quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- jitney (n.)[jitney 词源字典]
- "bus which carries passengers for a fare," 1915, short for jitney bus (1906), American English, from gitney, said to be slang for any small coin, especially "a nickel," because the buses' fare typically was a nickel, the coin name perhaps via New Orleans from French jeton "coin-sized metal disk, slug, counter," from Old French jeter "to calculate," literally "to throw" (see jet (v.)).
"I'll give a nickel for a kiss,"
Said Cholly to a pretty miss.
"Skiddo," she cried, "you stingy cuss,"
"You're looking for a jitney buss."
["Jitney Jingle," 1915]
The origin and signification of the word was much discussed when the buses first appeared. Some reports say the slang word for "nickel" comes from the bus; most say the reverse, but there does not seem to be much record of jitney in a coin sense before the buses came along (a writer in "The Hub," August 1915, claims to have heard and used it as a small boy in San Francisco, and reported hearsay that "It has been in use there since the days of '49." In some sources it is said to be a St. Louis word, but most credit it to the U.S. West, especially California, though others trace it to "southern negroes, especially in Memphis" ["The Pacific," Feb. 7, 1915].[jitney etymology, jitney origin, 英语词源] - jitter (v.)
- "to move agitatedly," 1931, American English; see jitters. Related: Jittered; jittering.
- jitterbug (n.)
- popular type of fast swing dance, 1938, American English, from "Jitter Bug," title of a song recorded by Cab Calloway in 1934. Probably the literal sense is "one who has the jitters" (see jitters; for second element see bug (n.) in the slang "person obsessed with" sense). Another sense current about this time was "swing music enthusiast." As a verb from 1938.
- jitters (n.)
- "extreme nervousness," 1925, American English, perhaps an alteration of dialectal chitter "tremble, shiver," from Middle English chittern "to twitter, chatter."
- jittery (adj.)
- 1931, American English, from jitter + -y (2). Related: Jitteriness.
- jive (v.1)
- 1928, "to deceive playfully," also "empty, misleading talk" (n.) and "a style of fast, lively jazz and dance music," American English, from Black English, probably of African origin (compare Wolof jev, jeu "talk about someone absent, especially in a disparaging manner"). Related: Jived; jiving. Used from 1938 for "New York City African-American slang."
- jive (v.2)
- "agree," 1943, apparently a mistake for jibe (v.).
- jive (adj.)
- "not acting right," 1969, U.S. black English, from jive (n.) (see jive (1)). Extended form jive-ass (1964, adj.; 1969, n.) is defined in OED as "A word of fluid meaning and application."
- jo
- Scottish form of joy, attested from 1520s as a term of endearment.
- Joan
- fem. proper name, originally Joanna, fem. of Johannes (see John). Often 17c.-18c. used as a generic name for a female rustic. Among U.S. births, a top 10 name for girls born between 1930 and 1937.
- job (n.)
- 1550s, in phrase jobbe of worke "piece of work" (contrasted with continuous labor), of uncertain origin, perhaps a variant of gobbe "mass, lump" (c. 1400; see gob) via sense of "a cart-load." Sense of "work done for pay" first recorded 1650s. Thieves' slang sense of "theft, robbery, a planned crime" is from 1722. Printing sense is from 1795. Slang meaning "specimen, thing, person" is from 1927.
job. (1) A low mean lucrative busy affair. (2) Petty, piddling work; a piece of chance work. [Johnson's Dictionary]
On the job "hard at work" is from 1882. Job lot is from obsolete sense of "cartload, lump," which might also ultimately be from gob. Job security attested by 1954; job description by 1920; job-sharing by 1972.
- Job
- Biblical masc. proper name, from Hebrew Iyyobh, which according to some scholars is literally "hated, persecuted," from ayyabh "he was hostile to," related to ebhah "enmity." Others say it means "the penitent one."
- job (v.)
- 1660s, "to buy and sell as a broker," from job (n.). Meaning "to cheat, betray" is from 1903. Related: Jobbed; jobbing.
- jobber (n.)
- "one who does odd jobs," 1706, agent noun from job.
- jobless
- 1905 (adj.), 1909 (n.), from job (n.) + -less. Related: Joblessness.
- Jocelin
- masc. proper name with many variant forms, introduced in English by the Normans, from Old High German Gautelen, from Gauta, literally "Goth" (see Goth). French fem. form is Joceline.
- Jocelyn
- proper name, variant of Jocelin.
- jock (n.)
- 1952, short for jockstrap "supporter of the male genital organs," which also meant, in slang, "athletic male." Jock with the meaning "an athletic man" is from 1963, American English slang.
- jockey (n.)
- 1520s, "boy, fellow," originally a Scottish proper name, variant of Jack. The meaning "person who rides horses in races" first attested 1660s.
- jockey (v.)
- 1708, "trick, outwit, gain advantage," from jockey (n.) perhaps from its former additional sense of "horse trader" (1680s). Meaning "to ride a horse in a race" is from 1767. Related: Jockeyed; jockeying.