COVENTRATE

PRONUNCIATION: (KOV-uhn-trayt)

MEANING: verb tr.: To devastate, such as by heavy bombing.

ETYMOLOGY: After Coventry, a city in central England, that was devastated in German bombing during WWII, Nov 14-15, 1940. The Germans coined the verb coventrieren (to coventrate) after the city to describe any heavy bombing, and the term was adopted in English as well. Earliest documented use: 1940. See also, blitzkrieg.
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COVET RATE - what percent of viewers are jealous

COVEN TRACE - follow the peregrinations of groups of witches

COVE NITRATE - fertilizer (guano) from birds in a sheltered inlet