roaringn.1
/ˈrɔːrɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈrɔrɪŋ/ 1. The action of roar v.1; the utterance of a long loud deep sound; an instance of this.
a. Of an animal (cf. roar v.1 1).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by noises > voice or sound made by animal > [noun] > roar or bellow > roaring
roaringeOE
lowingOE
i-gredea1250
romyinga1425
bellingc1440
blaringc1440
ruge?a1513
bellowing1552
mugiency1658
eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in J. J. Quinn Minor Lat.-Old Eng. Glossaries in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1956) 118 [Horrendos belluarum] barritus, raringe.
OE Harley Gloss. (1966) 25 Barritus, geþota, rarung, geonung uel dissimilis.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 1851 (MED) Þe werwolf..went to him euene wiþ a rude roring, as he him rende wold.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Job xxxix. 3 thei [sc. hinds] ben bowid to the frut of kinde, and beren; and roringus thei senden out [alt. from besily thei nurshen out; L. rugitus emittunt].
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 437 Rorynge, crye of beestys, rugitus, mugitus.
c1480 (a1400) St. Katherine 36 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 443 Þe noys, þe raryng & þe bere of noyt, & schepe & menstralsy.
a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (BL Add. 9066) (1879) 417 On a day the lyon was seke, and it is his kynde þat when he is seke he makith a grete roryng.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. viii. f. 37v Owre men..harde..horryble noyses and rorynges of wylde beastes.
1611 Bible (King James) Job iv. 10 The roaring of the Lyon, and the voice of the fierce Lyon. View more context for this quotation
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 126 The roaring of 200 Mules and Asses.
1735 W. Somervile Chace ii. 492 The King of Brutes In broken Roarings breathes his last.
1780 W. Smellie tr. Comte de Buffon Nat. Hist. Gen. & Particular VI. 259 Following the tracks of wild beasts,..terrified by their occasional roarings.
c1850 Arabian Nights (Rtldg.) 325 They heard the roaring of the lion..issue from the wood.
1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. IV. 762 The ‘roaring’ of the otherwise silent stag at the rutting time.
1921 Outing Aug. 207/2 Three or four of these little animals..set up an uproar that far exceeded the roaring of a dozen circus-lions.
2007 24 Hours (Toronto) (Nexis) 11 July (Urban Life section) 6 The roaring, the angry wildness of the tiger conveyed emotions she was afraid to express.
b. Of a person (cf. roar v.1 2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or shout (loudness) > [noun] > roar or bellow
roustc1175
roaringc1225
reirdc1330
roara1393
romyinga1425
routinga1425
belling1582
bellow1818
braming-
c1225 (?c1200) Sawles Warde (Bodl.) (1938) 14 (MED) Þah neauer nere nan oðer pine bute to iseon eauer þe unseli gastes..& heren hare rarunge.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. v. 29 His roring [a1425 L.V. roryng schal be; L. Rugitus] as off a leoun.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1120 Vp he yaf a roryng [v.r. roringe] and a cry As dooth the moder whan the child shal dye.
c1470 tr. R. D'Argenteuil's French Bible (Cleveland) (1977) 85 (MED) Ther was within the cite much weping, criyng, and roring, and many for sorou were dispeirid.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job iii. 25 This is the cause, that..my roaringes fall out like a water floude.
1631 R. Byfield Doctr. Sabbath Vindicated 163 Now many in merry meetings have their singing of Catches and their roarings, as they are called.
1687 T. Brown Saints in Uproar in Wks. (1707) I. 106 There's such calling of Names,..such Roaring and Screaming.
1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 90 Others..vented their Pain by incessant Roarings.
a1771 T. Gray Jemmy Twitcher in Gentleman's Mag. (1782) lii. 40 All the town rings of his swearing and roaring.
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. xxxi. 269 I might defy human being to hear her..without roaring.
1889 W. B. Yeats Wanderings of Oisin iii. 41 [They] came by me..with roaring of laughter and songs.
1927 Blackwood's Mag. June 817/1 Roaring and retaliation keep alive a warlike and truculent spirit among the Kukis.
1992 A. Thorpe Ulverton ii. 34 ‘Christ is within us!.. Welcome the Resurrection!’ And other such roarings.
2009 LA Weekly (Nexis) 19 Feb. The staging often lacks nuance... Many exchanges consist of loud roaring and arm waving histrionics.
c. Of a thing (cf. roar v.1 3).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > roaring or bellowing > [noun]
reirdc1330
bellowing1393
roaringa1398
routinga1425
whurling1495
rummishing?a1500
roara1522
boation1646
intonation1658
fremitus1820
bellow1827
fremescence1837
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 56 A drye stomak is sone aþurst..and ȝif þe watir is to moche, it makeþ roringe & grollynge in þe wombe.
