Etymologically
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shower

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈʃaʊ.ə/, US /ˈʃaʊ.ɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English shour, inherited from Old English scūr (“short fall of rain; storm; fall of missiles”),[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *skūraz.[2][3] Old Norse skúr, German Schauer and Gothic skūra “storm” are related,[2][4] and outside Germanic perhaps Latin caurus “northwest wind” and Lithuanian šiaurys “north wind”, from a root meaning “north, north wind”.[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A short fall of rain: about 950 in the OED, in the Lindisfarne Gospels.[6][3] In Old English it could also mean a fall of missiles or blows.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

By Middle English a shower was any plentiful fall or supply: of tears from the 14th century,[4] of blood and tears from about 1400 in Etymonline,[2] of gifts and plenty from about 1325.[3] A meteor shower is from 1835.[2] The verb, to fall in showers, is from 1573.[6][3] A bath in which water falls from above is from 1851, short for shower-bath (1803),[2][3] and the verb to shower, to take one, is by 1930.[2][6] In American English a shower was a large number of gifts for a bride (1904), and then the party at which they were given (1926).[2][3] In Australia it has meant a dust storm (1898),[6] and in British slang a contemptible group of people (1942).[6]

Timeline

  • c. 950 – a fall of rain.[6]
  • c. 1325 – a plentiful supply.[3]
  • 1573 – verb, to rain in showers.[6]
  • 1835 – a meteor shower.[2]
  • 1851 – a shower-bath.[2][3]
  • 1904 – gifts for a bride.[2]
  • 1930 – verb, to take a shower.[6][2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A device that sprays water on the body for washing, or a wash under it.
  2. A short fall of rain, snow or hail.
  3. A large number of things falling or arriving together.
  4. (chiefly US) A party at which gifts are given to a woman who is about to marry or have a baby.
  5. (British slang) A worthless group of people.

Verb

  1. To wash under a shower.
  2. To fall, or make something fall, in large numbers.
  3. To give generously: showered with praise.

Word family

  • showery
  • showerless
  • showerer
  • showerlike
  • showerhead
  • outshower
  • showerproof

Usage notes

A different shower, rhyming with “grower”, is an agent noun from show, one who shows or exhibits (13th century in the OED).[2][6][1]

References

  1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press