A possible war with Iraq will make many unfamiliar words part of our everyday vocabulary. Here are some words likely to be in the news:

Anthrax: A potentially fatal disease that exists naturally in livestock, but can be used as a biological weapon. Symptoms for different types of anthrax include skin ulcers, fever, abdominal pain and vomiting, severe breathing problems and shock.

Baath: The political party that Saddam Hussein heads, which is the only party in Iraq.

Baghdad: The capital of Iraq, located in the center of the country, on the Tigris River. Its estimated population is about 5.7 million.

Collateral damage: A military term used to describe people, animals or property that are harmed unintentionally, either because they are close to the intended target or because they were struck instead of the intended target.

Conventional warhead: An explosive device in a bomb or missile that is not nuclear.

Crusade: A reference to one of several wars launched by Christians in Europe to take control of Jerusalem and nearby areas considered sacred to them, Muslims and Jews. Often used by Westerners to mean a noble battle or effort, it is an offensive term to Muslims in the Middle East.

Friendly fire: A situation in which troops are killed or wounded by other troops from their own side.

Jihad: An Arabic word that means to strive, struggle or exert oneself in the quest for Islamic faith. It is sometimes used by Westerners to mean a holy war, particularly against non-Muslims, but Islamic scholars say the primary meaning involves a person's inner struggle for faith.

Kurds: A group of people who live in areas throughout the Middle East but have no country of their own, they make up about 19 percent of the population in Iraq. They are Muslims, although they speak a different language and have different traditions than the Arabs who make up the majority of Iraqis.

Material breach: A significant mistake, omission or failure to follow an agreement. The United States argues that Iraq is in material breach of United Nations resolutions for making false statements about the presence of banned weapons or failing to disclose that it possessed banned weapons.

Republican Guard: The highest trained, best equipped unit of the Iraqi Army.

Sarin: A chemical commonly called nerve gas that can be used as a weapon. It causes death in high doses, or dizziness, diarrhea and loss of muscle control at lower levels. Some military experts believe Saddam Hussein's troops may have used sarin against the Kurds in his own country during the Iran-Iraq war.

Scud: An Iraqi surface-to-surface missile, that is, one launched from the ground at a target on the ground. The term comes from the word the U.S. and its European allies originally used for Soviet missiles.