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1 home improvements

home improvements

reformas nombre femenino plural domésticas

plural noun reformas fpl, mejoras fpl ( en la vivienda)

* * *

plural noun reformas fpl, mejoras fpl ( en la vivienda)

English-spanish dictionary > home improvements
2 home improvements

s.

reformas en casa.

Nuevo Diccionario Inglés-Español > home improvements
3 home

home [həʊm]

1. noun

   a. ( = place to live) maison f

• to have a home of one's own avoir sa propre maison (or son propre appartement)

• he was glad to see his home again il était content de rentrer chez lui

• it is quite near my home c'est tout près de chez moi

• his home is in Paris il habite Paris

• for some years he made his home in France pendant quelques années il a habité en France

• refugees who made their home in Britain les réfugiés qui se sont installés en Grande-Bretagne

• Warwick is home to some 550 international students Warwick accueille quelque 550 étudiants étrangers

• he is far from home il est loin de chez lui

• he has no home il n'a pas de foyer

• to give sb/an animal a home recueillir qn/un animal chez soi

• it's a home from home or away from home (British, US) c'est mon second chez-moi (or son second chez-soi etc)

• she has a lovely home c'est très joli chez elle

• he comes from a broken home il vient d'un foyer désuni

• "good home wanted for kitten" « cherche foyer accueillant pour chaton »

• accidents in the home accidents mpl domestiques

• let's concentrate on problems closer to home occupons-nous de problèmes qui nous concernent plus directement

► at home chez soi (or lui or moi etc) à la maison

• I'll be at home this afternoon je serai chez moi cet après-midi

• is Paul at home? est-ce que Paul est à la maison ?

• Celtic are playing Rangers at home le Celtic joue à domicile contre les Rangers

• to feel at home with sb se sentir à l'aise avec qn

• he doesn't feel at home in English il n'est pas à l'aise en anglais

• to make o.s. at home se mettre à l'aise

• make yourself at home! faites comme chez vous !

• who's he when he's at home? (inf) qui c'est celui-là ? (inf)

• what's that when it's at home? (inf) qu'est-ce que c'est que ça ?

• at home and abroad ici et à l'étranger

• the Russians, at home and abroad les Russes, chez eux et à l'étranger

   b. ( = country of origin) pays m natal

• Scotland is the home of the haggis l'Écosse est le pays du haggis

   c. ( = institution) institution f ; (shorter-term) foyer m

• children's home maison f pour enfants

   d. (Baseball) base f de départ

2. adverb

   a. chez soi (or lui or moi etc), à la maison

• to go home rentrer à la maison

• to get home rentrer

• I got home at 5 o'clock je suis rentré à 5 heures

• I'll be home at 5 o'clock je serai à la maison à 5 heures

• I met him on the journey home je l'ai rencontré sur le chemin du retour

• I must write home il faut que j'écrive à ma famille

• it's nothing to write home about (inf) ça ne casse pas des briques (inf)

• to be home and dry or home free (US) être arrivé au bout de ses peines

   b. (from abroad) dans son pays, chez soi

• he came home from abroad il est rentré de l'étranger

• to go home rentrer dans son pays

   c. to drive a nail home enfoncer un clou à fond

• to bring sth home to sb faire comprendre qch à qn

• to hammer sth home ( = make a point) bien faire comprendre qch

3. adjective

[atmosphere] de famille ; ( = national) national ; [policy, market] intérieur (- eure f)

4. compounds

► home address noun (on forms) domicile m (permanent) ; (as opposed to business address) adresse f personnelle

► home-baked adjective fait maison

► home banking noun banque f à domicile

► home base noun [of person] port m d'attache ; [of guerrillas] base f ; [of company] siège m

► home birth noun accouchement m à domicile

► home brew noun ( = beer) bière f maison ; ( = wine) vin m maison

► home comforts plural noun confort m du foyer

► home computer noun ordinateur m personnel

► home cooking noun cuisine f familiale

► the Home Counties plural noun (British) les comtés qui entourent Londres

► home economics noun économie f domestique

► home ground noun

• to play at one's home ground jouer sur son terrain

• to be on home ground être sur son terrain ► home-grown adjective ( = not foreign) du pays ; ( = from own garden) du jardin

► home help noun (British) ( = person) aide f ménagère

► home improvements plural noun ( = DIY) bricolage m

► home leave noun (gen) congé m à domicile ; (for soldier) permission f

► home life noun vie f de famille

► home loan noun prêt m immobilier

► home-loving adjective casanier

► home-made adjective fait maison

► home-maker noun femme f d'intérieur

► home match noun match m à domicile

► home movie noun vidéo f amateur

► the Home Office noun (British) ≈ le ministère de l'Intérieur

► home owner noun propriétaire mf

► home page noun (on the internet) page f d'accueil

► home rule noun autonomie f

► home run noun (Baseball) coup m de circuit

• to hit a home run réussir un coup de circuit ; (US figurative) réussir un beau coup ► Home Secretary noun (British) ≈ ministre mf de l'Intérieur

► home shopping noun (by post, telephone) achat par correspondance ou par téléphone ; (by computer, television) téléachat m

► home side noun équipe f qui reçoit

► home straight, home stretch noun

• to be in the home straight être dans la dernière ligne droite ► home team noun équipe f qui reçoit

► home town noun

• my home town ( = place of birth) ma ville natale ; ( = where I grew up) la ville où j'ai grandi ► home truth noun

• I'll tell him a few home truths je vais lui dire ses quatre vérités ► home video noun vidéo f amateur

► home visit noun (by doctor) visite f à domicile

► home in on, home on to inseparable transitive verb

[missile] ( = move towards) se diriger sur ; ( = reach) atteindre

* * *
[həʊm] 1.
noun

1) ( dwelling) gen logement m; ( house) maison f

to be far from home — être loin de chez soi

a home of one's own — un chez-soi

to work from home — travailler à domicile

to set up home in Madrid — s'installer à Madrid

I've made my home in France — je suis installé or je vis en France

it's home to me now — je m'y sens chez moi

2) ( for residential care) maison f

to put somebody in a home — mettre quelqu'un dans un établissement spécialisé

3) ( family base) foyer m

broken home — foyer désuni

‘good home wanted’ — ‘cherche foyer accueillant’

to leave home — quitter la maison

4) ( country) pays m

to consider France (as) home — considérer la France comme son pays

5) ( source)

home of — [country, area] pays m de [speciality]
2.
noun modifier

1) ( family) [ life] de famille; [ background] familial; [ comforts] du foyer

2) ( national) [ market, affairs] intérieur; [ news] national

3) Sport [ match, win] à domicile; [ team] qui reçoit
3.
adverb

1) [come, go, arrive] ( to house) à la maison, chez soi; ( to country) dans son pays

on the way home — en rentrant chez moi/nous etc; (by boat, plane) pendant le voyage de retour

to take somebody home — raccompagner quelqu'un à la maison

to be home — ( around) être à la maison; ( from work) être rentré

2) ( to required effect)

to push one's point home — enfoncer le clou fig

to bring something home to — fig faire voir quelque chose à

to strike home — fig toucher juste
4.
at home adverbial phrase

1) ( in house) à la maison

to live at home — habiter chez ses parents

2) Sport ( on own ground) [play] à domicile

3) fig ( comfortable) à l'aise

make yourself at home — fais comme chez toi

•

Phrasal Verbs:

- home in on

••

it's nothing to write home about — ça n'a rien d'extraordinaire

it's home from home GB —

it's home away from home US — c'est un second chez-soi

to be a bit too close to home — être blessant

to be home and dry — être sauvé

English-French dictionary > home
4 home

home [həʊm]

maison ⇒ 1 (a) chez-soi ⇒ 1 (a) foyer ⇒ 1 (b) patrie ⇒ 1 (c) habitat ⇒ 1 (d) arrivée ⇒ 1 (f) début ⇒ 1 (g) chez soi ⇒ 2 (a) au pays natal ⇒ 2 (b) à fond ⇒ 2 (c) familial ⇒ 3 (a) à/pour la maison ⇒ 3 (b) national ⇒ 3 (c), 3 (d)

1 noun

(a) (one's house) maison f; (more subjectively) chez-soi m inv;

∎ I've come straight from home je viens (directement) de chez moi;

∎ a home from home un second chez-soi;

∎ I left home at sixteen j'ai quitté la maison à seize ans;

∎ her home is not far from mine sa maison n'est pas loin de chez moi;

∎ he insulted me in my own home! il m'a insulté sous mon propre toit!;

∎ to have a home of one's own avoir un foyer ou un chez-soi;

∎ how long has he been missing from home? depuis combien de temps a-t-il disparu de la maison?;

∎ to be away from home être parti ou absent ou en voyage;

∎ he was found far away from home on l'a trouvé loin de chez lui;

∎ his home is in Nice il habite Nice;

∎ Glasgow is her second home Glasgow est sa deuxième patrie;

∎ New York will always be home for me! c'est toujours à New York que je me sentirai chez moi!;

∎ when did she make her home in Hollywood? quand s'est-elle installée à Hollywood?;

∎ emigrants came to make their homes in Canada des émigrés sont venus s'installer au Canada;

∎ to give sb a home recueillir qn chez soi;

∎ they sell lovely things for the home ils vendent toutes sortes de très jolis accessoires pour la maison;

∎ they have a lovely home! c'est très agréable chez eux!;

∎ at home chez soi, à la maison;

∎ to stay at home rester à la maison;

∎ come and see me at home passez me voir à la maison;

∎ formal Mrs Carr is not at home on Mondays Mme Carr ne reçoit pas le lundi;

∎ there was nobody at home il n'y avait personne à la maison;

∎ make yourself at home faites comme chez vous;

∎ he made himself at home in the chair il s'est mis à l'aise dans le fauteuil;

∎ I don't feel at home here je me sens dépaysé ici, je ne me sens pas chez moi ici;

∎ she feels at home everywhere! elle est à l'aise partout!;

∎ to be or to feel at home with sth se sentir à l'aise avec qch;

∎ he doesn't yet feel at home with the machine il n'est pas encore à l'aise avec la machine;

∎ I work out of or at home je travaille à domicile ou chez moi;

∎ familiar what's that when it's at home? qu'est-ce que c'est que ça?;

∎ ironic don't you have a home to go to? tu as l'intention de passer la nuit ici?;