1553 J. Brende tr. Q. Curtius Rufus Hist. iii. f. 12v [The river] fallyng downe vpon a rock beneth, made muche noise & roringe.
a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) II. 39 That the noyse and clamor and sound was lyk the roring of the sie in ane storme wond.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 205 The fire, and cracks Of sulphurous roaring . View more context for this quotation
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. x. 47 The Roaring of the Sea is most commonly obserued a shore, a little before a storme.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 333. ¶5 The Pomp of his Appearance, amidst the Roarings of his Thunders.
1797 H. Lee Canterbury Tales I. 352 The low and monotonous roaring of the waves, as they broke upon the distant beach.
1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna x. iv. 214 Like the roaring Of fire.
1869 H. F. Tozer Res. Highlands of Turkey II. 258 The sighing of the wind in the trees, or its roaring round their mountain abodes.
1922 ‘K. Mansfield’ Garden Party 37 The roaring of the Primus stove died down, fizzled out, ceased.
1951 S. Plath Jrnl. July (2000) 73 Always a roaring of sound in my ears—wind heaving in the trees,..cars whirring along the turnpike.
2001 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 29 May 10 The..whirring of the helicopter, the roaring of its engines.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > unruliness > disorder or riot > [noun]
riot1400
tumult1412
misgovernail?a1439
rout1439
revel1462
tumultuationc1475
stir1487
rangat?a1513
rangale1513
turmoil1526
ruffle1532
confusion1555
disorder1558
roaring1617
mayhem1976
society > authority > lack of subjection > unruliness > disorder or riot > [noun] > disorderly behaviour
misordera1513
ill rule1556
roaring1617
randan1640
bear-fighting1775
society > leisure > social event > a merrymaking or convivial occasion > merrymaking or conviviality > [noun] > noisy or riotous
riotingc1390
revelling1395
revelc1400
revelryc1410
revel-rout?1499
jetting1509
deray?a1513
company keeping1529
banqueting1535
roistingc1560
wassailinga1586
riotise1590
roister-doisterdom1592
reels1603
roaring1617
ranting1633
rattle1688
high jinks1699
roistering1805
spree1808
wassailry1814
revelment1822
Tom and Jerryism1822
spreeing1845
to be on the roister1860
riotousness1882
whoopee1928
1617 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Faire Quarrell iv. sig. G2 You and your man shall roare him out on't, (for indeed you must pay your debts so: for thats one of the maine ends of Roaring).
1628 R. Sanderson Two Serm. Paules-Crosse ii. 121 Gaming, and reuelling, and ryoting, and roaring.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State iii. i. 153 Whilest they keep the greatest roaring, their state steals away in the greatest silence.
1778 Muse's Mirrour I. 6 No fasting and praying—all riot and roaring, Such swearing, blaspheming, such drinking and whoring.
1889 J. W. Warter & R. Garnett Old Shropshire Life III. xxxvii. 186 At..the commencement of James I.'s reign... bevies of Cherbury boys might come down..but their ‘roaring’ was not like that of the old ‘Roaring Boys’ of half a century agone.
3. A condition in horses characterized by a loud noise when breathing during exertion, typically caused by weakness or paralysis of the muscles of the larynx; the act of making this noise. Cf. roarer n.1 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of horses > [noun] > respiratory disorders
wind?1523
pursick1566
pursickness1610
roaring1813
heaves1828
broken wind1831
thick wind1831
whistling1856
1813 Sporting Mag. July 175/1 Roaring was not necessarily unsoundness.
1830 J. Baxter Libr. Agric. & Hort. Knowl. 287 Sometimes roaring is occasioned by a distorted larynx, produced by tight reining.
1831 W. Youatt Horse ix. 160 Roaring is no unusual consequence of strangles.
1881 Standard 29 July 5/2 Whether ‘roaring’ can be cured or not is a question upon which there is no consensus of opinion.
1969 E. H. Edwards Horseman's Guide 19 A horse that has been ‘tubed’, or Hobdayed (an operation performed on the larynx for roaring, which is an affection of that organ), is probably a good one.
