2 (in figure) [ASCII character set] *EOT. 1966 C. J. Sippl Computer Dict. & Handbk. 112/1 EOT, end of transmission... End of tape. 1988 Your Computer (Austral.) May 88/3 Unfortunately, if the receiving computer misses the EOT, it will continue to wait for the next block..and, eventually, ‘time-out’. |
EP, extreme pressure (used in grading lubricants).
| 1958 R. De Sola Abbrev. Dict. 57/1 *ep..extreme pressure. 1975 Bram & Downs Manuf. Technol. iii. 101 E.P. fluids are ideal for low-speed machining. 1979 Motorcycling Man. 70/2 These drives have to be lubricated by an EP (extreme pressure) gear oil. |
EPLF, Eritrean People's Liberation Front, formed in 1970.
| 1977 Arab Times 14 Dec. 3/4 The *EPLF and another rebel group, the Eritrean Liberation Front, have scored dramatic battlefield successes this year. 1988 Times on Sunday (Sydney) 28 Feb. 25/1 It is a society..where the EPLF's soft-spoken leader insists on maintaining a low profile. |
ERM, Exchange Rate Mechanism.
| 1983 European Monetary Syst. (5th Rep. House of Lords Sel. Comm. European Communities Sess. 1983–84) (H.L. Paper No. 39) p. v, *ERM, Exchange rate mechanism. Ibid. p. xi, The outcome of the discussions of the ERM was a system similar in principle to that of the ‘Snake’, involving a ‘parity grid’ of cross rates. 1990 Business Apr. 33/3 Consider what would happen if sterling were locked into the ERM at prevailing market exchange rates. |
ESA, environmentally sensitive area.
| 1975 Francis & Eagles Study of Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Univ. Waterloo, Ontario) 11 Some of the *ESA's have already had inventories conducted by the International Biological Programme. 1987 Daily Tel. 19 Oct. 15/7 ESAs were established under the Agriculture Act of 1986 which provides for payments to be made to farmers and landowners who agree to manage their land in sympathy with the needs of wildlife and the landscape. |
ESOL (
orig. U.S.), English for (or to) speakers of other languages;
cf. EFL above and
TESOL s.v. T 6 a.
| 1971 New Acronyms & Initialisms (Gale Research Co.) 24/2 *ESOL, English to Speakers of Other Languages (Program). 1981 Prospectus Inst. of Educ., London Univ., 1982–83 28/1 Cultural factors in the acquisition of English in ESOL contexts. 1990 Times Educ. Suppl. 4 May a157 (Advt.), We require a lecturer to teach in the ESOL Section. |
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EBIT n. (also
E.B.I.T.,
Ebit,
ebit)
Finance earnings before interest and tax.
| 1961 Jrnl. Finance 16 379 At first glance, Walter's formulation seems contrary, but the difference is due to the fact that he computes from earnings after taxes and the present author begins with *E.B.I.T. 2003 Wall St. Jrnl. 15 Jan. b11/5 Airbus posted earnings before interest and taxes of almost €1.4 billion in 2002, down roughly 15%, for an Ebit margin of around 7%. |
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EBITDA n. (also
ebitda)
Finance earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.
| 1988 Daily News Record 11 Mar. 11/2 *EBITDA at Macy's is projected at 15.5 percent of sales. 2003 D. L. Scott Wall St. Words 120 Critics contend EBITDA can be a misleading financial tool, in part because companies have wide discretion in determining the dollar amount of the components used in calculating EBITDA. |
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EBT n. orig. U.S. = electronic benefits transfer n. at
electronic adj. Special uses
| 1984 Food & Nutrition (U.S. Dept. Agric.) Oct. 8/1 Implementation will be swift if *EBT proves to be cost effective and provides good service to food stamp clients. 1997 Economist (Nexis) 25 Jan. 56 Northern Italy and three provinces in South Africa have already put EBT schemes in place for paying pensions. |
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ECM n. Mil. electronic countermeasures.
| 1952 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Jrnl. 29 July 9/1 Electronic counter-measures (*ECM) may have something to do with some of the recent radar sightings. 1999 T. Harnden Bandit Country (2000) ix. 331 French's men were not carrying ECM equipment, which could have jammed the radio signal. |
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EDI n. = electronic data interchange n. at
electronic adj. Special uses
| 1977 Chilton's Distrib. Worldwide Feb. 51/1 His company has completed programming for *EDI and is now prepared to offer interchange of transportation information with DuPont..and other customers as soon as they are ready to accept data. 1995 Computer Weekly 6 Apr. 63/6 Even though public bodies are encouraging the use of EDI to transmit information, it is not certain whether a court would accept such an electronic message as evidence. 2000 Econ. Affairs 20 53/3 The average number of staff in the office is 1.5 who, with the aid of a microcomputer, PC, fax and EDI, process telephone calls, write and file correspondence, [etc.]. |
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EEA n. Brit. = European economic area n. (b) at
European adj. and
n. Special uses 2b
| 1990 Financial Times 20 Dec. 2/2 Ministers from 19 European countries yesterday said they would finish negotiating the European Economic Area (*EEA) by the middle of next year, so that common rules on free movement of capital, labour, goods and services would be in place by the start of 1993. 1998 I. Hunter Which? Guide to Employment xiii. 235 Form E111..entitles you to free or reduced-cost treatment in EEA member states. |
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EMT n. U.S. emergency medical technician.
