jumbo

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈdʒʌmbəʊ/ (UK); /ˈdʒʌmboʊ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It was popularized by Jumbo, a huge elephant of the London Zoo bought by the American showman P. T. Barnum in 1882.^[2][3][4][5] The elephant's name was probably from earlier slang jumbo “a big, clumsy fellow” (1823),^[2][6][4][7] which may in turn be taken from mumbo jumbo.^[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A big, clumsy person, animal or thing (1823).^[7][6]

Semantic evolution

Barnum's purchase of the elephant in February 1882 caused excitement in America and an outcry in England,^[4] and the name became a byword for anything very large (1882–1883).^[4][3][6] The adjectival use dates from 1897.^[7][6] In the 20th century the word was applied to large drilling equipment (1908) and became short for jumbo jet (1966).^[7]

Timeline

• 1823 – a big, clumsy person or thing.^[7][6]
• 1882 – the name of Barnum's elephant; anything very large.^[4][7]
• 1897 – adjective, of very large size.^[7][6]
• 1908 – heavy drilling equipment.^[7]
• 1966 – short for jumbo jet.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Unusually large.

Noun

1. An unusually large person, animal or thing.
2. A jumbo jet.

Word family

• jumbo jet

References

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