| Definitions | | shebang |
|
noun
- Any matter of present concern; thing; or business, most frequently used in the phrase whole shebang, the whole shebang.
- 1934 " w:Robert E. Howard, Robert E. Howard, s:Sluggers on the Beach, Sluggers on the Beach:
- :"Before I'd share anything with you," he said bitterly, "I'd lose the whole ."
- (obsolete) A vehicle.<ref>Take our Word</ref>
- 1871 December 14, w:Samuel Clemens, Samuel Clemens, "Roughing It" (lecture), printed in Fred W. Lorch, "Mark Twain's Lecture from Roughing it", in American Literature, volume 22, number 3 (November 1950), pages 305:
- : " So they got into the empty omnibus and sat down. Colonel Jack says: "...What is the name of this." Colonel Jim told him it was a barouche. After a while he poked his head out in front and said to the driver, "I say, Johnny, this suits me. We want this all day. Let the horses go."
- (archaic) A lean-to or temporary shelter; probably of Celtic origin. (This meaning is now lost in use, except in the expression, "there goes the whole shebang", refering to a house lost or destroyed.)
- 1889 " w:Bret Harte, Bret Harte, s:The Heritage of Dedlow Marsh, The Heritage of Dedlow Marsh
- :They say that old pirate, Kingfisher Culpepper, had a stock of the real thing from Robertson County laid in his on the Marsh just before he died.
- (computing) The character string "<tt>
- !</tt>" used at the beginning of a computer file to indicate which interpreter can process the commands in the file. Chiefly used in Unix and related operating systems.
Etymology: Origin proposed <ref>Take our Word and Word Origins</ref>: Known to go back at least to year 1862 (w:Walt Whitman, Walt Whitman), shebang is suspected to originate from the French word char-a-banc, which was a bus-like wagon with a lot of seats, but no specific connection has been proven as of now. Later, w:Mark Twain, Mark Twain used it to describe a vehicle, as well as "any matter of present concern".
Supplemental Details:Sponsor an extended definition for shebang for as little as $10 per month. Click here to contact us.
| |
|
