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This was new to me; it was in our paper today: derecho. Here's a partial quote: ... intense super cell storms that are more commonly seen in March or April.
And some of those cells are spawning a rare type of storm called a "derecho," which can carry hurricane-force winds. They typically occur only twice in a decade in Kentucky. http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2004/07/15storms/A1-summer0715-6735.htmlI did a Search, which revealed 3 posts in a Spanish context, so I went ahead with this.
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Carpal Tunnel
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pretty fast turn-around for the wwftd! 
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Mar 2000
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old hand
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old hand
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turn-around ? Straight ahead ! 
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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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okay, I gave 'straight ahead' as the English translation of derecho; but I got this email from Dagny:
Nope, it means to the right. It also retains the same secondary sense as the
word "right" in English - a la <human rights>.
I bet I'm not the only one to email you about this! =)
well, so far she's nearly the only one, although I did get this:
Is it ok if I prefer to regard this as a Spanish word
which has quite a few definitions, but basically
meaning right-hand; or even straight, standing,
upright.
thus it seems to mean either right or straight (but not quite straigh ahead) -- anyone else?
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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I beleve it's a gender issue. *ahem.*
Masculine denotes "straight ahead"; feminine (derecha) is "right."
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Joined: Jan 2004
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veteran
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veteran
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Masculine denotes "straight ahead"; feminine (derecha) is "right."
Well, right is also an adjective, so it can be either. So la mano derecha 'the right hand' or just nominalized as la derecha. But as a noun, yes: the feminine for the right hand and the masculine for the law. You could also have el lado derecho for the 'right side'. And besides a noun and an adjective, it's an adverb, as pointed out, meaning 'straight, direct (cognate), or upright'.
What's interesting is that Latin rectus 'straight; correct, (morally) right' was augmented with de-. And that Latin words dexter (related to Skt dakshina 'right; south'), as well as sinister 'left', lost out in Spanish. Derecha, izquierda.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Thanks for the furthermores, jheem. I'd left them out (well, the adj bit, the rest I didn't know..) in an attempt to eschew obfuscation on behalf of those who aren't familiar with such concepts.  Or either I was just too lazy, one.
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an attempt to eschew obfuscation on behalf of those who aren't familiar with such concepts.Ta, AS. I find that when shooting at folks, if I aim over their heads, I'm less likely to hit 'em, and if I aim lower, I just might kill 'em. Another thing about straight == true, are the words tree and true (as in lumber and ideas). Related to Gk drus 'oak (tree)' and Latin druides (from Gaulish): all from * dreu- 'tree'. See http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE87.html]
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old hand
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old hand
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if I aim over their heads, I'm less likely to hit 'em.. except if they stray into the crossfire between the sharpshooters
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except if they stray into the crossfire between the sharpshootersAh, yes, triangulation, as dangerous in lexicography as it is in wartime. Thanks.
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Carpal Tunnel
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(Hmm--just realized I'm posting under a title that I have no idea of the meaning of...)
Anyway--how come the word triangulation is so close to strangulation? Ligature, maybe?
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Joined: Jan 2004
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how come the word triangulation is so close to strangulation?
Depends on the meaning of is, don't it?
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