Band, Bend, Bind, Bond, and Bund

Band, Bend, Bind, Bond, and Bund Band, Bend, Bind, Bond, and Bund Band, Bend, Bind, Bond, and Bund By Mark Nichol One of the joys of researching word origins and usage is discovering facts such as that the five English words formed on the frame of b_nd, with different vowels, are cognates, all stemming from a common proto-Indo-European ancestral verb meaning â€Å"restrain.† Band, meaning â€Å"a flat strip† or â€Å"something that binds,† came to refer not only to an object with either or both of those characteristics but also to an organized group of people, perhaps from the use of uniform pieces of cloth worn by affiliated warriors. This usage extended to refer to a group of musicians attached to a military unit, from which derived the use of the word for a civilian ensemble. Band is also a verb, meaning â€Å"bind† or â€Å"fasten† in one sense or â€Å"join† in another. Bend began as a verb describing fettering, or restraining of a person’s or animal’s feet, and the similar action of stringing a bow; from there it came to refer to any turning of a straight line or object and, as a noun, to a physical turn. To bind originally meant to tie something or someone up, as if to fasten or restrain, or to dress a wound, and later acquired the figurative meaning of â€Å"commit,† â€Å"oblige,† or â€Å"require.† The noun bind usually applies to the figurative sense, often with the connotation of being placed in an awkward situation, although someone may place someone else in a physical bind, as in wrestling. Bond, meanwhile, developed as a variant of band and describes physical adhesions, forces, and restraints as well as financial or legal documents, plus figurative connections, such as that described in the phrase â€Å"bonds of matrimony.† Like the related words above, it has a verb form as well. The last and least common word in this family is bund, taken directly from the German word for a confederacy or league, used in English to refer to a political organization, especially one for German-Americans, such as a pro-Nazi group that flourished before World War II. There is no verb form for this word. Also, the word describes a type of levee-type embankment often used in Asia; this term, ultimately from Persian, may be distantly related to the other terms. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Is She a "Lady" or a "Woman"?60 Synonyms for â€Å"Trip†25 Idioms with Clean

How Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Are Related

How Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Are Related Like many royal couples, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are distantly related through their royal ancestors. The practice of marrying within royal bloodlines has become less common as royaltys power is lessened. But so many in the royal family are related to each other, it would have been difficult for Princess Elizabeth to find an unrelated partner. Heres how Britains longest-reigning queen and her husband, Philip, are related. Did You Know? Elizabeth and Philip are third cousins through Queen Victoria and are also second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark. Background of the Royal Couple When Elizabeth and Philip were both born, it seemed unlikely that they would one day become the most prominent royal couple in modern history. Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, as Queen Elizabeth was named when she was born in London on April 21, 1926, was third in line for the throne behind both her father George VI and his older brother who would become Edward VIII. Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark didnt even have a country to call home. He and the royal family of Greece were exiled from that nation shortly after his birth in Corfu on June 10, 1921. Elizabeth and Philip met several times as children. They became romantically involved as young adults while Philip was serving in the British Navy during World War II. The couple announced their engagement in June 1947, and Philip renounced his royal title, converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and became a British citizen. He also changed his surname from Battenburg to Mountbatten, honoring his British heritage on his mothers side. Philip was granted the title of Duke of Edinburgh and the style of His Royal Highness on his marriage, by his new father-in-law, George VI. Queen Victoria Connection Elizabeth and Philip are third cousins through Queen Victoria of Britain, who ruled from 1837 to 1901; she was their great-great-grandmother. Philip is descended from Queen Victoria via maternal lines: Philips mother was Princess Alice of Battenburg (1885–1969), who was born at Windsor Castle. Princess Alices husband was Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (1882–1944).Princess Alices mother was Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (1863–1950). Princess Victoria was married to Prince Louis of Battenberg  (1854–1921).Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine was the daughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (1843–1878).Princess Alices mother was Queen Victoria (1819–1901). She married  Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861) in 1840. Elizabeth is a direct descendant of Queen Victoria through paternal lines: Elizabeths father was  George VI  (1895–1952). He married  Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon  (1900–2002) in 1925.George VIs father was  George V  (1865–1936). He married Mary of Teck (1867–1953) in 1893, a German princess raised in England.George Vs father was  Edward VII  (1841–1910).  He married Alexandra of Denmark (1844–1925), a Danish princess.Edward VIIs mother was  Queen Victoria  (1819–1901). She married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861) in 1840. Connection Through King Christian IX of Denmark Elizabeth and Philip are also second cousins, once removed, through King Christian IX of Denmark, who ruled from 1863 to 1906. Prince Philips father is a descendant of Christian IX: Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark  was Philips father. He was married to Princess Alice of Battenburg, listed above.George  I of Greece (1845–1913) was Prince Andrews father. He married Olga Constantinova of Russia (1851–1926) in 1867.Christian IX of Denmark (1818–1906) was George Is father. He married Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1817–1898) in 1842. Queen Elizabeths father was also a descendant of Christian IX: George VI, Elizabeths father, was the son of George V.George Vs mother was Alexandra of Denmark.Alexandras father was Christian IX. Queen Elizabeths connection to Christian IX comes through her paternal grandfather, George V, whose mother was Alexandra of Denmark. Alexandras father was King Christian IX.   More Royal Relations Queen Victoria was related to her husband, Prince Albert, as first cousins and also third cousins once removed.  They had a fertile family tree, and many of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren married into other royal families of Europe. Britains King Henry VIII (1491–1547) was married six times. All six of his wives could claim descent through Henrys ancestor, Edward I (1239–1307). Two of his wives were royal, and the other four were from the English nobility. King Henry VIII is Elizabeth IIs first cousin, 14 times removed. In the Habsburg royal family, intermarriage among close relatives was very common.  Philip II of Spain  (1572–1598), for instance, was married four times; three of his wives were related closely to him by blood. The family tree of Sebastian of Portugal (1544–1578) illustrates how intermarried the Habsburgs were: he had only four great-grandparents instead of the usual eight. Manuel I of Portugal  (1469–1521) married women who were related to each other; their descendants then intermarried.

