▪ I. shower, n.1
(ˈʃaʊə(r))
Forms: 1 sc{uacu}r, sceór, scyur, 3 sur, shur, 3, 5 scur, 3–4 schur, 3–7 showre, 4 shor, 4–6 schour, 4–7 schoure, shour(e, 5 pl. scoures, shure, shwre, schowr, 5–6 schowre, 5–7 shewer, 6 schower, schouer, 6–7 shewre, 7 showr, shore, 5– shower.
[OE. sc{uacu}r str. masc. (also once sc{uacu}ran wk. pl.) corresponds to OS. skûr masc., OFris. skûr fit of illness (NFris. skŷr shower, caprice), MDu. schuur (mod.Du. schoer with dialectal vowel), OHG. scûr (MHG. schûr, mod.G. schauer), OTeut. *skūro-z; also ON. sk{uacu}r fem. (but in early texts sometimes masc.), Goth. skūra fem. storm:—*skūrō. The suggested affinities are uncertain: see Uhlenbeck and Falk and Torp.]
1. a. A fall of rain, of short duration and (usually) comparatively light. Also, a similar fall of sleet or hail, rarely of snow. See also hail-shower, rain-shower, snow-shower.
In various dialects the word may be applied to a continuous fall of rain lasting for many hours.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. xii. 54 Scyur [Rushw. scur] cymeð. a 1000 Andreas 512 (Gr.) Þonne sceor cymeð. a 1000 Lambeth Psalter lxxvii. 44 Heora scuras [imbres eorum]. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 175 Storm..werpeð þat water upward and arereð shures fele. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iv. 751 The teres from hir eyen two Doun fille, as shour in Aperill. c 1407 Lydg. Reason & Sens. 6310 Holsom as the Aprile shour Fallyng on the erbes newe. 14.. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 588/48 Imber, a shure. c 1550 Cheke Matt. vii. 25 Yeer fell a greet schower. 1576 Gascoigne Droome of Doomes day Wks. 1910 II. 248 The Lord God rayned from the Lorde, (even from him selfe) not shewers nor dewe, but fyre and brimstone. 1618 J. Taylor (Water-P.) Pennyless Pilgr. C 2 b, All the day long it rayned but one showre. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 21 May 1645, After a showre has fall'n. 1759 Johnson Idler No. 49 ¶5 A shower beating against his windows. 1817 G. Rose Diaries (1860) I. 42, I was overtaken by a shower. 1907 W. Ewing Arab & Druze v. 63 A light shower drifted down the valley. |
| fig. c 1580 Sidney Ps. vii. i, O, save me from this persecutions show'r. 1663 Patrick Parab. Pilgrim xxx. (1687) 351 It pleased God so to order it, that this cloud [of indisposition] was cast about him without any showre. 1868 Morris Earthly Par. Prol. (1890) 19/2 We..knew the lot of all men should be ours, A chequered day of sunshine and of showers. |
b. Followed by qualification
of rain,
of hail, etc.
| a 1300 Floriz. & Bl. 272 He..gan Blauncheflur bimene Wiþ teres rive as a scur of rene. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 1937 Of snowe was fallen aschour. 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. xv. 15 With schouris Of hailstaines, snaw, and sleit! c 1620 A. Hume Brit. Tongue 10 A shour of hael. 1678 Wood Life (O.H.S.) II. 412 A vast shore of raine. 1807 P. Gass Jrnl. 181 Some showers of snow fell in the course of the day. 1825 T. Hook Sayings Ser. ii. Passion & Princ. ix. III. 153 Strong gusts of wind, accompanied by fleeting showers of rain. |
c. In extended use: A copious downfall of anything coming or supposed to come from the clouds or sky: in recent use often of meteors.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 227 So fro heuen to helle þat hatel schor laste. 1562 Legh Armorie (1591) 16 b, Son of the high Ioue begotten vppon Danae shadowed in the golden shower. 1643 Baker Chron., Hen. II, 79 A showre of Blood Rained in the Isle of Wight two houres together. 1829 Chapters Phys. Sci. 433 The sky was overcast at mid-day with clouds of ashes, the showers of which covered every thing to the depth of several inches. 1835, 1856 Meteoric showers [see meteoric a. 3]. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 189 The solid materials are shot forth into the air and fall in showers around the mouth of the orifice. |
d. A dust-storm:
freq. qualified by a place-name.
Austral.| 1898 E. E. Morris Austral Eng. 115/1 Darling Shower, a local name in the interior of Australia, and especially on the River Darling, for a dust storm, caused by cyclonic winds. 1903 ‘T. Collins’ Such is Life (1944) 329 (heading) Wilcannia shower. Ibid. 331 The steady intensity of the shower augmented as I went on... The increasing broadside pressure, with the sand and dust, was becoming too much for the horses. 1933 A. B. Paterson Animals Noah Forgot 36 The Bogan shower, that is mostly dust. 1949 Geogr. Mag. Feb. 373 Duststorms are called, in various parts of the country as indicated by the change in operative names, Darling shower, Cobar shower, Bedourie shower and Wilcannia shower. |
e. In
prov. phr. I didn't come down in the last shower, indicating that one is not inexperienced, or not so raw as to be easily fooled. Chiefly
Austral.| [1906 ‘T. Collins’ Rigby's Romance (1946) 256 He didn't come down with the las' rain. Pity that sort of bloke ever dies.] 1944 L. Glassop We were Rats 51 I'm awake-up, I am... I didden come down in the last shower. 1951 F. Hardy Power without Glory 259 ‘It's no use lying to me, Arty,’ John West said. ‘I didn't come down in the last shower.’ a 1966 ‘M. na Gopaleen’ Best of Myles (1968) 277 No damn fear. I didn't come down in the last shower. 1971 B. Vernon Big Day at Bellbird 135, I didn't come down in the last shower, and neither did you. |
f. A group or crowd (of people). Usu.
derog., a pitiful collection or rabble.
slang.| 1942 G. Kersh Nine Lives Bill Nelson ii. 13 I've seen him with some of the lousiest showers of rooks you ever saw in your life. 1958 A. Hackney Private Life xiv. 139 That unit was an absolute shower. 1962 ‘H. Calvin’ System xiii. 176, I bet none of your shower ever even looked at Challen and his mob. 1967 M. Procter Exercise Hoodwink xiv. 100 ‘Have you still got the same shower in your lot?’ ‘Mainly. One or two new faces.’ 1973 Observer 1 Apr. 13/3 Some of the people who go out with the hounds these days are a shower... We can't have people turning up as if they have been wearing the same pyjamas for a month. 1978 L. Davidson Chelsea Murders i. v. 29 It's a group. What I was thinking..the Manson shower. |
g. A term of mild abuse used of one person as
opp. to a group.
slang.| 1949 M. Leigh Cross of Fire iv. 71 You bat-eyed, buttock-brained..shower! 1959 S. Gibbons Pink Front Door ii. 23 Hasn't he [sc. a baby] lain down yet? He is a little shower. 1966 O. Norton School of Liars iv. 63 I'm of finer stuff, personally. I don't know why I waste my time playing with a shower like you. 1973 ‘P. Alding’ Field of Fire xv. 123 ‘You're a right shower,’ said Welland. |
2. a. transf. A copious fall or discharge of water or other liquid in drops. Often of tears; hence
poet. a shower of
grief,
sorrow, etc.
