job English · revision 1995

− The origin of job is uncertain.^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)^(COED 2004) It first appears in the phrase jobbe of worke (1557),^(Barnhart 1988) and Etymonline, Barnhart and MWU suggest it is a variant of [[m|enm|gobbe|t=lump, mass]] (see [[gob]]), perhaps through a sense “cartload”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Hoad and Word Origins point to an obsolete job “piece, lump” (14th century) and “cartload” (16th century), itself of unknown origin.^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) The verb job “to jab, prod” (Late Middle English) is a separate word, apparently imitative,^(SOED 2002)^(NODE 1998)^(Klein 1966) and the name Job comes through Latin and Greek from [[he|איוב|tr=Iyyōbh]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Klein 1966)