∎ proverb there's no place like home = on n'est vraiment bien que chez soi;

∎ proverb home is where the heart is = où le cœur aime, là est le foyer;

∎ home sweet home foyer, doux foyer

(b) (family unit) foyer m; Administration habitation f, logement m;

∎ the father left home le père a abandonné le foyer;

∎ to start or to set up a home fonder un foyer;

∎ how are things at home? comment ça va chez toi?;

∎ are you having problems at home? est-ce que tu as des problèmes chez toi?;

∎ a happy home une famille heureuse;

∎ he comes from a good home il vient d'une famille comme il faut;

∎ good home wanted for three kittens (on notice) je donne trois chatons

(c) (native land) patrie f, pays m natal;

∎ it's the same at home c'est la même chose chez nous ou dans notre pays;

∎ at home and abroad dans notre pays et à l'étranger;

∎ figurative this discussion is getting a bit close to home! on aborde un sujet dangereux!;

∎ let's look at a situation closer to or nearer home examinons une situation qui nous concerne plus directement;

∎ Kentucky, the home of bourbon Kentucky, le pays du bourbon;

∎ the home of jazz le berceau du jazz

(d) Botany & Zoology habitat m

(e) (mental hospital) maison f de repos; (old people's home) maison f de retraite; (children's home) foyer m pour enfants

(f) Sport (finishing line) arrivée f; (on board game) case f départ; (goal) but m;

∎ they play better at home ils jouent mieux sur leur terrain;

∎ Arsenal are playing at home on Saturday Arsenal joue à domicile samedi;

∎ to be at home to recevoir;

∎ the Rams meet the Braves at home les Rams jouent à domicile contre les Braves

(g) Computing (beginning of document) début m

2 adverb

(a) (to or at one's house) chez soi, à la maison;

∎ to go home rentrer (chez soi ou à la maison);

∎ what time did you get home? à quelle heure est-ce que tu es rentré?;

∎ I'd better be getting home je crois qu'il est temps que je rentre chez moi;

∎ it's on my way home c'est sur mon chemin;

∎ she'll be home tonight elle sera à la maison ce soir;

∎ American to be home alone être tout seul à la maison;

∎ to see sb home raccompagner qn jusque chez lui/elle;

∎ to take sb home ramener qn chez lui/elle;

∎ Fido, home! Fido, rentre ou à la maison!;

∎ familiar it's nothing to write home about ça ne casse rien;

∎ familiar British home and dry, American home free sauvé

(b) (from abroad) au pays natal, au pays;

∎ when did you get or come home? quand es-tu rentré?;

∎ to send sb home rapatrier qn;

∎ the grandparents want to go or to return home les grands-parents veulent rentrer dans leur pays

(c) (all the way) à fond;

∎ to drive a nail home enfoncer un clou jusqu'au bout;

∎ the remark really went home le commentaire a fait mouche;

∎ to push home one's advantage profiter au maximum d'un avantage;

∎ it will come home to him some day il s'en rendra compte un jour;

∎ to bring sth home to sb faire comprendre ou voir qch à qn

3 adjective

(a) (concerning family, household → life) de famille, familial; (→ for family consumption) familial, à usage familial

(b) (to, for, at one's house) à ou pour la maison

(c) (national → gen) national, du pays; (→ market, policy, sales) intérieur;

∎ to be on home ground (near home) être en pays de connaissance; figurative (familiar subject) être en terrain connu

(d) Sport (team → national) national; (→ local) local;

our home ground notre terrain;

∎ when they play at their home ground quand ils jouent sur leur terrain, quand ils reçoivent

4 intransitive verb

(person, animal) revenir ou rentrer chez soi; (pigeon) revenir au colombier

►► home address (on form) domicile m (permanent); (not business address) adresse f personnelle;

Computing home automation domotique f;

home baking Cookery (action) pâtisserie f; (cakes, biscuits) gâteaux mpl;

Banking home banking banque f à domicile;

Obstetrics home birth accouchement m à la maison;

home brew (beer) bière f faite maison;

home brewing (of beer) fabrication f de bière chez soi; American (illegal distilling) = distillation clandestine d'alcool chez soi;

home cleaning products produits mpl ménagers;

British home comforts confort m du foyer;

Computing home computer ordinateur m familial;

Computing home computing informatique f à domicile;

home cooking cuisine f familiale;

the Home Counties = l'ensemble des comtés limitrophes de Londres, à la population aisée et conservatrice;

home country pays m natal;

∎ the home country le pays;

home decorating décoration f intérieure;

home delivery livraison f à domicile;

home economics, familiar

home ec (UNCOUNT) économie f domestique;

home economist spécialiste mf d'économie domestique;

American Finance home equity loan prêt m sur valeur nette de la propriété;

American Cookery home fries pommes de terre fpl sautées non pelées;

home front (during war) arrière m;

∎ on the home front à l'arrière;

∎ what's the news on the home front? (in the home country) quelles sont les nouvelles du pays?;

∎ how are things on the home front? (at home) comment ça va à la maison?;

home game match m à domicile;

British History the Home Guard = section de volontaires de l'armée britannique restée sur le territoire pour le défendre en cas d'invasion;

British home help aide f ménagère;

home improvements travaux mpl de rénovation;

Finance home improvement loan prêt m pour travaux de rénovation;

home journey voyage m de retour;

Computing home key touche f début;

British Military home leave congé m au foyer;

home life vie f de famille;

Finance home loan prêt m immobilier, prêt m d'épargne-logement;

home movie film m d'amateur;

home news nouvelles fpl nationales;

Politics the Home Office = le ministère britannique de l'Intérieur;

American Commerce home office (of company) siège m social;

home owner propriétaire mf;

home ownership = fait d'être propriétaire de son logement;

∎ home ownership is increasing le nombre des personnes propriétaires de leur logement augmente;

Computing home page (initial page) page f d'accueil; (start page in browser) page f d'accueil; (personal page) page f personnelle;

Marketing home party selling vente f domiciliaire;

home plate Sport (in baseball) bâton m, = plaque qui marque le début et la fin du parcours que doit effectuer le batteur pour marquer un point;

Nautical home port port m d'attache;

Economics home products produits mpl nationaux ou domestiques;

home remedy remède m de bonne femme;

Home Rule History (in Ireland) = gouvernement autonome de l'Irlande;

home rule (devolution) décentralisation f;

home run Sport (in baseball) coup m de circuit (coup de batte qui permet au batteur de marquer un point en faisant un tour complet en une seule fois); figurative (last leg of trip) dernière étape f du circuit;

∎ the ship/the delivery truck is on its home run le navire/le camion rentre à son port d'attache/au dépôt;

School home schooling scolarisation f à domicile;

Politics Home Secretary = ministre de l'Intérieur en Grande-Bretagne;

Commerce home shopping téléachat m;

American Home Show ≃ salon m des arts ménagers et de la décoration; Sport &

figurative British home straight, American home stretch dernière ligne f droite;

∎ they're on or in the home straight ils sont dans la dernière ligne droite;

Sport home team l'équipe f qui reçoit;

home time = heure où l'on rentre à la maison;

home town (of birth) ville f natale;

∎ (of upbringing) his home town la ville où il a grandi;

home truth vérité f désagréable;

∎ to tell sb a few home truths dire ses (quatre) vérités à qn;

∎ I learnt some home truths about myself j'ai appris quelques vérités désagréables sur moi-même;

home video = film vidéo réalisé par un particulier, généralement sur sa vie de famille;

∎ to watch sb's home videos regarder les cassettes vidéo filmées par qn;

home visit (by doctor) visite f à domicile;

home waters (territorial) eaux fpl territoriales; (near home port) eaux fpl voisines du port d'attache;

Sport home win victoire f à domicile

➲ home in on, home on to inseparable transitive verb

(a) (of missile) se diriger (automatiquement) sur ou vers; (proceed towards → goal) se diriger vers; figurative mettre le cap sur

(b) (direct attention to → problem, solution) mettre l'accent sur; (→ difficulty, question) viser, cerner;

∎ I made one mistake and he homed in on it je n'ai fait qu'une seule faute mais il s'est fait un plaisir de me la faire remarquer

ⓘ HOME RULE On désigne ainsi le régime d'autonomie revendiqué par l'Irlande entre 1870 et 1914. Après plusieurs tentatives, une loi sur l'autonomie partielle fut votée en 1914. La mise en vigueur de cette loi, déjà compromise par l'opposition des protestants unionistes de l'Ulster, fut reportée lorsque la Première Guerre mondiale éclata en août 1914. À la suite de l'insurrection de Pâques à Dublin en 1916, les partisans du "Home Rule" revendiquèrent l'autonomie totale. La guerre pour l'indépendance (1918-21) aboutit au traité anglo-irlandais de 1921, qui établit la partition de l'île entre l'Irlande du Sud qui devenait quasiment indépendante et l'Irlande du Nord qui devait rester rattachée à la Grande-Bretagne.

ⓘ Don't try this at home Il s'agit d'un conseil donné aux spectateurs dans les émissions de télévision dans lesquelles figurent des tours dangereux et des cascades. Aujourd'hui, cette formule ("n'essayez pas de faire cela chez vous") est toujours utilisée par les présentateurs de télévision avec une pointe d'ironie et d'une manière plus générale par toute personne qui est sur le point de tenter quelque chose de dangereux.

