"J" Word Origins

Jeffrey

Origin

Variant of Geoffrey.

Jeffries

Origin

From Jeffrey + -s (patronymic).

Jeffy

Origin

From Jeff + -y.

Jehovah

Hebrew

From an English transliteration of the Hebrew divine name, formed by combining its consonants with the vowels of a different word traditionally substituted for it out of reverence when reading aloud.

jeju

Origin

Borrowed from a Tupian language of South America.

jejune

Origin

Borrowed from Latin iēiūnus (“fasting”).

Jekyll

Origin

From a Breton name also appearing in various forms in French Judicaël, Gicquel, Jézéquel, etc., ultimately from Old Breton Iudicael, the name of a Breton king revered as a Catholic saint. His name is from Old Breton iudd (“lord, ruler, prince”) + Old Breton cael (“generous, noble”) (whence modern Breton cael (“generous, noble”)).

Jelena

Latin

Borrowed from Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Russian Еле́на (Jeléna) and Pannonian Rusyn Єлена (Jelena), from Latin Helena, from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē). Doublet of Helen and Ellen.

jello

Latin

Genericized from the trademark Jell-O, the popular gelatin dessert brand.

jelly

Latin

From Old French gelee, "frost" or "something frozen/set," ultimately from Latin gelu, "frost" — the same root behind gelatin and gel.

jellybrain

Origin

From jelly + brain.

jellyfish

Latin

From jelly + fish, describing an aquatic creature with a gelatinous, jelly-like body — even though jellyfish are not true fish at all.

Jemima

Hebrew

From the given name Jemima, borrowed from Hebrew (meaning roughly "dove"); the boot sense arose by association rather than any direct link to the name's meaning.

jemmy

Origin

From Jemmy, diminutive of James. The verb is from the noun.

Jen

Origin

Usually a clipped or hypocoristic form of Jennifer, although also used for Jean, Jeanette, Jeannette, etc. Doublet of Ivanka, Jan, Janelle, Janet, Janey, Janine, Jeanette, Jeanie, Jeannette, Jeannine, Jenna, Jenny, Jessie, Jo, Jody, Juanita, Shanae, Sinead, and Vanna in these secondary derivations.

Jena

German

Borrowed from German Jena.

Jenga

Swahili

From the Swahili word jenga, meaning "to build" — fitting, since the game is all about building (and then un-building) a tower.

jenifer

Origin

See Jennifer.

Jenkins

Origin

From the surname Jenkins, itself from the medieval given name Jenkin ("little John"). The flatterer sense comes from stock servant characters named Jenkins in older English fiction and theatre.

Jenks

Origin

From a back-formation of Jenkin + the patronymic suffix -s.

Jenna

Origin

A Cornish name, usually as a diminutive form of Jennifer. Doublet of Ivanka, Jan, Janelle, Janet, Janey, Janine, Jeanette, Jeanie, Jeannette, Jeannine, Jen, Jenny, Jessie, Jo, Jody, Juanita, Shanae, Sinead, and Vanna when based on Jenny's other derivations.

jennet

Origin

From Late Middle English genet, from Old French genet, from Old Catalan genet or Old Spanish ginete (“small fast horse; light horseman”), from Andalusian Arabic زَنَاتِي (zanātī), the Zenati or Zenata Berbers, known as excellent horse breeders. Doublet of Zenati.

Jenni

Origin

Modern variant of Jenny.

Jennifer

Welsh

From Cornish Jenifer, a form of Welsh Gwenhwyfar ("Guinevere").

jenny

Origin

From the generic use of the female given name Jenny, and partly from informal pronunciations of "engine" (as in the spinning jenny).

Jensen

Origin

Borrowed from Danish Jensen.

Jenson

Origin

From Jensen, from Danish Jensen.

jeon

Korean

Borrowed from Korean 전 (jeon).

Jeong

Origin

Transliteration of Korean 정 (jeong).

jeopardise

Origin

From jeopardy + -ise.

jeopardize

Origin

From jeopardy + the verb-forming suffix -ize.

jeopardy

Middle English

From Anglo-Norman giu parti, "a divided game" — originally a chess or gambling term for an even, uncertain contest, which by Middle English narrowed to mean simply "risk" or "danger."

jer

Russian

Borrowed from Russian ер or ерь, the traditional names for these old Cyrillic letters.

jerboa

Origin

From Arabic جَرْبُوع (jarbūʕ) or يَرْبُوع (yarbūʕ). Doublet of gerbil.

Jeremiah

Origin

From the biblical prophet Jeremiah, known for his warnings of coming disaster and his mournful writings (the Book of Lamentations).

Jeremy

Hebrew

From Hebrew Yirmeyahu, meaning "Yahweh will exalt."

Jericho

Hebrew

From the ancient city's name, traced through Greek and Hebrew back to a Biblical Hebrew place-name.

jerk

Old English

Probably from an old English word meaning "ready" or "quick", describing a sudden sharp motion; the Jamaican cooking sense is unrelated and comes from a different, disputed source.

jerkball

Origin

From jerk + -ball.

jerko

Origin

From jerk + -o.

jerkoff

Origin

Deverbal from jerk off (“to masturbate”).

jerkwad

Origin

From jerk + -wad.

jerky

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish charqui, from Quechua charki.

Jermaine

French

From French germain, "German" or "of Germany."

Jerome

Greek

From Greek Hieronymos, from hieros ("sacred") and onyma ("name").

Jerry

German

A diminutive of "Gerald" and related names, later applied as slang for Germans, possibly from the resemblance of German helmets to chamber pots.

jersey

Origin

Named after Jersey, the Channel Island where knitted woollen garments of this style were traditionally worn by fishermen.

Jerusalem

Hebrew

From Hebrew Yerushalayim, of disputed origin, traditionally linked to "foundation of peace."