What does Mk II mean?
Kevin Charles Rubio
In article <1ihv08...@coli-gate.coli.uni-sb.de> mue...@fsinfo.cs.uni-sb.de (Ralf Muehlen) writes:
>Does anybody know what the 'MK II' means in 'The Guide Mk II'.
It means "Mark Two." `Mark' is a way of designating version numbers
for objects (as opposed to software) or devices in English.
Hmm, come to think of it, `Mark' also is used to designate the moment
when an action is taken. "On my mark ... Mark!" for example. It's used
in a sort of countdown before an action is taken, too: "Mark, set, go!"
My guess is that is means what it's always meant -- an etch or symbol.
A new design for something would have a new blueprint, or new marks on
paper. Somehow, perhaps it has come into use for verbal marks, hence
the "On my mark" usage. "Mark, set, go" I suppose come from running
races -- the runners stand on the starting mark, get set to begin running,
then go running.
The word itself comes from an Old English word meaning `boundary'. How
that came to mean any old marks is another matter. Let's just put it
down to plain old misuse.
--
Email replies must be sent to kee...@deeptht.armory.com
John Hall
something like "Mk II".
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Hall, Product Software Engineering, EASTMAN KODAK CO., Rochester NY
716 253 7446 jo...@kodak.COM ...!rochester!kodak!ektools!john
Emory F. Bunn
>What does "bis" mean, as in "V.32 bis"? From context it appears to mean
>something like "Mk II".
It's the French word for "twice." The only time I recall seeing it
used in an English-language publication is when a work containing
numbered sections has been revised to include a new section: If
you've inserted a section in between section 2.2 and section 2.3, and
you want to keep the section numbers consistent with the previous
edition, you can call the inserted section "2.2 bis."
-Ted
Graham Toal
:something like "Mk II".
I think it's in the comp.dcom.modem FAQ. It's from a French standards
document. Can't remember exactly what. Bi-synchronous or something maybe.
G
Kevin Foss
(John Hall) says:
>What does "bis" mean, as in "V.32 bis"? From context it appears to mean
>something like "Mk II".
It's Latin for "twice", and means likes a second standard. CCITT, also
adhers to the using of 'ter' which means "three times" in defining one of
third generation standards. One of the fax communications definitions
uses a 'ter'. I think it means a much an extension of the former, as in
V.32 bis modems only has its ownmodem connections definitions, not the old
stuff PLUS the new. In other words bis, or at least in the world of data
communication means more like 'addendum' then a whole product which
incorporates the old as well as the new. Maybe a HHGTG bis, would only
have contained new definitions, and nothing from the old; unlike the
HHGTG Mk II, which we can assume was the previous volume, with a whole slew
of new 'features', and information.
-Kevin
--
Kevin A. Foss EMail:1) io2...@maine.maine.edu
2) kevin...@macact.umeres.maine.edu
--
mck...@ul.ie
> In article <1ihv08...@coli-gate.coli.uni-sb.de> mue...@fsinfo.cs.uni-sb.de (Ralf Muehlen) writes:
>>Does anybody know what the 'MK II' means in 'The Guide Mk II'.
>
> It means "Mark Two." `Mark' is a way of designating version numbers
> for objects (as opposed to software) or devices in English.
> that came to mean any old marks is another matter. Let's just put it
> down to plain old misuse.
denote a particular make & model of sports/racing car. The same
sport also gives us another wonderful misuse: writers will refer
to e.g. Nigel Mansell as holding the "pole" position, meaning
that he is in the lead. They have misheard the word "poll",
meaning head.
--
"Ich am of Irlonde" (medieval fragment used by Yeats)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
John McKeon, Material Science Dept. University of Limerick, Ireland
Paul Crowley
>What does "bis" mean, as in "V.32 bis"? From context it appears to mean
>something like "Mk II".
If the French put a house between Number 32 and Number 34, they call it
32bis.
By the way, what was this doing in alt.fan.douglas-adams?
__ _____
\/ o\ Paul Crowley p...@dcs.ed.ac.uk \\ //
/\__/ Trust me. I know what I'm doing. \X/
Maurizio Codogno
>something like "Mk II".
well, V.32 was a CCITT specification which gave a standard for
9600 bps - full duplex data communication.
V.32 bis (bis means "twice") is an upgrade of the specification, as
CCITT people did not thing the method chosen to reach 14400 bps f/d
was so different from the old one.
--
ciao! .mau.
-----
Maurizio Codogno - CSELT UF/DU dept. - Torino Italy
"home" email: m...@beatles.cselt.stet.it
Barone
Many European aircraft in WWII had "bis" appended to their
designation when the role of the aircraft had been modified. For
example, the Italian Savoia Marchetti SM-81 was a tactical bomber.
