Search Result for "nathan hale":
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (1)

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]


WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

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]
The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 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.
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

Nathan Hale 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)