Etymologically
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josh

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /dʒɒʃ/, US /dʒɑːʃ/[1]

Etymology

Its origin is unknown.[2][3][4] It is American, first written Josh, and Barnhart and Etymonline suggest that it comes from Josh, the familiar form of Joshua, perhaps as a typical name of an old farmer, though the link is obscure.[5][6] Collins suggests instead joke, influenced by bosh.[7] The 19th-century idea that it came from Josh Billings, the pen name of the humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw, fails on dates: Shaw's work became widely known only from 1860, after josh was in common use,[5][6] although Etymonline allows that his popularity may have spread the word.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To banter or joke, intransitive: 1845 in the OED, Barnhart, Etymonline and MWU.[8][5][6][2]

Semantic evolution

To make fun of or tease someone is from 1852.[8][6] Josher and joshing are from 1864,[8] and the noun, a good-natured joke, from 1878.[8][2] The SOED labels it slang.[3]

Timeline

  • 1845 – to banter.[8]
  • 1852 – to tease someone.[8]
  • 1864 – josher, joshing.[8]
  • 1878 – the noun.[8]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. (informal) To tease someone in a friendly way.
  2. (informal) To exchange good-humoured jokes; to banter.

Noun

  1. (informal) A teasing joke.

Word family

  • josher
  • joshingly

Usage notes

In east Suffolk dialect, a josh was an old cow.[9]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)