Leading Service Firms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leading Service Firms - Essay Example They rarely allow themselves the time to try to gain an understanding of the entire marketplace context in which they compete, this means sometimes while marketing a new service to gain competitive advantage, they often overlook the research part and just introduces the service, which sometimes gives loss (Suzzane, 2004:4). Today every service firm tries to get a commanding position so that it can by having range of services, competitive distinctions, and innovations that can dictate the particular service industry in which it is competing. And it should become the future trendsetter (Suzzane, 2004:8). Each of these looking out techniques serves to give a professional service firm a reliable sounding board on which to evaluate new opportunities or threats. Collectively, they help a professional service firm to develop concrete grounding for future business decisions and new strategies (Suzzane, 2004:15). The professional service sector, whose very foundation is based on intellectual capital, has yet to apply its collective brainpower to truly dig into its marketplace. Put simply, digging deeper means doing the targeted organizational and analytical work it takes to compete more effectively. But today, despite the availability (and increasing affordability) of powerful software applications, few firms conduct formal data mining to discover the unmet needs of clients and prospects. Digging deeper means capturing, organizing, and mining valuable client data to the point that one can discern past and potential client and marketplace patterns. Research shows that most professional service firms take the easy way out on efforts to differentiate themselves, avoiding the more successful but harder initiatives. Digging deeper means going beyond image-based positioning and branding campaigns to become truly different from competitors (Suzanne, 2004:11). Embedding innovation It involves deliberately incorporating support of innovation into a firm's practices and policies. As a whole, the professional service sector relies too heavily on technology-based "knowledge management" and promotion-based "thought leadership" as platforms on which to develop new services (Suzanne, 2004:12). For every service in order to cater prospect clients and in order to retain existing ones, is always been a priority in their day-to-day business processes. Because they know it's the clients who are responsible for their cash flows and their existence. All the leading service firms market themselves by using advertisement and for that they use different media so that their message could reach to their target market. Usually an advertisement made by a service firm before it's going to be online through any media, has two objectives: To create a brand image in the clients' mind. To publicize features of services they are offering, for the prospect clients and also to provide a recall for their existing ones. Nowadays the basic purpose of advertisement is not to have a one-way communication with the