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prettygoodwordparavane - n., a minsweeping device consisting of a torpedo-shaped body with a pair of vanes towed by a ship by cables that can cut the cable of a moored underwater mine.
So read that as para-vane, stress on the first syllable. Invented and named during WWI by the British Navy. The -vane part is pretty clear, but whether the para- is in the French sense of warding off or because the paired vanes are side by side, sources disagree.
---L.
So read that as para-vane, stress on the first syllable. Invented and named during WWI by the British Navy. The -vane part is pretty clear, but whether the para- is in the French sense of warding off or because the paired vanes are side by side, sources disagree.
---L.
