The Facts on File Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases (Writers Reference) (41 page)

jacquerie (zhakree, zhakaree) FRENCH
[derived from the archetypal peasant
name Jacques] noun a peasant uprising, specifically the 1358 Jacquerie
revolt in northern France, or the peasantry in general: "Look around and consider the Eves of all the world that we know,
consider the faces of all the world that we
know, consider the rage and discontent to
which the Jacquerie addresses itself with
more and more of certainty every hour"
(Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities,
1859).

j'adoube (zhadoob) FRENCH [I repair,
I adjust] interjection a formulaic
expression used by chess players to
signify that they wish to adjust the
position of a piece on the board without actually moving it to another
square.

jager (ygar) GERMAN [from jagen
to hunt, to pursue] noun a sharpshooter in the German or Austrian
armies, or a hunter or footman in
huntsman's costume.

jai alai (hi li, hi al BASQUE [from
jai holiday, festival, and alai merry]
noun a game resembling handball,
played on a three-walled court by two
or four players who use a long, curved
wicker basket strapped to the wrist
to catch and throw a small, hard ball
against the front wall.

jalapeno (halaeeno, halaeenyo) SPANISH [of Jalapa, Mexico] noun a small,
dark green hot chili pepper.

jalousie (jalasee) FRENCH [jealousy]
noun a variety of blind or shutter with adjustable horizontal slats
allowing light and air into a room
but blocking bright sunlight and rain:
"Shafts of pale sunlight seeped between the
slats of the jalousies."

jambalaya (jambalia) FRENCH [from
Provencal French jambalaia dish of
rice, ham, and seafood] noun a muddle or jumble, or the Louisiana dish
after which it takes its name.

janissary (jan3s5ree) TURKISH [from
yeni new and ceri soldier] noun a
member of an elite corps of soldiers;
originally a unit of the Turkish army
founded in the 14th century: "..in

Pumpernickel itself, the last Transparency
but three, the great and renowned Victor
Aurelius XIV built a magnfcent bridge,
on which his own statue rises, surrounded
by water-nymphs and emblems of victory,
peace, and plenty; he has his foot on the neck
of a prostrate Turk history says he engaged
and ran a Janissary through the body at
the relief of Vienna by Sobieski..." (William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair,
1847-48) .

janitor anitar) LATIN [doorkeeper,
derived from janus arch, door] noun
a caretaker, porter, or other person
entrusted with the cleaning and maintenance of a building: "Among the many
billets which I have filled in America during my wandering life, I was once janitor
and sweeper out of the laboratory at York
College" (Arthur Conan Doyle, "A
Study in Scarlet," 1887).

japonaiserie (zhapanzaree) FRENCH
[from japonais Japanese] noun a decorative or artistic style based on Japanese motifs and characteristics; also
furniture and decorative objects in
this style: "Salerooms in London and New
York were suddenly swamped with items of
japonaiserie."

jardiniere (jardiniair, zhardiniair)
FRENCH [female gardener, from jardin
garden] noun an ornamental ceramic
flowerpot or flowerpot holder: `Mrs.
Newland Archer's drawing-room was gener ally thought a great success. A gilt bamboo
jardiniere, in which the primulas and cinerarias were punctually renewed, blocked
the access to the bay window..." (Edith
Wharton, The Age of Innocence, 1920).
Can also refer to a garnish for meat
made with glazed, diced, or boiled
vegetables.

jaspe (zhaspay) FRENCH [marbled]
adjective mottled, marbled, veined,
or variegated.

jawohi (yavol) GERMAN [yes indeed]
interjection yes, affirmative (usually
spoken in response to a command):
"The foreman looked at the manager with
distaste. Jawohl, mein fiihrer,' he muttered
under his breath."

jehad See JIHAD.

jellaba (baba), djellaba ARABIC
[gown] noun a loose-fitting longsleeved, often hooded, gown of the
type commonly worn by men in Egypt
and other parts of North Africa.

je ne sais quoi (zha na say kwa) FRENCH
[I do not know what] noun phrase an
indefinable or inexpressible quality or
characteristic, as of style or appearance: "I still think the recipe lacks that
certain je ne sais quoi."

jet d'eau (zhe do) FRENCH [jet of
water] noun phrase an ornamental fountain or the pipe from which it rises.

fete (zhat4) FRENCH [past participle
of jeter to jump] noun (in ballet) a hop
or jump from one leg to another, with
one foot extended forward: "The dancer
executed a jete with athletic precision, arms
raised and head turned sideways."

