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Union Jack 1670s, from union + jack (n.); properly a small British union flag flown as the jack of a ship, but it has long been in use as a general name for the union flag. The Union flag (1630s) was introduced to symbolize the union of the crowns of England and Scotland (in 1603) and was formed of a combination of the cross saltire of St. Andrew and the cross of St. George. The cross saltire of St. Patrick was added 1801 upon the union of parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland.
Related entries & more Villanova European culture of the early Iron Age, 1901, named for a hamlet near Bologna where archaeological remains of it were found.
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Travis masc. proper name, also a surname (late 12c.), from an Old French word meaning "to cross over," related to traverse (v.). Probably a name for a gatekeeper or the toll collector of a bridge.
Related entries & more Bessemer (adj.)by 1856 in reference to the process for decarbonizing and desiliconizing pig iron by passing air through the molten metal, named for engineer and inventor Sir Harry Bessemer (1813-1898) who invented it.
Related entries & more Hallstatt 1866 in reference to an Iron Age civilization of Europe, from the name of a village in Upper Austria, where implements from this period were found. The Germanic name is literally "place of salt," in reference to ancient salt mines there, which preserved the bodies of the original miners.
Related entries & more Victoria fem. proper name, Latin, literally "victory in war," also the name of the Roman goddess of victory (see victory). The Victoria cross is a decoration founded 1856 by Queen Victoria of Great Britain and awarded for acts of conspicuous bravery in battle.
Related entries & more Phillips
Related entries & more proper name of a cross-slot screw and corresponding screwdriver, 1935, named for its inventor, U.S. businessman Henry F. Phillips (1890-1958) of Portland, Oregon. It was designed for car makers, hence the handyman's complaint that they are difficult to un-screw. Phillips lost the patent in 1949.
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