Un panorama unique de l'anglais et du français > home
5 home

həum
1. noun
1) (the house, town, country etc where a person etc usually lives: I work in London but my home is in Bournemouth; When I retire, I'll make my home in Bournemouth; Africa is the home of the lion; We'll have to find a home for the kitten.) casa

2) (the place from which a person, thing etc comes originally: America is the home of jazz.) cuna, patria

3) (a place where children without parents, old people, people who are ill etc live and are looked after: an old folk's home; a nursing home.) asilo, orfanato

4) (a place where people stay while they are working: a nurses' home.) hogar

5) (a house: Crumpy Construction build fine homes for fine people; He invited me round to his home.) casa

2. adjective
1) (of a person's home or family: home comforts.) casero, del hogar

2) (of the country etc where a person lives: home produce.) local; nacional

3) ((in football) playing or played on a team's own ground: the home team; a home game.) en/de casa

3. adverb
1) (to a person's home: I'm going home now; Hallo - I'm home!) a casa; en casa

2) (completely; to the place, position etc a thing is intended to be: He drove the nail home; Few of his punches went home; These photographs of the war brought home to me the suffering of the soldiers.) completamente; justamente, (dar) en el blanco

•

- homeless
- homely
- homeliness
- homing
- home-coming
- home-grown
- homeland
- home-made
- home rule
- homesick
- homesickness
- homestead
- home truth
- homeward
- homewards
- homeward
- homework
- at home
- be/feel at home
- home in on
- leave home
- make oneself at home
- nothing to write home about

home¹ adj

1. natal

he never went back to his home town nunca volvió a su ciudad natal

2. casero

I love home cooking me encanta la comida casera

3. de casa / local

the home team won ganó el equipo local

home² adv a casa

let's go home vámonos a casa

home³ n

1. casa / hogar

he left home when he was 19 se marchó de casa a los 19 años

2. residencia

a children's home un hogar de menores

at home en casa

she's at home está en casa

home

tr[həʊm]

noun

1 (house) hogar nombre masculino, casa

2 formal use domicilio

3 (institution) asilo

■ she lives in an old people's home vive en un asilo de ancianos

4 (country, village etc) patria, tierra

■ she's a long way from home ella está lejos de su tierra

5 SMALLZOOLOGY/SMALL hábitat nombre masculino

6 SMALLSPORT/SMALL casa

■ to play at home jugar en casa

adjective

1 casero,-a

2 SMALLPOLITICS/SMALL (del) interior

3 (native) natal

4 SMALLSPORT/SMALL de casa, en casa

adverb

1 en casa, a casa, de casa

■ she's (at) home está en casa

■ he went home se fue a casa

■ I want to leave home quiero irme de casa

\

SMALLIDIOMATIC EXPRESSION/SMALL

at home en casa

home sweet home hogar dulce hogar

to be nothing to write home about no ser nada del otro mundo, no ser nada del otro jueves

to come home to somebody darse cuenta

■ it suddenly came home to me that I was all alone de repente me di cuenta de que estaba totalmente solo

to feel at home figurative use estar a gusto, sentirse en casa

to make oneself at home ponerse cómodo,-a

Home Office SMALLBRITISH ENGLISH/SMALL Ministerio del Interior

home rule autonomía

Home Secretary SMALLBRITISH ENGLISH/SMALL Ministro nombre masulino o femenino del Interior

home help asistenta

home base (in baseball) base nombre femenino del bateador

home page (Internet) página inicial, página principal

home run (in baseball) carrera completa

home team equipo local, equipo de casa

home town pueblo natal, patria chica

home ['ho:m] n

1) : casa f, hogar m, domicilio m

to feel at home: sentirse en casa

2) institution: residencia f, asilo m

home

adj.

• casero, -a adj.

• doméstico, -a adj.

• hogareño, -a adj.

• nacional adj.

• patrio, -a adj.

adv.

• a casa adv.

n.

• asilo s.m.

• casa s.f.

• fuego s.m.

• habitación s.f.

• hogar s.m.

• patria s.f.

• patria chica s.f.

• posada s.f.

v.

• mandar a casa v.

I həʊm
noun

1) u c ( of person)

a) ( dwelling) casa f

to own one's own home — tener* casa propia

marital home — domicilio m conyugal; see also at home, home I 3); (before n)

home loan — préstamo m or crédito m hipotecario, crédito m vivienda

b) ( in wider sense)

New York's been my home since I was 12 — he vivido en Nueva York desde que tenía 12 años

they made their home in Germany — se establecieron en Alemania, fijaron su residencia en Alemania (frml)

I still think of England as home — para mí Inglaterra sigue siendo mi patria

home sweet home — hogar dulce hogar

there's no place like home — como en casa no se está en ningún sitio

to leave home — irse* de casa

those remarks were uncomfortably close to home — esos comentarios me (or le etc) tocaban muy de cerca

a home away from home o (BrE) a home from home — una segunda casa

home is where the heart is — el verdadero hogar está donde uno tiene a los suyos

c) ( family environment) hogar m

she comes from a good home — es de buena familia

2) c

a) (of object, group, institution)

Spain is the home of flamenco — España es la tierra del flamenco

the home of the microchip industry — el centro de la industria de los microchips

can you find a home for these files somewhere? — (colloq) a ver si encuentras dónde guardar estos archivos

b) (of animal, plant) (Bot, Zool) hábitat m

3) at home

a) ( in house) en casa

tell him I'm not at home — dile que no estoy (en casa)

he's got problems at home — tiene problemas familiares

what's that when it's at home? — (colloq) ¿y eso con qué se come? (fam)

b) ( at ease)

make yourself at home — ponte cómodo, estás en tu casa

he's entirely at home in Spanish — habla español con total fluidez

c) ( not abroad)

at home and abroad — dentro y fuera del país

d) ( Sport) en casa

to be/play at home — jugar* en casa

Spain is at home to France — España juega en casa contra Francia

4) c ( institution) ( children's home) asilo m (AmL), orfanatorio m (Méx), centro m de acogida de menores (Esp); ( old people's home) residencia f de ancianos

dogs' home — (BrE) perrera f

5) ( Sport)

a) u ( the finish) meta f

b) c ( in baseball) home plate

•

Phrasal Verbs:

- home in

II

adverb

1)

a) ( where one lives) <come/arrive> a casa

I'll be home at five — estaré en casa a las cinco

to see somebody home — acompañar a alguien a casa

nothing to write home about — nada del otro mundo or (fam) del otro jueves

b) ( from abroad)

we've already booked our passage home — ya hemos reservado nuestro pasaje de vuelta

the folks back home — (AmE) la familia

2) ( Sport)

the first horse/runner home — el primer caballo/corredor en llegar a la meta

to be home free o (BrE) home and dry — tener* la victoria asegurada

3) ( to desired place)

there was a clunk as the bolt went home — se oyó un golpe sordo al encajar el cerrojo en su sitio

to get something home to somebody — hacerle* entender algo a alguien

to drive something home (to somebody) — hacer(le)* entender algo (a alguien)

try to drive it home to him that... — hazle entender que...; see also strike home

III

adjective (before n)

a) <address/telephone number> particular; <background/environment> familiar; <cooking/perm> casero

home comforts — comodidades fpl

home delivery — ( of purchases) entrega f a domicilio

home visit — ( by doctor) (BrE) visita f a domicilio

b) ( of origin)

home port — ( Naut) puerto m de matrícula

home state — ( in US) estado m natal or de procedencia

c) ( not foreign) <affairs/market> nacional

d) ( Sport) < team> de casa, local; < game> en casa

[hǝʊm]
1. N

1) (=house) casa f ; (=residence) domicilio m

there's no place like home — como su casa no hay dos

this tool has no home — esta herramienta no tiene lugar propio

• at home — en casa

to feel at home — sentirse como en casa

make yourself at home — estás en tu casa

is Mr Lyons at home? — ¿está el señor Lyons?

to make sb feel at home — hacer que algn se sienta en casa

the duchess is at home on Fridays — la duquesa recibe los viernes

Lady Rebecca is not at home to anyone — Lady Rebecca no recibe a nadie

at home and abroad — dentro y fuera del país

he is at home with the topic — domina bien la materia

I'm not at home in Japanese — apenas me defiendo en japonés, sé muy poco de japonés

• home from home (Brit) —

• home away from home — (US) segunda casa

for us this is a home from home — aquí estamos como en casa, esta es como una segunda casa para nosotros

• to give sb/sth a home — dar casa a algn/algo; (=position, niche) encontrar sitio para algn/algo

• he comes from a good home — es de buena familia

good home wanted for puppy — búscase buen hogar para perrito

the puppy went to a good home — el perrito fue a vivir con una buena familia

• to have a home of one's own — tener casa propia

• home sweet home — hogar, dulce hogar

- an Englishman's home is his castle

2) (=refuge) hogar m ; (=hospital, hostel) asilo m

• home for the aged — residencia f de ancianos, asilo m de ancianos

• children's home — centro m de acogida de menores

• old people's home — residencia f de ancianos, asilo m de ancianos

3) (=country) patria f ; (=town) ciudad f natal; (=origin) cuna f

we live in Madrid but my home is in Jaén — vivimos en Madrid pero nací en Jaén

Scotland is the home of the haggis — Escocia es la patria del haggis

he made his home in Italy — se estableció en Italia

for some years he made his home in France — durante algunos años vivió en Francia

4) (Bio) hábitat m

5) (Sport) (=target area) meta f (=home ground)

to play at home — jugar en casa

Villasanta are at home to Castroforte — Villasanta recibe en casa a Castroforte

they lost nine games at home — perdieron nueve partidos en casa

6) (Comput) punto m inicial, punto m de partida

2. ADV

1) (lit) (=at home) en casa; (=to home) a casa

to be home — estar en casa; (=upon return) estar de vuelta en casa

I'll be home at five o'clock — (upon return) estaré en casa a las cinco

it's a long journey home — hay mucho camino hasta llegar a casa

• as we say back home — como decimos en mi tierra

back home in Australia — en mi tierra, (en) Australia

• to come home — volver a casa

• to be home and dry — respirar tranquilo(-a)

• to get home — llegar a casa

• to go home — volver a casa; (from abroad) volver a la patria

• he leaves home at eight — sale de casa a las ocho

she left home at the age of 17 — se marchó de casa cuando tenía 17 años

• that remark came near home — esa observación le hirió en lo vivo

• to see sb home — acompañar a algn a su casa

• to send sb home — mandar a algn a casa

• to stay home — quedarse en casa

• it's nothing to write home about * — no tiene nada de particular

2) (fig)

• to bring sth home to sb — hacerle ver algo a algn

• it came home to me — me di cuenta de ello

• to drive sth home, to drive a point home — subrayar un punto

to drive a nail home — hacer que un clavo entre a fondo

• to strike home — (=hit target) [shell, bullet] dar en el blanco; (=go right in) [hammer, nail] remachar
press 2., 7)
3.

VI [pigeons] volver a casa

4.

