Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2019 April 5

= April 5 =

Alloy with a W
Is there a word for Alloy - as in, a material made of a combination of metals - which contains the letter "W"? In *any* language.

I know that is a very bizarre question, but I also know it's the kind of thing this refdesk might be able to answer.

I checked through the lang links of Alloy, and looked into the etymology of the Latin, "alligare", = bind. I note that Germanic "Legierung" apparently stems from Proto-Indo-European "leyǵ" (binding). All interesting stuff, but I was seeking one with a W. Maybe a synonym.

Why? Purely to make a weak joke.

Cheers. 86.20.193.222 (talk) 15:44, 5 April 2019 (UTC)


 * Google has this cool feature where if you do a search for "synonym alloy", you get a list at the top before the web page links. These are some of the other words you might try translating: mixture, mix, amalgam, fusion, meld, blend, compound, combination, admixture, composite, union.
 * Also cool, if you click on the arrow to expand the synonym window, you get a translate tool with a drop down ability to select dozens of languages from Afrikaans to Zulu. Tried a few at random and there is a W in the Somali phrase and in the Polish adjectival form. 70.67.193.176 (talk) 18:07, 5 April 2019 (UTC)


 * 70, thanks. 86.20.193.222 (talk) 20:25, 5 April 2019 (UTC)

any time a man can feel that, not counting where he's born, is where he's meant to go.
I don't quite understand the sentence: "any time a man can feel that, not counting where he’s born, is where he's meant to go." I am not sure about the subject for "is where he's meant to go." The full context is: "Going back to Africa after all this time, there's the excitement of a first adventure. I love Africa and I feel it's another home, and any time a man can feel that, not counting where he's born, is where he's meant to go." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 221.221.149.239 (talk) 16:37, 5 April 2019 (UTC)
 * It is, indeed, pretty loose syntax, but the meaning is certainly clear. "Any place a man can feel that about [i.e., that it's another home] ... is where he's meant to go" would be one way of expressing it more formally. Or perhaps "any time a man can feel that [i.e., that a certain place is another home], ... the place is where he's meant to go". Deor (talk) 16:56, 5 April 2019 (UTC)
 * The bit between the commas is a parenthetical phrase, and as such, if you remove it, you should still get a complete thought. "Any time a man can feel that is where he's meant to go" is a bit wonky, but it's understandable in the sense that Deor says.  -- Jayron 32 17:31, 5 April 2019 (UTC)