† to make showers: to weep.
| a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 2048 Sike scoures were of blude..Þat foles ferd in þe flosches to þe feterlakis. 1638 Heywood Wise Wom. iv. ii. G 2, Shall I the shower of all my griefe at once Power out before you? 1663 Patrick Parab. Pilgrim xxvii. (1687) 302 It was not possible so to repress them [tears], but that all concluded in a plentiful showre. 1818 Shelley Rosal. 1271 Rosalind..wept A shower of burning tears, which fell upon His face. 1846 Mrs. Kirkland West. Clearings 25 This brought only another shower of tears. 1859 R. Hunt Guide Mus. Pract. Geol. (ed. 2) 233 This is effected by passing showers of water through the flue by which the [lead] fumes escape. 1874 Crookes Dyeing & Calico-Printing 655 Stuffs, previous to finishing, are moistened with an extremely fine shower, produced by allowing water to descend through a sieve of silk. |
b. poet. Of light, sound, etc.
| 1781 Cowper Retirem. 350 The stars that, sprinkled o'er the vault of night, Seem drops descending in a show'r of light. 1820 Shelley To Maria Gisborne 70 When from the moist moon rains The inmost shower of its white fire. 1840 R. S. Hawker Cornish Ballads, etc. (1908) 73 What showers of gold the sunbeams rain! |
c. Short for
shower-bath. (Now the more usual term.)
| 1873 ‘Mark Twain’ & Warner Gilded Age xxxiii. 308 He has fell back on hot foot-baths at night and cold showers in the morning. 1889 Gunter That Frenchman iii. 24 You forgot to put the ice in the shower, Fran{cced}ois; it is hardly bracing enough. 1930 P. Macdonald Link xi. 218, I had a shower and rammed on some clothes. 1953 R. Lehmann Echoing Grove 48 Must have a shower. I've been in a muck sweat all day. 1973 J. Wainwright Pride of Pigs 59 The bathroom..was small, but lush..with..a bidet and a corner shower. |
d. Pyrotechny. A device for producing a shower of small slow-burning ‘stars’, which fall from a rocket.
| 1839 [see golden a. 10]. 1866 Chamb. Encycl. VIII. 35/2 Yellow stars and yellow showers are made of nitre [etc.]. |
e. N.Z. (See
quot. 1943.)
| 1943 J. A. W. Bennett in Amer. Speech XVIII. 86 A shower is..a light decorated covering spread over cups and saucers set out on a tray or table. 1957 J. Frame Owls do Cry i. vi. 24 Parcels from the handwork sale, tablerunners and tea-showers in lazy-daisy and chain and shadow stitch. 1967 F. Sargeson Hangover xiv. 108 All was out of sight beneath a large and snowy fabric..—the kind of gossamer thing he could remember his mother had coveted many years ago in a shop window and described as a shower. |
3. fig. a. A copious or liberal supply bestowed.
| 13.. K. Horn 334 (Harl.) Shame þe mote by shoure ant euel hap to vnderfonge. c 1460 Play of Sacrament 664 in Non-Cycle Mystery Plays 78 Of thy gret mercy lett vs receyue þe showre. 1616 Breton Invect. agst. Treason (Grosart) 3/2 Our gratious King, on whome y⊇ King of Grace, hath rayn'd a shewre of his æternall graces. 1748 Gray Alliance 18 Light golden Showers of Plenty o'er the Land. 1751 Affect. Narr. of Wager 39 The Sailors,..poured upon them a very plenteous Shower of hard Names and Execrations. 1803 Wordsw. To Highland Girl, Sweet Highland Girl, a very shower Of beauty is thy earthly dower! 1817 Jas. Mill Brit. India vi. i. III. 21 The revenues, from which so many showers of emolument fell. 1888 Burgon Lives 12 Gd. Men i. iv. 405 Hawkins's election..was the signal for a shower of interesting letters of hearty congratulation. |
b. An abundance of gifts of a similar kind presented by guests at a party to celebrate
esp. a wedding or birth; a party given for this purpose. Also
attrib. Also as second element in
kitchen shower s.v. kitchen n. 7,
linen shower s.v. linen n. 5,
wedding shower, etc.
