Old English Words
This Old English term hlāford literally meant “bread keeper” and evolved into the modern title for a noble or ruler.
What is “lord”?
Though often associated with India, this language is the national tongue of Pakistan and shares grammar and much vocabulary with Hindi—distinguished by its Persian-Arabic script.
What is Urdu?
In 1917, the French munitions ship Mont-Blanc exploded in this Canadian harbor after a collision—leveling part of the city and causing the largest man-made explosion prior to the atomic bomb.
What is Halifax?
n 476 AD, this Western empire officially collapsed after repeated invasions, political rot, and the sacking of its capital by Germanic tribes.
What is the Western Roman Empire?
Hired by the Medici and other Italian nobles, these Renaissance-era mercenaries led professional companies of pikemen and cavalry across constantly shifting alliances.
What are condottieri?
This Old English word wyrm referred to a serpent or dragon and later evolved into the modern term for the common garden invertebrate.
What is “worm”?
This Austronesian language, officially known as Filipino, is based on the tongue of Manila and forms the core of national identity in the Philippines.
What is Tagalog?
DD $800 - In 1968, North Korea captured this U.S. Navy intelligence ship, sparking an international crisis. Its crew was held captive for 11 months, and the ship is still on display in Pyongyang.
What is the USS Pueblo?
Buried by economic stagnation, ethnic unrest, and a failed war in Afghanistan, this superpower officially dissolved in 1991—marking the end of the Cold War.
What is the Soviet Union?
In the 1990s, this South African PMC helped crush rebellions in Angola and Sierra Leone with brutal efficiency—before being shut down under international pressure.
What is Executive Outcomes?
This Old English word ġeogūþ referred to the state of adolescence and has given us the modern term for the period of young life.
What is “youth”?
Spoken across the Horn of Africa and written in Latin script since the 1970s, this Cushitic language is a cornerstone of cultural unity for a people scattered by civil war and diaspora.
What is Somali?
In 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israeli forces attacked this American signals intelligence ship, killing 34 crewmen. Though labeled a tragic mistake, the incident remains a flashpoint for conspiracy theories and diplomatic strain.
What is the USS Liberty?
Ravaged by inflation, colonial overreach, and repeated defeats by the British, this once-mighty European empire saw its global influence collapse by the early 19th century, losing nearly all its American holdings.
What is the Spanish Empire?
Founded by Erik Prince, this American private military company rose to prominence during the Iraq War—earning infamy after a 2007 incident in Baghdad left 17 civilians dead.
What is Blackwater?
The Old English term ġiest meant a visitor or stranger and evolved into the word we use today for someone staying in your home.
What is “guest”?
Created in the 1880s by a Polish-Jewish linguist, this constructed language was designed to foster international unity—yet ironically never became an official language of any nation.
What is Esperanto?
After delivering atomic bomb components to Tinian in 1945, this U.S. heavy cruiser was sunk by a Japanese submarine. Hundreds of sailors died in shark-infested waters while the Navy failed to notice the ship was missing.
What is the USS Indianapolis?
More a patchwork of feudal states than a true empire, this thousand-year political entity finally dissolved in 1806 after pressure from Napoleon shattered its last illusions of unity.
What is the Holy Roman Empire?
Backed by the Kremlin but officially “off the books,” this Russian paramilitary group has operated in Syria, Ukraine, and Africa—blurring the line between soldier, mercenary, and war criminal.
What is the Wagner Group?
Originally spelled wīfmann, this Old English compound literally meant “woman-person” and now denotes an adult female.
What is “woman”?
This European language isolate has no known linguistic relatives and is spoken in a mountainous region between France and Spain, where its speakers maintain a fiercely independent identity.
What is Basque?
In 1862, this Confederate ironclad engaged the USS Monitor in the first battle between metal warships—signaling the end of the wooden navy.
What is the CSS Virginia?
Formed after the Napoleonic Wars, this dual monarchy dissolved in 1905 when rising nationalism and constitutional disputes led one kingdom to peacefully declare independence—ending a near-century of union.
What is the Kingdom of Norway–Sweden?
A former British SAS officer turned mercenary, this man was arrested in 2004 while leading a botched coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea—exposing the shadowy world of post-colonial regime change.
Who is Simon Mann?