CPD

home address N — (on form) domicilio m

my home address — mi dirección particular, las señas de mi casa

home assembly N — montaje m propio

• for home assembly — para montaje propio
home-assembly
home automation N — domótica f

home banking N — banco m en casa

home base N — [of person] lugar m de residencia; [of guerrillas] base f de operaciones; [of company] sede f

home birth N — parto m a domicilio

home brew N — (=beer) cerveza f casera; (=wine) vino m casero

home buying N — compra f de vivienda

home comforts NPL — comodidades fpl domésticas

home computer N — ordenador m doméstico

home computing N — informática f doméstica

home cooking N — cocina f casera

the Home Counties NPL — (Brit) los condados alrededor de Londres

home country N — patria f, país m de origen

home delivery N — [of food] entrega f a domicilio; [of baby] parto m a domicilio

home economics NSING — (Scol) ciencia f del hogar

home field (US) N — (Sport) casa f

• to play on one's home field — jugar en casa

home fries NPL — (US) carne picada frita con patatas y col

home front N — frente m interno

home ground N (Sport) —

to play at one's home ground — jugar en casa

to be on home ground — (fig) estar en su terreno or lugar

Home Guard N — (Brit) cuerpo de voluntarios para la defensa nacional durante la segunda guerra mundial

home help N — (=act) atención f domiciliaria, ayuda f a domicilio; (Brit) (=person) asistente(-a) m / f (especialmente los que, a cargo de la seguridad social, ayudan en las tareas domésticas a personas necesitadas)

home helper N — (US) asistente(-a) m / f

home improvements NPL — reformas fpl en casa

home industries NPL — (Comm) industrias fpl nacionales

home journey N — viaje m a casa, viaje m de vuelta

home leave N — permiso m para irse a casa

home life N — vida f de familia, vida f doméstica

home loan N — préstamo m para la vivienda

home market N — (Comm) mercado m nacional, mercado m interior

home match N — (Sport) partido m en casa

home movie N — película f hecha por un aficionado

home nations NPL (Brit) —

• the home nations — las cuatro naciones británicas

home news NSING — (gen) noticias fpl de casa; (Pol) información f nacional

Home Office N — (Brit) Ministerio m del Interior, Gobernación f (Mex)

home owner N — propietario(-a) m / f de una casa

home owners — propietarios mpl de viviendas

home ownership N — propiedad f de viviendas

home page N — (Internet) (=personal page) página f personal; (=webpage) página f web; (=start page) página f de inicio

home port N — puerto m de origen

home product N — (Comm) producto m nacional

home rule N — autonomía f

home run N — (Baseball) jonrón m ; (=return journey) [of ship, truck] viaje m de vuelta

home sales NPL — ventas fpl nacionales

Home Secretary N — (Brit) Ministro m del Interior

home shopping N — venta f por correo; (TV, Telec) televenta f

the home side N — (Sport) el equipo de casa, el equipo local

home straight N — (Sport) recta f final

to be in the home straight — (fig) estar en la última recta

home stretch N — = home straight

the home team N — (Sport) el equipo de casa, el equipo local

home town N — ciudad f natal

home trade N — (Comm) comercio m interior

home truths NPL —

to tell sb a few home truths — decir cuatro verdades a algn

home victory N — (Sport) victoria f en casa

home video N — vídeo m amateur, video m amateur (LAm)

home visit N — visita f a domicilio

home waters NPL — aguas fpl territoriales

home win N — (Sport) victoria f en casa

- home in on
HOME COUNTIES Los Home Counties son los condados que se encuentran en los alrededores de Londres: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent y Middlesex, un alto porcentaje de cuya población se encuentra en buena posición económica. De ahí que el término Home Counties haya adquirido dimensiones culturales y a la gente que vive en ellos se les considere en general personas adineradas de clase media-alta que, además, tienen al hablar un acento muy particular, conocido como RP.

See:

see cultural note ENGLISH in English

* * *

I [həʊm]
noun

1) u c ( of person)

a) ( dwelling) casa f

to own one's own home — tener* casa propia

marital home — domicilio m conyugal; see also at home, home I 3); (before n)

home loan — préstamo m or crédito m hipotecario, crédito m vivienda

b) ( in wider sense)

New York's been my home since I was 12 — he vivido en Nueva York desde que tenía 12 años

they made their home in Germany — se establecieron en Alemania, fijaron su residencia en Alemania (frml)

I still think of England as home — para mí Inglaterra sigue siendo mi patria

home sweet home — hogar dulce hogar

there's no place like home — como en casa no se está en ningún sitio

to leave home — irse* de casa

those remarks were uncomfortably close to home — esos comentarios me (or le etc) tocaban muy de cerca

a home away from home o (BrE) a home from home — una segunda casa

home is where the heart is — el verdadero hogar está donde uno tiene a los suyos

c) ( family environment) hogar m

she comes from a good home — es de buena familia

2) c

a) (of object, group, institution)

Spain is the home of flamenco — España es la tierra del flamenco

the home of the microchip industry — el centro de la industria de los microchips

can you find a home for these files somewhere? — (colloq) a ver si encuentras dónde guardar estos archivos

b) (of animal, plant) (Bot, Zool) hábitat m

3) at home

a) ( in house) en casa

tell him I'm not at home — dile que no estoy (en casa)

he's got problems at home — tiene problemas familiares

what's that when it's at home? — (colloq) ¿y eso con qué se come? (fam)

b) ( at ease)

make yourself at home — ponte cómodo, estás en tu casa

he's entirely at home in Spanish — habla español con total fluidez

c) ( not abroad)

at home and abroad — dentro y fuera del país

d) ( Sport) en casa

to be/play at home — jugar* en casa

Spain is at home to France — España juega en casa contra Francia

4) c ( institution) ( children's home) asilo m (AmL), orfanatorio m (Méx), centro m de acogida de menores (Esp); ( old people's home) residencia f de ancianos

dogs' home — (BrE) perrera f

5) ( Sport)

a) u ( the finish) meta f

b) c ( in baseball) home plate

•

Phrasal Verbs:

- home in

II

adverb

1)

a) ( where one lives) <come/arrive> a casa

I'll be home at five — estaré en casa a las cinco

to see somebody home — acompañar a alguien a casa

nothing to write home about — nada del otro mundo or (fam) del otro jueves

b) ( from abroad)

we've already booked our passage home — ya hemos reservado nuestro pasaje de vuelta

the folks back home — (AmE) la familia

2) ( Sport)

the first horse/runner home — el primer caballo/corredor en llegar a la meta

to be home free o (BrE) home and dry — tener* la victoria asegurada

3) ( to desired place)

there was a clunk as the bolt went home — se oyó un golpe sordo al encajar el cerrojo en su sitio

to get something home to somebody — hacerle* entender algo a alguien

to drive something home (to somebody) — hacer(le)* entender algo (a alguien)

try to drive it home to him that... — hazle entender que...; see also strike home

III

adjective (before n)

a) <address/telephone number> particular; <background/environment> familiar; <cooking/perm> casero

home comforts — comodidades fpl

home delivery — ( of purchases) entrega f a domicilio

home visit — ( by doctor) (BrE) visita f a domicilio

b) ( of origin)

home port — ( Naut) puerto m de matrícula

home state — ( in US) estado m natal or de procedencia

c) ( not foreign) <affairs/market> nacional

d) ( Sport) < team> de casa, local; < game> en casa

English-spanish dictionary > home
6 home *****

[həʊm]
1. n

1) (residence, house) casa, (country, area) patria, paese m natale or natio, Bot Zool habitat m inv

to have a home of one's own — avere una casa propria

it's near my home — è vicino a casa mia

it's a home from home — è come essere a casa propria

there's no place like home — non si sta mai bene come a casa propria

she comes from a good home — viene da una buona famiglia

he comes from a broken home — i suoi sono divisi

to give sb/sth a home — prendersi in casa qn/qc

he made his home in Italy — si è stabilito in Italia

Scotland is the home of the haggis — la Scozia è la patria dell'haggis

at home — a casa

Celtic is playing at home on Saturday — il Celtic gioca in casa sabato

make yourself at home — fai come se fossi a casa tua

to make sb feel at home — mettere qn a proprio agio

she is at home with the topic — conosce la materia benissimo

I'm not at home to anyone fig — non ci sono per nessuno

2) (institution) istituto, (for old people) casa di riposo

a children's home — un istituto per l'infanzia

2. adv

1) a casa

to go home — andare a casa

to come home — tornare (a casa)

to stay home — stare a or restare in casa

to get home — arrivare a casa

I got home at 10 o'clock — sono rientrato alle 10

I'll be home at five o'clock — sarò a casa alle cinque

on the way home — sulla via di casa

can I see you home? — posso accompagnarti a casa?

it's nothing to write home about fam — non è gran che, non è niente di speciale

we're home and dry fig — siamo salvi

2) (right in) a fondo, fino in fondo

to drive a nail home — conficcare un chiodo

to bring sth home to sb fig — aprire gli occhi a qn su qc

that remark hit home — ciò che ha detto ha colpito nel segno

3. vi

(pigeons) tornare alla base

4. adj

(life) familiare, (cooking) casalingo (-a), (improvements) alla casa, (comforts) di casa, (native: village) natale, natio (-a), (Econ: trade, market) nazionale, interno (-a), (product, industries) nazionale, (news) dall'interno, (Sport: team) di casa, (match, win) in casa

•

- home in on

English-Italian dictionary > home *****
7 improvement

[ɪm'pruːvmənt]
nome

1) (change for the better) miglioramento m. (in, of, to di)

an improvement on last year's performance — un miglioramento rispetto alla prestazione dell'anno scorso

safety improvements, improvements in safety miglioramenti in materia di sicurezza; a 5% improvement, an improvement of 5% — un aumento del 5%

2) (progress)

he has made a big improvement — med. le sue condizioni sono notevolmente migliorate

to make some improvement in maths — fare progressi in matematica

there is room for improvement — ci sono ancora possibilità o margini di miglioramento

3) (alteration) miglioria f., miglioramento m. (to di)

to make improvements to — apportare delle migliorie a [ house]

home improvements — lavori di miglioria della casa

* * *

noun

1) (the state or act of improving or being improved: There has been a great improvement in her work; The patient's condition shows some improvement.) miglioramento

2) (something which improves, or adds beauty, value etc: I've made several improvements to the house.) miglioramento

* * *
[ɪm'pruːvmənt]
nome

1) (change for the better) miglioramento m. (in, of, to di)

an improvement on last year's performance — un miglioramento rispetto alla prestazione dell'anno scorso

safety improvements, improvements in safety miglioramenti in materia di sicurezza; a 5% improvement, an improvement of 5% — un aumento del 5%

2) (progress)

he has made a big improvement — med. le sue condizioni sono notevolmente migliorate

to make some improvement in maths — fare progressi in matematica

there is room for improvement — ci sono ancora possibilità o margini di miglioramento

3) (alteration) miglioria f., miglioramento m. (to di)

to make improvements to — apportare delle migliorie a [ house]

home improvements — lavori di miglioria della casa

English-Italian dictionary > improvement
8 improvement

noun

1) (the state or act of improving or being improved: There has been a great improvement in her work; The patient's condition shows some improvement.) mejora

2) (something which improves, or adds beauty, value etc: I've made several improvements to the house.) mejora

improvement n mejora / mejoría

to be an improvement on... ser mejor que...

improvement

tr[ɪm'prʊːvmənt]

noun

1 (gen) mejora, mejoramiento; (in health) mejoría

■ we demand an improvement in working conditions exigimos una mejora en las condiciones laborales

■ there's still room for improvement aún se puede mejorar

■ this pacient is showing signs of improvement este paciente muestra señales de mejoría

2 (in knowledge) perfeccionamiento

3 (increase) aumento

\

SMALLIDIOMATIC EXPRESSION/SMALL

to be an improvement on something ser mejor que algo

■ it's certainly an improvement on the old one ciertamente, es un una mejoría respecto al antiguo

home improvements reformas nombre femenino plural domésticas

improvement [ɪm'pru:vmənt] n

: mejoramiento m, mejora f

improvement

n.

