Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2012 July 22

Language desk
< July 21	<< Jun | July | Aug >>	July 23 >

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.

July 22

Which is a mathematical term (geometry): period, stage, section, phase.

Sorry, my English is not perfect.

I tried to search the word "szakasz" in online Hungarian->English dictionaries. But I do not know which is the mathematical term (in geometry): period, stage, section, phase. This a part of a straight line, limited with 2 points in the line. The 2 points determines this, always exists a straight line through the points, if the 2 points are not identical (the same), the line is unambiguous. This has length and direction. Two of this can cross one other, can be parallel, in one line, etc. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.21.186.170 (talk) 11:07, 22 July 2012 (UTC)

If I'm understanding you correctly, that's called a line segment, or informally just a "segment", in English. Deor (talk) 11:11, 22 July 2012 (UTC)

Given that the 'line' has direction, I am tempted to say that it's a Euclidean vector: "A Euclidean vector is frequently represented by a line segment with a definite direction". However, that article is iw-linked to Hungarian hu:Vektor, so I guess that might not be the word that the OP is asking for. V85 (talk) 16:41, 22 July 2012 (UTC)

Given that the OP mentioned parallel but not antiparallel, and said nothing to suggest considering the endpoints as an ordered pair, I read direction as not including sense. (hmm, Sense (disambiguation) does not include the sense of sense that I have in mind.) —Tamfang (talk) 01:04, 23 July 2012 (UTC)

See wikt:szakasz and wikt:line segment.

—Wavelength (talk) 01:29, 23 July 2012 (UTC)

Spänn/spenn

What exactly does spänn (Swedish) or spenn (Danish/Norwegian) mean? I understand it's used as an alternative term for the local currency, but I have never understood the exact details and implications behind the word. Is it simply a cool slang term or an everyday word with intrinsic meaning? My best guess is that it means something like "worth", for example femtio spänn means "fifty's worth" (in Finnish we would say viidenkymmenen edestä or, simply viidelläkymmenellä). Is this right? JIP | Talk 21:31, 22 July 2012 (UTC)

See sv:wikt:spänn --Pp.paul.4 (talk) 22:55, 22 July 2012 (UTC)

That doesn't help English speakers. 69.62.243.48 (talk) 02:56, 23 July 2012 (UTC)

As a Norwegian speaker, I'd say, yes, it's just 'cool term' for money. So 'femti spenn' = 50 kroner, much like 'five bucks' is $5. I don't think your attempt at 'translating' it to 'worth' is right, as no one would ever say: Den har fem kroners verdi. (But Den er verd fem kroner.) It's just used as a replacement for 'kroner/kronor', whereas if it had the meaning 'worth', it might've been necessary to change the grammatical formula.

According to the Swedish Wiktionary page, it says that 'spänn' comes from 'spänna' (v) which is borrowed from English 'spend'. I would guess that the Norwegian term has been borrowed from Swedish. V85 (talk) 03:37, 23 July 2012 (UTC)

Swedish seems to have been borrowing rather freely from English. A number of Swedes I've met insist that the verb for "adding" someone (on an instant message service, Facebook, or whatever) is "adda", not the usual "lägga till". (Personally, I find it annoying and strange. If you're going to speak English, just speak English, dammit.)  dalahäst ^{(let's talk!)} 07:08, 23 July 2012 (UTC)

BrEnglish has a number of slang terms for money used in the same way; see Quid, Nicker, Sov, Bob - Cucumber Mike (talk) 07:35, 23 July 2012 (UTC)