jinx
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Pronunciation
- IPA: /dʒɪŋks/[1]
Etymology
It is American, perhaps an alteration of jynx “wryneck”,[2][3][4][5] a bird used in witchcraft and divination,[3][4][5] from Latin iynx, from Ancient Greek ἶυγξ (îunx).[2][6][4][5] English had jyng and jynx in the sense “a charm or spell” in the 17th century.[6][4]
Earliest recorded meaning
A person or thing that brings bad luck (1911).[7][6][3][4]
Semantic evolution
The word began as baseball slang: a 1911 magazine described the “jinx” as a peculiar “hoodoo” affecting a man or a whole team.[4] The verb followed in 1912 (1917 in Merriam-Webster and Barnhart).[7][4][3][6] In modern use it can also mean to bring about a bad outcome by speaking too confidently of a good one,[1] and jinx! is a call made when two people say the same thing at once.[1]
Timeline
- 17th century – jyng, jynx, a charm or spell.[6][4]
- 1911 – a bringer of bad luck (American baseball slang).[7][4][6][3]
- 1912 – verb, to bring bad luck to.[7][4]
Modern meaning
Noun
- A person or thing believed to bring bad luck.
- A spell of bad luck seemingly caused by such a person or thing.
Verb
- To bring bad luck to.
Related words
- hoodoo
References
- ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
- ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
- ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press