• abono s.m.

• adelantamiento s.m.

• aumento s.m.

• bonificación s.f.

• enmienda s.f.

• medra s.f.

• mejora s.f.

• mejoramiento s.m.

• mejoría s.f.

• perfeccionamiento s.m.

• progreso s.m.

• reforma s.f.

ɪm'pruːvmənt
mass & count noun (in design, situation) mejora f; ( in health) mejoría f

you're getting better, but there's still plenty of room for improvement — has mejorado pero todavía puedes mejorar mucho más

to be an improvement ON something — ser* mejor que or superior a algo

to make improvements — hacer* mejoras

[ɪm'pruːvmǝnt]
1.

N (in quality) mejora f, mejoramiento m (in de); (=increase) aumento m (in de); (=progress) progresos mpl (in en); [of the mind] cultivo m ; (Med) mejoría f

it's an improvement on the old one — supone una mejora con respecto al antiguo

there is room for improvement — podría mejorarse

there has been some improvement in the patient's condition — el paciente ha mejorado algo

they made improvements in safety procedures — mejoraron los mecanismos de seguridad

to make improvements to — [+ property] hacer mejoras en

2.

CPD

improvement grant N — subvención f para modernizar (una casa etc)

* * *
[ɪm'pruːvmənt]
mass & count noun (in design, situation) mejora f; ( in health) mejoría f

you're getting better, but there's still plenty of room for improvement — has mejorado pero todavía puedes mejorar mucho más

to be an improvement ON something — ser* mejor que or superior a algo

to make improvements — hacer* mejoras

English-spanish dictionary > improvement
9 improvement

noun

1) no pl. Verbesserung, die; Besserung, die; (in trading) Steigerung, die

there is need for improvement in your handwriting — deine Handschrift müsste besser werden

2) (addition) Verbesserung, die

make improvements to something — Verbesserungen an etwas (Dat.) vornehmen

* * *

noun

1) (the state or act of improving or being improved: There has been a great improvement in her work; The patient's condition shows some improvement.) die Verbesserung

2) (something which improves, or adds beauty, value etc: I've made several improvements to the house.) die Verbesserung

* * *

im·prove·ment

[ɪmˈpru:vmənt]

n

1. (instance) Verbesserung f

the last year has seen a slight \improvement in the economy im letzten Jahr hat sich die Wirtschaftslage leicht verbessert

\improvement in efficiency Effizienzsteigerung f

\improvement in results Ergebnisverbesserung f

to be an \improvement on the former design/the old house/the previous manager im Vergleich zum früheren Entwurf/zum alten Haus/zum vorigen Geschäftsführer eine Verbesserung darstellen

2. no pl (activity) Verbesserung f; of illness Besserung f

room for \improvement Steigerungsmöglichkeiten pl

3. (repair or addition) Verbesserungsmaßnahme f

[home] \improvements Renovierungsarbeiten pl (Ausbau- und Modernisierungsarbeiten an/in Wohnung/Haus)

* * *
[ɪm'pruːvmənt]
n
Verbesserung f, Besserung f; (of area, appearance) Verschönerung f; (of sauce, food etc) Verfeinerung f; (= increase) (in production, value) Erhöhung f, Steigerung f; (of knowledge) Erweiterung f; (of salaries) Aufbesserung f; (in health) Besserung f; (in studies) Verbesserung f, Fortschritte pl
an improvement in performance — eine Leistungssteigerung

to be open to improvement — verbesserungsfähig sein

an improvement on the previous one — eine Verbesserung gegenüber dem Früheren

to make improvements — Verbesserungen machen or durchführen (to an +dat )

to carry out improvements to a house — Ausbesserungs- or (to appearance) Verschönerungsarbeiten an einem Haus vornehmen

* * *

improvement s

1. (Ver)Besserung f (in gen; on gegenüber, im Vergleich zu):

improvement in form SPORT Formanstieg m;

improvement in health Besserung der Gesundheit;

improvement in prices WIRTSCH Preiserholung f;

improvement in the weather Wetterbesserung;

there has been an improvement in the weather das Wetter hat sich gebessert;

today’s weather is an improvement on yesterday’s heute ist das Wetter besser als gestern

2. a) AGR Melioration f

b) Erschließung f und Wertsteigerung f

3. Ausnutzung f

4. Vered(e)lung f, Verfeinerung f:

improvement industry WIRTSCH Veredelungsindustrie f

5. Vermehrung f, Erhöhung f, Steigerung f

* * *

noun

1) no pl. Verbesserung, die; Besserung, die; (in trading) Steigerung, die

there is need for improvement in your handwriting — deine Handschrift müsste besser werden

2) (addition) Verbesserung, die

make improvements to something — Verbesserungen an etwas (Dat.) vornehmen

* * *

n.

Aufbesserung f.

Ausbau -ten m.

Besserung f.

Fortschritt m.

Neuerung -en f.

Verbesserung f.

English-german dictionary > improvement
10 improvement

improvement n

1 ( change for the better) amélioration f (in, of, to de) ; an improvement on last year's performance une amélioration par rapport aux résultats de l'an dernier ; an improvement on his previous offer Fin une offre plus intéressante que son offre précédente ; the new edition is an improvement on the old one la nouvelle édition est bien meilleure que l'ancienne ; there have been a lot of safety improvements ou improvements in safety il y a eu beaucoup d'amélioration en matière de sécurité ; a 2% improvement ou an improvement of 2% on last year's profits une amélioration de 2% par rapport aux bénéfices de l'an dernier ;

2 ( progress) progrès mpl ; he has made a big improvement (in schoolwork, behaviour) il a fait de gros progrès ; Med son état s'est beaucoup amélioré ; she has made some improvement in maths elle a fait des progrès en maths ; he has come on a lot but there is still room for improvement il a fait des progrès mais il peut encore faire mieux ; there is room for improvement in the industry on pourrait encore faire mieux dans l'industrie ;

3 ( alteration) aménagement m ; an improvement to the road network un aménagement du réseau routier ; to make improvements to apporter des aménagements à [house] ; home improvements aménagements mpl du domicile ; a road improvement scheme un projet d'aménagement des routes.

Big English-French dictionary > improvement
11 improvement

improvement [ɪm'pru:vmənt]

noun

(a) (gen) amélioration f; (in person's work, performance) progrès m;

∎ what an improvement! c'est nettement mieux!;

∎ this is a great improvement on her previous work c'est bien mieux que ce qu'elle faisait jusqu'à présent;

∎ there has been some improvement il y a un léger mieux;

∎ there has been a slight improvement in his work son travail s'est légèrement amélioré;

∎ there is no improvement in the weather le temps ne s'est pas arrangé;

∎ her new boyfriend's a bit of an improvement son nouveau petit ami est un peu mieux que le précédent/les précédents;

∎ to show some improvement (in condition) aller un peu mieux; (in work) faire quelques progrès;

∎ there's room for improvement ça pourrait être mieux

(b) (in building, road etc) rénovation f, aménagement m;

∎ (home) improvements travaux mpl de rénovation;

∎ to carry out improvements effectuer des travaux de rénovation;

∎ motorway improvements travaux mpl de réfection des autoroutes

►► British improvement grant subvention f pour la rénovation d'une maison

Un panorama unique de l'anglais et du français > improvement
12 improvement

improvement [ɪmˈpru:vmənt]

noun

amélioration f

• there has been some improvement in the patient's condition l'état du malade s'est un peu amélioré

• it is open to improvement ça peut être amélioré

• he has shown some improvement in French il a fait quelques progrès en français

• there is room for improvement on pourrait faire mieux

• to carry out improvements to a house faire des travaux d'aménagement dans une maison

* * *
[ɪm'pruːvmənt]
noun

1) ( change for the better) amélioration f (in, of, to de)

an improvement on last year's performance — une amélioration par rapport aux résultats de l'an dernier

the new edition is an improvement on the old one — la nouvelle édition est bien meilleure que l'ancienne

2) ( progress) progrès mpl

there is room for improvement — on pourrait encore faire mieux

3) ( alteration) aménagement m

home improvements — aménagements mpl du domicile

English-French dictionary > improvement
13 DIY

abbreviation = academic.ru/21696/do-it-yourself">do-it-yourself

* * *

( abbreviation) (do it yourself: a DIY shop/job.)

