"J" Word Origins

jokesome

Origin

From joke + -some.

jokester

English

From joke plus the agent suffix -ster, as in trickster and prankster.

Jolene

Hebrew

Invented by combining the "Jo-" sound found in many anglicized Hebrew names with the "-lene" ending seen in Helene and Magdalene — the same pattern that produced Charlene, Darlene, and Marlene.

Jolie

French

From the French word "jolie," the feminine form of "joli," meaning pretty or attractive.

jollify

Origin

From jolly + -fy.

jolliness

Origin

From Middle English jolinesse, equivalent to jolly + -ness.

jollity

Origin

From Middle English jolyfte, from Old French joliveté (“gaiety, cheerfulness; amorous passion; life of pleasure”), from jolif. Equivalent to jolly + -ty.

jolly

Old French

From Old French joli, "merry, cheerful" — its exact deeper origin is disputed, possibly linked to Old Norse jól ("Yule feast").

jolt

Origin

Possibly from an older word "joll," meaning to knock or strike, with a suffix added for repeated action.

jolty

Origin

From jolt + -y.

Jolyon

Origin

A medieval spelling of "Julian," brought back into use by the novelist John Galsworthy in his Forsyte Saga.

Jonah

Origin

From the biblical prophet Jonah, who according to the story was thrown overboard to end a storm believed to be caused by him — his name became a byword for a bringer of bad luck.

Jonas

Latin

Traces back through Latin and Greek to the Biblical Hebrew word for "dove," the same root behind the name Jonah.

Jonathan

Origin · 1800

The apple variety was named after Jonathan Hasbrouck, on whose farm it was first grown in the early 1800s.

jones

Origin

American slang traced by some writers to heroin addicts who used to gather on Great Jones Alley in New York City; others think the addiction sense simply grew out of the surname Jones being used as a generic stand-in.

jong

Origin

Borrowed from the Tibetan word for a fortress or district castle.

jongleur

Origin

Borrowed from French jongleur. Doublet of juggler.

Joni

Origin

Commonly used as a diminutive of Joan.

Joo

Korean

Borrowed from the Korean surname 주 (ju).

jook

Origin

Unknown. Compare duck (“to lower the head or body”) or jink (“to make an evasive turn”). Attested since the 16th century.

Joplin

Origin

An English surname thought to come from "Jobelin," a diminutive of the biblical name Job, once used somewhat mockingly to suggest slow-witted patience.

Jordan

Latin

The country and river take their name, through Latin and Greek, from the Biblical Hebrew "yardén," meaning the River Jordan.

Jordy

Origin

A shortened, affectionate form of Jordan, and also a modern spelling of Geordie (from George).

Jorge

Spanish

From Spanish and Portuguese, ultimately from the Greek name Georgios — the same root as English "George."

Jose

Spanish

From Spanish and Portuguese José, tracing back to the Hebrew name behind Joseph.

Joseon

Korean

From the Korean name for the dynasty, romanized as "Joseon."

Joseph

Hebrew

From the Biblical Hebrew name Yosef, meaning roughly "may God add (to the family)." The son of Jacob in Genesis.

Josephine

French

From French Joséphine, the feminine form of Joseph, popularized in English largely through Empress Josephine Bonaparte, Napoleon's first wife.

josephson

Origin

From Joseph + -son.

Josephus

Latin

From Latin Iosephus, itself from the Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Joseph.

Josh

Origin · 1800

Origin disputed, but likely traces back to the given name Joshua; the earliest recorded uses of the verb, in the mid-1800s, are capitalized.

joshi

Japanese

From Japanese 女子プロレス (joshi puroresu), a shortening of "joshi" (woman) plus "puroresu" (professional wrestling).

Joshua

Hebrew

From the Biblical Hebrew name Yehoshua, meaning "Yahweh is salvation" — linguistically related to the name Jesus by way of Greek and Aramaic.

Joshy

Origin

Formed from "josh" (to tease) plus the adjective-forming suffix "-y."

Josiah

Hebrew

From the Biblical Hebrew name Yoshiyahu.

joss

Latin

From Chinese Pidgin English, itself borrowed from Macau Portuguese, ultimately from the Latin and Portuguese word for "god."

jostle

Origin

From an older word "justle", related to "joust" — originally meaning to clash or come into contact.

jot

Latin

From Latin iota, the tiny Greek letter used figuratively for "a very small amount".

jotter

Origin

From jot + -er.

jounce

Origin

The verb is derived from Late Middle English *jouncen (“to jolt violently”) (evidenced by jouncinge (“violent jolting movement”)); further etymology unknown, possibly imitative. The noun is probably derived from the verb as it is attested later.

journal

Latin

From Old French jornel ("daily"), ultimately from Latin diurnus ("of the day") — the same root as "diurnal".

journalism

French

From French journalisme, built from journal + the suffix -ism.

journalist

Origin

From journal + the agent suffix -ist, meaning "one who works with journals".

journalistic

Origin

From journal + -istic (“adjective”). Also parsed directly as journalist + -ic (“adjective”), also used in sense of related journalism (having to do with journalism).

journey

Latin

From Old French journee ("a day's travel"), from Latin diēs ("day") — a journey originally meant the distance you could cover in one day.

journeyman

Origin

From Middle English jorneman; from journe (from Old French jornee (“a day's work, a journey”)) and mon; equivalent to journey + -man.

joust

Latin

From Old French jouster, ultimately from Latin iuxta ("close to, next to") — describing two riders coming together.

Jove

Latin

From Latin Iovis, an alternate form of Iuppiter (Jupiter).