jeu de mots(zha da mo) FRENCH [play
of words] noun phrase a play on
words, or pun.

jeu d'esprit (zha des cc) r FRENCH
[play of wit] noun phrase a witticism
or an example of clever, humorous
writing.

jeune premier (zh.n prem_~d) FRENCH
[first young man] noun phrase an
actor who takes the juvenile lead in a
play or movie, usually performing the
part of a young hero or lover: "Perceiving all the advantages of such a connection, Lucien played his lover's part as well
as it could have been acted by Armand,
the latest jeune premier at the Comedie
Francaise" (Honore de Balzac, Scenes
from a Courtesan's Life, 1839-47). Also
used in a wider context for any young
man who emerges as a leading talent
or personality among his contemporaries.

jeunesse doree (zhanes (Iorms) FRENCH
[gilded youth] noun phrase the wealthy,
sophisticated, and fashionable young.
Originally applied to the wealthy young
counterrevolutionaries who combined
to bring Robespierre's Reign of Terror to an end in France in 1794: `But the
young man of today has no bad quarter
of an hour. You are a mercantile old brick
with money and a daughter. I am a jeunesse
doree gilded by blood and fashion, though
so utterly impecunious!"' (Anthony Trollope, Ayala'sAngel, 1881).

jihad (jihad) ARABIC [struggle, effort,
contest] noun a crusade or holy
war that is launched as a matter of
religious duty in defense of Islamic
principles or beliefs; can also refer
to any personal crusade based on
spiritual conviction: "The ayatollahs
announced a jihad against their ideological enemies."

jinni 'eenee, jimee), djinn ARABIC
[demon] noun a supernatural being
of Arabian and Muslim mythology,
credited with the power to cast spells,
change shape, and perform magic: "And
behold, it was a Jinni, huge of height
and burly of breast and bulk, broad of
brow and black of blee, bearing on his
head a coffer of crystal" (Richard Burton,
trans., "Story of King Shahryar and his
Brother," Arabian Nights, 1885-88).

jodhpurs pars) HINDI [after jodhpur, India] plural noun a style of riding breeches cut wide at the hip and
close-fitting at the calf: "She stared with
horror at the splash of mud on her previously pristine jodhpurs."

joie de vivre (zhwa da veevra) FRENCH
[joy of living] noun phrase enjoyment

of life or general enthusiasm for living: "This setback did nothing to dent his
customary joie de vivre."

jojoba (hahoba) SPANISH noun a
shrub or small tree (Simmondsia chinensis) native to SW North America,
and the liquid wax produced from its
edible seeds, which has various commercial uses.

jolie laide (zholee lamed) FRENCH
[pretty ugly] noun phrase a woman
who is deemed sexually attractive
despite the fact that she is not conventionally beautiful: Strangely, the terrible
scars on the face of his jolie ]aide' only
served to heighten his fascination."

jongleur (zhongher) FRENCH [jester,
derived from Old French jogleour
juggler] noun an itinerant medieval entertainer or minstrel, usually
skilled in performing songs, poetry,
and acrobatics: "She hastily ran over
the contents, which were expressed both
in Arabic and French, and when she had
done, she laughed in bitter anger. `Now
this passes imagination!' she said, no
jongleur can show so deft a transmutation!"' (Walter Scott, The Talisman,
1825).

jour de fete (zhoor da fet) FRENCH
[day of festival] noun phrase a festival
or birthday.

journal intime (zhoornal anteem)
FRENCH [intimate journal] noun phrase a diary or other confessional
writing.

jubilate (joobalahtay, yoobalahtay)
LATIN [rejoice] noun a joyous outburst of song or triumphant shouting: "The soothing sanity and blitheness
of completion, / the pomp and hurried
contest-glare and rush are done; / Now
triumph! transformation! jubilate!" (Walt
Whitman, Leaves of Grass, 1891-92).
Can also refer specifically to Psalm 100
and musical settings of this psalm.

judo (ado) JAPANESE [from ju
weak, gentle and do art, way] noun a
Japanese martial art in which participants wrestle using balance and leverage to throw their opponent: "Children
are being offered the chance to try judo
and other martial arts at school."