1999 Horse & Rider Sept. 68/1 Whistling and Roaring..are terms used to describe the abnormal noise made by a horse which has some obstruction of its airway due to partial paralysis of the larynx.
Compounds
ΚΠ
1617 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Faire Quarrell ii. sig. E2v What? to the roaring schoole?.. 'tis such a damnable noyse, I shall neuer attaine it.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
roaringn.2
/ˈrɔːrɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈrɔrɪŋ/ English regional (East Anglian).
The action of turning over salt herrings. Chiefly attributive. roaring basket n. = roarer n.2 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > container for food > [noun] > basket > for fish
swill1352
junketa1382
fish-leepc1440
weel?a1475
hask1579
swad1602
roaring1615
rope basket1811
kit1847
cawl1865
roarer1887
fish-basket1955
1615 E. Sharpe Britaines Busse sig. B4 Toales and Implements vsed in dringe and packing of Herring... Roaring baskets or scuttles.
1866 J. G. Nall Great Yarmouth & Lowestoft 301 ‘Roarers’, who are armed with short sturdy wooden spades, called roaring shovels.
1999 R. Malster Mardler's Compan. 62/1 Roaring, the action of turning over a heap of herrings to mix in the salt..using a wooden roaring shovel.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
roaringadj.adv.
/ˈrɔːrɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈrɔrɪŋ/ A. adj.
1.
a. Of a voice, sound, etc.: like a roar; extremely loud.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > [adjective] > too or extremely
roaringOE
violenta1398
vehement1545
fouldering1590
sundering1624
screaming1847
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxviii. 414 Ac gif hi oncneowon þa genyþerunge þe him onsihð, hi mihton hi sylfe mid rariendre stemne heofian.
a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 2 (MED) The iij day þe seeswyne..schull stond on þe see and make roryng noyse.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxxiiv The dukes angry countenaunce & roryng voyce.
1631 R. Bolton Instr. Right Comf. Affl. Consciences 224 Hee..breakes out oftentimes into a roaring complaint of sinne.
1659 D. Pell Πελαγος 76 How their roaring oaths gingle in their mouthes.
1758 W. Woty Spouting-club 8 His roaring Voice Calls Eccho forth respondent.
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. III. xiv. 249 I don't think we shall even have a roaring song along the street to-night.
1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 16 Feb. 1/2 Such steps..are not forced upon us by a roaring agitation.
1913 T. W. Hanshew Cleek xv. 135 The roaring sound..came nearer and nearer, until a thousand voices took it up.
2001 N.Y. Times Mag. 23 Sept. 84/1 More ambulances pulled up with roaring sirens.
b. Medicine. Of a murmur heard during auscultation: low-pitched, harsh, and (usually) loud.
ΚΠ
1840 Medico-chirurg. Trans. 23 379 The murmur, which has been variously described as a humming, whizzing, hissing, or roaring sound, is in some cases..audible to the patient himself.
1854 W. H. Walshe Dis. Lungs & Heart (ed. 2) 747 The quality of the systolic murmur may be..rasping, sawing, filing, or if the blood be spanæmic, roaring.
1968 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. 14 Mar. 622/1 The ‘roaring’ continuous murmur—venous hum—of the normal child is usually loudest on the right side of the neck.
2005 R. J. Hamilton Puzzling Out Clin. Signs & Symptoms 11 (caption) A continuous humming, roaring murmur without a silent interval.
2. That roars (in various senses).
a. Of a person or animal.spec. of a horse: see roaring n.1 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by noises > voice or sound made by animal > [adjective] > that roars or bellows
lowingOE
roaringa1382
mugient1646
bellowing1847
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or shout (loudness) > [adjective] > roaring or bellowing
roaringa1382
beringa1400
blaring1566
belling1582
bellowing1619
frement1656
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of horses > [adjective] > respiratory disorders
pursick1303
pursivea1425
pursy1440
roaring1509
broken-winded?1523
wind-broken1603
crack-winded1680
thick-windeda1694
musical1831
bellows to mend1854
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. li. 4 Thou hast delyuered me..fro the rorende men [a1425 L. V. roreris; L. rugientibus] greithed to mete.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) (1850) 1 Pet. v. 8 The deuel, as a roryng lyoun [L. leo rugiens] goith aboute, sekinge whom he shal deuoure.
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xxviii. 134 Agaynst day began to nese and cry My stede Galantyse with a roryng breste.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. vi. sig. F2v Wyld roring Buls.
