Informal to become gradually smaller, weaker, etc. and then cease or disappear: with out
Origin of peter
from uncertain or unknown; perhapspeter
PeterSlang the penis
Origin of peter
ultimately from PeterPeter
- a masculine name: dim. Pete: equiv. L. Petrus, Fr. Pierre, It. Pietro, Sp. Pedro, Russ. Pyotr
- (original name Simon) (died 64?); one of the twelve Apostles, a fisherman, to whom the Letters of Peter are ascribed: considered the first pope: his day is June 29also Simon Peter or Saint Peter
- either of the two Letters of Peter: abbrev. Pe, Pet
- (original name Simon) (died 64?); one of the twelve Apostles, a fisherman, to whom the Letters of Peter are ascribed: considered the first pope: his day is June 29
Origin of Peter
Middle English from Ecclesiastical Late Latin Petrus from Classical Greek Petros ( from petros, stone, petra, rock) used as translated, translation of Aramaic k?ph?, rockPeter Idioms
rob Peter to pay Paul
to pay a debt, obligation, etc. by creating or leaving unpaid another
Peter
- 1672-1725; czar of Russia (1682-1725): called the Great
- 1923-70; king of Yugoslavia (1934-45): son of Alexander I
- 1728-62; czar of Russia (1762): assassinated; succeeded by his wife, Catherine II
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"peter." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 26 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/PETER>.
APA Style
peter. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PETER
peter
intransitive verb
pe·tered, pe·ter·ing, pe·tersTo diminish slowly and come to an end. Often used with out : Their enthusiasm soon petered out.
Origin of peter
Origin unknownnoun
Vulgar SlangThe penis.
Origin of peter
From the name PeterPeter
noun
Peter
SaintDied c. AD 67
The chief of the 12 Apostles. He is traditionally regarded as the first bishop of Rome and author of two epistles in the New Testament.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"peter." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 26 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/PETER>.
APA Style
peter. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PETER
Origin
US, 1902, presumably from shared initial pe-.
Verb
(third-person singular simple present peters, present participle petering, simple past and past participle petered)
- (only used in the phrase peter out) To dwindle; to trail off; to diminish to nothing
Usage notes
Originally used independently, today only used in the derived phrase peter out.
Origin
1812, US miners' slang, Unknown. Various speculative etymologies have been suggested. One suggestion is that it comes from peter being an abbreviation of saltpeter, the key ingredient in gunpowder - when a mine was exhausted, it was “petered". Other derivations are from St. Peter (from sense of “rock"), or French péter (“to fart").
Proper noun
Origin
From Latin Petrus, from Ancient Greek Î ÎÏ„Ïος (Petros), from Ï€ÎÏ„Ïος (petros, “stone, rock"), related to Ï€ÎÏ„Ïα (petra)
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"peter." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 26 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/PETER>.
APA Style
peter. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PETER
