2006-06-22 04:56:53 · 10 answers · asked by Bob K 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
I think you mean "origin" rather than derivative.
A derivative of the word "dickens" would be a word that uses dickens as it's base, not the other way round
2006-06-22 06:02:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Dicken
2006-06-22 12:01:05 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Like the Dickens
Meaning
A lot; as in 'hurts like the dickens'.
Origin
Nothing to do with Charles Dickens. Dickens is a euphemism for the word devil, possibly via devilkins. Shakespeare used it in 'the Merry Wives of Windsor: 'I cannot tell what the dickens his name is my husband had him of.'
2006-06-22 12:01:55 · answer #3 · answered by quikzip7 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here's the orgination of "hurts like the dickens", which is probably where the other phrases come from. Scroll down to "hurts like the dickens":
http://members.aol.com/MorelandC/HaveOrigins.htmck
2006-06-22 12:05:30 · answer #4 · answered by Katy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not that many people know, but Charles Dickens was a very swift man.
2006-06-22 11:59:32 · answer #5 · answered by unseenmatter 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its a family's name....An old story that has stuck....The dickens were so ugly that when they went into town they ran fast to get back home...and so on...
2006-06-22 12:00:37 · answer #6 · answered by imarebel 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
derivative of dickens would be d(dickens)/dx = s*dicken ^(s-1)
2006-06-22 12:01:04 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Derivation, not derivative. And the guy that said it is from 'devil' first, is right.
2006-06-22 13:45:30 · answer #8 · answered by cdf-rom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"dickens" can also mean "devil."
2006-06-22 12:12:53 · answer #9 · answered by Sherry K 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the origin means devil. "They ran like the devil when the bomb went off."
2006-06-22 13:42:07 · answer #10 · answered by marybk60 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