U.S.| 1904 Grand Rapids (Michigan) Even. Press 22 June 4 The ‘shower parties’ that through mistaken hospitality the wedded couple are forced to attend. 1926 Publishers' Weekly 26 June 2031/1 First comes June, then the showers, the wedding and after the honeymoon the settling down to a home life. 1949 Los Angeles Times Home Mag. 8 May 14/3 Wedding showers..are a particularly warmhearted American custom. 1958 Even. Standard 10 Apr. 8/2 A shower..is really a gift-giving party centred round a luncheon, tea or supper party. 1978 J. Carroll Mortal Friends iv. ii. 394 She didn't explain, but implied that she wanted to discuss her trousseau and her silver and china patterns and the sort of showers she would want. |
4. a. A copious fall or flight of solid objects,
esp. of missiles. Also of blows.
| a 1000 Judith 221 (Gr.) Hie ða fromlice leton forð fleoᵹan flana scuras. a 1000 Elene 117. 1375 Barbour Bruce xiii. 43 The arrowis als so thik thai flaw,..That thai ane hydwiss schour can ma. 1508 Dunbar Golden Targe 195 The schour of arowis rappit on as rayn. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent 291 They..made it raine suche a shoure of clubbes and coulestaues vpon the Monks Copes, cowles, & Crownes, that [etc.]. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 283 We could hear showers of Bullets batter against the Ships sides. 1736 Gray Statius i. 18 Batter Cadmus' walls with stony showers. 1827 Faraday Chem. Manip. vi. (1842) 184 The breaking of the bubbles will throw up a shower of particles. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 115 They were received with a shower of stones. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxxiii, A shower of blows. 1877 M. M. Grant Sun-Maid viii, And the leaves were falling in a crimson and russet shower all over the ground. |
b. Physics. A number of high-energy particles appearing together;
spec. a group generated in the atmosphere by cosmic radiation.
| 1933 Proc. R. Soc. A. CXXXIX. 702 Particles of great energy are thrown backwards in a direction nearly opposite to that of the incident shower. 1947 Sci. News IV. 125 Sixty-five Geiger-Muller counters have been used to follow the direction of some of the rays and establish the width of one shower. 1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. III. 498/1 The electrons and photons of such showers are referred to as the soft component of the atmospheric (secondary) cosmic rays, reaching a maximum intensity at an atmospheric depth of 150–200 g/cm2. 1977 J. Narlikar Struct. Universe iii. 99 These showers contain particles produced after the cosmic rays have interacted with the atoms of the atmosphere. |
† 5. a. A conflict, combat, battle, assault, attack. Also, an attack of pain; a pang, throe.
Obs. Very common in
ME.| c 1220 Bestiary 281 We sulen hunger hauen and harde sures. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 6820 Þer myghte men se on boþe partys A scharp schour by-twyxten enemys. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 3939 In bataile..Hym leuere is to suffre dethes schour, Than cowardly and schamefully flee. c 1420 ? Lydg. Assembly of Gods 732 For he was lyke to endure that day A gret mortall shoure..With Vyce. a 1513 Fabyan Chron. vii. (1811) 399 The Englisshmen susteyned many harde showres in Gascoyne & Guyan. c 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. (S.T.S.) 117 Ȝe, hardest..To him has felt of deith the schouris. 1637 Rutherford Lett. (1664) 257 It cost Christ and all his followers sharp showers and hot sweats, ere they won to the top of the mountain. |
† b. spec. in
pl. Labour-pains.
