jinx English · revision 2436

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dʒɪŋks/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is American, perhaps an alteration of ''jynx'' “wryneck”,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) a bird used in witchcraft and divination,^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from [[la|iynx]], [[der|grc|ἶυγξ|tr=îunx]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) English had ''jyng'' and ''jynx'' in the sense “a charm or spell” in the 17th century.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A person or thing that brings bad luck (1911).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word began as baseball slang: a 1911 magazine described the “jinx” as a peculiar “hoodoo” affecting a man or a whole team.^(Etymonline) The verb followed in 1912 (1917 in Merriam-Webster and Barnhart).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) In modern use it can also mean to bring about a bad outcome by speaking too confidently of a good one,^(Wiktionary) and ''jinx!'' is a call made when two people say the same thing at once.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 17th century – ''jyng'', ''jynx'', a charm or spell.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1911 – a bringer of bad luck (American baseball slang).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1912 – verb, to bring bad luck to.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person or thing believed to bring bad luck.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A spell of bad luck seemingly caused by such a person or thing.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To bring bad luck to.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hoodoo]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}