jettison

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɛtɪsn̩/ (UK); /ˈdʒɛt.ə.s(ə)n/, /ˈdʒɛt.ə.z(ə)n/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English jetteson (“the throwing of goods overboard”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} borrowed from Anglo-Norman getteson,^[2][3][4][5] from Old French getaison,^[4][5][6] from Late Latin iactātiō (“a throwing”),^[2][4][5][3] from iactāre “to throw, toss about”,^[2][4][5][3] from Proto-Indo-European *ye- (“to throw, impel”).^[5] The same Middle English word developed into jetsam.^[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, the action of throwing goods overboard, especially to lighten a ship in distress (1425).^[7][4]

Semantic evolution

The old noun had turned into jetsam, which came to mean the goods thrown overboard;^[5] in the 18th century marine-insurance writers restored the earlier form jettison for the act of throwing them, so as to have an unambiguous word.^[5][4] The verb, “to throw overboard”, followed in 1848.^[7][3][4][5] It was extended figuratively to discarding anything burdensome (the noun so from 1887),^[7][2][3] and to dropping things from aircraft (1934) and spacecraft.^[7][3]

Timeline

• 1425 – noun, the throwing of goods overboard.^[7][4]
• 1848 – verb, to throw cargo overboard.^[7][3][4][5]
• 1887 – figurative use of the noun.^[7]
• 1934 – verb, to drop from an aircraft in flight.^[7]
• 1962 – verb, to fall away from an aircraft or spacecraft.^[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To throw cargo or equipment overboard, or drop it from an aircraft or spacecraft, to lighten or stabilize it.
2. To discard something as unwanted or burdensome.

Noun

1. The act of casting goods overboard to lighten a vessel or aircraft.
2. Jetsam.

Word family

• jettisonable

Related words

• jetsam
• jet
• flotsam

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press