john
see also: John
Etymology
John
Etymology
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.001
see also: John
Etymology
From the male given name John (q.v.), whose ubiquity led to extensive use of the name in generic contexts.
Pronunciation Nounjohn (plural johns)
- (slang) A prostitute's client.
- Synonyms: Thesaurus:prostitute's client
- 1946, Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, “Not too Far Tangent”, in Really the Blues, New York, N.Y.: Random House, book 1 (1899–1923: A Nothin’ but a Child), page 22 ↗:
- The girls sat there while the johns (customers) moped around giving them the once-over.
- 2004, Dennis Cooper, The Sluts, page 233:
- In the first part of the video, Thad sucks the john's cock and takes a load in his mouth.
- 2013, McLachlin CJ, Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford (2013 SCC 72 ↗), para. 62
- In-calls, where the john comes to the prostitute’s residence, are prohibited.
- (slang, US) A device or place to urinate and defecate: now usually a toilet or lavatory, but also (dated) a chamber pot or outhouse.
- Synonyms: Thesaurus:chamber pot, Thesaurus:toilet, Thesaurus:bathroom
- (slang) A Western man traveling in East Asia.
- A male mule.
John
Etymology
From Middle English John, Johan, Johannes, from Anglo-Norman Jehan, Johan, and also Old English Iohannes, both from Late Latin Iōhannēs, variant of Latin Iōannēs, from grc-koi Ἰωάννης, from hbo יוֹחָנָן, perhaps contracted from a former יְהוֹחָנָן ("God is gracious").
Pronunciation Proper noun- A male given name; very popular since the Middle Ages.
- 1920, John Collings Squire, “Initials”, in Life and Letters: Essays, Hodder & Stoughton, pages 233–235:
- The name I refer to is John. It has been borne by many illustrious men and an innumerable multitude of the obscure. - - - It is as fixed as the English landscape and the procession of seasons. It never becomes wearisome or tarnished. Nothing affects it; nothing can bring it into contempt; it stands like a rock amid the turbulent waves of human history, as fine and noble a thing now as it was when it first took shape on human lips. It is a name to live up to; but if one who bears it sinks into disrepute it falls not with him, but rather stays in the firmament above him, shining down upon him like a reproachful star.
- (informal) Used generically for a man whose actual name may not be known.
- a John Doe murder case; the dreaded Dear John letter; if we were to ask John Q. Public his opinion
- (informal) Used frequently to form an idea personified, as in John Bull, John Barleycorn (see derivations below).
- (biblical) Persons of the Christian Bible: John the Baptist; and names possibly referring to one, two or three persons, frequently called "Saint": John the Apostle, John the Evangelist and John of Patmos (also called John the Divine or John the Theologian).
- (biblical) The Gospel of St. John, a book of the New Testament of the Bible. Traditionally the fourth of the four gospels.
- (biblical) One of the books in the New Testament of the Bible, the epistles of John (1 John, 2 John and 3 John).
- Surname.
- (name used to address a man whose actual name is not known (standard)) sir
- (name used to address a man whose actual name is not known(colloquial or slang)) boy (especially to a younger man), bro (US, New Zealand), gov or guv (British), guvnor (British), Mac (US), man (especially US), mate (British, Australian), mister, son (to a younger man), buddy (Canada)
- (feminine forms of John)
- (diminutives)
- (male names related to given name John)
- (surnames related to the given name John)
- French: Jean
- German: Johann, Johannes, Jan, Hans
- Italian: Giovanni
- Portuguese: João
- Russian: Ива́н
- Spanish: Juan, Iván
- French: (Évangile selon) Jean, Jn
- German: (das Evangelium nach) Johannes, Joh
- Italian: Vangelo di Giovanni, Vangelo secondo Giovanni
- Portuguese: João
- Russian: Евангелие от Иоанна
- Spanish: Juan, Evangelio según San Juan
john (plural johns)
- (UK, military, slang) A new recruit at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
- 1842, The United Service Magazine:
- I and the other "Johns," as I soon discovered all new-comers at Sandhurst were, and are still, styled, although at the time I was unconscious of it, managed to troop in after the A company, but although not two minutes after them, found all the different messes already seated and hard at work.
- (US, slang, archaic) Alternative case form of john: a toilet, lavatory, outhouse, or chamber pot.
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.001
