Etymologically
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jazz

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 04:39. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dʒæz/[1]

Etymology

It is American English, of unknown origin.[2][3][4] It may come from the earlier slang jasm (“energy, vitality, spirit”) (1860), itself perhaps from gism in the same sense (1842);[5][6][7] Barnhart also compares several African words meaning to dance or to be very lively, but stresses that the connection cannot be shown.[6] Etymonline, following Lewis Porter, notes that the sexual sense was added only from 1918, so it was not part of the word's origin.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lively, energetic, by 1912 in California baseball writing:[5] a pitcher called his new wobbling throw “the Jazz ball”.[7] Barnhart dates the word to 1913, as a kind of ragtime dance.[6]

Semantic evolution

The first known musical use is in Chicago in 1915;[7][5] by 1922 jazz was applied to music of the kind played by Black musicians.[6] The sense of energy, excitement or pep is from 1913 in the OED,[8] and of nonsense or empty talk from 1918.[8][5] And all that jazz, and so on, is recorded from 1939 in Etymonline and 1959 in the OED.[5][8] The verb, to speed up or liven up, is from 1917, and to play in the style of jazz from 1919;[8][5] to jazz up is now to make something more colourful or exciting.[9] Of design, jazz meant gaudy or loud from 1919.[8]

Timeline

  • 1912 – lively, in baseball slang.[5]
  • 1913 – a ragtime dance; energy, pep.[6][8]
  • 1915 – the music, in Chicago.[7][5]
  • 1917 – the verb, to liven up.[8][5]
  • 1918 – nonsense, empty talk.[8][5]
  • 1939 – and all that jazz.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A style of music of African-American origin, with strong, flexible rhythm, syncopation and solo and group improvisation.
  2. (slang) Pretentious or empty talk; similar things in general: and all that jazz.
  3. (informal) Liveliness, energy.

Verb

  1. To play in a jazz style.
  2. (informal) To make livelier or more showy: jazz it up.

Word family

  • jazzer
  • jazzish
  • jazzlike
  • jazz-rock
  • jazzy
  • jazzercise
  • jazzwoman
  • cool jazz
  • jasm
  • jism
  • ragtime
  • blues

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press