1611 Bible (King James) Psalms xxii. 13 They gaped vpon me..as a rauening and a roaring Lyon. View more context for this quotation
1789 R. Norris Journey to Court of Bossa Ahádee in Mem. Reign Bossa Ahádee (1968) 72 My sleep..was greatly interrupted by the incessant howling, roaring and barking of wild beasts.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Night's Pleasure in Sketches & Trav. London i Cox's most roomy fly,..in which he insists on putting the roaring grey horse.
1876 C. D. Dance Recoll. Four Years Venezuela v. 49 Ramping and roaring tigers, maddened with wild passion.
1889 Yorks. Post 25 Nov. 3/5 Melbourne was a big roaring horse.
1916 K. T. Norris Heart of Rachael iv. 234 Ready to..tickle the roaring baby with the little fox head on her muff .
1980 R. H. Wiebe Mad Trapper (1987) iv. viii. 152 The terrible sound..droning nearer..like some enormous roaring beast.
2006 ‘L. Burana’ Try xv. 176 My heart was joined up to J.W.'s, as if I were the one in front of the roaring crowd.
b. Of a thing, as the sea, wind, a cannon, etc.Cf. roaring forties n., Roaring Meg n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > roaring or bellowing > [adjective]
crying1398
roaringc1425
whurling1495
reirding1591
routinga1609
bellowing1619
bombardical1645
rummishing1653
polyphloisboian1824
polyphloisboiotic1843
polyphloisboiic1863
polyphloisbic1915
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) v. l. 613 (MED) Þe se ful ofte..Boilyng vp with many wawes grene, Roringe & rowȝe.
c1450 C. d'Orleans Poems (1941) 160 (MED) The roryng wawes Did ouercast the gravelle here and there.
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Sonorus Flumina sonora, roaringe riuers.
1595 E. Spenser Epithalamion in Amoretti & Epithalamion xii. sig. Hv And let the roring Organs loudly play.
a1612 W. Fowler Wks. (1914) I. 221/5 Seing roring seis from roks rebound.
1616 J. Lane Contin. Squire's Tale (Douce 170) (1888) i. viii. 138 So theare out flies the roringst batterie on all the towne.
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 91 What volleyed from the roring guns.
1720 A. Ramsay Poems 350 Throu' Tempests and a rairing Tide.
1785 W. Cowper Task v. 766 The sea With all his roaring multitude of waves.
1838 C. Dickens Let. 1 Nov. (1965) I. 447 Blazing furnaces and roaring steam engines.
1873 W. Black Princess of Thule x. 153 The mighty and roaring stream of omnibuses.
1984 J. Frame Envoy from Mirror City (1987) xii. 91 The river, a roaring mountain torrent that washed at the..walls of the tenement buildings.
2001 Birds Summer 69/1 Scattered pines, with nothing but the roaring wind and swaying crowns.
3. † b. In extended use. Relating to or suitable for such a person; befitting a ‘roarer’ (roarer n.1 1b). Obsolete.
a. Of a person: behaving or living in a rowdy, boisterous, or unruly manner. Now rare (archaic in later use).Very common in the 17th cent.: see also roaring boy n., roaring girl n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > unruliness > disorder or riot > [adjective]
riotousc1431
unruly1439
tumultuous1548
rioting1567
brabbling1577
roaring1584
1584 J. Lyly Sapho & Phao iii. ii. 76 Whats he so swaggers in the Van? O! thats a roring Englishman.
1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle v. ii. 25 You'l be a Grandfather shortly To a fine crew of roaring sonnes and daughters, 'Twill helpe to stocke the suburbes.
a1639 T. Dekker et al. Witch of Edmonton (1658) i. ii. 9 One of the Country roaring Lads.
1768 J. Boswell Acct. Corsica 353 This priest was a bluff, hearty, roaring fellow, troubled neither with knowledge nor care.
1826 W. Scott Woodstock I. viii. 180 The wild life of a roaring cavalier.
1888 Cent. Mag. Nov. 83/1 The roaring, noisy type of soldier who..came in droves to be married when Louis' ship-load of girls arrived.
1956 P. O'Brian Golden Ocean xiii. 285 Cheer up, young codger... Come, this will never do. They all say what a roaring blade you are.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > a merrymaking or convivial occasion > merrymaker > [adjective] > noisy or riotous
revelousc1405
roistinga1556
roisterous1575
roaringa1593
ranting1609
roistering1613
tory-rory1678
scouring1691
wassailous1893
a1593 C. Marlowe Tragicall Hist. Faustus (1604) sig. D3 Keepe out, for I am about a roaring peece of worke.
