jump English · revision 3903

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=onomatopoeia|attested=1530|origins=en jump}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dʒʌmp/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It has no apparent source in Old or Middle English^(Etymonline) and is probably imitative of the sound of feet coming to the ground,^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)^(Cresswell 2021) like [[bump]] and [[thump]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) Another theory derives it from Gallo-Romance dialects of south-western France, such as jumba “to rock, balance, swing” and yumpa “to rock”, picked up during the English occupation of that region;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart compares Sardinian iumpare “to jump”.^(Barnhart 1988) Merriam-Webster compares Swedish gumpa and Low German gumpen “to jump”,^(MWU 2024) but the OED finds no basis for a relationship.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To make a spring from the ground: 1520s in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) 1530 in Merriam-Webster.^(MWU 2024) Barnhart has jumpen before 1460, probably meaning “to walk quickly or jump”,^(Barnhart 1988) and the New Oxford gives the first sense as “to be moved or thrown with a sudden jerk”.^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It has superseded native [[leap]], [[bound]] and [[spring]] in most senses.^(Etymonline) “To pass abruptly from one state to another” is from the 1570s,^(Etymonline) and “to have sex with” from the 1630s.^(Etymonline) ''To jump to a conclusion'' is from 1704,^(Etymonline) “to attack, pounce upon” from 1789,^(Etymonline) ''to jump rope'' from 1853 and ''to jump to'', “to obey readily”, from 1886.^(Etymonline) The noun, an act of jumping, is from the 1550s,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) a sudden rise from the 1650s,^(Etymonline) a parachute descent from 1922,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and jazz with a strong beat from 1937, in Count Basie's “One O'Clock Jump”.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The ''jumpsuit'' (1948) was modelled on paratroopers' outfits,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) and ''to jump the gun'', from a runner starting before the gun, is mid-20th-century.^(Cresswell 2021) ''To get the jump on'' is from 1910.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1520s – to spring from the ground.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1550s – noun, a leap.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1570s – to pass abruptly.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1704 – ''to jump to a conclusion''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1789 – to attack.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1910 – ''to get the jump on''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1922 – a parachute descent.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1937 – jazz with a strong beat.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1948 – ''jumpsuit''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To spring off the ground by the action of the legs and feet; to [[leap]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To move suddenly or involuntarily, as in surprise.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To parachute from an aircraft.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To leap over or across.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To attack suddenly; to [[ambush]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To rise or increase suddenly.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To pass over; to skip.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To start before the proper time: ''jump the gun''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An act of jumping; a [[bound]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A sudden rise, as in price.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An abrupt change or transition.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A head start; an advantage: ''get the jump on''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[jumpable]]

+ * [[jumpingly]]

+ * [[jumped-up]]

+ * [[jumper]]

+ * [[jumpy]]

+ * [[jump-start]]

+ * [[outjump]]

+ * [[Johnny-jump-up]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bump]]

+ * [[thump]]

+ * [[leap]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Jump, a man's short coat of the 17th and 18th centuries, is a different word, an alteration of jupe.^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) The garment called a [[jumper]] is also unrelated and may come from Scots jupe.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}