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Esperanto
ISAAC, and the older brother of JACOB, whose TWIN (=one of two children born at the same time) he was. Esau was very hungry and so he sold his BIRTHRIGHT (=the property or possessions that he had a right to receive from his parents) to Jacob for 'a mess of pottage', that is for some soup that Jacob had made.
es·ca·late /'eskəleɪt/ v [I;T] 1 (of war) to make or become more serious by stages: The government escalated the war by starting to bomb enemy cities. 2 to make or become higher, greater etc: The cost of living is escalating. | What started as a small difficulty has escalated into a major crisis. | High unemployment has escalated violence in the cities. | escalating inflation —lation /ˌeskə'leɪʃən/ n [U] the escalation of hostilities | the recent escalation in street violence
es·ca·la·tor /'eskəleɪtər/ also moving staircase BrE — n a set of moving stairs in an underground railway station, a large city shop, an airport etc
es·ca·lope /'eskələʊp||'skæləp/ n BrE a thin boneless piece of PORK, BEEF, or especially VEAL (=meat from a young cow) cooked in hot fat
es·ca·pade /'eskəpeɪd/ n a wild, exciting, and sometimes dangerous act or adventure, especially one that disobeys rules: just a youthful escapade
es·cape¹ /'skeɪp/ v 1 [I(from)] to get away e.g. from an enclosed space, a situation which prevents freedom of action etc; find a way out; get free: The prisoners have escaped. | They managed to escape from the burning building by breaking down the door. | The gas was escaping from a small hole in the pipe. | You're just trying to escape from reality by taking all these drugs. I an escaped prisoner (=one who has escaped) 2 [T] (of a person) to avoid (something dangerous or unpleasant): She escaped death by inches when the wall collapsed. | We go south to escape the winter. | [+v-ing] He narrowly (=only just) escaped being drowned. | There's no escaping the fact (=it must be recognized) that the government has become very unpopular. 3 [T] (of an event, fact etc) to be unnoticed or forgotten by: I'm afraid your name escapes me. (=I've forgotten it) | Nothing escaped his attention.
escape² n 1 [C;U(from, of)] (an act of) escaping: There have been several escapes from this prison recently. | The thief jumped into a car and made his escape. | She had a narrow escape (=only just avoided danger) when the wall nearly fell on her. | The explosion was caused by an escape of gas. | There's no escape from this place. (=you can't get out) → see also FIRE ESCAPE 2 [S] something that frees one from unpleasant or dull reality: I read love stories as an escape from reality. → see also ESCAPISM
es·cap·ee /ˌeskə'piː, ˌskeɪ'piː/ n a prisoner who has escaped from prison
es·cape·ment /'skeɪpmənt/ n the part of a clock or watch which controls the moving parts inside
es'cape ve·loc·i·ty n [S;U] the speed at which an object must move in order to get free from the pull of the Earth or another PLANET and not fall back
es·cap·is·m /'skeɪpɪzəm/ n [U] derog activity intended to provide escape from unpleasant or dull reality: He thinks that reading science fiction is just escapism. —ist adj, n
es·ca·pol·o·gist /ˌeskə'pɒlədɪst||-'pɑː-/ n someone who escapes from ropes, chains etc as a part of a performance —escapology n [U]
e·scarp·ment /'skɑːpmənt||-ɑːr-/ n a long cliff on a mountainside
es·cha·tol·o·gy /ˌeskə'tɒlədʒi||-'tɑː-/ n [U] (in religious, especially Christian, teaching) the study of or set of beliefs concerned with the end of the world —gical /ˌeskətə'lɒdʒɪkəl||-'lɑː-/ adj
es·cheat /ɪs'tʃiːt/ n AmE law a legal process in which someone's money and property are given to the state after they die if they do not have a WILL, or if there is nobody else with a legal right to receive their money or property
Esch·er, M. C. /'eʃər/ (1898–1970) a Dutch artist known for his very detailed drawings that trick your eyes and make you think you are seeing something that is impossible
es·chew /ɪs'tʃuː/ v [T] fml to avoid habitually, especially for moral or practical reasons: to eschew bad company/alcoholic drinks
Es·co·ri·al, Escurial, El /e'skɔːriəl||-riəl/ a former palace near Madrid, in Spain, built in the 16th century for King Philip II. The buildings include a fine church, a famous library, and a collection of art.
