Where did the term give up the ghost come from?
To give up the ghost means to expire or die, or in the case of a mechanical object, to stop working. The phrase give up the ghost may be traced back to the King James Bible, printed in the early 1600s.
What does ghost mean as a name?
ghost (n.) Old English gast “breath; good or bad spirit, angel, demon; person, man, human being,” in Biblical use “soul, spirit, life,” from Proto-West Germanic *gaistaz (source also of Old Saxon gest, Old Frisian jest, Middle Dutch gheest, Dutch geest, German Geist “spirit, ghost”).
What does the saying giving up the ghost mean?
Definition of ‘to give up the ghost’ If someone gives up the ghost, they stop trying to do something because they no longer believe they can do it successfully. If a machine gives up the ghost, it stops working. [informal]
What does gone off the rails mean?
Definition of go off the rails : to lose control and start to behave in a way that is not normal or acceptable He was a promising student but he went off the rails after he started taking drugs.
Why does ghost have an H?
So when he saw the word ‘gost’ (spelt ‘gheest’ in Flemish) he decided to spell it the Flemish way, with an h. The Flemish h in ghost is one of Crystal’s many examples that show that the development of English spelling has been both random and unsystematic.
What is the origin of the term knucklehead?
From 1869 as the name of a part in a type of mechanical coupling device. Popularized in the “stupid person” sense from 1942, from character R.F. Knucklehead, star of “Don’t” posters hung up at U.S. Army Air Force training fields. Everything Knucklehead does is wrong and ends in disaster.
What does the idiom eat your heart out mean?
Feel bitter anguish, grief, worry, jealousy, or another strong negative emotion. For example, She is still eating her heart out over being fired, or Eat your heart out—my new car is being delivered today. This hyperbolic expression alludes to strong feelings gnawing at one’s heart. [
Why is there a GH in ghost?
Apparently, ‘ghost’ was first spelled with a ‘gh’ in a book printed by William in 1484 and it is suggested that it was spelled with the extra ‘h’ because in Flemish it was written ‘gheest’. By the end of the 16th century everyone was writing ‘ghost’ and not ‘gost’.
Why is Ghost spelled with GH?
Middle Dutch. In Middle Dutch, ⟨gh⟩ was often used to represent /ɣ/ (the voiced velar fricative) before ⟨e⟩, ⟨i⟩, and ⟨y⟩. The spelling of English word ghost with a ⟨gh⟩ (from Middle English gost) was likely influenced by the Middle Dutch spelling gheest (Modern Dutch geest).
What does’give up the ghost’mean?
To die, or in the case of inanimate objects, to cease working. What’s the origin of the phrase ‘Give up the ghost’? There are many uses of this phrase in the Bible, including this, from Miles Coverdale’s Version, 1535, Acts 12:23:
What is the etymology of Ghost?
Ghost is the English representative of the usual West Germanic word for “supernatural being.”. In Christian writing in Old English it is used to render Latin spiritus (see spirit (n.)), a sense preserved in Holy Ghost. Sense of “disembodied spirit of a dead person,” especially imagined as wandering among the living or haunting them,…
What is the origin of the word GAF up?
From Middle English ” gaf up þe gost “, ” ʒave up þe gost “, from Old English phrases as “hēo āġeaf hire gāst ” ( literally, “she gave up her ghost [spirit]”), “þæt iċ gāst mīnne āġifan mōte” ( literally, “that I must give up my ghost [spirit]”). Compare German den Geist aufgeben and Dutch de geest geven .
What does it mean to give up your spirit?
Literally, to release one’s spirit or soul from the body at death. From Middle English ” gaf up þe gost “, ” ʒave up þe gost “, from Old English phrases as “hēo āġeaf hire gāst ” ( literally, “she gave up her ghost [spirit]”), “þæt iċ gāst mīnne āġifan mōte” ( literally, “that I must give up my ghost [spirit]”).