no man's land
See also: no-man's-land
English
Alternative forms
- noman's land
- no-man's land
Etymology
Originally from Middle English Nomanneslond. Revived with new senses in a dispatch printed in the Times newspaper by Colonel Ernest Dunlop Swinton writing as "Eyewitness".
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈnoʊˌmænzˌlænd/
- Hyphenation: no man's land
Noun
no man's land
- (military) The ground between trenches where a soldier from either side would be easily targeted.
- (nautical) A space amidships used to keep blocks, ropes, etc.; a space on a ship belonging to no one in particular to care for.
- Part of a prison, hospital complex, etc. where people are not normally allowed to go.
- (figuratively) A place where no one can or should be.
- 2006, March 25, Melissa Hoyos, “‘No man’s land’ has no fire protection”, Tri City Herald
- There’s a 137-square-mile chunk of Franklin County […] referred to as "no man’s land" because it isn’t protected by any of the county’s four fire districts.
- 1867, T W Robertson, Caste:
- Now, George, if you’re going to consider this question from the point of view of poetry, you’re off to No Man’s Land, where I won’t follow you.
- 2006, March 25, Melissa Hoyos, “‘No man’s land’ has no fire protection”, Tri City Herald
- (tennis) The area between the backcourt and the space close to the net, from which it is difficult to return the ball.
- (politics, geography) Territory, often disputed, that cannot be inhabited because of fear of conflict, especially:
- Tracts of uninhabited territory close to the Iron Curtain.
- The stretch of land between the border posts of two contiguous sovereign states, sometimes separated by great distance.
- Land not claimed by any recognized sovereign state; terra nullius.
- (medicine) The fibrous sheath of the flexor tendons of the hand, specifically in the zone from the distal palmar crease to the proximal interphalangeal joint.
Hypernyms
- land
Translations
place where no one can or should be
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stretch of land between the border posts of two contiguous sovereign states
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See also
- devil strip