shebang English · revision 1221

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃɪˈbæŋ(ɡ)/, /ʃə-/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Its origin is unknown.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) It may be an alteration of [[shebeen]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) though Random House calls this implausible both in sound and in sense,^(RHWU) and both Random House and Etymonline mention French ''char-à-banc'', a wagon with many seats, as a possible source.^(RHWU)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A hut, shed or shelter (1862);^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) it was American slang, popularized among soldiers in the Civil War,^(Etymonline) and Walt Whitman used it.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word was also applied to a vehicle (1872) and to a low tavern (1878).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The sense of an affair, matter or business, usually in the phrase ''the whole shebang'', is recorded from 1869,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989) but its connection with the hut sense is obscure.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1862 – a hut or shelter.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1869 – ''the whole shebang'', the whole affair.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1872 – a vehicle.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1878 – a low drinking place.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An affair, organization or set of things considered as a whole, usually in the phrase ''the whole shebang''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A rough dwelling; a [[shack]] or [[shanty]].^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In computing, the characters ''#!'' at the start of a [[script]], naming the program that should run it.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[shebeen]]

+ * [[charabanc]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}