Difference between revisions of "WAN"
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The computer term should not be confused with the [[adjective]] '''wan''' (lower case). This word is traditionally pronounced in [[RP]] to rhyme with 'gone'. In some [[dialect]]s, including much of the North of England, it rhymes with 'can'. Its principal meaning nowadays is "pallid, faded, sickly; unusually or unhealthily pale." (''[[OED]]''). It is also applied to light, when it means "pale or weak" (moonlight is often said to be '''wan'''), and to a smile, when it means "weak or strained". | The computer term should not be confused with the [[adjective]] '''wan''' (lower case). This word is traditionally pronounced in [[RP]] to rhyme with 'gone'. In some [[dialect]]s, including much of the North of England, it rhymes with 'can'. Its principal meaning nowadays is "pallid, faded, sickly; unusually or unhealthily pale." (''[[OED]]''). It is also applied to light, when it means "pale or weak" (moonlight is often said to be '''wan'''), and to a smile, when it means "weak or strained". | ||
| − | :''' | + | :The [[adjective]] '''wan''' is a word with an interesting history. It originally meant "lacking light", and so "dark-hued, dusky, gloomy, dark". Now it means "light-hued". The change has been through the ideas of wounding (bruises); "sad, dismal; also awful, fearful, deadly, cruel, wicked, etc."; livid, or the colour of the metal lead; and unhealthy, therefore "pallid, faded, sickly; unusually or unhealthily pale". |
[[category:pronunciation]] | [[category:pronunciation]] | ||
Latest revision as of 16:59, 14 February 2023
In information technology jargon WAN (upper case) is an acronym for Wide Area Network. It rhymes with 'can'. Such a WAN obviously has more reach than a LAN, or Local Area Network.
The computer term should not be confused with the adjective wan (lower case). This word is traditionally pronounced in RP to rhyme with 'gone'. In some dialects, including much of the North of England, it rhymes with 'can'. Its principal meaning nowadays is "pallid, faded, sickly; unusually or unhealthily pale." (OED). It is also applied to light, when it means "pale or weak" (moonlight is often said to be wan), and to a smile, when it means "weak or strained".
- The adjective wan is a word with an interesting history. It originally meant "lacking light", and so "dark-hued, dusky, gloomy, dark". Now it means "light-hued". The change has been through the ideas of wounding (bruises); "sad, dismal; also awful, fearful, deadly, cruel, wicked, etc."; livid, or the colour of the metal lead; and unhealthy, therefore "pallid, faded, sickly; unusually or unhealthily pale".
