dressed to the nines

[nahyn] Origin

nine

[nahyn]
noun
1.
a cardinal number, eight plus one.
2.
a symbol for this number, as 9 or IX.
3.
a set of this many persons or things.
4.
a baseball team.
5.
a playing card with nine pips.
EXPAND
6.
the Nine, the Muses.
COLLAPSE
adjective
7.
amounting to nine in number.

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Dressed to the nines is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
8.
dressed to the nines, looking one's best; dressed smartly, splendidly, etc.: All the girls were dressed to the nines for the party.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English nigan, nigon, cognate with Dutch negen, akin to German neun, Old Norse nīu, Gothic niun, Latin novem, Greek ennéa, Sanskrit náva
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To dressed to the nines
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

nine
O.E. nigen, from P.Gmc. *niwun (cf. O.Fris. niugun, O.N. niu, Du. negen, Ger. neun, Goth. niun "nine"), from PIE (e)newn (cf. Skt. nava, Avestan nava, Gk. ennea, Alb. nende, L. novem, Lith. devnyi, O.C.S. deveti (the Balto-Slavic forms by dissimilation of -n- to -d-), O.Ir. noin, Welsh naw). Ninth is
EXPAND
O.E. nigonðe. Sense in cloud nine, etc., possibly because, "As the largest one-figure integer, nine is sometimes used for emphasis" [Shipley]. Nine to five "the average workday" is attested from 1959. Nine days has been proverbial since 14c. for the time which a wonder or novelty holds attention. The game of ninepins is attested from 1580.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

dressed to the nines definition


and dressed to the teeth
  1. mod.
    dressed very stylishly with nothing overlooked. (See also thewhole nine yards for the nine.) : She always goes out dressed to the nines. , Clare is usually dressed to the teeth in order to impress people.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT