See Also: thunderbolt(medicine)
thunderbolt(dictionary)
thunderbolt(dictionary)

thunderbolt (iou)



thunderbolt noun & verb. LME.
[from THUNDER noun + BOLT noun1.]
A. noun.
a. A flash of lightning, esp. when close enough for a simultaneous clap of thunder to be heard; a supposed bolt or shaft believed to be the destructive agent in a lightning-flash, esp. as an attribute of Jupiter, Thor, etc. Cf. BOLT noun1 2. LME.
P. Dally One might imagine the house, with its metal spires and crescents, to be a natural target for thunderbolts.
b. An imaginary or conventional representation of a thunderbolt as an emblem of a god, a heraldic bearing, etc. E18.
fig. Orig., a terrifying or awesome denunciation, censure, or threat proceeding from a high authority. Now esp. a sudden or unexpected and startling event or piece of news. Cf. THUNDERCLAP 3. M16.
Spenser To dart abroad the thunder bolts of warre. Courier-Mail (Brisbane) This news. It's a thunderbolt out of the blue.
b. A person noted for violent or destructive action; a dynamic or furiously energetic person. L16.
R. W. Emerson A thunderbolt in the attack, he was..invulnerable in his entrenchments.
c. Sport. A fast hard-struck shot or stroke. M20.
Times Heighway..lashed a thunderbolt past Latchford from the edge of the box.
Any of various stones, fossils, or mineral concretions, formerly or popularly believed to be thunderbolts; spec. (a) a belemnite; (b) a flint celt or similar prehistoric implement; (c) a nodule of iron pyrites; (d) a meteorite. Chiefly Scot. & dial. E17.
Any of several plants believed to induce thunder if they were picked; esp. the corn poppy, Papaver rhoeas. dial. M19.
Comb.: thunderbolt attack, thunderbolt raid colloq. (now chiefly Hist.) a short but heavy air raid.
b. verb trans. Strike (as) with a thunderbolt; astonish, amaze; terrify. rare. L16.