5 definitions by tree girl
A literal explination for raining cats and dogs is that during heavy rains in 17-century England some city streets became raging rivers of filth carrying many dead cats and dogs. The first printed use of the phrase does date to the 17th centurey, when English playwright Richard Brome wrote in The City Witt (1652): "It shall rain dogs and polecats." His use of "polecats" certainly suggests a less literal explination , but no better theory has been offered. Other conjectures are the the hyperbole comes from a Greek saying, similar in sound, meaning "an unlikely occurrence," and that the phrase derives from a rare French word, catadoupe ("a waterfall"), which sounds a little like cats and dogs. It could also be that the expression was inspired by the fact that cats and dogs were closely associated witht the rain and wind the Northern mythology, dogs often being pictured as the attendants of Odin the strom god, while cats were believed to cause storms. Similar colloquial expressions include it's raining pirchforks, darning needles, hammer handles, chicken coops, and men.
by tree girl May 12, 2005
Abyss is one of the few English words that derive from Sumerian, the world's first written language, which evolved some 5000 years ago in the lower Tigris and Euphrates Valley of what is now called Iraq. The word came into English in the late 14th century from the latin word abyssus, meaning "bottomless, the deep," but has been traced ultimately to the primordial sea that the Sumerians called the Abuzu.
by tree girl May 12, 2005
French Protestants called Huguenots, who fled to England in 1685 after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, were the first people to be called refugees. The word derives from the French refugier, "to take refuge."
by tree girl May 12, 2005
A poor, white, often rowdy southerner, usually one from a rural area. The word, which is sometimes deragatory, has its origins in the sunburned necks of farmers and outdoor laborers, and originally meant a poor farmer.
by tree girl May 12, 2005
Aces has been American slang for "the best" at least since the first years of this century, deriving from aces, the highest cards in poker and other card games. But ace for an expert combat flier who has shot down five or more enemy planes appears to have been borrowed from the French as, "ace," during World War 1. From there ace was extended to include an expert at anything. The card name ace comes ultimately from the Greek 'as, one.
by tree girl May 12, 2005