| 1972 Times Recorder (Zanesville, Ohio) 9 Apr. 5 c/7 A nationwide campaign is under way to train ambulance attendants, upgrading them to the status of *EMT—which stands for emergency medical technician. 2001 Time 1 Oct. 13/1 Federal money [was] given to each family of..a fire fighter or EMT who died in the Trade Center collapse. |
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EQ n. Psychol. (now
rare)
= educational quotient n. (a) at
educational adj. Additions;
cf. I.Q. n. at
I n.1 Initialisms
| 1920R. Franzen in Teachers Coll. Rec. 21 436 The ratio of *E.Q. to I.Q. gives the percentage of what that child could do, that he has actually done. 1950 H. Gulliksen Theory Mental Tests xix. 291 The grade placement indicated by the test score was called Educational Age; and the Educational Age was divided by chronological age to obtain an educational quotient or E.Q. 1991 Sunday Tel. (Nexis) 15 Sept. The charter will give information on the average IQ of children in a school and their EQ. |
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EQ n.initialism >
n.1 Initialisms chiefly
Psychol. = emotional intelligence quotient n. at
emotional intelligence n. Compounds.
| 1941 N.Y. Times 28 Sept. x. 3/2 The thing they miscalculate is the emotional quotient—the *e.q.—of an audience. 1995 Denver Post (Nexis) 6 Sept. f1 Unlike IQ, which can't be altered, you can learn to develop a high EQ. 2001 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 4 July c12 EQ is not just about being nice. People with high EQ are able to challenge and confront but they do it in a manner that doesn't shut the other person down. |
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EKG n. Med. = E.C.G. n. at Initialisms.
| 1912 Lancet 30 Mar. 853/2 The instrument is rapid and at the same time sensitive enough for recording *EKG.'s with sufficient accuracy. 1962 Amer. Heart Jrnl. 104 888/2 EKGs and roentgenograms of the chest were not revealing. 1998 R. Price Freedomland i. i. 21 The dispatcher's call-out was as flat as a dead man's EKG. |
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EQ n. Biol. = encephalization quotient n. at
encephalization n. Additions.
| 1970H. J. Jerison in Science 11 Dec. 1225/2 The range of *EQ in archaic ungulates was between 0.1 and 0.4. 1996 A. Walker & P. Shipman Wisdom of Bones x. 174 We would see an abrupt increase in EQ from Australopithecus to Homo habilis, then an apparent leveling off as both brain and body size increased together as habilis evolved into erectus. |
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ESN n. Telecomm. electronic serial number, a unique number programmed into a mobile phone (in some non-GSM networks) by its manufacturer, comprising information that identifies it to the network when calls are made and received.
| 1987Cellular Phone Fraud Busts in NY in mod.telecom (Usenet newsgroup) 27 Mar. The mobile carriers make a computer check of the *E.S.N. to see if it is valid. If it is, the call goes through and the cost is billed to the billing number provided by the M.I.N. chip. 1994 New Scientist 3 Dec. 52/1 Re-chipping a phone is easy because the ESN is stored in erasable memory chips, instead of write once (WORM) chips. 2004 Econ. Times (Nexis) 14 Oct. If you have a CDMA mobile phone, make sure that you know of an individual identification number, the ESN which is found on the back of the CDMA handset under the battery. It usually has eight digits, combining letters and numbers. |
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EU n. = European Union at
European adj. 5b.
| 1990 Toronto Star (Nexis) 27 June a29 A few years back..what used to be known as the EEC—European Economic Community—came to be known generally by the broader and more ambitious title of EC, or European Community. If *EU, or European Union, now passes into everyday usage, Europe would be within reach of the goal of a ‘federation’. 1993 Guardian 9 Nov. 9/1 All ministerial business—ranging from the plight of Bosnia to the permitted additives of sausages in the internal market—will be conducted in future by EU councils of ministers. 2000 Daily Tel. 3 Mar. 19/8 Both the European Commission and the EU's Portuguese presidency are pushing for a far-reaching charter. |