Obs.| 14.. Athelston 636 (Zupitza) Harde schourys þenne took her stronge Boþe in bak and eek in wombe. a 1598 Rollock Lect. Passion xx. Wks. 1844 II. 230 It shall come upon them suddenly, even as the showres and dolor come on a woman who is travailing in birth. a 1800 Fair Janet & Sweet Will. iii. in Child Ballads II. 105/1 Till sharp, sharp showers fair Janet took, She grew sick and like to die. |
6. attrib. and
Comb., as
a. shower-cloak,
shower-coat;
shower-like,
shower-producing,
† shower-raised,
shower-shedding,
† shower-swelled adjs.;
shower-bouquet, ‘a large bouquet from which many small bouquets depend by ribbons of various lengths’ (Webster 1911);
shower-cloud, a cumulo-nimbus cloud (see
quot. 1910); see also
shower-bath.
b. (sense 2 c)
shower-cap,
shower shoe;
shower box N.Z.,
= next;
shower cubicle, a cubicle containing a shower;
shower curtain, a waterproof curtain separating the shower from the rest of the room;
shower head, a rose or nozzle from which the water issues in a shower;
shower-room, a room housing one or more showers;
shower stall U.S. = shower cubicle above;
shower unit, a shower or the principal apparatus of a shower.
| 1892 Star 25 Feb. 1/7 They carried *shower bouquets composed entirely of lilies of the valley. |
| 1965 F. Sargeson Memoirs of Peon vii. 201 Beyond that a *shower-box of such microscopic dimensions. 1977 N.Z. Herald 5 Jan. 2–16/8 (Advt.), Must be good value, with..shower box, basement garage plus carport. |
| 1964 Punch 19 Feb. 289/1 *Shower-cap and bath-towel. 1972 R. K. Smith Ransom iii. 125 She..stepped into the shower, remembering only at the last minute to slip on a shower cap. |
| 1893 Daily News 29 June 6/1 Her grey *shower-cloak hid her dress. |
| 1886 A. W. Clayden in Q. Jrnl. R. Meteorol. Soc. Apr. 102 On the Thickness of *Shower Clouds. 1910 ― in Encycl. Brit. VI. 559/1 Cumulo-nimbus (Cu.-N.), The Thunder-cloud; Shower-cloud—Heavy masses of clouds, rising in the form of mountains, turrets, or anvils, generally having a sheet or screen of fibrous appearance above (false cirrus) and underneath a mass of cloud similar to nimbus. |
| 1964 Punch 14 Oct. p. xiii, Rainwear shop..includes velvet *showercoats. 1976 Evening Standard 29 Dec. (Advt.), Quelrayn showercoats, fleecey lined. |
| 1966 P. O'Donnell Sabre-Tooth iii. 56 She..padded into the big *shower-cubicle. |
| 1938 L. Bemelmans Life Class ii. iv. 158 He was inside his *shower-curtain, whistling. 1974 Hawkey & Bingham Wild Card xviii. 145 She pulled aside the shower curtains and leaned out. |
| 1967 Gloss. Sanitation Terms (B.S.I.) 44 *Shower head, a water fitting, for use in a shower bath, from which water issues as a film or spray. 1978 R. Nixon Mem. 369 The shower in the President's private bathroom in the Residence..consisted of half a dozen different jets and showerheads. |
| 1893 Times 8 May 10/5 Weather dull and *shower like. |
| 1621 G. Sandys Ovid's Met. vii. (1626) 136 Men, if Fame say true, Here at the first from *shower-raysed mushrumps grew. |
| 1939 ‘E. Queen’ Mind Over Matter in Blue Book Oct. 21/2 The crowd was so dense it overflowed into the adjoining *shower-room. 1951 Good Housek. Home Encycl. 20/2 The ideal is of course to have a separate ‘shower room’. 1965 F. Sargeson Memoirs of Peon iv. 90 He..was washing his hands at a basin in the far corner of the shower-room. 1975 W. Craig Strasbourg Legacy (1976) i. 8 Hoess, the commandant at Auschwitz,..refused to take credit for killing three million inmates. He had been on leave of absence while a portion of them died in the shower rooms. |
| 1800 J. Hurdis Fav. Village 122 The cloud immense, whose *shower-shedding folds Have all day dwelt upon a deluged world. |
| 1960 Amer. Speech XXV. 264 From the verb edewa [sc. ‘come here’], sandals or *shower shoes were generally called edewa shoes. 1978 Sat. Even. Post July/Aug. 105/1 (Advt.), Swim sneaks. All-rubber bathing and shower shoes. Sure-footed protection on rocks, decks, or shower floors. |
| 1956 ‘E. McBain’ Cop Hater (1958) ix. 81 The café still served as a sort of no-man's-land..served the same purpose as the *shower stall does in a honeymoon suite. 1975 J. F. Burke Death Trick (1976) ii. 12 He took a quick look in the bathroom, noted that the shower stall was wet. |
| 1627 May Lucan i. (1631) 8 The streame *showre-swell'd The marches ore. |
| 1973 Times 15 Dec. 3/1 (Advt.), *Shower Units, Taps, Mixers, Splashbacks. |
▪ II. shower, n.2 (
ˈʃəʊə(r))
Forms: 1
scéawere,
scéawre, (
scéware), 2
scawere, 3
scheauware, 3–4
shewere, 4
Kent.
