jitney
pronunciation
How to pronounce jitney in British English:
UK ['dʒɪtnɪ]
How to pronounce jitney in American English:
US ['dʒɪtnɪ]
-
- Noun:
- a vehicle carrying many passengers; used for public transport
Word Origin
- jitney (n.)
- "bus which carries passengers for a fare," 1915, short for jitney bus (1906), American English, from gitney, said to be slang for any small coin, especially "a nickel," because the buses' fare typically was a nickel, the coin name perhaps via New Orleans from French jeton "coin-sized metal disk, slug, counter," from Old French jeter "to calculate," literally "to throw" (see jet (v.)). "I'll give a nickel for a kiss," Said Cholly to a pretty miss. "Skiddo," she cried, "you stingy cuss," "You're looking for a jitney buss." ["Jitney Jingle," 1915] The origin and signification of the word was much discussed when the buses first appeared. Some reports say the slang word for "nickel" comes from the bus; most say the reverse, but there does not seem to be much record of jitney in a coin sense before the buses came along (a writer in "The Hub," August 1915, claims to have heard and used it as a small boy in San Francisco, and reported hearsay that "It has been in use there since the days of '49." In some sources it is said to be a St. Louis word, but most credit it to the U.S. West, especially California, though others trace it to "southern negroes, especially in Memphis" ["The Pacific," Feb. 7, 1915].
Example
- 1. There 's a limo waiting , so you won 't have to take the jitney .