Jugendstil (tgansteel,ganshteel)
GERMAN [from Jugend youth and Stil
style] noun a German name for the
art nouveau style or movement in the
arts.

juggernaut (jagarn)t) HINDI [from
Jagannath, lord of the world, whose
festival is marked by the hauling of
a huge many-wheeled wagon] noun
an unstoppable force or object that
crushes everything in its path; by
extension, commonly applied to
heavy trucks: "..if you are patient
because you think it a duty to meet insult
with submission, you are an essential sap,
and in no shape the man for my money;

if you are patient because your nature is
phlegmatic, flat, inexcitable, and that you
cannot get up to the pitch of resistance,
why, God made you to be crushed; and lie
down by all means, and lie flat, and let
Juggernaut ride well over you" (Charlotte Bronte, The Professor, 1857).

ju-jitsu (joojitsoo) JAPANESE [fromju
weak, gentle and jutsu arts] noun a
Japanese and Chinese system of
unarmed combat reliant upon the use
of wrestling holds, throws, and blows
to the body of an opponent.

juju oojoo) HAUSA [probably from
French jouer to play] noun a fetish,
amulet, or charm, or the supernatural power associated with such
objects: "Fear of the power of juju prevented many of the locals from speaking
to the police."

jujube jaojoobee) FRENCH
[from Greek zizuphos zizyphus tree]
noun a tree (genus Ziziphus) of the
buckthorn family and the edible plumlike fruit it produces. Also the name of
a fruit-flavored gumdrop or lozenge
originally flavored with fruit from the
jujube tree.

julienne (joolien, zhoolien) FRENCH
[after the girl's name Julienne] noun
a dish of vegetables cut into strips, or
a consomme made with vegetables
prepared in this manner. adjective
of or relating to a dish, garnish, or
soup consisting of vegetables cut into strips: "The main dish was served with a
side dish of julienne vegetables."

Junker (.k3r, yonkar) GERMAN
[from Old German juncherro young
lord] noun a young Prussian aristocrat, typically one representing the
traditional militaristic values of the
German landowning nobility: "I wasn't
long in the artillery, I'm a junker, in reserve,
he said, and he began to explain how he had
failed in his examination." (Leo Tolstoy,
Anna Karenina, 187377).

junta (huunta, junta) SPANISH/PORTUGUESE [feminine of junto joined]
noun a political faction or clique
that assumes political power, typically after a military coup or revolution, or by extension any group of
people operating in close association
for a common purpose: "The military
junta seized control of the television station last night."

jura in re (zhoor3 in E4) LATIN [rights
against something] noun phrase rights
in a matter.

jure divino (zhooree diveeno) LATIN
[by divine right] adverb phrase by
divine right, with the authority of
God.

jure humano (zhooree hyoomahno)
LATIN [by human law] adverb phrase
by human law, rather than divine right
or natural justice.

jute mariti (zhooree mareetee) LATIN
[by right of a husband] adverb phrase
by the right of a husband, through the
husband.

jure uxoris (zhooree aksoris) LATIN
[by right of a wife] adverb phrase by
the right of a wife, through the wife.

jus (zhoo) FRENCH [juice] noun (in
French cuisine) a sauce: "We ordered
lamb with red wine jusfor dinner."

jus canonicum (y3s kanonik3m) LATIN
[canon law] noun phrase church law,
ecclesiastical law: "The bishops sought to
maintain the precedence of jus canonicum."

jus civile (y3s siveelee) LATIN [civil
law] noun phrase civil law, domestic
law.

jus cogens (y3s kojens) LATIN [compelling law] noun phrase in international law, a law that must be observed
whatever the circumstances or wishes
of the parties involved.

jus divinum (y3s diveen5M) LATIN
[divine law] noun phrase divine law:
"...the more scrupulous Presbyterians, who
held that even the pronouncing the name
of the `Lords Spiritual' in a Scottish pulpit
was ... an acknowledgment of prelacy,
and that the injunction of the legislature
was an interference of the civil government
with the jus divinum of Presbytery..." (Walter Scott, The Heart of Midlothian,
1818).

jus gentium (yas genteeam, yas
jentee5M) LATIN [law of nations] noun
phrase international law.

jus mariti (yasmareetee) LATIN [right
of a husband] noun phrase the legal
rights of a husband over the property
of his wife.

jus naturae (yas naoori, yas natyooree) LATIN [law of nature] noun
natural law, the law common to all
mankind, established on basic principles
of right and wrong: "In strict philosophy a
limitation of the rights of war seems to imply
nonsense and contradiction. Grotius himself
is lost in an idle distinction between the jus
naturae and the jus gentium, between poison
and infection" (Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire, 1776-88).

jus primae noctis (yas preemi noktis)
LATIN [right of the first night] noun
droit du seigneur, the right of a feudal lord to claim the virginity of his
vassal's bride on her wedding night:
"The right of a baron to deflower the brides
of his underlings on their wedding night
has frequently been questioned as a matter
of historical fact."