(body+of+workers)

shift [ʃɪft]

1 noun

(a) (change) changement m;

∎ a shift in position/opinion un changement de position/d'avis;

∎ there was a sudden shift in public opinion/the situation il y a eu un revirement d'opinion/de situation;

∎ there was a light shift in the wind le vent a légèrement tourné;

∎ Politics a shift to the right/left un glissement à droite/gauche;

∎ Linguistics a shift in meaning un glissement de sens;

∎ Linguistics consonant/vowel shift mutation f consonantique/vocalique;

∎ Astronomy blue/red shift décalage m vers le bleu/rouge

(b) (move) déplacement m;

∎ there's been a shift of population towards the towns on a assisté à un déplacement de la population vers les villes;

∎ British familiar get a shift on! grouille-toi!, magne-toi!

(c) Industry (work period) poste m; (group of workers) équipe f, brigade f;

∎ what shift are you on this week? à quel poste avez-vous été affecté cette semaine?;

∎ I'm on the night/morning shift je suis dans l'équipe de nuit/du matin;

∎ she works long shifts elle fait de longues heures;

∎ he's on eight-hour shifts il fait les trois-huit;

∎ to work shifts, to be on shifts travailler en équipe, faire les trois-huit;

∎ when does or do the morning shift arrive? à quelle heure arrive l'équipe du matin?

(d) (turn, relay) relais m;

∎ to do sth in shifts se relayer;

∎ there was a lot of work so they did it in shifts comme il y avait beaucoup de travail, ils se sont relayés (pour le faire);

∎ I'm exhausted, can you take a shift at the wheel? je suis épuisé, peux-tu me relayer au volant?

(e) American Cars

∎ (gear) shift (lever) levier m de (changement de) vitesse; (action) changement m de vitesse

(f) old-fashioned (expedient) expédient m;

∎ to make shift with sth se contenter de qch

(g) (dress) (robe f) fourreau m; old-fashioned (woman's slip) combinaison f

(h) Computing (in word processing, telegraphy etc) touche f majuscule; (in arithmetical operation) décalage m;

∎ press shift appuyer sur la touche majuscule;

∎ an asterisk is shift 8 pour l'astérisque, il faut appuyer simultanément sur la touche majuscule et la touche 8

2 transitive verb

(a) (move → object) déplacer, bouger; (→ part of body) bouger, remuer; Theatre (scenery) changer;

∎ it took three strong men to shift the wardrobe il a fallu trois hommes forts pour déplacer l'armoire;

∎ help me shift the bed nearer the window aide-moi à rapprocher le lit de ou pousser le lit vers la fenêtre;

∎ the drawer's stuck, I can't shift it le tiroir est coincé, je ne peux le faire bouger;

∎ familiar shift yourself! (move) pousse-toi!, bouge-toi!; (hurry) remue-toi!, grouille-toi!;

∎ he's got a job shifting scenery il a trouvé du travail comme machiniste

(b) (transfer → employee) (to new job, place of work) muter; (to new department) affecter; (→ blame, responsibility) rejeter;

∎ they've shifted offices again ils ont déménagé de nouveau;

∎ he keeps getting shifted to a different job on n'arrête pas de le muter;

∎ they're trying to shift the blame onto me ils essaient de rejeter la responsabilité sur moi;

∎ we're trying to shift the balance towards exports nous essayons de mettre l'accent sur les exportations;

∎ the latest developments have shifted attention away from this area les événements récents ont détourné l'attention de cette région;

∎ they won't be shifted from their opinion impossible de les faire changer d'avis;

∎ to shift ground or one's position changer de position

(c) (remove → stain) enlever, faire partir

(d) American

∎ to shift gears changer de vitesse

(e) familiar (sell) écouler^□, fourguer;

∎ how can we shift this old stock? comment écouler ou nous débarrasser de ces vieilles marchandises?

(f) familiar (eat, drink) s'envoyer;

∎ hurry up and shift that pint! dépêche-toi d'écluser ta pinte!

