joint

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dʒɔɪnt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English jointe,^[2] borrowed from Old French joint (“joint of the body”), past participle of joindre (“to join”),^[3][4][5] from Latin iūnctus (“united, connected”), past participle of iungere (“to join together”),^[3][4] from a nasalised form of Proto-Indo-European *yeug- (“to join”).^[3] The adjective is from Old French jointiz “joined together” and the participle joint.^[3][4] It is related to join, junction, conjunction and yoke.^[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Where two bones meet and move against each other: about 1290 in the OED,^[6] about 1300 in Etymonline and Barnhart.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

In general use, of insect and plant parts and of the place where two parts of a structure meet, it is from the late 14th century.^[3][6] Out of joint, of a dislocated bone, is from 1393, and figuratively, “disordered”, from the early 15th century.^[6][3] A cut of meat on the bone is from the early 15th century.^[3] The adjective, “united, sharing”, is from 1424^[4] or the early 15th century,^[3] and joint-stock from the 1610s.^[3] The slang sense “a place, an establishment”, especially one where people meet for shady purposes, is from 1877, after earlier Anglo-Irish use (1821), perhaps of a private side room joined to a main one;^[3][4] in the United States it was an opium den by 1883.^[3] A marijuana cigarette is from 1938, perhaps as something smoked in common;^[3] earlier it meant a hypodermic outfit (1935).^[3] “Prison” is recorded from 1953, in William Burroughs's Junkie.^[4][3]

Timeline

• c. 1290 – a joint of the body.^[6]
• late 14th century – a joint in a structure.^[3]
• 1393 – out of joint.^[6]
• 1424 – adjective, shared.^[4]
• 1610s – joint-stock.^[3]
• 1877 – a place, a dive.^[3][4]
• 1938 – a marijuana cigarette.^[3]
• 1953 – prison.^[4][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A place where two or more things are joined.
2. A point where two bones meet, especially one that allows movement.
3. A large piece of meat for roasting.
4. (slang) A cheap or disreputable bar or nightclub; any place.
5. (slang) A marijuana cigarette.
6. (slang) Prison.

Adjective

1. Shared by two or more: a joint account.
2. Acting together; united: joint owners.
3. Involving both houses of a legislature.

Verb

1. To join with a joint, or provide with joints.
2. To cut meat into joints.

Word family

• jointed
• jointedly
• jointedness
• jointly
• jointless
• subjoint
• unjoint
• ball joint

Related words

• join
• junction
• juncture
• conjunction
• yoke
• jointure
• adjoin

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press