WWI's Impact on Everyday Words and Phrases

Definition: (n.) A person who shoots from a hiding place, especially accurately and at long range.

Origin story:The sniper term came from 18th-century British soldiers in India. A snipe is a small, easily startled bird hunters found hard to hit. A sniper was a person who achieved the hard feat of bagging asnipe on a hunt.

WWI brought the word's military meaning. It described deadly sharpshooters who picked off soldiers in the trenches from far away. A British officer named Hesketh Hesketh-Prichardformed a sniper school in 1915 to fight that threat. He wrote a postwar account,Sniping in France,which set the term in military talk in 1920.

Definition: (v.) To talk in a friendly and informal way.

Origin story: During WWI, 'chats' meant lice. The effort to pick lice off uniforms became calledchatting.

Soldiers passed the trench tedium by "having a chat." The meaning shifted to the talks, not the delousing.

Definition: (n.) A loose-belted, double-breasted raincoat in a military style.

Origin story: First designed in the 1800s, the trench coat became a popular item for British officers.British officerswore them in the Western Front trenches. Lower ranks could not wear these clothes, and they likely could not afford them.

The trench coat offered a lighter choice than the greatcoat given to common soldiers. Some veterans kept their trench coats after the war, helping the design gain civilian use.

Definition: (n.) A thing kept as a reminder of a person, place, or event.

Origin story: Souvenir comes from the French word for "remember".Before WWI, a souvenir was a remembrance token given as a gift, not bought. Keepsake was the usual phrase until 1914.

During WWI, British troops stayed in France for long periods. Some French words entered their speech, and souvenir was one. Soldiers regularly took small battlefield pieces as mementos. So-calledwar souvenirssoldiers regularly collected them, from helmets and flags to much worse trophies. By the war's end, the meaning shift was done.

Definition: (n.) A heavy armored fighting vehicle carrying guns and moving on a continuous articulated metal track.

Origin story: The military use of the word started in 1915. The British developed an armored fighting vehicle that debuted on the battlefield the next year. The "caterpillar machine-gun destroyer," its first version, was a top-secret project.

The development team used the "Tank Supply Committee" nickname to hide the machine's secrecy. JFC Fuller, a British officer and author of the 1920 account, made this up.Tanks in the Great WarOther cover names included "cistern" and "reservoir." Tank just sounded catchier.

Definition(n.) The disguise—especially for military gear, sites, or soldiers—using paint, nets, or leaves.

Origin story: From the French camoufler (disguise). In 1914, hiding from the enemy's view did not take off everywhere; a French soldier in a bright blue coat and red trousers shows this. The British learned to blend in years before. They first coined the catchy term in an August 1917 edition ofPopular Science Monthly:

Sometimes a whole paragraph explains this military practice. One French word saves all that writing and reading. Camouflage is the new word; it means "fooling the enemy."

Definition: (adj. inf.) Undemanding, easy, or secure (used for a job, task, or situation).

Origin story: The term comes from the Urdu word kushi, meaning pleasant or happy.

The British entry into the war brought people from all over the world. This led to a flow of culture and language. Over a million Indian soldiers served in the British army during WWI.a largely overlooked part of the conflict.

Definition(n. inf.) A person who excels at a specific sport or activity.

Origin story: Used for dice and cards since the Middle Ages. The term gained its meaning of exceptional skill from WWI fighter pilots; a pilot who shot down five or more enemy planes became a "flying ace." Adolphe Pégoud was the first ace aviator.Adolphe Pégoud(pictured), a Frenchman who developed a working parachute in 1913 by jumping in. Pégoud gained fame for his aerial wins in 1914-15, but a prewar student killed him.

Propaganda made pilots like Manfred von Richtofen, better known as the Red Baron, national heroes. He achieved 80 victories.Red Baron, was the most famous pilot in the conflict.

Definition: (n.) A heavy artillery strike over a wide area.

Origin story: Derived from the French phrase tir de barrer ("barrier fire") describes covering an area with artillery before an attack. The term entered English around 1916.

Artillery caused about 75% of WWI casualties. However, hundreds of shells hit the enemy for a single strike. The Germans fired222 million shellsduring the conflict.

Definition: Idiom. Stop talking!

Origin story: Disputes exist about this idiom's start, but it first appeared in print in 1919.One theorySoldiers in barracks during the conflict told a loud snorer to "put a sock in it" to quiet the noise.

Returning soldiers spread the phrase in the Anglosphere after the war.

Definition: (n. inf.) A small, nonrigid airship.

Origin story:First recorded in 1916, the term's origins lie withsome dispute. One theory suggests British experiments with airships offer the answer. A craft with a fixed frame became a Type A-rigid, while the version without a frame was a Type B-limp. This gave rise to blimp.

Definition: (n.) The time a planned operation, usually a military one, starts.

Origin story:WWI first used the term to describe the exact moment a planned operation began. Massive attacks like the Somme or Cambrai needed precise timing for coordinating artillery, planes, men, and tanks.

After the war, people used the phrase for a time to act, like the 1936 reoccupation of the Rhineland or the Spanish Civil War. In 1945, the term gained importance in Germany. Zero Hour orStunde NullThis marked the end of WWII and Germany's start on a new historical path.

Definition:Idiom: a bad situation forcing someone to act to avoid failure.

Origin story: Though perhaps from the 1500s, the 1918 Spring Offensive popularized the term.Spring Offensive. After the Russian Empire fell in 1917, Germans made one final push against the allies in the West.

The fight was intense. Knowing victory was close, British Field MarshallDouglas Haigissued a special order to troops, telling them to hold their ground. Several British newspapers also published the order:

There is no other path but to fight. Every position must be held until the last man; there can be no retreat. With our backs to the wall and believing in our cause, each of us must fight to the end. The safety of our homes and freedom for mankind depend on how each of us acts at this moment.

Definition: (n.) A model or copy of a machine or structure, used for learning or testing.

Origin story: Possibly from the Frenchmaquette ("model"), the term described small models ofnewly designedvehicles and equipment. Many new ideas came from 1914-18, so a catchy term for small prototypes became necessary.

Definition: (n.) A period of too much indulgence in an activity, like eating, drinking, or drugs.

Origin story:The word comes from a group ofLeicestershire words and phrasesBinge appeared in the mid-19th century. First, it meant excessive drinking. Now, it means overindulgence generally. Troops from various parts of the British Isles and Empire interacted, and the word became common during the conflict.

Definition: (n.) Nickname for a US Marine Corps member.

Origin story:A popular legend claims the ferocious battlefield skill of US Marines earned them the German nickname.Teufel HundenThe "devil dogs" came from the battle ofBelleau WoodIn 1918, speakers of German noticed an error on the recruiting poster: the tense was wrong.HundeHunde is correct; "Hu" is not.HundenThe term should be one word, not "Hunden".Teufelshunde.

Ignoring grammar mistakes, the claim Germans coined the nickname lacks proof. American war correspondent Floyd Gibbons first used it in reports. Gibbons was a larger-than-life figure who fought with the marines and lost an eye. The battle lasted three weeks; American forces won despite heavy losses.

Reports from the battle, in Gibbon's vivid writing, boosted the marines' achievements and created the "devil dogs" story. Even though aUS Marine Corps historianadmitted the marines probably used the term before the fight. Still, the legend persists, especially among the1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, and the term remains important to the unit's identity.