3 intransitive verb

(a) (move) se déplacer, bouger;

∎ the cargo has shifted in the hold la cargaison s'est déplacée dans la cale;

∎ the table won't shift, it's bolted to the floor on ne peut pas bouger la table, elle est fixée au sol;

∎ the anticyclone is expected to shift eastwards l'anticyclone devrait se déplacer vers l'est;

∎ she kept shifting from one foot to the other elle n'arrêtait pas de se balancer d'un pied sur l'autre;

∎ could you shift? (out of the way) pouvez-vous dégager?

(b) (change, switch → gen) changer; (→ wind) tourner;

∎ their policy has shifted over the last week leur politique a changé ou s'est modifiée au cours de la semaine;

∎ Theatre the scene shifts la scène change;

∎ in the second act the scene shifts to Venice dans le deuxième acte, l'action se déroule à Venise;

∎ he wouldn't shift (in negotiations etc) il est resté ferme sur ses positions;

∎ American Cars to shift into fourth (gear) passer en quatrième (vitesse)

(c) British familiar (move quickly) foncer;

∎ he was really shifting il fonçait carrément;

∎ this car can really shift! cette voiture est un vrai bolide!

(d) (manage)

∎ to shift for oneself se débrouiller tout seul;

∎ he's had to learn to shift for himself since his wife left il a dû apprendre à se débrouiller tout seul depuis le départ de sa femme;

∎ she can or knows how to shift for herself elle est débrouillarde

(e) (stain) partir, s'enlever;

∎ this stain won't shift cette tache ne veut pas partir

(f) British familiar (sell) se vendre^□ ;

∎ those TVs just aren't shifting at all ces télévisions ne se vendent pas du tout

►► Computing shift key touche f majuscule;

Computing shift lock touche f de blocage des majuscules;

American Cars shift stick levier m de (changement de) vitesse, French Canadian bras m de vitesse;

shift work travail m en équipe;

∎ she does shift work elle fait les trois-huit;

shift worker = personne qui fait les trois-huit

➲ shift over, shift up intransitive verb

familiar se pousser^□, se déplacer^□ ;

∎ can you shift over or up a bit? tu peux te pousser un peu?

trade [treɪd]

1 noun

(a) (UNCOUNT) Commerce commerce m, affaires fpl;

∎ the clothing trade la confection, l'industrie f de la confection;

∎ she is in the tea trade elle est dans le commerce du thé, elle est négociante en thé;

∎ trade is brisk les affaires vont bien;

∎ to do a good or roaring trade faire des affaires en or;

∎ it's good for trade cela fait marcher le commerce;

∎ domestic/foreign trade commerce m intérieur/extérieur;

∎ retail/wholesale trade commerce m de détail/de gros

(b) (illicit dealings) trafic m;

∎ the drug trade le trafic de drogue

(c) (vocation, occupation) métier m;

∎ she is an electrician by trade elle est électricienne de son métier ou de son état;

∎ to be in the trade être du métier;

∎ everyone to his trade chacun son métier;

∎ as we say in the trade comme on dit dans le métier;

∎ open to members of the trade only pour les membres de la profession seulement

(d) (exchange) échange m;

∎ to do a trade faire un échange;

∎ fair trade échange m équitable

(e) (regular customers) clientèle f

(f) American (transaction) marché m, affaire f

2 transitive verb

(exchange) échanger, troquer;

∎ he traded a marble for a toffee il a échangé ou troqué une bille contre un caramel;

∎ they traded insults over the dinner table ils ont échangé des insultes pendant le dîner

3 intransitive verb

(a) (businessman, country) faire du commerce, commercer;

∎ he trades in clothing il est négociant en confection, il est dans la confection;

∎ what name do you trade under? quel est votre raison sociale?;

∎ to trade at a loss vendre à perte;

∎ to trade with sb avoir ou entretenir des relations commerciales avec qn;

∎ they stopped trading with Iran ils ont arrêté toute relation commerciale avec l'Iran

(b) American (private individual) faire ses achats;

∎ to trade at or with faire ses courses à ou chez

(c) Finance (shares, commodity, currency) se négocier, s'échanger (at à);

∎ corn is trading at £25 le maïs se négocie à 25 livres

4 trades plural noun

(winds) alizés mpl

►► trade advertising publicité f auprès des intermédiaires;

trade agreement accord m commercial;

trade allowance remise f entre professionnels;

trade association association f professionnelle;

trade balance balance f commerciale;

trade ban interdiction f de commerce;

trade barriers barrières fpl douanières;

trade bills effets mpl de commerce;

trade body syndicat m professionnel;

