rainmakern.

Brit.

/ˈreɪnˌmeɪkə/, U.S.

/ˈreɪnˌmeɪkər/

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: rain n.¹, maker n.

Etymology: < rain n.¹ + maker n.

I. Literal senses.

a. A person (esp. a member of a tribal community) who is credited with having the power to cause rain by supernatural means.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > non-European magic (miscellaneous) > [noun] > rain-making > one who brings rain

rainmaker1775

rain doctor1846

1775 J. Adair Hist. Amer. Indians 89 The old women were less honest in paying their rain-makers.

1822 J. Campbell Trav. S. Afr.: Narr. 2nd Journey I. 110 A rain-maker is not esteemed in his own country, he must be brought from a distance.

1847 G. F. Angas Savage Life & Scenes Austral. & N.Z. I. 59 The green bough being symbolical of his situation, according to the ‘rain-makers’ or wise old men.

1890 J. G. Frazer Golden Bough I. i. 13 The third, who was called ‘the rain-maker’, had a bunch of twigs with which he sprinkled water from a vessel.

1930 E. R. B. Gribble Forty Years with Aborigines ix. 87 One old fellow was a noted rain~maker.

1934 V. G. Childe New Light on Most Anc. East i. 10 These are ruled by rain-maker magicians or by divine kings who were until recently ritually slain.

1971 Islander (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 18 July 12/3 Here in Canada, where lawmakers are now eyeing rainmakers suspiciously, I might not have been able to try at all.

1978 D. Bates in C. Allen Tales from Dark Continent vi. 88 They took chickens or pots of beer to a rain-maker in order to pray for rain.

2006 Marin (Calif.) Independent Jrnl. (Nexis) 16 Apr. Folklore tells us there are people called rainmakers. Are there medicine men who can make the rain stop?

b. A person who causes or attempts to cause rain to fall by technological means, (in later use) esp. by seeding clouds.

ΚΠ

1839 Indiana Jrnl. 13 Apr. 1/6 Mr. Espy, the Rainmaker... The efforts of Mr. Espy to manufacture rain storms, are affording food for legislative action.

1841 Fayetteville (N. Carolina) Observer 14 July 1/6 Mr. Espy, the Rain-maker, is in Boston and seems to be under the protection of our excellent contemporary of the Atlas.

1891 Manufacturer & Builder Sept. 208/2 Applying these elementary facts to the work of the rain-makers, it must be apparent that if there be any efficacy in the violent concussion of the air, it must be confined to a very limited area.

1943 National Geographic Mag. Dec. 667/2 Can man make it rain?.. ‘Rain makers’ discharge bombs whose concussion is supposed to make rain fall.

1960 Times 22 Apr. 9/2 The rainmaker must try to induce artificially the formation of ice crystals.

2005 Business Week (Nexis) 24 Oct. 66 While modern rainmakers and their clients believe the technology works, convincing the skeptics will be difficult.

2. North American colloquial. A weather system or other meteorological phenomenon which brings rain.

ΚΠ

1890 Current Lit. Nov. 389/1 The mighty Rain-maker, or Cloud King, in all its majestic desolation, was unveiled before their wandering eyes—a square-browed central mass, thirty miles in length and white with snow.

1969 Fresno (Calif.) Bee 23 Jan. 1 d/4 (heading) Little old rainmaker.

1989 Associated Press Newswire (Nexis) 27 June ‘The main thing is the rain,’ said weather service meteorologist Larry Vannozzi. ‘It's a heavy rainmaker [sc. Tropical Storm Allison].’

2006 News & Observer (Raleigh, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 24 Nov. The slow-moving nor'easter was a sprawling rainmaker that drenched all but the western edge of the state with between 2 and 5 inches of rain.

3. A device which causes rain to fall or which produces rain artificially.

ΚΠ

1969 U.S. Patent 3,429,507 1 Rainmaker... This invention comprises a device and process for the production of rain.

1984 Ecol. Monogr. 54 409/2 Artificial rain was produced by a 60 × 60 × 3 cm fiberglass rainmaker with 672 droplet formers.

1991 Premiere Nov. 89/1 The [film] crew's rainmakers had to produce a lot of wet, since Calcutta's streets are transformed into four-foot-high rivers during the rainy season.

2006 Jrnl. Hydrol. 327 620/2 An 80 cm long, 10.5 cm wide stainless steel flume was located beneath a computer-controlled rainmaker.

II. Extended uses.

4. figurative. Business (originally U.S.). A person who generates business or income for a company or organization, esp. by attracting clients.

ΚΠ

1895 Dixon (Illinois) Evening Tel. 25 July 3/4 (heading) Financial Rainmakers. Free silver charlatans endeavoring to humbug the people.

1897 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Jrnl. 8 Dec. 4/2 He does not make any special exhibit of his financial rain maker, Mr. Wolcott.

1971 Washington Post 16 May b3/1 ‘He was mostly a rainmaker,’ the kind of legal agent who makes things happen.

1989 Toronto Star (Nexis) 26 Mar. f2 These are the rainmakers who are leaving. These are the guys who bring in the business.