1694 L. Echard tr. Plautus Rudens ii. iv, in tr. Plautus Comedies 168 The God invited him last Night to a Tub o' Roaring Liquor.
c. Of a time, place, event, etc.: characterized by rowdy or boisterous activity; full of din or noise.Now chiefly with reference to some period of particular prosperity, optimism, or excitement. Cf. roaring twenties n., roaring day n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > confused sound > [adjective] > rowdy noise
riotous?1456
obstreperousc1600
roaring1631
rory-tory1683
rackety1773
rowing1812
rowdyish1837
rowdy-dowy1852
rorty1899
rootin' tootin'1901
1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre iii. iii. 36 in Wks. II The Constable ought not to breake his staffe, and forsweare the watch, for one roaring night.
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 122 It was a mad roaring time, full of extravagance.
1759 J. Townley High Life below Stairs i We'll have a roaring Night.
1812 F. J. Jackson Let. 24 Aug. in Lady Jackson Bath Archives (1873) I. 414 The General..invited me to the Review dinner. It was a roaring affair.
1822 W. Irving Bracebridge Hall vi. 49 A generation or two of hard-livers, that led a life of roaring revelry.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. viii. 72 We can hear one another better than in the roaring street.
1908 H. Graham Group Sc. Women v. 78 (note) It was a roaring time, full of extravagance,... when the men of affairs were almost perpetually drunk.
1924 Amer. Mercury Sept. 94/1 Supper..was a roaring and swashbuckling feast presided over by the foreman.
1995 Independent 19 Oct. (Suppl.) 2/4 They are not as shamelessly flash as their yuppie predecessors in the Roaring Eighties.
4. Of a disease or pain: extremely violent. Cf. raging adj. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > characteristics > [adjective] > violent or severe
grimc900
strongeOE
grievousc1290
burning1393
acutea1398
maliciousa1398
peracutea1398
sorea1400
wicked14..
malign?a1425
vehement?a1425
malignousc1475
angrya1500
cacoethe?1541
eager?1543
virulent1563
malignant1568
raging1590
roaring1590
furious1597
grassant1601
hearty1601
sharp1607
main1627
generous1632
perperacute1647
serious1655
ferine1666
bad1705
severe1725
unfavourable1782
grave1888
1590 E. Digby Dissuasiue 128 Til his pleasure breake out with roaring paine.
1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. ii. iii. sig. O2v He that is tormented with the Gout, is apt to envy any Sick man that is exempted from that Roaring pain.
1731 A. Pope Let. 15 Feb. in Corr. (1956) III. 176 Ever since I return'd Home, I have been in almost roaring Pain, with a violent Rheumatism in my Shoulder.
1836 C. W. Thompson Twelve Months Brit. Legion vi. 180 I felt myself rather unwell,..and awoke the next morning in a roaring fever.
1901 H. Smith Autobiogr. II. xxxiii. 10 An exposure of this sort to the sun of India would probably cause a roaring fever or death.
2000 Amer. Q. 52 614 The roaring pain of hunger.
5. Of a fire: burning vigorously and noisily.
ΚΠ
1703 Divine Soul 25 The most intense heat of Fire insomuch..you shall joyfully sing the Praises of God, in..midst of the roaring Flames.
1720 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad VI. xxiii. 268 The Structure crackles in the roaring Fires And all the Night the plenteous Flame aspires.
1817 T. L. Peacock Melincourt II. xix. 80 Give me a roaring fire and a six-bottle cooper of claret.
1857 J. G. Holland Bay-path i. 8 The inmates of the room, seated round the roaring fire.
1933 Sci. News Let. 13 May 297/3 The dust extinguished in three seconds a roaring blaze in a garage filled with oily rags, crumpled newspapers, cedar shingles, oil and gasoline.
1983 Washington Post (Nexis) 18 Dec. e1 It was..one of those memorable vacation happenings: roaring campfire, majestic moose, shimmering lake and, not least of all, those classic mountains.
2006 Field July 134/2 Dinner in true African style..around an open-air Bonma with a roaring fire under a galaxy of stars.
