Lexicon: jacket – jar

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jacket (-'s), n. [OFr jaquet.] (webplay: short).

  1. Wrap; waist-length coat; short outer garment to keep the upper body warm.
  2. Covering; [fig.] feathers on a bird's back, wings, and head.
  3. Foliage; new leaves.

Jacob, proper n. [L. < Gk < Heb. 'heel-catcher, supplanter'; see Israel, proper n.]

Israel; birthright son of Isaac and Rebekah; prophet who saw Jehovah's face at Peniel; man who wrestled all night with God, who appeared to him as a messenger; patriarch of the Israelite nation; father of the Twelve tribes of Israel; (see Genesis 27, 32; see ED's letters).

jaded, verbal adj. [unknown origin.] (webplay: fatigued).

Tired; worn out; wearied; exhausted; over-worked; sunken into the sockets of the face; [fig.] hungry looking; having a famished look.

jagged, adj. [uncertain origin.]

Rough; uneven; notched; sharply pointed; irregularly angled.

jail (-s), n. [OFr gaylle.] (webplay: prison).

  1. Punishment; [fig.] hell; damnation; Hades; place of torment for the wicked.
  2. Prison; detention; confinement; place for those convicted of an offense; building that detains persons accused of a crime.
  3. Restraint; [fig.] grammar school; institution of learning.

Jamaica (-s), proper n. [Indian Yamaca, abounding in springs < Arawak xaymaca, island of springs, land of wood and water.]

Large West Indian island; [fig.] summer; place of warmth; location full of life.

James (St. James), proper n. [OFr < L. < Gk. < Heb.; see Jacob, proper n.]

St. James the Greater; apostle of Jesus Christ martyred in A.D. 44 (see Acts 12:2); [fig.] court in London named for St. James's palace; traditional royal entourage of the United Kingdom; [polysemy] chronicle published in London that included songs from the American Revolution; [possibly] church; place of worship in New England.

January, proper n. [OFr < L. Janus, god of doorways and passages.]

Mid-winter; [adjectival] in the first month of the year; [fig.] wintry; cold; chilly.

jar, n. [Fr. < Arabic jarrah, earthen water vessel.] (webplay: earth, glass, open).

  1. Buzz; discord; inharmonious sound; repetitive vibrating noise; [word play; see a jar, adv. and ajar, adv.; see also OED def. 2a., 1848 L. Hunt “A Jar of Honey from Mount Hybla.”]
  2. Vessel; vase; jug; bottle; cylindrical watertight container made of earthenware, stoneware, or glass.

jar (jarred), v. [poss. echoic sound.] (webplay: sound).

  1. Dishevel; mess up; tousle carelessly; put in disarray; [fig.] fix; pat; change; adjust; groom quickly; re-arrange; touch-up; make ready; pull into place; check to put in order.
  2. Hit; clash with; strike at; fight with; dispute with; quarrel with; conflict with.
  3. Break; injure by impact; strike against something.
  4. Quake; rumble; shake violently.