nathan hale

3 definitions found

nathan hale - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  Nathan Hale
      n 1: a soldier of the American Revolution who was hanged as a
           spy by the British; his last words were supposed to have
           been `I only regret that I have but one life to give for my
           country' (1755-1776) [syn: Hale, Nathan Hale]

nathan hale - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  Nathan Hale
  
     <character> An asterisk ("*", see also splat, ASCII).
     Notionally, from "I regret that I have only one asterisk for
     my country!" ("life to give" -> "ass to risk" -> "asterisk"),
     a misquote of the famous remark uttered by Nathan Hale just
     before he was hanged.  Hale was a (failed) spy for the rebels
     in the American War of Independence.
  
     [Jargon File]
  
     (1996-09-22)
  

nathan hale - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  Nathan Hale
   n.
  
     An asterisk (see also splat, ASCII). Oh, you want an etymology?
     Notionally, from "I regret that I have only one asterisk for my
     country!", a misquote of the famous remark uttered by Nathan Hale
  just
     before he was hanged. Hale was a (failed) spy for the rebels in the
     American War of Independence.