derrick

pronunciation

How to pronounce derrick in British English: UK [ˈderɪk]word uk audio image

How to pronounce derrick in American English: US [ˈdɛrɪk] word us audio image

  • Noun:
    a framework erected over an oil well to allow drill tubes to be raised and lowered
    a simple crane having lifting tackle slung from a boom

Word Origin

derrick
derrick: [16] Around the end of the 16th century there was a famous Tyburn hangman called Derick. His name came to be used as a personification of hangmen in general, and subsequently as a metaphor for the ‘gallows’. Gradually, however, these macabre associations were lost, and by the 18th century derrick had progressed in meaning to ‘hoisting apparatus’.
derrick (n.)
c. 1600, originally "hangman," then "a gallows," then "hoist, crane" (1727), from surname of a hangman at Tyburn gallows, London, c. 1606-1608, often referred to in contemporary theater. The name represents a late borrowing from the Low Countries (compare Dutch Diederik) of Old High German Theodric (see Dietrich).

Example

1. He was relaxed and affable at derrick 's party .
2. Derrick is the most proficient typist in our typing class .
3. Derrick rose , 22 , has been with the chicago bulls since the 2008 nba draft .
4. In the late 1970s his long-time mistress , cecilia matos , would appear in a necklace from which hung a small , gold , oil derrick .
5. Derrick thought he would fill in the waiting time by seeing the world .

more: >How to Use "derrick" with Example Sentences