jilt
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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
- To drop or reject a lover suddenly or callously.
Noun
- A person, especially a woman, who discards a lover.
Word family
- jilter
Related words
- jillet
- Jill
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
- ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ 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