sseawere, 4–5
schewer(e, 5–
schewar,
schoer,
scewre, 6
Sc. scheware, (
schawar), 4–9
shewer, 6–
shower.
[OE. scéawere, agent noun from scéawian to show; cf. OHG. scauwâri (MHG. schouwære, mod.G. schauer) looker, spectator, watchman, etc. In later times formed afresh on show v. + -er1.] † 1. One who looks out, observes, or inspects; an observer; a scout or spy; a watchman.
OE.| Beowulf 253 Lease sceaweras. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 117 Episcopus is grekisc noma..and is on englisc scawere. |
† 2. A mirror.
Obs.| c 1000 Homily in Napier Contrib. OE. Lexicogr. 55 Nu we men geseoð swylce þurh sceawere & on rædelse [= 1 Cor. xiii. 12]. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 29 Þe wimman bihalt hire sheawere and cumeð hire shadewe þaronne. a 1225 Ancr. R. 92 Ᵹe schulen, ase ine scheauware, iseon ure Lefdi mid hire meidenes. 13.. Poem Times Edw. II, xvi. (Percy Soc.) 8 He putteth in hys pawtener A kerchyf and a comb, A shewer, and a coyf. |
3. One who shows, points out, or exhibits.
| 13.. K. Alis. 18 For Caton seith, thes gode techere ‘Other monis lif is owre schewere [Laud. MS. shewer, Lat. magistra]. c 1400 Apol. Loll. (Camden) 60 Noyþer þe deposing of þe witnes, nor þe sentens ȝeuing of þe juge,..makiþ not man synful, ne worþi to be dead; syn þei are but schewars & witnessars. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 187 God toke hom to hym yn ensampull to al oþer, and made hom as a schoer to al oþer synfull. 1484 Certificate in Surtees Misc. (1890) 41 Where trewth is..set oparte froym the scewres of right. 1511–2 Act 3 Hen. VIII, c. 10. §1 The oder halfe to the taker fynder or shewer of the same. 1586 J. Melvill in Calderwood's Hist. Kirk (1843) IV. 522 The rebooker and shower thee of thy vice. 1680 H. More Apocal. Apoc. 333 It is the Angel that is the shower of the whole scene of this vision. 1810 Lamb Let. to Hazlitt 9 Aug., Perhaps they [sc. the pictures] are shown separately to put another fee into the shower's pocket. 1859 Boyd Recreat. Country Parson ii. 61 In compassion for human weakness, the Great Director and Shower of events practises the Art of Putting Things. 1868 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. Ser. ii. IV. ii. 283 The breeders of Herefords have always been keen showers. 1899 Daily News 11 Apr. 6/3 Deceased..was for some time a shower in the State apartments [at Windsor Castle]. |
b. Scots Law. One of the two men who are appointed by the court to accompany the jurors or viewers when a view of the property which the cause relates to is allowed.
| 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. s.v. Viewer, The premises are pointed out to them by two persons, named by the Court, usually on the joint suggestion of the parties, and technically called shewers. |
c. With
off.
| 1823 Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) I. 384 Mr. Buxton figured here, also Lord Suffield, who appear to have been the two principal actors, or showers-off. |
† 4. Something which shows; an indicator; an indicative symptom (of a disease).
