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WATER TANK SUPPLY UNITS

5/1/2022

6 Comments

 
The word tank in reference to the armored fighting vehicles is unsurprisingly predated by the word tank meaning "large receptacle," but the story connecting them is rather interesting. When the armored tank was invented in 1915, it was provisionally described as a "Caterpillar Machine Gun Destroyer" or "Land Cruiser," but defense officials in the United Kingdom were concerned about the name being leaked to enemy intelligence, so, for secrecy's sake, they were labelled as "Water Tank Supply Units", which was shortened to "tank" because it rolled off the tongue better. The word for "receptacle" came to English in the mid-seventeenth century through Portuguese tanque, which referred to any kind of "liquid container." That was most likely picked up by traders from either the Gujarati word tankh or the Marathi word tanka, both meaning "cistern" or "reservoir." Finally it probably all traces back to the Sanskrit word tadaga-m, meaning "pool," but is also a small faction of linguists who think that the Indian words actually come from tanque, and the Portuguese word is actually from Latin stagnum​, meaning "pool" as well.
6 Comments
Eric link
7/18/2022 10:02:05 pm

Hi there,

I love this website, but unfortunately this comment is more of an attempt to ask you something specific. There is a 'request a word' feature, but I did not want to just put a word in there without explaining my question in more detail.

The reason is my question concerns a minority language here in the states, namely Cherokee. I recently began working for a company, Elohi Studios. The word 'Elohi' roughly translates to Earth in the Cherokee language, but it strikes me as odd that it is so similar to the word 'Elohim.' I've asked a speaker of the language if there is a connection, but they don't know.

Given that the Cherokee language was oral and without a written form, their written language is anglicized. I know there is the Cherokee-Sequoyah Syllabary, a written form designed in the 1800s to better capture the language by the Native Americans themselves, but it is largely unknown to most people. The Syllabaric word for Elohi is written ᎡᎶᎯ.

My question is this - how likely do you think it is that the word 'Elohi' is a derivative of Elohim - meaning the colonial linguists who made the written form of Cherokee simply appropriated a generalized word for God - one with which they were familiar - for the word 'Earth?'

Forgive the impertinence of posting a non-related question on the blog - I love all your blogs, they're all great. Anyway, hope the question/comment makes sense, any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

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geek bars link
8/4/2022 05:20:53 am

Thanks for sharing your ideas and thoughts! The Geek bars Lite Energy Strawberry Ice Disposable Pod Device By Geekvape is one of the most compact Geek Bars available. This Geek Bar lite flavour is Energy Strawberry Ice. Take a delicious energy drink, add in a fruity strawberry kick and you are in for a treat.

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Pressure Tank Service & Repair link
8/22/2022 02:39:25 am

Excellent article! It was explained simply and to the point. Is there anything worse than getting into the shower and discovering that what was once a steady stream of water has turned into a light sprinkle? Water pressure loss is inconvenient for your family and your home. This is where we step in. We guarantee that we will resolve your water pressure issues quickly!

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plumbing in alexandria link
9/26/2022 07:02:32 am

Very short and sweet. Just my type of read

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Omaha Well Drilling & Treatment Services link
10/6/2022 03:13:46 am

Is there anything worse than stepping into the shower to find that what was once a steady stream of water has turned into a light sprinkle? The loss of water pressure is inconvenient for your family and your home. Excellent article!

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canberra water bores link
2/5/2023 10:02:30 pm

Water is gathered and stored in a water storage tank for later usage and quick access. Water is sent from the tank to your tap when you turn on the kitchen faucet, giving you access to fresh water whenever you need it. Systems for reverse osmosis cleanse water one drop at a time while operating slowly. You may have this water anytime you need it without having to wait for the system to patiently fill up your glass thanks to a reverse osmosis storage tank. Many low-pressure, low-recovery wells are used to pressurize water throughout a home or place of business. When you turn on the shower or flush the toilet, a well pressure tank makes sure that you have rapid access to pressured water.

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    Hello! I'm Adam Aleksic, a senior studying government and linguistics at Harvard University, where I co-founded the Harvard Undergraduate Linguistics Society. In addition to etymology, I also really enjoy trivia, politics, vexillology, geography, board games, conlanging, art history, and law. 
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