6. Of trade, business, etc.: very brisk; highly successful. Now usually in to do a roaring trade.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > [adjective] > good or bad (of trade)
well-traded1609
sulke1636
quicka1687
dull1705
brisk1719
roaring1731
rousing1767
slow1823
briskish1864
upwith1864
excited1878
turnaway1943
1731 E. Bockett Annot. Grub-St. Soc. 25 The cunning Jade Had presently a roaring Trade.
1755 C. Charke Narr. Life 153 But was..fully convinced, that I should carry on a roaring Trade.
1831 T. Hood My Son & Heir in Hood's Own 148 A Grazier may be losing cash, Although he drives ‘a roaring trade’.
1883 R. Gower My Reminisc. I. xviii. 364 The women who sell the papers are evidently making a roaring trade.
1925 Beaver Sept. 201/2 The auto camps doing a roaring business.
2008 Independent 28 Mar. 6/7 A couple of burger vans parked outside the school gates doing a roaring trade.
7. colloquial. In emphatic use: that is obviously or unequivocally the thing mentioned; full-blooded, wholehearted; unqualified, out-and-out. Frequently (and now chiefly) in roaring success.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > utter or absolute
shirea1225
purec1300
properc1380
plainc1395
cleana1400
fine?a1400
entirec1400
veryc1400
starka1425
utterc1430
utterlyc1440
merec1443
absolute1531
outright1532
cleara1535
bloodyc1540
unproachable1544
flat1553
downright1577
sheer1583
right-down?1586
single1590
peremptory1601
perfecta1616
downa1625
implicit1625
every way1628
blank1637
out-and-outa1642
errant1644
inaccessional1651
thorough-paced1651
even down1654
dead1660
double-dyed1667
through stitch1681
through-stitched1682
total1702
thoroughgoing1719
thorough-sped1730
regular1740
plumb1748
hollow1751
unextenuated1765
unmitigated1783
stick, stock, stone dead1796
positive1802
rank1809
heart-whole1823
skire1825
solid1830
fair1835
teetotal1840
bodacious1845
raw1856
literal1857
resounding1873
roaring1884
all out1893
fucking1893
pink1896
twenty-four carat1900
grand slam1915
stone1928
diabolical1933
fricking1937
righteous1940
fecking1952
raving1954
1884 Puck (N.Y.) 14 May 180/3 A Roaring Success—A Mad Bull.
1903 W. B. Maxwell Fabulous Fancies 123 It was a novel, a light satirical thing..and it was a roaring success.
1946 N. Coward Diary 7 Mar. (2000) 53 She is a roaring Indiaphile and said that while in India she was ashamed of being English.
1970 Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary p. xiv I feel..a deep, roaring faith in and love for this country.
2005 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Dec. 232/3 It was a bit of a punt, but I liked Marco, and the first year it was a roaring success.
B. adv.
1.
a. roaring drunk: extremely and noisily drunk.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk > riotously drunk
Bacchanalian1565
Bacchical1665
roaring drunk1678
rouzy-bouzy1693
Bacchic1699
Bacchanal1713
1678 T. Otway Friendship in Fashion 2 I was last night roaring drunk.
1762 G. Colman Musical Lady ii. 37 All the servants shall go roaring drunk to bed.
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple II. ix. 139 Just at that time came down the sergeant of marines, with three of our men whom he had picked up, roaring drunk.
1959 ‘M. M. Kaye’ House of Shade vi. 79 I should like to duck the whole situation by getting roaring drunk.
2004 I. Calder Untold Story xii. 247 Mike got roaring drunk at the wedding, and his attempts at taking photos..were a miserable failure.
b. Scottish. roaring fou = roaring drunk at sense B. 1a (cf. fou adj.).
ΚΠ
1790 R. Burns Tam o' Shanter 26 in Poems & Songs (1968) II. 558 That every naig was ca'd a shoe on, The smith and thee gat roaring fou on.
1898 J. Paton Castlebraes 3 He's roarin' fou and fechtin' wi' the win'.
1993 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 16 Oct. 4 Visit as a punter as often as possible, get roaring fou, insult the locals and be insulted by them.
2. As an intensifier: remarkably, extremely.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adjective] > robust or healthy
heart-wholea1470
robust1490
roaring1848
well-to-do1852
red-blooded1876
1848 W. M. Thackeray Let. 1 Nov. (1945) II. 447 What a shame it is to go on bragging about what is after all sheer roaring good health.