* * *

DIY

[ˌdi:aɪˈwaɪ]

n no pl BRIT, AUS abbrev of do-it-yourself Heimwerken nt

\DIY store Baumarkt m

to do some \DIY heimwerken

* * *
[diːaI'waɪ] (Brit) abbr of do-it-yourself
1. n
Do-it-yourself nt, Heimwerken nt
she was doing some DIY over the weekend — sie machte am Wochenende einige Heimwerkerarbeiten

2. adj
product für Heimwerker
DIY chain — Baumarktkette f

DIY fan or enthusiast — Heimwerker( in) m(f), Do-it-yourself-Fan m

DIY kit (for household jobs) — Heimwerkerausrüstung f; (for businesses etc) Starterpaket nt; (for car etc) Bausatz

DIY work this is an easy DIY job — Heimwerkerarbeiten pl das kann man leicht selber machen

you can tell it's a DIY job — man kann sehen, dass hier ein Heimwerker am Werk war

DIY home improvements — eigenhändige Modernisierung

they opted for a DIY divorce —

DIY justice — Selbstjustiz f

* * *

DIY [ˌdiːaıˈwaı] s do-it-yourself besonders Br Heimwerken n:

DIY centre ( oder shop) Heimwerkermarkt m

* * *

abbreviation = do-it-yourself

English-german dictionary > DIY
14 improvement

im·prove·ment [ɪmʼpru:vmənt] n

1) ( instance) Verbesserung f;

the last year has seen a slight \improvement in the economy im letzten Jahr hat sich die Wirtschaftslage leicht verbessert;

to be an \improvement on the former design/ the old house/ the previous manager im Vergleich zum früheren Entwurf/zum alten Haus/zum vorigen Geschäftsführer eine Verbesserung darstellen

2) no pl ( activity) Verbesserung f; of illness Besserung f;

room for \improvement Steigerungsmöglichkeiten fpl

3) ( repair or addition) Verbesserungsmaßnahme f;

[home] \improvements Renovierungsarbeiten fpl (Ausbau- und Modernisierungsarbeiten an/ in Wohnung/ Haus)

English-German students dictionary > improvement
15 low start mortgage

Fin

a long-term loan, usually for the purchase of real estate, in which the borrower only pays the interest on the loan for the first few years, usually three. After that, the repayments increase to cover the interest and part of the original loan, as in a repayment mortgage. Low start mortgages are popular with first-time buyers as the lower initial costs may free up funds for furnishings or home improvements.

See also mortgage

The ultimate business dictionary > low start mortgage
16 Cartwright, Revd Edmund

SUBJECT AREA: Agricultural and food technology, Textiles

[br]

b. 24 April 1743 Marnham, Nottingham, England

d. 30 October 1823 Hastings, Sussex, England

[br]

English inventor of the power loom, a combing machine and machines for making ropes, bread and bricks as well as agricultural improvements.

[br]

Edmund Cartwright, the fourth son of William Cartwright, was educated at Wakefield Grammar School, and went to University College, Oxford, at the age of 14. By special act of convocation in 1764, he was elected Fellow of Magdalen College. He married Alice Whitaker in 1772 and soon after was given the ecclesiastical living of Brampton in Derbyshire. In 1779 he was presented with the living of Goadby, Marwood, Leicestershire, where he wrote poems, reviewed new works, and began agricultural experiments. A visit to Matlock in the summer of 1784 introduced him to the inventions of Richard Arkwright and he asked why weaving could not be mechanized in a similar manner to spinning. This began a remarkable career of inventions.

Cartwright returned home and built a loom which required two strong men to operate it. This was the first attempt in England to develop a power loom. It had a vertical warp, the reed fell with the weight of at least half a hundredweight and, to quote Gartwright's own words, "the springs which threw the shuttle were strong enough to throw a Congreive [sic] rocket" (Strickland 19.71:8—for background to the "rocket" comparison, see Congreve, Sir William). Nevertheless, it had the same three basics of weaving that still remain today in modern power looms: shedding or dividing the warp; picking or projecting the shuttle with the weft; and beating that pick of weft into place with a reed. This loom he proudly patented in 1785, and then he went to look at hand looms and was surprised to see how simply they operated. Further improvements to his own loom, covered by two more patents in 1786 and 1787, produced a machine with the more conventional horizontal layout that showed promise; however, the Manchester merchants whom he visited were not interested. He patented more improvements in 1788 as a result of the experience gained in 1786 through establishing a factory at Doncaster with power looms worked by a bull that were the ancestors of modern ones. Twenty-four looms driven by steam-power were installed in Manchester in 1791, but the mill was burned down and no one repeated the experiment. The Doncaster mill was sold in 1793, Cartwright having lost £30,000, However, in 1809 Parliament voted him £10,000 because his looms were then coming into general use.

In 1789 he began working on a wool-combing machine which he patented in 1790, with further improvements in 1792. This seems to have been the earliest instance of mechanized combing. It used a circular revolving comb from which the long fibres or "top" were. carried off into a can, and a smaller cylinder-comb for teasing out short fibres or "noils", which were taken off by hand. Its output equalled that of twenty hand combers, but it was only relatively successful. It was employed in various Leicestershire and Yorkshire mills, but infringements were frequent and costly to resist. The patent was prolonged for fourteen years after 1801, but even then Cartwright did not make any profit. His 1792 patent also included a machine to make ropes with the outstanding and basic invention of the "cordelier" which he communicated to his friends, including Robert Fulton, but again it brought little financial benefit. As a result of these problems and the lack of remuneration for his inventions, Cartwright moved to London in 1796 and for a time lived in a house built with geometrical bricks of his own design.

Other inventions followed fast, including a tread-wheel for cranes, metallic packing for pistons in steam-engines, and bread-making and brick-making machines, to mention but a few. He had already returned to agricultural improvements and he put forward suggestions in 1793 for a reaping machine. In 1801 he received a prize from the Board of Agriculture for an essay on husbandry, which was followed in 1803 by a silver medal for the invention of a three-furrow plough and in 1805 by a gold medal for his essay on manures. From 1801 to 1807 he ran an experimental farm on the Duke of Bedford's estates at Woburn.

From 1786 until his death he was a prebendary of Lincoln. In about 1810 he bought a small farm at Hollanden near Sevenoaks, Kent, where he continued his inventions, both agricultural and general. Inventing to the last, he died at Hastings and was buried in Battle church.

[br]

Principal Honours and Distinctions

Board of Agriculture Prize 1801 (for an essay on agriculture). Society of Arts, Silver Medal 1803 (for his three-furrow plough); Gold Medal 1805 (for an essay on agricultural improvements).

Bibliography

1785. British patent no. 1,270 (power loom).

1786. British patent no. 1,565 (improved power loom). 1787. British patent no. 1,616 (improved power loom).

1788. British patent no. 1,676 (improved power loom). 1790, British patent no. 1,747 (wool-combing machine).

1790, British patent no. 1,787 (wool-combing machine).

1792, British patent no. 1,876 (improved wool-combing machine and rope-making machine with cordelier).

Further Reading

M.Strickland, 1843, A Memoir of the Life, Writings and Mechanical Inventions of Edmund Cartwright, D.D., F.R.S., London (remains the fullest biography of Cartwright).

Dictionary of National Biography (a good summary of Cartwright's life). For discussions of Cartwright's weaving inventions, see: A.Barlow, 1878, The History and Principles of Weaving by Hand and by Power, London; R.L. Hills, 1970, Power in the Industrial Revolution, Manchester. F.Nasmith, 1925–6, "Fathers of machine cotton manufacture", Transactions of the

Newcomen Society 6.

H.W.Dickinson, 1942–3, "A condensed history of rope-making", Transactions of the Newcomen Society 23.

W.English, 1969, The Textile Industry, London (covers both his power loom and his wool -combing machine).

RLH

Biographical history of technology > Cartwright, Revd Edmund
17 call

call

A n

1 Telecom appel m (téléphonique) (from de) ; business call appel professionnel ; private ou personal call appel privé ; (tele)phone call appel m (téléphonique) ; I have a call for you j'ai un appel pour vous ; to make a call appeler, téléphoner ; to make a call to Italy appeler l'Italie, téléphoner en Italie ; to receive/take a call recevoir/prendre un appel ; to give sb a call appeler qn ; to return sb's call rappeler qn ; to put a call through to sb passer un appel à qn ;

2 ( audible cry) ( human) appel m (for à) ; ( animal) cri m ; to give sb a call appeler qn ;

3 ( summons) appel m, this is the last call for passengers to Berlin Aviat ceci est le dernier appel pour les passagers à destination de Berlin ; this is your ten minute call Theat en scène dans dix minutes ; to put out a call for sb ( over public address) faire appeler qn ; ( over radio) lancer un appel à qn ; the Red Cross has put out a call for blankets la Croix Rouge a lancé un appel pour obtenir des couvertures ;

4 ( visit) visite f ; social call visite f de courtoisie ; to make ou pay a call lit rendre visite (on à) ; to pay a call euph aller aux toilettes ; to return sb's call rendre sa visite à qn ;

5 ( demand) demande f ; the strikers' call for a pay rise la demande d'augmentation de salaire de la part des grévistes ; there were calls for his resignation sa démission a été réclamée ; a call for reform une demande de réforme ; she has many calls on her time elle est très sollicitée ; there's no call for it Comm il n'y a pas de demande (pour cet article) ; we don't get much call for that nous n'avons guère de demande pour cela ; to have first call on sth avoir la priorité sur qch ;

6 ( need) there's no call for sth/to do il n'y a pas de raison pour qch/de faire ; there was no call for her to say that elle n'avait aucune raison or aucun besoin de dire cela ;

7 ( allure) (of mountains, sea, the unknown) appel m (of de) ;

8 Sport décision f ;

9 Fin ( for repayment of loan) demande f de remboursement ; ( request) appel m ; ( right to buy) option f d'achat ; money at ou on call argent à court terme or au jour le jour ; on three months' call à trois mois ; payable at call remboursable sur présentation or à vue ; a call for capital/tenders un appel de fonds/d'offres ;

10 ( duty) to be on call [doctor] être de garde ; [engineer] être de service ;

11 Relig ( vocation) vocation f.

B vtr

1 ( say loudly) ( also call out) appeler [name, number] ; crier [answer, instructions] ; annoncer [result] ; Games parier [heads, tails] ; annoncer [flight] ; to call the register Sch faire l'appel ; he called (out) ‘Goodbye’ il a crié ‘au revoir’ ;

2 ( summon) appeler [lift] ; ( by shouting) appeler [person, animal, witness] ; ( by phone) appeler [person, police, taxi] ; ( by letter) convoquer [applicant, candidate] ; he was called before the committee il a été convoqué devant la commission ; the boss called me into his office le chef m'a fait venir dans son bureau ; the police were called to the scene la police a été appelée sur les lieux ; I've called you a taxi je vous ai appelé un taxi ; come when you're called venez quand on vous appelle ; call the next witness appelez le témoin suivant ; you may be called to give evidence il se peut que vous soyez convoqué pour témoigner ;

