jeer | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

11 entries found.

1550s, gyr, "deride, to mock," of uncertain origin; perhaps from Dutch gieren "to cry or roar," or Middle Dutch scheeren or German scheren "to plague, vex," literally "to shear" (as a mark of contempt or disgrace). OED finds the suggestion that it is an ironical use of cheer "plausible and phonetically feasible, ... but ... beyond existing evidence." Related: Jeered; jeering.

jeer (n.)

"a scoff, a taunt," 1620s, from jeer (v.).

flout (v.)

"treat with disdain or contempt" (transitive), 1550s, intransitive sense "mock, jeer, scoff" is from 1570s; of uncertain origin; perhaps a special use of Middle English flowten "to play the flute" (compare Middle Dutch fluyten "to play the flute," also "to jeer"). Related: Flouted; flouting.

cavil (v.)

"to raise frivolous objections, find fault without good reason," 1540s, from French caviller "to mock, jest," from Latin cavillari "to jeer, mock; satirize, argue scoffingly" (also source of Italian cavillare, Spanish cavilar), from cavilla "jest, jeering," which is related to calumnia "slander, false accusation" (see calumny). Related: Caviller, cavilling.

illusory (adj.)

1590s, from French illusorie, from Late Latin illusorius "ironical, of a mocking character," from illus-, past participle stem of Latin illudere "mock, jeer at, make fun of," literally "play with," from assimilated form of in- "at, upon" (from PIE root *en "in") + ludere "to play" (see ludicrous).

illude (v.)

early 15c., "to trick, deceive; treat with scorn or mockery," from Latin illudere "to make sport of, scoff at, mock, jeer at," from assimilated form of in- "in, into" (from PIE root *en "in") + ludere "to play" (see ludicrous).

jangle (v.)

c. 1300, jangeln, "to talk excessively, chatter, talk idly" (intransitive), from Old French jangler "to chatter, gossip, bawl, argue noisily" (12c.), perhaps from Frankish *jangelon "to jeer" or some other Germanic source (compare Middle Dutch jangelen "to whine," Low German janken "to yell, howl"), probably imitative (compare Latin equivalent gannire). Meaning "make harsh noise" is first recorded late 15c. Transitive sense "cause to emit discordant or harsh sounds" is from c. 1600. Related: Jangled; jangling. Chaucer has jangler "idle talker, a gossip."

fob (v.)

"to cheat," late 14c., from obsolete noun fobbe "cheat, trickster" (late 14c.), which perhaps is from Old French forbeter "to deceive, trick, dupe." Alternative etymology holds that the word is perhaps related to German foppen "to jeer at, make a fool of" (see fop); or from German fuppen, einfuppen "to pocket stealthily," which would connect it to fob (n.).

Meaning "to put or shift off (something) by pretense" is from 1650s; to fob (someone) off "put him off deceitfully" is from 1590s. Related: Fobbed; fobbing.

gab (v.)

"talk much," 1786, probably via Scottish and northern England dialect from earlier sense "speak foolishly; talk indiscreetly" (late 14c.), from gabben "to scoff, jeer; mock (someone), ridicule; reproach (oneself)," also "to lie to" (late 13c.), from a Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse gabba "to mock, make fun of," and probably in part from Old French gaber "to mock, jest; brag, boast," which, too, is from Scandinavian. Ultimately perhaps imitative (compare gabble, which might have shaded the sense of this word). Gabber was Middle English for "liar, deceiver; mocker." Related: Gabbed; gabbing.

mock (v.)

mid-15c., mokken, "make fun of," also "to trick, delude, make a fool of; treat with scorn, treat derisively or contemptuously;" from Old French mocquer "deride, jeer," a word of unknown origin. Perhaps from Vulgar Latin *muccare "to blow the nose" (as a derisive gesture), from Latin mucus; or possibly from Middle Dutch mocken "to mumble" or Middle Low German mucken "grumble." Perhaps ultimately it is imitative of such speech. Related: Mocked; mocking. Replaced Old English bysmerian. The sense of "imitate, simulate, resemble closely" (1590s, as in mockingbird ; also see mock (adj.)) is from the notion of derisive imitation.

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