Accountancy trade credit crédit m fournisseur ou commercial;

Accountancy trade creditor créancier(ère) m,f d'exploitation;

trade cycle cycle m de commercialisation;

Accountancy trade debt dettes fpl d'exploitation;

Accountancy trade debtor compte m ou créance f client;

trade deficit balance f commerciale déficitaire, déficit m extérieur ou commercial;

trade delegation délégation f commerciale;

British the Trade Descriptions Act = loi qui empêche la publicité mensongère;

trade directory annuaire m de commerce;

trade discount (to customer) escompte m commercial, escompte m d'usage; (to retailer) escompte m professionnel, remise f professionnelle;

trade embargo embargo m commercial;

trade exhibition foire-exposition f, exposition f commerciale;

British trade fair foire f commerciale, salon m;

trade figures chiffre m d'affaires;

trade gap déficit m commercial;

trade journal journal m professionnel, revue f professionnelle;

trade marketing marketing m commercial, trade marketing m;

trade mission mission f commerciale;

trade name (of product) nom m de marque; (of firm) raison f commerciale;

trade paper revue f spécialisée;

British Cars trade plate plaque f d'immatriculation provisoire;

trade policy politique f commerciale;

trade press presse f spécialisée, presse f professionnelle;

trade price Commerce prix m marchand; Stock Exchange prix m de négociation;

trade promotion promotion f auprès des intermédiaires;

trade publication revue f spécialisée ou professionnelle;

trade register registre m du commerce;

trade route route f commerciale;

trade secret secret m de fabrication;

∎ humorous she won't tell me her recipe, she says it's a trade secret! elle ne veut pas me donner sa recette, elle dit que c'est un secret!;

trade show salon m (professionnel);

trade ticket avis m d'opéré, avis m d'opération sur titres;

British the Trades Union Congress = la Confédération des syndicats britanniques;

trade(s) union syndicat m;

∎ to join a trade(s) union se syndiquer;

∎ the workers formed a trade(s) union les ouvriers ont formé un syndicat;

∎ I am in the trade(s) union je suis syndiqué, j'appartiens au syndicat;

trade unionism syndicalisme m;

trade(s) unionist syndicaliste mf;

trade union tariff tarif m syndical;

trade wind alizé m

➲ trade down intransitive verb

(a) Stock Exchange acheter des valeurs basses

(b) (car owner) changer pour un modèle moins cher

➲ trade in separable transitive verb

∎ I traded my television/car in for a new one ils ont repris mon vieux téléviseur/ma vieille voiture quand j'ai acheté le nouveau/la nouvelle

➲ trade off

1 separable transitive verb

(exchange) échanger, troquer; (as a compromise) accepter en compensation;

∎ to trade sth off against sth laisser ou abandonner qch pour qch;

∎ they have traded off quality against speed ils ont fait primer la rapidité sur la qualité;

∎ you can't ask me to trade off reputation against profit vous ne pouvez pas me demander de choisir entre ma réputation et un profit

2 intransitive verb

∎ American they trade off every year for first place ils sont premiers chacun leur tour tous les ans

➲ trade on inseparable transitive verb

exploiter, profiter de;

∎ he trades on her gullibility il profite de sa crédulité;

∎ I'd hate to trade on your kindness je ne voudrais pas abuser de votre gentillesse

➲ trade up intransitive verb

(a) Stock Exchange acheter des valeurs hautes

(b) (car owner) changer pour un modèle plus cher

SUBJECT AREA: Electronics and information technology

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Charles Babbage was the son of a banker, Benjamin Babbage, and was a sickly child who had a rather haphazard education at private schools near Exeter and later at Enfield. Even as a child, he was inordinately fond of algebra, which he taught himself. He was conversant with several advanced mathematical texts, so by the time he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1811, he was ahead of his tutors. In his third year he moved to Peterhouse, whence he graduated in 1814, taking his MA in 1817. He first contributed to the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in 1815, and was elected a fellow of that body in 1816. He was one of the founders of the Astronomical Society in 1820 and served in high office in it.