3 ( telephone) ( also call up) appeler [person, institution, number] (at à ; from de) ; don't call us, we'll call you hum (n'appelez pas) nous vous appellerons ;

4 ( give a name) appeler [person, baby, animal, place, product] (by par) ; intituler [book, film, music, play] ; she prefers to be called by her maiden name elle préfère qu'on l'appelle par son nom de jeune fille ;

5 ( arrange) organiser [strike] ; convoquer [conference, meeting, rehearsal] ; fixer [election] ;

6 ( waken) réveiller [person] ; what time shall I call you in the morning? à quelle heure voulez-vous que je vous réveille? ;

7 ( describe as) to call sb stupid/a liar traiter qn d'imbécile/de menteur/-euse ; I wouldn't call it spacious/beautiful je ne dirais pas que c'est vaste/beau ; do you call that plate clean? tu appelles ça une assiette propre? ; it's not what you'd call an exciting film on ne peut pas dire que ce film soit passionnant ; it's what you might call a delicate situation c'est ce qui s'appelle une situation délicate ; call that a garden ○ ! tu appelles ça un jardin! ; call it what you will appelle ça comme tu veux ; parapsychology or whatever they ou you call it ○ la métapsychologie ou quelque chose dans ce goût-là ○ ; (let's) call it £5 disons cinq livres sterling ; he hasn't a place to call his own il n'a pas de chez-lui ;

8 Sport [referee, linesman] déclarer ; the linesman called the ball in le juge de ligne a déclaré que la balle était bonne ;

9 Fin demander le remboursement de [loan] ;

10 Comput appeler [file, program].

C vi

1 ( cry out) ( also call out) [person, animal] appeler ; ( louder) crier ; [bird] crier ; London calling Radio ici Londres ;

2 ( telephone) appeler ; where are you calling from? d'où appelez-vous? ; I'm calling about your advertisement j'appelle au sujet de votre annonce ; thank you for calling merci d'avoir appelé ; please call back in an hour rappelez dans une heure s'il vous plaît, veuillez rappeler dans une heure fml ; to call home appeler chez soi or à la maison ; who's calling? qui est à l'appareil? ;

3 ( visit) passer ; to call at [person] passer chez [person, shop] ; [person] passer à [bank, library, town] ; [train] s'arrêter à [town, station] ; [boat] faire escale à [port] ; the London train calling at Reading and Slough le train à destination de Londres desservant les gares de Reading et Slough ;

4 (tossing coins, racquet) parier ; you call, heads or tails? à toi de parier, pile ou face?

D v refl to call oneself se faire appeler [Smith, Bob] ; ( claim to be) se dire, se prétendre [poet, designer] ; he calls himself a writer but… il se dit or se prétend écrivain mais… ; call yourself a sailor ○ ? et tu te prétends marin? ; I am proud to call myself European je suis fier d'être européen.

Idiom

it was a close call c'était de justesse.

Phrasal verbs

■ call away:

▶ call [sb] away appeler ; to be called away être obligé de s'absenter.

■ call back:

▶ call back

1 ( on phone) rappeler ;

2 ( return) repasser ;

▶ call [sb] back

1 (summon by shouting, phone back) rappeler [person] ;

2 ( recall) rappeler [representative, diplomat].

■ call by passer.

■ call down:

▶ call down ( shout from above) appeler ;

▶ call down [sth], call [sth] down appeler [blessing, curse, vengeance] (on sur).

■ call for:

▶ call for [sth]

1 ( shout) appeler à [help] ; appeler [ambulance, doctor] ;

2 ( demand) [person] demander [food, drink, equipment, tool] ; [report, article, politician, protesters] réclamer [changes, improvements] ; they are calling for talks to be extended ils réclament la prolongation des négociations ;

3 ( require) [situation, problem, conditions] exiger [treatment, skill, action, understanding] ; nécessiter [change, intervention, improvements] ; this calls for a celebration! ça se fête! ; that was not called for c'était déplacé ;

4 ( collect) passer prendre [person] ; passer chercher [object].

■ call forth littér:

▶ call forth [sth], call [sth] forth susciter.

■ call in:

▶ call in

1 ( visit) passer ;

2 ( telephone) appeler ; to call in sick [employee] appeler pour dire qu'on est malade ;

▶ call in [sb], call [sb] in

1 lit ( summon inside) faire rentrer [person, animal] ; faire entrer [candidate, client, patient] ;

2 ( send for) faire appel à [expert, police, engineer] ;

▶ call in [sth], call [sth] in

1 ( recall) demander le retour de [library book, ticket, surplus, supplies] ; retirer [qch] de la circulation [currency] ; retirer [qch] du commerce [product] ;

2 Fin demander le remboursement de [loan].

■ call off:

▶ call off [sth], call [sth] off

1 lit rappeler [dog, attacker] ;

2 fig ( halt) interrompre [arrangement, deal, plan, search, investigation, strike] ; ( cancel) annuler [show, meeting, wedding] ; to call off one's engagement rompre ses fiançailles ; to call off a strike annuler un ordre de grève ; let's call the whole thing off laissons tomber.

■ call on:

▶ call on [sb/sth]

1 ( visit) ( also call in on) rendre visite à [relative, friend] ; visiter [patient, client] ;

2 ( invite) demander à [speaker, lecturer] (to do de faire) ;

3 ( urge) demander à (to do de faire) ; ( stronger) enjoindre fml (to do de faire) ; he called on his colleagues to oppose it il a demandé à ses collègues de s'y opposer ;

4 (appeal to, resort to) s'adresser à [person] ; avoir recours à [services] ; faire appel à [moral quality] ; neighbours she can call on des voisins à qui elle peut s'adresser ; we will call on your services nous aurons recours à vos services ; you will have to call on all your patience and courage il faudra faire appel à toute ta patience et tout ton courage.

■ call out:

▶ call out ( cry aloud) appeler ; ( louder) crier ;

▶ call out [sb], call [sb] out

1 ( summon outside) appeler ; the teacher called me out to the front of the class le professeur m'a fait venir devant le reste de la classe ;

2 ( send for) appeler [expert, doctor, emergency service, repairman, troops] ;

3 Ind [union] lancer un ordre de grève à [members] ; to call sb out on strike lancer un ordre de grève à qn ;

▶ call [sth] out, call out [sth] appeler [name, number].

■ call over:

▶ call over to [sb] appeler ;

▶ call [sb] over appeler.

■ call round ( visit) venir.

■ call up:

▶ call up appeler ;

▶ call up [sb/sth], call [sb/sth] up

1 ( on phone) appeler ;

2 ( summon) appeler [reserves, reinforcements] ; appeler [qn] sous les drapeaux [soldier] ; invoquer [ghost, spirit] ;

3 ( evoke) rappeler [memory, past event, scene] ;

4 Comput appeler (à l'écran), afficher [data, file, menu] ;

5 Sport sélectionner [player].

■ call upon = call on.

Big English-French dictionary > call
18 Bentham, Sir Samuel

SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping

[br]

b. 11 January 1757 England

d. 31 May 1831 London, England

[br]

English naval architect and engineer.

[br]

He was the son of Jeremiah Bentham, a lawyer. His mother died when he was an infant and his early education was at Westminster. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a master shipwright at Woolwich and later at Chatham Dockyard, where he made some small improvements in the fittings of ships. In 1778 he completed his apprenticeship and sailed on the Bienfaisant on a summer cruise of the Channel Fleet where he suggested and supervised several improvements to the steering gear and gun fittings.

Unable to find suitable employment at home, he sailed for Russia to study naval architecture and shipbuilding, arriving at St Petersburg in 1780, whence he travelled throughout Russia as far as the frontier of China, examining mines and methods of working metals. He settled in Kritchev in 1782 and there established a small shipyard with a motley work-force. In 1784 he was appointed to command a battalion. He set up a yard on the "Panopticon" principle, with all workshops radiating from his own central office. He increased the armament of his ships greatly by strengthening the hulls and fitting guns without recoil, which resulted in a great victory over the Turks at Liman in 1788. For this he was awarded the Cross of St George and promoted to Brigadier- General. Soon after, he was appointed to a command in Siberia, where he was responsible for opening up the resources of the country greatly by developing river navigation.

In 1791 he returned to England, where he was at first involved in the development of the Panopticon for his brother as well as with several other patents. In 1795 he was asked to look into the mechanization of the naval dockyards, and for the next eighteen years he was involved in improving methods of naval construction and machinery. He was responsible for the invention of the steam dredger, the caisson method of enclosing the entrances to docks, and the development of non-recoil cannonades of large calibre.

His intervention in the maladministration of the naval dockyards resulted in an enquiry that brought about the clearing-away of much corruption, making him very unpopular. As a result he was sent to St Petersburg to arrange for the building of a number of ships for the British navy, in which the Russians had no intention of co-operating. On his return to England after two years he was told that his office of Inspector-General of Navy Works had been abolished and he was appointed to the Navy Board; he had several disagreements with John Rennie and in 1812 was told that this office, too, had been abolished. He went to live in France, where he stayed for thirteen years, returning in 1827 to arrange for the publication of some of his papers.

There is some doubt about his use of his title: there is no record of his having received a knighthood in England, but it was assumed that he was authorized to use the title, granted to him in Russia, after his presentation to the Tsar in 1809.

[br]

Further Reading

Mary Sophia Bentham, Life of Brigadier-General Sir Samuel Bentham, K.S.G., Formerly Inspector of Naval Works (written by his wife, who died before completing it; completed by their daughter).

IMcN

Biographical history of technology > Bentham, Sir Samuel
19 Crossley, Joseph

SUBJECT AREA: Textiles

[br]

b. Halifax (?), England

d. September 1868 Halifax (?), England

[br]

English patentee of successful power-driven carpet looms.

[br]

Joseph Crossley was the second son of John, the founder of a carpet-weaving firm in Halifax. He did not figure much in public life for he was essentially a business man. It was under his direct superintendence that most of the extensions at Dean Clough Mill, Halifax, were built, and to a very great degree the successful working of the vast establishment that these mills became, covering fifteen acres, was due to him. In 1864 the firm became a limited-liability company, worth over a million pounds c.1880.