1999 N.Y. Mag. 20 Sept. 32/3 A Democratic rainmaker who raised $1.5 million for Democratic candidates.

2002 P. Augar & J. Palmer Rise Player Manager xiii. 286 Heroes in the professions are those in the front line: the star barristers, the rainmakers in corporate finance, the creatives in advertising.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	rainmaker
释义	rainmakern. Brit. /ˈreɪnˌmeɪkə/, U.S. /ˈreɪnˌmeɪkər/ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: rain n.¹, maker n. Etymology: < rain n.¹ + maker n. I. Literal senses. 1. a. A person (esp. a member of a tribal community) who is credited with having the power to cause rain by supernatural means. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > non-European magic (miscellaneous) > [noun] > rain-making > one who brings rain rainmaker1775 rain doctor1846 1775 J. Adair Hist. Amer. Indians 89 The old women were less honest in paying their rain-makers. 1822 J. Campbell Trav. S. Afr.: Narr. 2nd Journey I. 110 A rain-maker is not esteemed in his own country, he must be brought from a distance. 1847 G. F. Angas Savage Life & Scenes Austral. & N.Z. I. 59 The green bough being symbolical of his situation, according to the ‘rain-makers’ or wise old men. 1890 J. G. Frazer Golden Bough I. i. 13 The third, who was called ‘the rain-maker’, had a bunch of twigs with which he sprinkled water from a vessel. 1930 E. R. B. Gribble Forty Years with Aborigines ix. 87 One old fellow was a noted rain~maker. 1934 V. G. Childe New Light on Most Anc. East i. 10 These are ruled by rain-maker magicians or by divine kings who were until recently ritually slain. 1971 Islander (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 18 July 12/3 Here in Canada, where lawmakers are now eyeing rainmakers suspiciously, I might not have been able to try at all. 1978 D. Bates in C. Allen Tales from Dark Continent vi. 88 They took chickens or pots of beer to a rain-maker in order to pray for rain. 2006 Marin (Calif.) Independent Jrnl. (Nexis) 16 Apr. Folklore tells us there are people called rainmakers. Are there medicine men who can make the rain stop? b. A person who causes or attempts to cause rain to fall by technological means, (in later use) esp. by seeding clouds. ΚΠ 1839 Indiana Jrnl. 13 Apr. 1/6 Mr. Espy, the Rainmaker... The efforts of Mr. Espy to manufacture rain storms, are affording food for legislative action. 1841 Fayetteville (N. Carolina) Observer 14 July 1/6 Mr. Espy, the Rain-maker, is in Boston and seems to be under the protection of our excellent contemporary of the Atlas. 1891 Manufacturer & Builder Sept. 208/2 Applying these elementary facts to the work of the rain-makers, it must be apparent that if there be any efficacy in the violent concussion of the air, it must be confined to a very limited area. 1943 National Geographic Mag. Dec. 667/2 Can man make it rain?.. ‘Rain makers’ discharge bombs whose concussion is supposed to make rain fall. 1960 Times 22 Apr. 9/2 The rainmaker must try to induce artificially the formation of ice crystals. 2005 Business Week (Nexis) 24 Oct. 66 While modern rainmakers and their clients believe the technology works, convincing the skeptics will be difficult. 2. North American colloquial. A weather system or other meteorological phenomenon which brings rain. ΚΠ 1890 Current Lit. Nov. 389/1 The mighty Rain-maker, or Cloud King, in all its majestic desolation, was unveiled before their wandering eyes—a square-browed central mass, thirty miles in length and white with snow. 1969 Fresno (Calif.) Bee 23 Jan. 1 d/4 (heading) Little old rainmaker. 1989 Associated Press Newswire (Nexis) 27 June ‘The main thing is the rain,’ said weather service meteorologist Larry Vannozzi. ‘It's a heavy rainmaker [sc. Tropical Storm Allison].’ 2006 News & Observer (Raleigh, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 24 Nov. The slow-moving nor'easter was a sprawling rainmaker that drenched all but the western edge of the state with between 2 and 5 inches of rain. 3. A device which causes rain to fall or which produces rain artificially. ΚΠ 1969 U.S. Patent 3,429,507 1 Rainmaker... This invention comprises a device and process for the production of rain. 1984 Ecol. Monogr. 54 409/2 Artificial rain was produced by a 60 × 60 × 3 cm fiberglass rainmaker with 672 droplet formers. 1991 Premiere Nov. 89/1 The [film] crew's rainmakers had to produce a lot of wet, since Calcutta's streets are transformed into four-foot-high rivers during the rainy season. 2006 Jrnl. Hydrol. 327 620/2 An 80 cm long, 10.5 cm wide stainless steel flume was located beneath a computer-controlled rainmaker. II. Extended uses. 4. figurative. Business (originally U.S.). A person who generates business or income for a company or organization, esp. by attracting clients. ΚΠ 1895 Dixon (Illinois) Evening Tel. 25 July 3/4 (heading) Financial Rainmakers. Free silver charlatans endeavoring to humbug the people. 1897 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Jrnl. 8 Dec. 4/2 He does not make any special exhibit of his financial rain maker, Mr. Wolcott. 1971 Washington Post 16 May b3/1 ‘He was mostly a rainmaker,’ the kind of legal agent who makes things happen. 1989 Toronto Star (Nexis) 26 Mar. f2 These are the rainmakers who are leaving. These are the guys who bring in the business. 1999 N.Y. Mag. 20 Sept. 32/3 A Democratic rainmaker who raised $1.5 million for Democratic candidates. 2002 P. Augar & J. Palmer Rise Player Manager xiii. 286 Heroes in the professions are those in the front line: the star barristers, the rainmakers in corporate finance, the creatives in advertising. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1775
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