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raise cain

 - 6 dictionary results

Cain

1  [keyn]
Use raise cain in a Sentence
–noun
1. the first son of Adam and Eve, who murdered his brother Abel. Gen. 4.
2. a murderer.
—Idiom
3. raise Cain, Slang.
a. become angry or violent: He'll raise Cain when he finds out I lost his watch.
b. to behave in a boisterous manner; cause a disturbance: The students raised Cain while the teacher was out.
Related forms:
Cainism, noun
Cain⋅it⋅ic  [key-nit-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To raise cain
raise   (rāz)   
v.   raised, rais·ing, rais·es

v.   tr.

  1. To move to a higher position; elevate: raised the loads with a crane. See Synonyms at lift.

  2. To set in an upright or erect position: raise a flagpole.

  3. To erect or build: raise a new building.

  4. To cause to arise, appear, or exist: The slap raised a welt.

  5. To increase in size, quantity, or worth: raise an employee's salary.

  6. To increase in intensity, degree, strength, or pitch: raised his voice.

  7. To improve in rank or dignity; promote: raised her to management level.

    1. To grow, especially in quantity; cultivate: raise corn and soybeans.

    2. To breed and care for to maturity: raise cattle.

    3. To bring up; rear: raise children.

    4. To accustom to something from an early age: "Such amenities are ... meant to make churchgoing attractive to a post-World War II generation raised on shopping malls and multiplex cinemas" (Gustav Niebuhr).

    5. To awaken; arouse: noise that would raise the dead.

    6. To stir up; instigate: raise a revolt.

    7. To bring about; provoke: remarks intended to raise a laugh.

    8. To increase (a poker bet).

    9. To bet more than (a preceding bettor in poker).

    10. To increase the bid of (one's bridge partner).

  9. To put forward for consideration: raised an important question. See Synonyms at broach1.

  10. To voice; utter: raise a shout.

    1. To awaken; arouse: noise that would raise the dead.

    2. To stir up; instigate: raise a revolt.

    3. To bring about; provoke: remarks intended to raise a laugh.

    4. To increase (a poker bet).

    5. To bet more than (a preceding bettor in poker).

    6. To increase the bid of (one's bridge partner).

  12. To make contact with by radio: couldn't raise the control tower after midnight.

  13. To gather together; collect: raise money from the neighbors for a charity.

  14. To cause (dough) to puff up.

  15. To end (a siege) by withdrawing troops or forcing the enemy troops to withdraw.

  16. To remove or withdraw (an order).

  17. Games

    1. To increase (a poker bet).

    2. To bet more than (a preceding bettor in poker).

    3. To increase the bid of (one's bridge partner).

  18. Nautical To bring into sight by approaching nearer: raised the Cape.

  19. To alter and increase fraudulently the written value of (a check, for example).

  20. To cough up (phlegm).

  21. Scots To make angry; enrage.

v.   intr. Games
To increase a poker bet or a bridge bid.
n.  

  1. The act of raising or increasing.

  2. An increase in salary.


[Middle English raisen, from Old Norse reisa; see er-1 in Indo-European roots.]
rais'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

raise Cain

To create a disturbance: “Alan and his buddies were always raising Cain over at the frat house.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
raise Cain [...ken]

  1. tv.
    to make a lot of trouble; to raise hell. : Fred was really raising Cain about the whole matter.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

Cain 
elder son of Adam and Eve, from Heb. Qayin, lit. "created one," also "smith," from Sem. stem q-y-n "to form, to fashion." To raise Cain is first recorded 1840. Surnames McCain, McCann, etc., are a contraction of Ir. Mac Cathan "son of Cathan," from Celt. cathan, lit. "warrior," from cath "battle."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

raise Cain

Also, raise hell or the devil. Behave in a rowdy or disruptive way, as in He said he'd raise Cain if they wouldn't give him a refund, or The gang was out to raise hell that night, or The wind raised the devil with our picnic. The first term alludes to the son of Adam and Eve who killed his brother, Abel. It was first recorded in the St. Louis Daily Pennant (May 2, 1840): "Why have we every reason to believe that Adam and Eve were both rowdies? Because ... they both raised Cain.". This statement makes a pun on raise, meaning "bring up" or "nurturing." The two variants, alluding to bringing hell or the devil up to this world, are older, the first from about 1700, the second from about 1800.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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