Obs.| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xii. 153 (Rawl. MS.), It [the star] schon to [þe] schepherdes a schewer [1393 C. xv. 96 shewere] of blisse. 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 383/2 He meaneth y{supt}..ye sacrament is no cause thereof..nor instrument therin, but only a bare signyfier and a shewer therof. 1561 Eden tr. Cortes' Art Navig. iii. xi. 78 In the ioynte of the two halfe cyrcles..muste be a poynte (called the Index or shewer) whiche shall shewe..the degrees that the pole is raysed aboue the Horizon. 1572 J. Jones Bathes of Bathes Ayde Ep. Ded. 3 Withall the signes shewers of the state of the sicke and whole. 1668 Culpeper & Cole Barthol. Anat. iv. i. 160 The second [finger] is cal'd Index and Demonstrator, the shewer, or pointer. |
5. An animal that ‘shows’ well or otherwise, that makes a (good or bad) display of its qualities.
| 1893 Kennel Gaz. Aug. 215/2 An indifferent shower. Ibid. 217/3 He is a smart shower, and a well-made dog. |
▪ III. shower, v. (
ˈʃaʊə(r))
Also 6
shoure,
shewre, 6–7
showr(e, 7
shou'r.
[f. shower n.1] 1. intr. To rain in a shower, or in showers.
† Also with
out. Chiefly
impers.;
occas. said
† of a cloud.
| 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 30 If great she [the moon] appereth, it showreth out, If small she appereth, it signifieth drout. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. viii. 48 The cloudes..fiercely then begin to shoure. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 193 It continued showring by intervals, with great Thunder-Claps, till half an hour after six. 1891 Stevenson Vailima Lett. (1895) 75 It showered all afternoon and poured heavy and loud all night. |
2. To fall down in a shower or showers, or as a shower of rain.
a. Of water (
esp. tears), or other material things. Often with
down,
on, etc.
| 1582 Stanyhurst æneis iv. (Arb.) 108 At my tears showring dyd he sigh? dyd he winck with his eyelyd? 1601 Weever Mirr. Mart. E iiij, Teares from her eies did shower. 1683 Apol. Prot. France ii. 12 Instead of having the Heavenly Mannah shower down at the Doors of their Tabernacles. 1717 Berkeley Vesuvius in Phil. Trans. XXX. 711 Ashes continually shower'd on us all the way from the Sea-Coast. 1830 Tennyson Sea-Fairies 10 Down shower the gambolling waterfalls From wandering over the lea. 1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 155 The sparks showering off as if from a catherine-wheel. 1910 J. Aitken in Encycl. Brit. VIII. 714/2 These [dust particles] when showering down as rain tend to wash the others out of the atmosphere. |
b. fig. Of immaterial things.
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, v. i. 47 It rain'd downe Fortune showring on your head. 1633 Brome North. Lass v. ii. K 3, Sir, all the accumulations of honour showre downe vpon you. 1732 Berkeley Serm. to S.P.G. Wks. III. 249 The Divine grace will no longer shower down on our obdurate hearts. 1821 J. W. Croker Diary (1884) 4 Aug., Visits and invitations shower upon one. 1912 Standard 20 Sept. 7/6 Thousands of congratulatory messages have showered upon the happy pair from all parts of the world. |
3. a. trans. To pour down or discharge in a shower or showers; to send down or pour out in abundance and rapidly. Often with
down,
† out, etc.
| 1582 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 52, I..salt tears dolfulye showred. 1594 Daniel Cleopatra i. ii. 73 And vp they hoise the swounding body there Of pale Antonius showring out his blood. 1635 A. Stafford Fem. Glory (1869) 147 Presume not thou to number what her eyes Showre forth in tears. 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 43 The Clowds shower there continually an insalubrious moisture. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. l. V. 198 A miraculous flight of birds, who showered down stones on the heads of the infidels. 1807 J. Hall Trav. Scot. II. 458 They would have hissed him, and showered rotten eggs at his head. 1832 Tennyson Godiva 42 She shook her head and shower'd the rippled ringlets to her knee. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. x. 65 The clouds..showered their liquid spheres down upon us. 1869 H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey II. 331 Sugar-plums..are showered..by friends over the bride. 1878 Susan Phillips On Seaboard 109 Does the crab-tree shower down Perfumed snow for treading? |
b. fig. With immaterial obj: To bestow lavishly.
| c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. cxxxiv, All blessing you accompany, From him in plenty showered. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, i. iv. 63, I showre a welcome on yee: welcome all. 1741 Watts Improv. Mind i. v. (1801) 56 Let not little critics..shower down their ill-nature upon him. 1838 Thirlwall Greece xl. V. 124 The royal bounty was largely showered upon him. 1889 Godkin in Ogden Life (1907) II. 156 They all showered invitations upon me which, alas! I cannot accept. |
† c. absol. To weep; to shed tears. Also to bestow gifts in abundance.
Obs. rare.
| 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. v. 131 What still in teares? Euermore showring..? 1667 Milton P.L. v. 637 Th' all bounteous King, who showrd With copious hand. |
4. a. To water with or as with a shower; to wet copiously with rain or with water in drops or spray;
transf. to cover or strew as with rain. Also
fig.| 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 152 When God hath showrd the earth. Ibid. xi. 879 Or serve they as a flourie verge to binde The fluid skirts of that same watrie Cloud, Least it again dissolve and showr the Earth? 1819 Keats Otho v. v. 89 Ladies..bright In silks, with spangles shower'd. 1891 Century Dict. s.v., To shower plants from a watering⁓pot; to shower one's head in bathing; to shower a convict as a punishment. 1895 R. W. Chambers King in Yellow (1909) 128 The gorse scraped against my leggings..showering the brown earth with blossoms. 1900 A. Black Even. & Morn. iii. 60 In the midst of our hot and dusty world this garden stands and heaven itself showers it and fans it. |
b. intr. To have a shower. Rarely
refl. or trans., to give (oneself or someone) a shower (
shower n.1 2 c).
| 1930 U. Parrott Strangers may Kiss 196 He..asked if he could do anything helpful about dinner, and when she said ‘no’, went to shower himself. 1939 R. Chandler Big Sleep xxii. 213, I shaved and showered and dressed. 1948 Sun (Baltimore) 1 Oct. 15/4 Jockeys..had to shower before donning silks for their next riding assignment. 1956 K. Hulme Nun's Story viii. 128 Time to shower and put on a fresh guimpe. 1966 T. Pynchon Crying of Lot 49 v. 115 The executive undressed, showered and hung his suit out on the line to dry. 1977 Listener 7 Apr. 446/2 The condemned man..will have been showered and then been dressed in his brown burial suit. 1978 R. Ludlum Holcroft Covenant xiii. 153 Holcroft showered, shaved, put the soiled clothes in a hamper outside the door, and called the car-rental agency. |
Hence
ˈshowered ppl. a.| 1848 W. R. Williams Lord's Prayer iv. (1854) 251 Stephen praying for his murderers amid the showered stones that fall and bruise him. 1953 A. Upfield Murder must Wait xxiv. 209 Shaved, showered and dressed, Boney sat at his desk. 1971 D. E. Westlake I gave at Office (1972) 139 Dressed in..new clothes..showered, fed beef stew and beer, my basic optimism..began slowly to rise. |
▪ IV. shower obs. variant of
sewer n.2