jerk English · revision 10552

17 Oct 2026, 04:57 by bogdan “en10k b0368: harassment … jerk”
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+ Jerk, a sudden pull, is of uncertain, perhaps imitative origin; jerk, to cure meat in strips, is from American Spanish, from Quechua.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: UK /dʒɜːk/, US /dʒɝːk/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+ 
+ {{homograph|1|sudden pull}}
+ 
+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=onomatopoeia|attested=1550}}
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is of uncertain origin, perhaps imitative of the sound or action of a blow;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) it is synonymous with obsolete jert and yerk of the 16th century,^(Hoad 1986) and Merriam-Webster takes it as probably an alteration of [[yerk]].^(MWU 2024)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ To lash or strike with a whip: 1550, in Coverdale.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The noun, a stroke of a whip, is from 1555.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The sense to pull or twist suddenly is first recorded in Nashe's An Almond for a Parrot,^(Barnhart 1988) the 1580s in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and the noun, a sharp sudden pull, from 1575.^(OED 1989) Making a sudden spasmodic movement is from about 1600,^(Etymonline) and ''the jerks'', involuntary twitching, from 1805.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) ''Physical jerks'', exercises, is from 1919.^(OED 1989) The slang sense, a stupid or contemptible person, is from 1935, American carnival or underworld slang,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) perhaps from the earlier jerk “insignificant” in ''jerkwater'' (1897), a small town where a steam train stopped to take on water,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) or from ''jerk off'', to masturbate.^(Etymonline) The dance called the jerk is from 1966.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1550 – to lash.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)
+ * 1575 – a sharp pull (noun).^(OED 1989)
+ * 1580s – to pull suddenly.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1805 – the jerks.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+ * 1919 – physical jerks.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1935 – a contemptible person.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A sudden abrupt movement, such as a [[yank]] or twist.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # An involuntary spasmodic muscular movement; a [[twitch]].^(AHD)
+ # ''(slang)'' A stupid, foolish or contemptible person.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)
+ 
+ ===Verb===
+ # To move or pull with a sudden abrupt motion.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # To utter words abruptly or breathlessly.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[jerky]]
+ * [[jerkily]]
+ * [[jerkwater]]
+ * [[knee-jerk]]
+ 
+ {{homograph|2|cured meat}}
+ 
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1707|origins=es charquear|origins=qu ch'arki}}
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is from American [[bor|es|charquear]], from charquí, jerked meat,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from Quechua [[m|qu|ch'arki]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) An earlier English form was jerkin beef (17th century).^(Hoad 1986) Merriam-Webster treats the verb as a back-formation from [[jerky]].^(MWU 2024)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ To cure meat by cutting it into long thin strips and drying it in the sun: 1707, in American English.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The noun, jerked meat, is from 1799,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''jerky'' from 1850.^(Barnhart 1988) In Jamaican cooking, jerk is meat seasoned and barbecued, traditionally over allspice wood.^(AHD)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 17th century – jerkin beef.^(Hoad 1986)
+ * 1707 – to jerk meat.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)
+ * 1799 – jerk (noun).^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1850 – jerky.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Verb===
+ # To cut [[meat]] into long strips and dry it in the sun or cure it with smoke.^(AHD)
+ 
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Of a Jamaican way of seasoning and barbecuing meat, traditionally wrapped in [[allspice]] leaves.^(AHD)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[jerky]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[yerk]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}