1882 Gleanings Bee Culture Dec. 588/1 In one respect It is a sad disadvantage to a bee-keeper to have a ‘roaring good’ locality.
a1889 Days of 'Forty-nine in G. Hunter Reminisc. Old Timer (1889) 154 One night Bill fell in a prospect hole; 'twas a roaring bad design.
1910 H. H. Richardson Getting of Wisdom xv. 149 When he's right down ripe, roaring mad, go off and pretend to do a mash with someone else.
1956 Billboard 13 Oct. 61/4 The Southern States Fair got off to a roaring good start Tuesday.
1990 Cruise Travel Jan.–Feb. 44/3 The French Line knew how to give passengers a roaring good time.
Compounds
roaring boy n. now historical (frequently in plural) a man or boy given to or characterized by noisy, riotous, or drunken behaviour.Common in the 17th and early 18th centuries, often as a stock character in drama. Cf. roarer n.1 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > violent behaviour > [noun] > reckless or riotous > person > collectively, in seventeenth century
roaring boy1611
oatmealc1639
1611 J. Davies Scourge Folly 152 The diuell is..nere dead while Roring boyes do liue.
1631 D. Lloyd Legend Capt. Iones 7 The townsmen where he comes their wives do swive all,..In hope to get such roaring boyes as hee.
1641 (title) Roaring boyes in Elizium.
1719 in T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth III. 23 Your Roaring Boys who every one quails, Fights, Domineers, Swaggers, and rails.
1764 S. Foote Mayor of Garret i. 20 You would meet some roaring, rare boys, i' faith.
1826 W. Scott Woodstock II. viii. 208 These were the ‘roaring boys’ who met in hedge ale-houses.
1895 A. M. Earle Margaret Winthrop ii. 44 Its [sc. London's] streets swarmed night and day with quarrelling, drunken bullies, called roaring boys.
1998 Internat. Encycl. Dance (Online text) at Masque and Antimasque [Grotesque characters]..including such diverse beings as..errant pilgrims, mountebanks,..roaring boys.
roaring buckie n. Scottish the shell of the common whelk, Buccinum undatum, which appears to make a loud roaring noise (imagined to be the sound of the sea) when the opening is held to the ear (cf. buckie n. 1, roary buckie n. at roary adj. and n. Compounds).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > superorder Branchifera > order Prosobranchiata > section Siphonostomata > family Buccinidae > shell of whelk
whelk-shellc725
whelk?1578
roaring buckie1808
roary buckie1827
1808 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. at Buckie The roaring buckie, Buccinum undatum, Linn., is the common great whelk.
1854 Zoologist 12 4428 Waved Buccine, Buccinum undatum... This and the larger species of Fusus get the provincial name of ‘roaring buckies’.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. xv. 398 The shells that give the best sea-murmurs are called in Scotland ‘roaring buckies’.., and are common on many parts of the British coast.
2001 A. Mac Póilin tr. N. Ní Dhomhnaill in G. Dawe & M. Mulreany Ogham Stone 25 On my walk I meet no hunchback scallops, roaring buckies or clam shells.
roaring camp n. North American (now historical) (the name of) a gold-prospecting camp characterized by wild behaviour, unrestrained drinking and gambling, etc.
ΚΠ
1868 B. Harte in Overland Monthly Aug. 186/2 Gamblers and adventurers are generally superstitious, and Oakhurst one day declared that the baby had brought ‘the luck’ to Roaring Camp.
1892 Daily News 15 Feb. 6/2 I have seen many roaring camps; they are hot places, when men lose their money at the gambling-tables and when the bullets begin to fly about.
1997 J. Hildebrand Reading the River viii. 84 While other roaring camps withered after the gold rush, Eagle prospered into respectability.
roaring day n. Australian (in plural) the time of the Australian gold rushes.In quot. 1936 in extended use: heyday.
ΚΠ
1896 H. Lawson In Days when World was Wide 33 And you and I were faithful mates All through the roaring days!
1907 M. Cannon That Damned Democrat (1981) 9393 The rush had some of the characteristics of the ‘roaring days’.
1936 ‘W. Hatfield’ Austral. through Wind Screen 53 In its roaring days ‘The Duchess’ was better than many a goldmine.
2003 Sun Herald (Sydney) (Nexis) 7 Dec. 79 In the roaring days of the late 1860s it was a gold rush town.
roaring game n. (with the) the game of curling; (occasionally as a count noun) a curling match. [So called on account of the sound made by the stones on the surface of the ice (compare roar v.1 3c). Compare earlier roaring play n.]
