demijohn
pronunciation
How to pronounce demijohn in British English:
UK [ˈdemidʒɒn]
How to pronounce demijohn in American English:
US [ˈdemidʒɑn]
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- Noun:
- large bottle with a short narrow neck; often has small handles at neck and is enclosed in wickerwork
Word Origin
- demijohn
- demijohn: [18] Demijohn ‘large globular bottle’ has no connection with half of the common male forename. It arose through a process known as folk etymology, by which an unfamiliar or slightly outlandish foreign word is deconstructed and then reassembled using similar-sounding elements in the host language. In this case the source was French dame-jeanne, literally ‘Lady Jane’, a term used in French for such a container since the 17th century.
- demijohn (n.)
- 1769, partial translation and word-play from French damejeanne (late 17c.) "Lady Jane," term used for large globular wicker-wrapped bottle, perhaps because its shape suggested a stout woman in the costume of the period. A general Mediterranean word, with forms found in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Arabic.