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

Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

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. --Jayron32 17:31, 5 April 2019 (UTC)