Outage

[cloughie]

Would you prefer 'downtime', the opposite of which is 'uptime'?

OED: 'orig. and chiefly U.S. A period or state in which an apparatus or system (esp. an electrical one) is not operating; power failure; a power cut.'

1900 Elyria (Ohio) Republican 21 June 1/3 By resolution the night police were instructed to report on outages of electric lights.

So not 21st century :-)

When I were a kid they were called ‘power cuts’. It is this century that ‘outage’ has been (un)popularised! When did you first start using it ff?

[vinteuil]

OED: 'orig. and chiefly U.S. A period or state in which an apparatus or system (esp. an electrical one) is not operating; power failure; a power cut.'

1900 Elyria (Ohio) Republican 21 June 1/3 By resolution the night police were instructed to report on outages of electric lights.

So not 21st century :-)

... so, in fact 19th century - positively Victorian.








.

[french frank]

... so, in fact 19th century - positively Victorian.

.

Entirely accurately Victorian. I was going to suggest 19th c., but then I thought: "Only a pedant …"

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

So not 21st century

No, but ... <splutter><splutter> ... American!!!!

[Bryn]

Would you prefer 'downtime', the opposite of which is 'uptime'?

OED: 'orig. and chiefly U.S. A period or state in which an apparatus or system (esp. an electrical one) is not operating; power failure; a power cut.'

1900 Elyria (Ohio) Republican 21 June 1/3 By resolution the night police were instructed to report on outages of electric lights.

So not 21st century :-)

Not even 20th century, which, since the cipher/صفر /cypher (0) was not in use at the time the A.D. system was introduced, started on January 1st, 1901.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Eh?

Missed that one.

[gurnemanz]

Outage - allowing details of one's sexuality to be in the public domain.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Outage - allowing details of one's sexuality to be in the public domain.

Or one's birth date?

[french frank]

Or one's birth date?

No, outage means 'to be older than'. I outage you, for example

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

So is "inagination" the age we'd like to think we are?

[french frank]

So is "inagination" the age we'd like to think we are?

Difficult one that, but I don't think so because the suffix out- doesn't necessarily have an opposite in-. Outdo doesn't give indo, for example. Outlast, inlast. Mmm, but outlaw has the opposite inlaw …

[vinteuil]

.

... not forgetting infangthief and outfangthief.

Beoleopard
or
The Witan's Whail

Whan Cnut Cyng the Witan wold enfeoff
Of infangthief and outfangthief
Wonderlich were they enwraged
And wordwar waged
Sware Cnut great scot and lot
Swinge wold ich this illbegotten lot.

Wroth was Cnut and wrothword spake.
Well wold he win at wopantake.
Fain wold he brake frith and cracke heads
And than they shold worshippe his redes.

Swinged Cnut Cyng with swung sword
Howled Witane helle but hearkened his word
Murie sang Quit Cyng
Outfangthief is Damgudthyng.

[Sellars & Yeatman]

[gradus]

Not forgetting, average, underage and overage.

[Sir Velo]

Or outrage

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Not forgetting, average

That's how old I claim to be.