jilt

Pronunciation

• IPA: /d͡ʒɪlt/^[1]

Etymology

It comes from an earlier noun jilt “harlot” (1672),^[2][3][4][5] probably a contraction of jillet or gillot,^{[2][3][4][6][5]} a diminutive of gille “girl, wench”,^[2][3][4] originally a short form of the name Gillian.^[3][4] It is related to Jill.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a verb, to be false or faithless to a lover, to cast off one lover for another (1673).^[3][7][6] The general sense “to cheat, trick” is recorded from 1660.^[7][4]

Semantic evolution

The noun first meant a loose woman (1672)^[7][3][4] and then a woman who encourages a lover and then casts him off (1674).^[7][4] It was rarely applied to men.^[7] The verb's sense has stayed the same.^[7][2][6]

Timeline

• before 1425 – gille, a woman or girl.^[3]
• 1557 – gillot.^[3]
• 1660 – to cheat or trick.^[7][4]
• 1672 – noun, a harlot.^[7][3][4]
• 1673 – verb, to cast off a lover.^[7][3][6]
• 1674 – noun, a woman who jilts a lover.^[7][6]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To drop or reject a lover suddenly or callously.

Noun

1. A person, especially a woman, who discards a lover.

Word family

• jilter

Related words

• jillet
• Jill

References

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