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > curling > [noun]
curling1684
roaring play1786
quoiting1811
channelling1831
roaring game1844
1790 A. Wilson Poems 197 Far aff the Curler's roaring rink, Re-echo'd loud.]
1844 tr. J. G. Kohl Eng., Wales & Sc. 48 The Scotch in the North American colonies have carried their zeal for this game so far, that the curlers of Toronto sometimes challenge those of Montreal, a town four hundred miles distant, to meet them and play a roaring game.
1877 Encycl. Brit. VI. 712/2 The rules..of the Caledonian Curling Club form a code which largely regulates ‘the roaring game’..all over the world.
1911 New Eng. Mag. Feb. 600/2 Last come the rinks for the old Scotch game of curling or, as it is also called—Bonspiel or the roaring game.
2001 C. Gordon Grim Pig xiii. 104 Perforce, the women enter into acrimonious discussions concerning the roaring game, it can be a trifle combative.
roaring girl n. the female counterpart of a roaring boy; a noisy, bawdy, or riotous woman or girl, esp. one who takes on a masculine role.In later use after Middleton and Dekker (quot. 1611).
ΚΠ
1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker (title) The roaring girle: or Moll Cutpurse.
1822 Blighted Ambition II. 306 Trust me before Candlemas, your Ladyship's maligners whew not at the children's action, nor whistle at the roaring girls.
a1963 T. Roethke Coll. Poems (1975) 264 I'm a roaring girl, an expensive wench.
1997 Independent 12 Mar. i. 17/7 Madonna..also popularised what one commentator styles the ‘roaring girl’ feminism.
2004 T. A. King Gendering of Men (2008) ii. 204 Roaring girls wore men's clothing; were adept at fighting, swearing, and smoking; and worked as prostitutes, bawds, cutpurses, and tavern hostesses.
roaring play n. now rare = roaring game n.In later use only after Burns (quot. 1786).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > curling > [noun]
curling1684
roaring play1786
quoiting1811
channelling1831
roaring game1844
1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 103 The sun had clos'd the winter-day, The Curlers quat their roaring play.
1865 J. Hamilton Winter in Poems 103 The curlers ply the ‘roarin' play’, An' rinks are made.
1903 W. Johnston Hist. County Perth 544 Intensely devoted to the ‘roaring play’, which he continued to enjoy until the last.
roaring twenties n. (also roaring 20s, roaring '20s, and with capital initials) [perhaps punningly after roaring forties n.] the third decade of the twentieth cent., the 1920s, esp. characterized as a period of post-war buoyancy, optimism, and change.
ΘΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > historical period > [noun] > specific centuries, decades, or years
fire year1673
quattrocento1854
the hungry forties1905
dix-huitième1920
roaring twenties1923
Dirty Thirties1931
1923 Evening State Jrnl. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 15 Aug. 3 Up to the big movie slump of 1920... new companies were springing up like mushrooms... But the roaring twenties have gone.
1930 Sat. Rev. 15 Mar. 328 The giants of the roaring 'twenties ought to be able to achieve glory of some sort in half as many years.
1978 Dædalus Fall 30 The massacre of the young officers..meant that countless positions..had become vacant in all spheres of society; this led to..a more youthful establishment; hence, the Roaring Twenties.
2009 Ontario Hist. (Nexis) 22 Mar. The flapper was one of the most prominent symbols and concerns of the ‘roaring twenties’.
Derivatives
ˈroaringly adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > [adverb] > very
roaringly1657
flyingly1741
swimmingly1824
twangingly1825
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > roaring or bellowing > [adverb]
a-roar?1461
roaringly1657
1657 E. Edmonds Reviving Word 63 The voice of Jehovah (or the Lord) himselfe will ere long speak so Roaringly out of Sion.
1704 C. Povey Holy Thoughts on God made Man 285 Your mind as deplorable in its splendid Estate, as his who roaringly cry'd out, what a wretchedly foolish Contract have I made.
1842 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 52 588 Roaringly, through the rocky cleft,..the torrent sweeps.
1947 D. Thomas Let. 1 Mar. in Sel. Lett. (1966) 298 I was roaringly well, then, some minutes after, a little mewling ruin.
2002 Daily Tel. 14 Jan. 21/2 [The Welsh National Opera's] highest artistic standards—which Wales should be roaringly proud of.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1eOE
n.21615
adj.adv.OE