Emily Dickinson Lexicon

JADE, n.¹ [of unknown origin. Qu. Sp. jadear, to pant.]

1. A mean or poor horse; a tired horse; a worthless nag. Tired as a jade in overloaden cart. – Sidney.
2. A mean woman; a word of contempt, noting sometimes age, but generally vice. – Johnson. She shines the first of battered jades. – Swift.
3. A young woman; in irony or slight contempt. – Addison.