In its torpedo bomber role, its designation was SM-81 bis.
--
Joe Barone
m...@rayssd.ssd.ray.com
Oh yeah, well I can't take anything you say seriuosly with that stupid accent.
You sound like you should be ``plotting big trouble for moose and squirrel.''
Kevin Charles Rubio
In article <20251.2...@ul.ie> mck...@ul.ie writes:
>Another use, or possibly misuse, is the word "marque" used to
>denote a particular make & model of sports/racing car. The same
>sport also gives us another wonderful misuse: writers will refer
>to e.g. Nigel Mansell as holding the "pole" position, meaning
>that he is in the lead. They have misheard the word "poll",
>meaning head.
That is a matter of dispute, actually. True, the word `poll' does
mean the front or head or first in a series, but it also could be
`pole', like the post in horce racing. The post, or pole, is on
the inside of the track, you see, and person starting the race in
the No. 1 position is closest to the pole, so in the pole position.
This is something I wish I knew definitely, since I am a motorsport
journalist.
However, I don't see any problem with `marque' being used as a make
of car. OK, sure, car companies make more than one model (one mark --
or `marque' in French) these days, but the usage probably dates back
to when there was only one car type made by the manufacturers.
So, `marque' is talking these days about all the cars of a given company.
Is that a problem, when the design of any one car actually is made up
of several marks?
I imagine stone-age blueprints might have consisted of a single mark...!
Apologies to readers of alt.fan.douglas-adams
(on which I'm reading and following up -- I don't know if it's possible to
erase the name of the group I occupy)
Dr.Savory
>>What does "bis" mean, as in "V.32 bis"? From context it appears to mean
>>something like "Mk II".
>If the French put a house between Number 32 and Number 34, they call it
>32bis.
>By the way, what was this doing in alt.fan.douglas-adams?
Maybe because the number was not V32bis but 42 instead ;)
Geoffrey Kuenning
> That is a matter of dispute, actually. True, the word `poll' does
> mean the front or head or first in a series, but it also could be
> `pole', like the post in horce racing. The post, or pole, is on
> the inside of the track, you see, and person starting the race in
> the No. 1 position is closest to the pole, so in the pole position.
Here's more grist for the mill. The term "pole line" is used in
bicycle track racing to refer to a line which is painted on the inside
of the track, designating both the line along which distance is
measured, and an area "owned" by the leading rider in a sprint. I've
always seen this spelled "pole," not "poll," over a period of twenty
years of following the sport. But, to the best of my knowledge,
bicycle tracks *never* had poles or posts on the inside. Perhaps the
term was picked up from horse racing?
--
Geoff Kuenning ge...@maui.cs.ucla.edu ge...@ITcorp.com
wil...@vax.oxford.ac.uk
> The same
> sport also gives us another wonderful misuse: writers will refer
> to e.g. Nigel Mansell as holding the "pole" position, meaning
> that he is in the lead. They have misheard the word "poll",
> meaning head.
Ah no. In the olden days, before such things as electronically controlled
starting lights, the cars were held back by a man with a long stick, or pole,
which was raised to signify the start of the race and to allow the cars to
proceed. Hence `In pole position' means `starting at the head of the field'. It
is not used to mean `In first place' during the race, however.
--
Stephen Wilcox | For Sale: Posts in British Government. Suit
wil...@vax.oxford.ac.uk | outgoing American. Highest bids accepted.
Brian Wrigley
> Another use, or possibly misuse, is the word "marque" used to
> denote a particular make & model of sports/racing car.
It means 'make', NOT model, and does not apply only to sports and racing
cars. It's a French equivalent of 'mark'.
> The same
> sport also gives us another wonderful misuse: writers will refer
> to e.g. Nigel Mansell as holding the "pole" position, meaning
> that he is in the lead. They have misheard the word "poll",
> meaning head.
No, 'pole' is correct. Next to the fence, not at the head.
> "Ich am of Irlonde" (medieval fragment used by Yeats)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> John McKeon, Material Science Dept. University of Limerick, Ireland
Brian Wrigley
--- WinQwk 2.0 #0
David A. Johns
# The same sport also gives us another wonderful misuse: writers
# will refer to e.g. Nigel Mansell as holding the "pole"
# position, meaning that he is in the lead. They have misheard
# the word "poll", meaning head.
I've always understood "pole position" to mean the first starting
position in the line-up at the beginning of the race, not first place
during the race.
I always figured it had something to do with a flagpole at the
start/finish line, but your explanation is perfectly reasonable too.
David Johns