hurricane
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: hŭr′ĭ-kən
enpr: hŭr′ĭ-kān'
ipa: /ˈhʌɹɪkən/
ipa: /ˈhʌɹɪkeɪn/
note: without the hurry–furry merger
enpr: hŭr′ĭ-kān'
ipa: /ˈhʌɹɪkeɪn/
note: without the hurry–furry merger
note: General American, Canada, hurry–furry merger
enpr: hûr′ǐ-kān'
ipa: /ˈhɝɪkeɪn/
note: General American, Canada, hurry–furry merger
Forms: form: hurricanes
form: hurricaning
form: hurricaned
form: hurricaned
form: hero-cane
form: hurrican
Etymology: Etymology tree
Taíno *hurakābor.
Spanish huracánbor.
English hurricane
Borrowed from Spanish huracán, ultimately from Taíno *hurakā.
Senses: examples: text: Through the night it rained, hurricaned; sashes rattled; the chimney smoked; a lobby-door was ajar, and kept banging to and fro.
ref: 1872 September, Matthew Stradling, “The Misadventures of Mr. Catlyne, Q.C.”, in Fraser's Magazine, page 375:
text: So I got inside my 'possum-skin—it hurricaned an' snowed— And I started for the Deepot, and lit out for his abode.
ref: 1897, Philip Neville, Marginal Notes: In Indian Ink, page 261:
text: I guess it did storm. I guess it hurricaned.
ref: 1907, Anne Warner, The Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary, page 188:
text: He is substituting for Rudy Black, who is our Resource Manager, who was hurricaned out of an appearance today because he could not get back from vacation.
ref: 1980, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Hearings, Reports and Prints of the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, page 105:
glosses: To be violent, with winds of 119 km/h (74 miles per hour) or greater, usually accompanied by rain, lightning, and thunder.
raw_tags: of the weather
examples: text: While thus employed, Mrs. Winthrop hurricaned into the room, and having received explanations, hurricaned forth again to tell her husband how dreadfully thoughtless his arrangement was, since Frank would have to take Miss Allenby into dinner.
ref: 1911, Edward Frederic Benson, Account Rendered, page 24:
text: They must have told him I was ready for visitors; he hurricaned into the room, slung a chair away from the wall and banged it down next to the bed.
ref: 2014, Harlan Ellison, Children of the Streets:
text: The Super nodded wisely, 'I agree, constable. See to it, Forbes!' and with that hurricaned out.
ref: 2022, Bill Watson, Judokill:
text: Angela Stripe was a force of nature. Bold and brave and brassy in a warm way, she never breezed in, she hurricaned.
ref: 2023, Rick Broadbent, Now Then: A Biography of Yorkshire:
glosses: To move noisily, quickly, and dramatically, becoming the center of attention.
examples: text: There were still spots on the mirror I had cleaned and tiny bits of newspaper were stuck in its edges where I had hurricaned through in my initial cleaning frenzy.
ref: 2011, Geri Larkin, Stumbling Toward Enlightenment, page 81:
text: "A clean home is a good home," she'd say as she hurricaned from room to room with vacuum cleaner and feather duster, hands gauntleted in Marigolds.
ref: 2012, James Lovegrove, Age of Anansi:
text: Lara was running in and out of shops, her brain buzzing, ticking off items as she hurricaned through open doors to the sound of jingle bells and fifties crooners.
ref: 2020, Janet Hoggarth, The Single Mums' Secrets:
glosses: To attempt to accomplish a great deal with a frenzied effort.
examples: text: A whole swirl of turnarounds hurricaned from him.
ref: 2014, D.H. Melhem, Heroism in the New Black Poetry: Introductions and Interviews:
text: Kona responded as air hurricaned out of the bay and water rushed in.
ref: 2020, Erik Seedhouse, Terminal Reality:
text: Like a cadaver dog, she latched onto his scent again and when it hurricaned around in her cerebral fluids with those dirty, honest, direct thoughts on capturing her lover, she couldn't stop herself from taking aggressive action.
ref: 2021, Will Sly, Mystery's, page 20:
glosses: To swirl quickly and violently.
examples: text: Urganda, hurricaned with violent perturbation of mind commences the fourth act; and, after a soliloquy, or rather incantation, raises a dæmon of revenge;
ref: 1770, Francis Gentleman, The Dramatic Censor, page 429:
text: My personal life has been hurricaned in the last month, not by the war particularly, but by having to decide not to “live in sin” after trying it for a few days.
ref: 2009, Robert W. Malcolmson, Olivia Cockett, Love and War in London: A Woman’s Diary 1939-1942, page 15:
text: Sharon gratefully assumed I'd hurricaned my last kitchen with my flour-tossing talents.
ref: 2009, Brian Brett, Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life:
text: And within the Soviet Union itself, it is said that some of its underdeveloped territories were hurricaned by revolutionary dynamics from a feudal to a socialist structure.
ref: 2015, W.E Abraham, The Mind of Africa, page 157:
text: The other girls whispered to us 'He's hurricaning the room.'
ref: 2017, Bethan Greener, Army Fundamentals:
text: Though Tafolla has always addressed the themes of suffering, persevering, and surviving within her expansive body of work, many of her writings exploring what she refers to as that "hurricaned" time period of cancer, the mastectomy, her role as a “cancer veteran," and the "Trinity of Deaths" remain in stacks of papers and handwritten journals, polished but percolating patiently along with some of her unfinished works—her scurrying utterances found clutched to the edges of crumple receipts, scratched onto torn envelopes, and etched into the surfaces of folders, book covers, and small boxes piling up on top of her desk.
ref: 2023, Norma Elia Cantú, Chicana Portraits, page 189:
glosses: To tear apart in a violent, destructive, and/or chaotic manner.
examples: text: What do they therefore but quickly get themselves into a body, and fall forthwith to hurricaning in Mansoul, as if now nothing but whirlwind and tempest should be there.
ref: 1678, John Bunyan, The pilgrim's progress:
text: It blew open. It hurricaned onto shore.
ref: 2011, Timothy Taylor, The Blue Light Project, page 78:
glosses: To cause an uproar.
examples: text: He rang for the cook, and stormed and hurricaned and cycloned at her until the rain-clouds burst, and she wept.
ref: 1898, William Carter Platts, A Few Smiles, page 72:
glosses: To storm excessivly; to fume and rage violently.
examples: text: As he hurricaned toward her, she turned and ran to the drop-off place.
ref: 1918, Adventure - Volume 17, Part 2, page 180:
text: Then they would all be in a confused clutter and cluster there, and there would be a mad stampede when The Black Watch hurricaned on their heels from behind, and several bags, boxes and barrels, if not virtually all, would fall in their wild rush for The Pra, their wounded and sick abandoned in a blood filled litter and sprawl over the raging sands.
ref: 2010, Melvin F. Compton, Black Lions: A First on Ashanti, page 366:
text: Was there a sudden general strike, perhaps, sweeping up the doctors and nurses as it hurricaned upon them?
ref: 2014, Richard Gordon, Doctor At Large, page 99:
text: I'll get swirled up in it. Tornadoed. Hurricaned.
ref: 2019, Robert Radnor, The Man Who Stories, page 205:
text: The One Stop clerk, a college student named Abel Langtry, gawked at the car chase as it hurricaned past in the rain.
ref: 2019, David J. Schow, The Kill Riff:
glosses: To chase violently or rush after and force along.