Where does the expression “with a high hand” come from and What does it mean?

Photo of author

Karen Hill

The expression “with a high hand” means: Overbearing in manner; arrogantly.

In the Bible, Numbers xxxiii, 3, the chronicler used the expression in the sense of “triumphantly,” in the description of the departure of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage:

“And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.”

In fact, it was through Wyclif’s translation of the Bible in 1382 that we have the metaphor, “Therfor thei goon forth in an hig hoond.”

Related Posts

  1. Where does the expression “hand-in-glove” come from and What does hand in glove mean?
  2. Where does the term four-in-hand come from and What does four in hand mean?
  3. Where do the terms highroad, highway, high seas, high tea come from?
  4. What Does the Expression “The Upper Hand” Mean and Where Did the Idiom Come From?
  5. Where Did the Expression “Fork it Over” Come From and What Does the Phrase “Hand it Over” Mean?
  6. Where does the phrase “hand over fist” come from and What does it mean?