"J" Word Origins

jiggly

Origin

From "jiggle" plus "-y."

jigsaw

Origin

From "jig" (referring to the saw's jerking motion) plus "saw."

jihad

Arabic

Borrowed from Arabic jihād, meaning "struggle" or "effort."

jihadi

Arabic

From "jihad" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-i," following the Arabic pattern.

Jill

Latin

A variant of "Gill," a diminutive of the name Gillian, itself from Latin Juliana.

jillion

Origin

See -illion.

Jilly

Origin

Diminutives with -y.

jilt

Origin

Contraction of jillet (“a giddy girl, a jill-flirt”).

Jim

Origin

A shortened, casual form of "jimmy," itself linked to the name James.

Jimenez

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Jiménez.

jiminy

Origin

An altered form of "Gemini," itself an old mild exclamation.

Jimmy

Origin

A variant of "jemmy," a British word for a small crowbar.

jin

Japanese

From Japanese jin.

Jing

Origin

Borrowed from Mandarin jīng.

jingle

Middle English

From Middle English "gyngle," an imitative (onomatopoeic) word related to "jangle."

jingo

Origin

From the minced oath by jingo, which was used in a music hall song, written ca. 1878 by G. W. Hunt, that supported Britain's then belligerent attitude towards Russia. In this context, a euphemism for Jesus, influenced by the meaningless presto-jingo used by conjurors. A connection with the Basque jainko (“god”) has been suggested, but evidence is lacking.

jinja

Origin

Borrowed from Japanese 神社 (じんじゃ, jinja), from Middle Chinese 神社, from Old Chinese 神社 (“sacrificial altar, shrine”), from 神 (*hlin, “deity, divine”) + 社 (*ɦljaːʔ, “Earth deity [and altar]”). Cognate with Mandarin 神社 (shénshè, “shrine”).

jinks

Origin

Variant of Jenks.

jinn

Arabic

From Arabic jinn, a collective noun for these spirit beings (singular jinnī).

Jinnah

Origin

Borrowed from Urdu جِناح (jināh), from Gujarati ઝીણા (jhīṇā).

Jinny

Origin

Shortening, chiefly of Virginia (which is also shortened to Ginny), sometimes of Eugenia, and rarely of Genevieve (more often shortened to Genny).

jinx

Origin

Traced back to jynx, an old word for a charm or spell, itself from the wryneck bird once used in folk magic.

jird

Origin

Probably from Arabic جُرَذ (juraḏ, “a rat”) in a vulgar pronunciation.

Jiro

Japanese

From Japanese ji ("second") and ro (a common name suffix for sons).

JIT

English

In the slang sense, US regional (Florida and the South), of uncertain origin. In the technical senses, an initialism of 'just in time'.

jitney

Origin

1886, originally for a five-cent US coin (a nickel); use for taxis and buses due to these services originally charging five cents as fare, popularized circa 1915. The etymology is uncertain; it is believed to originate from Louisiana Creole jetnée, from French jeton (“token, coin-sized metal disc”), though this is disputed. Evidence for the Louisiana Creole French origin includes the geographic distribution (Southeastern US, especially Black/African-American), and early spelling as gitney, which is common French spelling for the /ʒi/ pronunciation.

jitterbug

Origin · 1934

From jitter + bug, popularized by Cab Calloway's 1934 song "Jitter Bug."

jittery

Origin

From jitter ("to move nervously") + the adjective suffix -y.

jiu

Origin

Borrowed from Mandarin 酒 (jiǔ), meaning "alcoholic drink."

jive

Origin

Origin uncertain; the word rose in African-American slang, possibly linked to gyve ("shackle") or a West African source meaning idle talk.

Jiya

Origin

From Uyghur جىيا (jiya).

jizhou

Origin

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 薊州 /蓟州 (Jìzhōu).

jizz

Origin · 1921

The birdwatching sense dates to the early 20th century, first recorded in a 1921 nature column; its ultimate origin is debated, with guesses ranging from a garbled form of "gestalt" or "gist" to a coincidence with an unrelated slang word.

jizzbag

Origin

From jizz (“semen”) + bag.

JK

Japanese

From Japanese JK, an abbreviation of joshi kōsei ("high-school girl").

jo

Latin

The "sweetheart" sense comes from Scots jo ("joy"), tracing back through Old French joie to Latin gaudia; a doublet of "joy."

Joachim

Hebrew

From Hebrew Yehoyakim, meaning "Yahweh will establish."

joachimite

Origin

From Joachim + -ite.

Joan

Latin

A shortened form of Joanna, ultimately from Hebrew via Greek and Latin, meaning "God is gracious."

Joanie

Origin

Formed from "Joan" plus the affectionate ending "-ie."

joanna

Origin

Cockney rhyming slang: "joanna" rhymes with a dialectal pronunciation of "piano."

Joanne

Old French

From Old French Joanne, from Latin Joanna, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which produced John and its many doublets. Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.

Joao

Portuguese

Borrowed from Portuguese João. Doublet of John.

Joaquin

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Joaquín.

job

Middle English

From the Middle English phrase "jobbe of work" (a piece of work); ultimate origin uncertain.

jobber

Origin

From job + -er.

jobby

Origin

Blend of job + hobby.

jobday

Origin

From job and day.