While he was still at Cambridge, in 1812, he had the first idea of calculating numerical tables by machinery. This was his first difference engine, which worked on the principle of repeatedly adding a common difference. He built a small model of an engine working on this principle between 1820 and 1822, and in July of the latter year he read an enthusiastically received note about it to the Astronomical Society. The following year he was awarded the Society's first gold medal. He submitted details of his invention to Sir Humphry Davy, President of the Royal Society; the Society reported favourably and the Government became interested, and following a meeting with the Chancellor of the Exchequer Babbage was awarded a grant of £1,500. Work proceeded and was carried on for four years under the direction of Joseph Clement.

In 1827 Babbage went abroad for a year on medical advice. There he studied foreign workshops and factories, and in 1832 he published his observations in On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures. While abroad, he received the news that he had been appointed Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University. He held the Chair until 1839, although he neither resided in College nor gave any lectures. For this he was paid between £80 and £90 a year! Differences arose between Babbage and Clement. Manufacture was moved from Clement's works in Lambeth, London, to new, fireproof buildings specially erected by the Government near Babbage's house in Dorset Square, London. Clement made a large claim for compensation and, when it was refused, withdrew his workers as well as all the special tools he had made up for the job. No work was possible for the next fifteen months, during which Babbage conceived the idea of his "analytical engine". He approached the Government with this, but it was not until eight years later, in 1842, that he received the reply that the expense was considered too great for further backing and that the Government was abandoning the project. This was in spite of the demonstration and perfectly satisfactory operation of a small section of the analytical engine at the International Exhibition of 1862. It is said that the demands made on manufacture in the production of his engines had an appreciable influence in improving the standard of machine tools, whilst similar benefits accrued from his development of a system of notation for the movements of machine elements. His opposition to street organ-grinders was a notable eccentricity; he estimated that a quarter of his mental effort was wasted by the effect of noise on his concentration.

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SUBJECT AREA: Electricity, Land transport, Railways and locomotives

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Davidson, son of an Aberdeen merchant, attended Marischal College, Aberdeen, between 1819 and 1822: his studies included mathematics, mechanics and chemistry. He subsequently joined his father's grocery business, which from time to time received enquiries for yeast: to meet these, Davidson began to manufacture yeast for sale and from that start built up a successful chemical manufacturing business with the emphasis on yeast and dyes. About 1837 he started to experiment first with electric batteries and then with motors. He invented a form of electromagnetic engine in which soft iron bars arranged on the periphery of a wooden cylinder, parallel to its axis, around which the cylinder could rotate, were attracted by fixed electromagnets. These were energized in turn by current controlled by a simple commutaring device. Electric current was produced by his batteries. His activities were brought to the attention of Michael Faraday and to the scientific world in general by a letter from Professor Forbes of King's College, Aberdeen. Davidson declined to patent his inventions, believing that all should be able freely to draw advantage from them, and in order to afford an opportunity for all interested parties to inspect them an exhibition was held at 36 Union Street, Aberdeen, in October 1840 to demonstrate his "apparatus actuated by electro-magnetic power". It included: a model locomotive carriage, large enough to carry two people, that ran on a railway; a turning lathe with tools for visitors to use; and a small printing machine. In the spring of 1842 he put on a similar exhibition in Edinburgh, this time including a sawmill. Davidson sought support from railway companies for further experiments and the construction of an electromagnetic locomotive; the Edinburgh exhibition successfully attracted the attention of the proprietors of the Edinburgh 585\& Glasgow Railway (E \& GR), whose line had been opened in February 1842. Davidson built a full-size locomotive incorporating his principle, apparently at the expense of the railway company. The locomotive weighed 7 tons: each of its two axles carried a cylinder upon which were fastened three iron bars, and four electromagnets were arranged in pairs on each side of the cylinders. The motors he used were reluctance motors, the power source being zinc-iron batteries. It was named Galvani and was demonstrated on the E \& GR that autumn, when it achieved a speed of 4 mph (6.4 km/h) while hauling a load of 6 tons over a distance of 1 1/2 miles (2.4 km); it was the first electric locomotive. Nevertheless, further support from the railway company was not forthcoming, although to some railway workers the locomotive seems to have appeared promising enough: they destroyed it in Luddite reaction. Davidson staged a further exhibition in London in 1843 without result and then, the cost of battery chemicals being high, ceased further experiments of this type. He survived long enough to see the electric railway become truly practicable in the 1880s.

