I dag er den internasjonale fredsdagen.

I den forbindelse ville det kanskje ha passet godt med en artikkel om AFS, som et glimrende eksempel på fredsfremmende arbeid, men, alas!, den artikkelen har jeg allerede skrevet.

Istedet har jeg tullet litt rundt på OED, og fant

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I. General uses.

1. a. Freedom from civil unrest or disorder; public order and security.

b. With the: the public order of a state as provided for by law.
Now esp. in institutional and personal titles.
Also (now arch.) with possessive: local public order maintained under the authority or jurisdiction specified (as the king's peace, etc.; similarly God's peace).

2. Freedom from quarrels or dissension between individuals (or, esp. in early use, between an individual and God); a state of friendliness; amity, concord.

3. a. Freedom from anxiety, disturbance (emotional, mental, or spiritual), or inner conflict; calm, tranquillity.

b. With of and the name of the organ, faculty, etc., in which such peace is considered to reside; now esp. in peace of mind.

4. a. Freedom from external disturbance, interference, or perturbation, esp. as a condition of an individual. Freq. in in peace. Also (more emphatically) peace and quiet (also peace and quietness).

b. In various expressions of well-wishing or salutation, as peace be with you, etc. (Originally in and derived from biblical use.)

5. Absence of noise, movement, or activity; stillness, quiet.
Earliest in to have one's peace: to be silent (obs.). See also sense Phrases 2.

6. a. Freedom from, absence of, or cessation of war or hostilities; the condition or state of a nation or community in which it is not at war with another; peacetime.

b. As a count noun: an agreement, ratification, or treaty of peace between two nations, communities, etc., who were previously at war. Freq. with of and the name of the place at which the treaty was ratified. Also: an interval or period of peace (now rare).

c. The personification of peace (sense 6a); the goddess of peace.

d. peace with honour n. peace maintained or secured without loss of national pride; also in extended use.

e. peace at any price peace (to be) negotiated regardless of the terms demanded.
peace-at-any-pricer rare a person who advocates a policy of seeking peace at any price.

7. With of or a possessive. A state or relation of concord and amity with a person in authority, as a monarch, lord, etc.; the good will, indulgence, or approval of such a person. Obs.

8. A person who embodies or fosters peace, harmony, concord, etc.
In later use chiefly used of Christ, freq. with allusion to Ephesians 2:14.; cf. also Prince of Peace at PRINCE n. 4b.

9. Chiefly Brit. the king's peace (also the queen's peace and variants) the protection guaranteed by the monarch to certain people, as those employed on royal business, travelling on the highway, etc. See also sense 1b and PAX ECCLESIAE n. Now hist.

10. Christian Church. Chiefly with the. Originally: the kiss of peace. In later use also: an action symbolizing or taking the place of the kiss of peace, as a light embrace, a handshake, or a bow.

II. Technical uses.

11. More fully Peace rose. With capital initial. A vigorous variety of hybrid tea rose bearing large yellow flowers shaded with pink; the flower of this plant.

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Jeg sjekket også Wikipedias artikkel om Peace, som er noe mer utfyllende enn den norske wikipedia-artikkelen om fred. Den later også til å antyde at det finnes flere forskjellige typer fred. Jeg mistenker imidlertid at Den internasjonale fredsdagen, som forøvrig også har sin egen wikipedia-artikkel, retter seg mest mot OEDs definisjon 6 a og b. Det er visstnok en våpenstillstandsdag, men jeg er usikker på hvor mange som overholder den bestemmelsen.

Etter en kort gallup innad i familien, har jeg innsett at det slett ikke er allment kjent at denne datoen betyr noe som helst. Jeg er naturlig fredelig av meg, men jeg håper nå at de av dere som ikke er det tar alt dette til etterretning og handler deretter i dag.