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Sir Henry Wooton's famous description of the fire at the Globe Theatre in 1613 contains the line: "...it kindled inwardly, and ran round like a train, consuming within less than an hour the whole house to the very ground." What does "train" refer to? There were no railway trains then, and wagon trains and the trains of dresses don't move quickly. 87.194.239.235 ( talk) 00:12, 16 January 2010 (UTC)
Thank you for your answers. I think that the gunpowder meaning is best, but the other possibilities are very interesting. 87.194.239.235 ( talk) 12:49, 16 January 2010 (UTC)
No, it's a different meaning of "train" (although at the moment I'm too lazy to look it up in my OED). For example, "train" can also mean "following" or "retinue" in some contexts, and is still used to describe the end of a very long bridal veil (think of pages holding up Princess Di's) or coronation gown (ditto for her mother-in-law's in 1953). It's something (as in the comet's tail example above) that follows something else. —— Shakescene ( talk) 22:31, 17 January 2010 (UTC)
Can I get a translation of the description for this image? Thanks. bibliomaniac 1 5 03:54, 16 January 2010 (UTC)
Language desk | ||
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< January 15 | << Dec | January | Feb >> | January 17 > |
Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives |
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The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages. |
Sir Henry Wooton's famous description of the fire at the Globe Theatre in 1613 contains the line: "...it kindled inwardly, and ran round like a train, consuming within less than an hour the whole house to the very ground." What does "train" refer to? There were no railway trains then, and wagon trains and the trains of dresses don't move quickly. 87.194.239.235 ( talk) 00:12, 16 January 2010 (UTC)
Thank you for your answers. I think that the gunpowder meaning is best, but the other possibilities are very interesting. 87.194.239.235 ( talk) 12:49, 16 January 2010 (UTC)
No, it's a different meaning of "train" (although at the moment I'm too lazy to look it up in my OED). For example, "train" can also mean "following" or "retinue" in some contexts, and is still used to describe the end of a very long bridal veil (think of pages holding up Princess Di's) or coronation gown (ditto for her mother-in-law's in 1953). It's something (as in the comet's tail example above) that follows something else. —— Shakescene ( talk) 22:31, 17 January 2010 (UTC)
Can I get a translation of the description for this image? Thanks. bibliomaniac 1 5 03:54, 16 January 2010 (UTC)