es·cort¹ /'eskɔːt||-ɔːrt/ n 1 [+sing./pl. v] one or more people, ships, cars, or aircraft, that go or travel with someone or something as a guard or as an honour: The prisoner travelled under (police) escort. (=with some police) | an aircraft-carrier with an escort of smaller warships 2 a social companion, especially a man who takes a woman out for the evening 3 a man or woman who is paid to go out socially with another: an escort agency
e·scort² /ɪ'skɔːt||-ɔːrt/ v [T(to)] to go with (someone) as an escort: The queen was escorted by the directors as she toured the factory. | The drunken man was escorted firmly to the door. | a group of motorcyclists escorting the presidential limousine
Es·cort /'eskɔːt||-ɔːrt/ trademark a middle-sized car made by FORD and sold especially in the UK and Europe
es·crow /'eskrəʊ/ n [U] an object, such as a written CONTRACT or document, or money, which is held by one person while an agreement between two other people is being fulfilled
e·scutch·eon /ɪ'skʌtʃən/ n a ceremonial shield on which the COAT OF ARMS (=sign) of a noble family is painted
Es·da test /'ezdə test/ n abbrev. electrostatic deposition analysis test; a scientific test used in legal cases to show in what order the pages of a document were produced. In the UK, Esda tests have proved that in certain important cases, the police lied about statements taken from people, or changed the words of the statements later.
Es·ki·mo /'eskɪməʊ/ n the old name for an INUIT (=a member of a people who live in the very cold northern part of North America). The Inuit people dislike the name Eskimo, and regard it as offensive.
CULTURAL NOTE The STEREOTYPE of an Eskimo is someone who lives in an IGLOO (=a small round house made of ice), wears furs to keep warm, and catches fish through a hole in the ice. Modern Inuit people do not live like this, however.
Eskimo 'Pie trademark a type of ICE CREAM sandwich (=ice cream served between two BISCUITS) which is covered in chocolate, sold in the US
ESL /ˌiː es 'el/ n [U] abbrev. for English as a Second Language; the teaching of English to students living in an English-speaking country
ESOL /ˌiːsɒl||-sɔːl/ especially AmE abbrev. for English for Speakers of Other Languages; English as it is taught to people whose first language is not English → compare EFL, ESL, ELT
e·soph·a·gus /ɪ'sɒfəgəs||ɪ'sɑː-/ n especially AmE for OESOPHAGUS → see picture at DIGESTIVE
es·o·ter·ic /ˌesə'terɪk , ˌɪs-/ adj unusual, secret, or mysterious and known only by a few people, especially INITIATES: esoteric knowledge/practices —ally /-kli/ adv
esp. written abbrev. for especially
ESP¹ /ˌiː es 'piː/ n [U] abbrev. for extrasensory perception; the ability to know, without being there, what has happened in the past, what will happen in the future, or what is happening somewhere else. Many people do not believe in this ability because it is difficult to prove its existence scientifically.
ESP² abbrev. for English for Special Purposes, or English for Specific Purposes; English taught to people who need to use it for a specific purpose, such as banking, nursing, or scientific study
es·pa·drille /ˌespə'drɪl||'espədrɪl/ n [C] French a light shoe that is made of cloth and rope
es·pe·cial /ɪ'speʃəl/ adj [A] fml for SPECIAL
es·pe·cial·ly /ɪ'speʃəli/ also specially adv 1 to a particularly great degree: 'Do you like chocolate?' 'Not especially.' | an especially difficult problem 2 in particular; above all: Noise is unpleasant, especially when you're trying to sleep. 3 for a particular person, purpose etc: I bought it especially for you.
Es·pe·ran·to /ˌespə'ræntəʊ/ n [U] an artificial language that was invented in 1887 and was intended to become a