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PJGR / GW

SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping, Steam and internal combustion engines

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John was the third son of David Elder. The father came from a family of millwrights and moved to Glasgow where he worked for the well-known shipbuilding firm of Napier's and was involved with improving marine engines. John was educated at Glasgow High School and then for a while at the Department of Civil Engineering at Glasgow University, where he showed great aptitude for mathematics and drawing. He spent five years as an apprentice under Robert Napier followed by two short periods of activity as a pattern-maker first and then a draughtsman in England. He returned to Scotland in 1849 to become Chief Draughtsman to Napier, but in 1852 he left to become a partner with the Glasgow general engineering company of Randolph Elliott \& Co. Shortly after his induction (at the age of 28), the engineering firm was renamed Randolph Elder \& Co.; in 1868, when the partnership expired, it became known as John Elder \& Co. From the outset Elder, with his partner, Charles Randolph, approached mechanical (especially heat) engineering in a rigorous manner. Their knowledge and understanding of entropy ensured that engine design was not a hit-and-miss affair, but one governed by recognition of the importance of the new kinetic theory of heat and with it a proper understanding of thermodynamic principles, and by systematic development. In this Elder was joined by W.J.M. Rankine, Professor of Civil Engineering and Mechanics at Glasgow University, who helped him develop the compound marine engine. Elder and Randolph built up a series of patents, which guaranteed their company's commercial success and enabled them for a while to be the sole suppliers of compound steam reciprocating machinery. Their first such engine at sea was fitted in 1854 on the SS Brandon for the Limerick Steamship Company; the ship showed an improved performance by using a third less coal, which he was able to reduce still further on later designs.

Elder developed steam jacketing and recognized that, with higher pressures, triple-expansion types would be even more economical. In 1862 he patented a design of quadruple-expansion engine with reheat between cylinders and advocated the importance of balancing reciprocating parts. The effect of his improvements was to greatly reduce fuel consumption so that long sea voyages became an economic reality.

His yard soon reached dimensions then unequalled on the Clyde where he employed over 4,000 workers; Elder also was always interested in the social welfare of his labour force. In 1860 the engine shops were moved to the Govan Old Shipyard, and again in 1864 to the Fairfield Shipyard, about 1 mile (1.6 km) west on the south bank of the Clyde. At Fairfield, shipbuilding was commenced, and with the patents for compounding secure, much business was placed for many years by shipowners serving long-distance trades such as South America; the Pacific Steam Navigation Company took up his ideas for their ships. In later years the yard became known as the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd, but it remains today as one of Britain's most efficient shipyards and is known now as Kvaerner Govan Ltd.

In 1869, at the age of only 45, John Elder was unanimously elected President of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland; however, before taking office and giving his eagerly awaited presidential address, he died in London from liver disease. A large multitude attended his funeral and all the engineering shops were silent as his body, which had been brought back from London to Glasgow, was carried to its resting place. In 1857 Elder had married Isabella Ure, and on his death he left her a considerable fortune, which she used generously for Govan, for Glasgow and especially the University. In 1883 she endowed the world's first Chair of Naval Architecture at the University of Glasgow, an act which was reciprocated in 1901 when the University awarded her an LLD on the occasion of its 450th anniversary.

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RLH / FMW

SUBJECT AREA: Chemical technology

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Anton von Schrötter was the son of an apothecary. At the age of 20 he began his studies at the University of Vienna, first in medicine but later in science and mathematics. He specialized in chemistry and then set up a laboratory in Graz. From 1843 he was a professor of chemistry at the Technische Hochschule in Vienna. Von Schrötter published many papers on various aspects of chemistry, particularly in the field of metallurgy, but it was his demonstration at the Vienna Academy in 1847, which showed that red phosphorus was truly an allotropie form of the element phosphorus, that made him best known. His suggestion that it would be advisable to use such amorphous phosphorus in match manufacture led to Lundström's later development of the safety match and ended the appalling toll that had long been taken on the health of match-factory workers, many of whom had suffered maiming and even death caused by white phosphorus entering the body via defective teeth when they sucked match-heads.

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