The company's vital patents for the power-driven carpet looms were taken out in his name. The first, in 1850 in the names of Joseph Crossley, George Collier and James Hudson, was for weaving carpets in a manner similar to the way velvet was woven, with the pile warp threads passing over wires. After a couple of picks of weft, a wire was inserted from the side over the main warp threads but under the pile warp threads. These were lowered and another couple of weft shoots bound in the pile warp. The pile was cut with a knife running along a slot in the top of the wire, and then the wire was removed. There was a further patent in 1851, in the name of Joseph Crossley alone, for improvements in the manufacture of Brussels and cut-pile carpets. An interesting part of this patent was the use of a partly coloured warp to make patterns in the carpets. These vital patents gave the Crossley brothers their dominance in carpet weaving; production on their power looms was six times quicker than by hand. Like his brothers, one of whom was Francis Crossley, he was a great benefactor to charities. The brothers built the Crossley Orphan Home at a cost of £50,000 and endowed it with about £3,000 a year.

[br]

Bibliography

1850, British patent no. 13,267 (power-driven carpet loom).

1851, British patent no. 13,474 (improvements in manufacture of Brussels and cut-pile carpets).

Further Reading

J.Hogg (ed.), Fortunes Made in Business, London (contains an account of the firm of John Crossley \& Sons).

RLH

Biographical history of technology > Crossley, Joseph
20 Edison, Thomas Alva

SUBJECT AREA: Architecture and building, Automotive engineering, Electricity, Electronics and information technology, Metallurgy, Photography, film and optics, Public utilities, Recording, Telecommunications

[br]

b. 11 February 1847 Milan, Ohio, USA

d. 18 October 1931 Glenmont

[br]

American inventor and pioneer electrical developer.

[br]

He was the son of Samuel Edison, who was in the timber business. His schooling was delayed due to scarlet fever until 1855, when he was 8½ years old, but he was an avid reader. By the age of 14 he had a job as a newsboy on the railway from Port Huron to Detroit, a distance of sixty-three miles (101 km). He worked a fourteen-hour day with a stopover of five hours, which he spent in the Detroit Free Library. He also sold sweets on the train and, later, fruit and vegetables, and was soon making a profit of $20 a week. He then started two stores in Port Huron and used a spare freight car as a laboratory. He added a hand-printing press to produce 400 copies weekly of The Grand Trunk Herald, most of which he compiled and edited himself. He set himself to learn telegraphy from the station agent at Mount Clements, whose son he had saved from being run over by a freight car.

At the age of 16 he became a telegraphist at Port Huron. In 1863 he became railway telegraphist at the busy Stratford Junction of the Grand Trunk Railroad, arranging a clock with a notched wheel to give the hourly signal which was to prove that he was awake and at his post! He left hurriedly after failing to hold a train which was nearly involved in a head-on collision. He usually worked the night shift, allowing himself time for experiments during the day. His first invention was an arrangement of two Morse registers so that a high-speed input could be decoded at a slower speed. Moving from place to place he held many positions as a telegraphist. In Boston he invented an automatic vote recorder for Congress and patented it, but the idea was rejected. This was the first of a total of 1180 patents that he was to take out during his lifetime. After six years he resigned from the Western Union Company to devote all his time to invention, his next idea being an improved ticker-tape machine for stockbrokers. He developed a duplex telegraphy system, but this was turned down by the Western Union Company. He then moved to New York.

Edison found accommodation in the battery room of Law's Gold Reporting Company, sleeping in the cellar, and there his repair of a broken transmitter marked him as someone of special talents. His superior soon resigned, and he was promoted with a salary of $300 a month. Western Union paid him $40,000 for the sole rights on future improvements on the duplex telegraph, and he moved to Ward Street, Newark, New Jersey, where he employed a gathering of specialist engineers. Within a year, he married one of his employees, Mary Stilwell, when she was only 16: a daughter, Marion, was born in 1872, and two sons, Thomas and William, in 1876 and 1879, respectively.

He continued to work on the automatic telegraph, a device to send out messages faster than they could be tapped out by hand: that is, over fifty words per minute or so. An earlier machine by Alexander Bain worked at up to 400 words per minute, but was not good over long distances. Edison agreed to work on improving this feature of Bain's machine for the Automatic Telegraph Company (ATC) for $40,000. He improved it to a working speed of 500 words per minute and ran a test between Washington and New York. Hoping to sell their equipment to the Post Office in Britain, ATC sent Edison to England in 1873 to negotiate. A 500-word message was to be sent from Liverpool to London every half-hour for six hours, followed by tests on 2,200 miles (3,540 km) of cable at Greenwich. Only confused results were obtained due to induction in the cable, which lay coiled in a water tank. Edison returned to New York, where he worked on his quadruplex telegraph system, tests of which proved a success between New York and Albany in December 1874. Unfortunately, simultaneous negotiation with Western Union and ATC resulted in a lawsuit.

Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent for a telephone in March 1876 while Edison was still working on the same idea. His improvements allowed the device to operate over a distance of hundreds of miles instead of only a few miles. Tests were carried out over the 106 miles (170 km) between New York and Philadelphia. Edison applied for a patent on the carbon-button transmitter in April 1877, Western Union agreeing to pay him $6,000 a year for the seventeen-year duration of the patent. In these years he was also working on the development of the electric lamp and on a duplicating machine which would make up to 3,000 copies from a stencil. In 1876–7 he moved from Newark to Menlo Park, twenty-four miles (39 km) from New York on the Pennsylvania Railway, near Elizabeth. He had bought a house there around which he built the premises that would become his "inventions factory". It was there that he began the use of his 200- page pocket notebooks, each of which lasted him about two weeks, so prolific were his ideas. When he died he left 3,400 of them filled with notes and sketches.

Late in 1877 he applied for a patent for a phonograph which was granted on 19 February 1878, and by the end of the year he had formed a company to manufacture this totally new product. At the time, Edison saw the device primarily as a business aid rather than for entertainment, rather as a dictating machine. In August 1878 he was granted a British patent. In July 1878 he tried to measure the heat from the solar corona at a solar eclipse viewed from Rawlins, Wyoming, but his "tasimeter" was too sensitive.

Probably his greatest achievement was "The Subdivision of the Electric Light" or the "glow bulb". He tried many materials for the filament before settling on carbon. He gave a demonstration of electric light by lighting up Menlo Park and inviting the public. Edison was, of course, faced with the problem of inventing and producing all the ancillaries which go to make up the electrical system of generation and distribution-meters, fuses, insulation, switches, cabling—even generators had to be designed and built; everything was new. He started a number of manufacturing companies to produce the various components needed.

In 1881 he built the world's largest generator, which weighed 27 tons, to light 1,200 lamps at the Paris Exhibition. It was later moved to England to be used in the world's first central power station with steam engine drive at Holborn Viaduct, London. In September 1882 he started up his Pearl Street Generating Station in New York, which led to a worldwide increase in the application of electric power, particularly for lighting. At the same time as these developments, he built a 1,300yd (1,190m) electric railway at Menlo Park.

On 9 August 1884 his wife died of typhoid. Using his telegraphic skills, he proposed to 19-year-old Mina Miller in Morse code while in the company of others on a train. He married her in February 1885 before buying a new house and estate at West Orange, New Jersey, building a new laboratory not far away in the Orange Valley.

Edison used direct current which was limited to around 250 volts. Alternating current was largely developed by George Westinghouse and Nicola Tesla, using transformers to step up the current to a higher voltage for long-distance transmission. The use of AC gradually overtook the Edison DC system.

In autumn 1888 he patented a form of cinephotography, the kinetoscope, obtaining film-stock from George Eastman. In 1893 he set up the first film studio, which was pivoted so as to catch the sun, with a hinged roof which could be raised. In 1894 kinetoscope parlours with "peep shows" were starting up in cities all over America. Competition came from the Latham Brothers with a screen-projection machine, which Edison answered with his "Vitascope", shown in New York in 1896. This showed pictures with accompanying sound, but there was some difficulty with synchronization. Edison also experimented with captions at this early date.

In 1880 he filed a patent for a magnetic ore separator, the first of nearly sixty. He bought up deposits of low-grade iron ore which had been developed in the north of New Jersey. The process was a commercial success until the discovery of iron-rich ore in Minnesota rendered it uneconomic and uncompetitive. In 1898 cement rock was discovered in New Village, west of West Orange. Edison bought the land and started cement manufacture, using kilns twice the normal length and using half as much fuel to heat them as the normal type of kiln. In 1893 he met Henry Ford, who was building his second car, at an Edison convention. This started him on the development of a battery for an electric car on which he made over 9,000 experiments. In 1903 he sold his patent for wireless telegraphy "for a song" to Guglielmo Marconi.

In 1910 Edison designed a prefabricated concrete house. In December 1914 fire destroyed three-quarters of the West Orange plant, but it was at once rebuilt, and with the threat of war Edison started to set up his own plants for making all the chemicals that he had previously been buying from Europe, such as carbolic acid, phenol, benzol, aniline dyes, etc. He was appointed President of the Navy Consulting Board, for whom, he said, he made some forty-five inventions, "but they were pigeonholed, every one of them". Thus did Edison find that the Navy did not take kindly to civilian interference.

In 1927 he started the Edison Botanic Research Company, founded with similar investment from Ford and Firestone with the object of finding a substitute for overseas-produced rubber. In the first year he tested no fewer than 3,327 possible plants, in the second year, over 1,400, eventually developing a variety of Golden Rod which grew to 14 ft (4.3 m) in height. However, all this effort and money was wasted, due to the discovery of synthetic rubber.

In October 1929 he was present at Henry Ford's opening of his Dearborn Museum to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the incandescent lamp, including a replica of the Menlo Park laboratory. He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and was elected to the American Academy of Sciences. He died in 1931 at his home, Glenmont; throughout the USA, lights were dimmed temporarily on the day of his funeral.

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Principal Honours and Distinctions

Member of the American Academy of Sciences. Congressional Gold Medal.

Further Reading

M.Josephson, 1951, Edison, Eyre \& Spottiswode.

R.W.Clark, 1977, Edison, the Man who Made the Future, Macdonald \& Jane.

IMcN

Biographical history of technology > Edison, Thomas Alva

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