From Middle English schour (“shower”), from Old English sċūr (“shower”), from Proto-West Germanic *skūru (“shower”), from Proto-Germanic *skūrō (“storm, short shower”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱēwer- (“north, north wind, cold wind, rain shower”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch schoer (“downpour, heavy rainshower”), German Schauer (“shower”), Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish skur (“shower”), Faroese skúrur (“shower”), Icelandic skúr (“shower”), Norn skur (“squall”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐍂𐌰 (skūra, “storm”), Italian coro (“northwestern wind”), Spanish cauro (“northwestern wind”), Belarusian се́вер (sjévjer), сі́вер (sívjer), Bulgarian and Russian се́вер (séver, “north”), Czech and Slovak sever (“north”), Macedonian север (sever, “north”), Serbo-Croatian sȅvēr, sjȅvēr (“north”), Slovene sẹ́ver (“north”), Ukrainian сі́вер (síver, “cold, cold, bitter wind”).
A brief fall of precipitation (spell of rain, or a similar fall of snow, sleet, or cascade); burst of hefty precipitation.
Today there will be frequent showers and some sunny spells.
They are wet with the showres of the mountaines, and imbrace the rocke for want of a shelter.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 24:8:
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Occasionally, the sun pierces the clouds like a searchlight to illuminate a feature such as a farm, copse or stream, before being overwhelmed by an advancing shower. Wordsworth would have loved it!2022 November 2, Paul Bigland, “New trains, old trains, and splendid scenery”, in RAIL, number 969, page 57:
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A device for bathing by which water is made to fall on the body from a height, either from a tank or by the action of a pump.
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An instance of using of this device in order to bathe oneself.
I’m going to have a shower.
I’m going to take a shower.
4
A quantity of something that has characteristics of a rain shower.
a shower of sparks; a meteor shower; a Gatorade shower
The lights of Luluabourg disappeared, and we were in the blackness of the African night, which was continuously pierced by the showers of red sparks ejected skywards and red hot ashes deposited on the track as the fireman rocked his fire.1958 February 23, Arthur F. Beckenham, “A Journey in the Belgian Congo”, in Railway Magazine, page 93:
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A party associated with a significant event in a person's life, at which the person usually receives gifts.
Would male strippers be appropriate for the divorce shower?
Her church group has planned an adoption shower.
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A bridal shower.
The shower will be held at the home of the bridesmaid.
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A baby shower.
Her friends are throwing her a shower after her mom leaves.
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Arts, Hobbies, Juggling, Lifestyle, Performing arts, Sports A pattern where the juggler passes objects horizontally from one hand to the other around chest height, and upward over the juggler's head to return to the first hand.
With this I maye be sure to come sauf / and goo sauf / and that the quene shal haue her lyberte as she had before / and neuer for no thynge that hath ben surmysed afore this tyme / she neuer fro this day stande in no peryll / for els sayd sir launcelot I dare auenture me to kepe her from an harder shoure than euer I kepte her1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “xiiij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XX:
It was one of the worst feelings in the H-Block, one of the worst experiences to sit and listen to somebody getting beat. Because you were totally powerless, and you would always get somebody shouting at the door, “You shower of bastards!” It was always a crowd of screws and one or two naked men in a cell. They had total control.1991, Allen Feldman, Formations of Violence: The Narrative of the Body and Political Terror in Northern Ireland, University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 208, →ISBN:
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UK, Informal A group of people perceived as incompetent or worthless.
But when I tweeted it out, most of the responses (from the more than one million viewers) were along the lines of: 'what do you expect from this shower?2023 October 18, Christian Wolmar, “The back of a fag packet used for unworkable rail plans”, in RAIL, number 994, page 45:
shower
verb
Etymology
From Middle English schour (“shower”), from Old English sċūr (“shower”), from Proto-West Germanic *skūru (“shower”), from Proto-Germanic *skūrō (“storm, short shower”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱēwer- (“north, north wind, cold wind, rain shower”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch schoer (“downpour, heavy rainshower”), German Schauer (“shower”), Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish skur (“shower”), Faroese skúrur (“shower”), Icelandic skúr (“shower”), Norn skur (“squall”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐍂𐌰 (skūra, “storm”), Italian coro (“northwestern wind”), Spanish cauro (“northwestern wind”), Belarusian се́вер (sjévjer), сі́вер (sívjer), Bulgarian and Russian се́вер (séver, “north”), Czech and Slovak sever (“north”), Macedonian север (sever, “north”), Serbo-Croatian sȅvēr, sjȅvēr (“north”), Slovene sẹ́ver (“north”), Ukrainian сі́вер (síver, “cold, cold, bitter wind”).
1
To spray with (a specified liquid) (followed by with).
2
To bathe using a shower.
3
Idiomatic To bestow liberally, to give or distribute in abundance.
The individual in the army becomes used to holding human life in contempt, in fact the greater the slaughter, the greater is his merit; and the more medals, ribbons, and honors of hero-worship are showered on him, the more he becomes, after a time, indifferent to all sorts of human suffering and loss of human life.1919, Boris Sidis, The Source and Aim of Human Progress:
Shower the people you love with love / Show them the way that you feel1979, James Taylor, “Shower the People”, in In the Pocket, →OCLC:
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewh₁-der. Proto-Germanic *skawwōną Proto-West Germanic *skauwōn Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Proto-West Germanic *skauwārī Old English sċēawere Middle English schewere English shower Inherited from Middle English schewere, schewer, shewere (“one who exhibits something, actor; watchman; sign; mirror; index finger”), from Old English sċēawere (“an observer, one who examines into a matter; a spy; mirror; actor, buffoon”), equivalent to show + -er. Cognate with Dutch schouwer (“observer, visionary, clairvoyant”), German Schauer (“an inspector”).
1
One who shows.
When you show a credential there's a protocol whereby the showee has assurance that the shower possesses a credential of the particular type without actually seeing the bit string.2006, Bruce Christianson, Bruno Crispo, James A. Malcolm, Security Protocols: 12th International Workshop, page 18:
Once the showee looks at the object, the shower removes his or her gaze from the showee and gazes back at the object (see below and Fig. 5.2).2018, Elisabeth Reber, Cornelia Gerhardt, Embodied Activities in Face-to-Face and Mediated Settings, page 153:
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An object or activity that is shown in a contest.
That calf is going to be a great shower at the fair this year.
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Slang A person whose penis is close to its erect size when flaccid; the penis itself.
As a man who can best be described as a "grower not a shower", I helped Brent realize that many people in the gay community are concerned in a very adolescent way with their dick size, including me.1993, Barry Burns, “Muffin on Parade”, in soc.motss (Usenet):
"Growers" are guys whose penises tend to contract a lot lengthwise when flaccid, while "show-ers" are guys whose penises could be said to merely "deflate" without contracting much in length.1994, jenster, “Penis Size and other Eternal Questions”, in seattle.general (Usenet):
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His dick, if I remember correctly, is more of a shower than a grower[…]2003, Austin Foxxe, Three the Hard Way: Tales of Three-way Sex Between Men: