jeopardy 
But God wolde, I had oones or twyes 
Yconde and knowe the jeupardyes 
That cowde the Greke Pictagoras, 
I shulde have pleyde the bet at ches. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 666. 
2. Exposure to death, loss, or injury ; hazard ; 
danger ; peril. A person is in legal jeopardy, within 
the constitutional protection against being put twice in 
jeopardy for the same offense, when he is put upon trial, 
before a court of competent jurisdiction, upon indictment 
or information which is sufficient in form and substance to 
sustain a conviction, and a jury has been sworn, unless 
such jury, without having rendered a verdict, were dis- 
charged for good cause (or, according to some authorities, 
by absolute necessity), or by the consent of the accused. 
Myu estat now lyth in jupartie. 
Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 465. 
Happy is he that can beware by another man's jeopardy. 
Latimer, 2d Sermon bet Edw. VI., 1549. 
Is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy 
of their lives? 2 Sam. xxiii. 17. 
=Syn, 2. Peril, etc. See danger and risk. 
jepardt, jepardyt. Obsolete forms of jeopard, 
jeopardy. 
jequirity beans. See Abrus. 
jerboa (jer'bp-a or jer-bo'a), . [Sometimes 
written gerbo, gerboa, gerbua (see also gerbil)', < 
AT. yarbu, the flesh of the back and loins, an ob- 
lique descending muscle, and hence the jerboa, 
in reference to the strong muscles of its hind 
legs.] A rodent quadruped of the family Dipo- 
didce, subfamily Dipodince, and especially of the 
genus Dipus ; a gerbil, or jumping-mouse of the 
old world. There are several species, of three genera, Di- 
pus, Alactaga, and Platycercomys. The best- known, and the 
one to which the native name has special reference, is Di- 
pus cegypticus, a curious and interesting animal of the des- 
Jerboa (Dipus trgyptitus). 
erts of Africa, living in communities in extensive and intri- 
cate underground galleries. The hind legsof the animal are 
extremely long, and so great is its power of jumping that it 
seems hardly to touch the ground as it bounds along. Its 
saltatorial power is proportionally greater than that of the 
kangaroo, since the latter animal is aided by its stout tail. 
The tail of the jerboa is longer than the body, very slender, 
and tufted at the end, and may serve as a balance during 
the flying leaps. The fore feet are very short ; the ears are 
large and rounded. The size of the animal is 6 or 8 inches 
without the tail, and the general aspect is that of the rat 
or mouse, the jerboas belonging to the myomorphic group 
of rodents. 
jerboa-mouse (jer'bo-S-mous), w. An animal 
of the genus Dipodomys, of North America ; one 
of the pouched mice, pocket-mice, or kangaroo- 
rats. See Dipodomys. 
Jerboida (jer-bo'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < Jerboa + 
-4dai.~] The jerboas: same as Dipodidce. 
jereed, jerid (je-red'), . [Also written jcrrid, 
jereed, djereed, djerrid; < Turk, jerid, Pers.jarid, 
< Ar. jerid, jarid, a rod, shaft, esp. the javelin 
of a horseman.] 1. A wooden javelin about 
five feet long, used by horsemen in Persia and 
Turkey in certain games, especially in mock 
fights. 
In tourney light the Moor his jerrid flings. 
Scott, Vision of Don Roderick, st. 26. 
Right through ring and ring runs the djereed. 
Smtthey. 
2. A g_ame in which this javelin is used. 
jer emej effite (properly yer-e-me 'yef-It), n. [Af- 
ter a Russian mineralogist, Jeremejeff.] A rare 
borate of aluminium found near Adun-Tschi- 
lon in Siberia. It occurs in colorless hexagonal 
crystals resembling beryl. 
jeremiad, jeremiade (jer-e-mi'ad), n. [< F. je- 
remiade; as Jeremiah + -ad\ as in Iliad, etc.: 
so called in reference to the "Lamentations of 
Jeremiah," one of the books of the Old Testa- 
ment.] Lamentation ; an utterance of grief or 
sorrow; a complaining tirade: used with a spice 
of ridicule or mockery, implying either that 
the grief itself is unnecessarily great, or that 
the utterance of it is tediously drawn out and 
attended with a certain satisfaction to the ut- 
terer. 
He has prolonged his complaint into an endless jere- 
miad. Lamb, To Soutney. 
It is impossible to describe the mournful grandeur with 
which he used to open his snuff-box, take a preliminary 
pinch, fold and unfold the sombre bandanna, and launch 
3226 
into & jeremiad as to the prospects of Protestantism, more 
dismal than any ever uttered by the rivers of Babylon. 
quarterly Rev., CXLVI. 204. 
Jeremianic (jer"e-mi-au'ik), a. [< Jeremiah 
(see def.) + -an'+ -ic.] Of or pertaining to 
the prophet Jeremiah. 
There are some portions of the book the Jeremianic 
authorship of which has been entirely or in part denied. 
Encyc. Brit., XIII. 628. 
jerfalcon (jer 'fa" kn), . The etymologically 
correct spelling of gerfalcon. 
jergue, v. t. Seejerk?. 
jerguer, n. See jerked. 
Jericho (jer'i-ko), n. [With ref. to Jericho in 
Palestine, esp., in def. 1 and the second phrase, 
in allusion to 2 Sam. x. 4, 5 : "Wherefore Hanun 
took David's servants, and shaved off the one 
half of their beards, . . . and sent them away. 
. . . And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until 
your beards be grown, and then return."] 1 . A 
place of tarrying that is, a prison. 2. A 
place very distant; a remote place : as, to wish 
one in Jericho. From Jericho to June, a great dis- 
tance. 
His kick was tremendous, and when he had his boots on 
would to use an expression of his own, which he had 
picked up in the holy wars would send a man from Jeri- 
cho to June. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (Grey Dolphin). 
To Stay or tarry In Jericho (until one's beard is grown), 
to wait in retirement or obscurity (until one grows wiser). 
Who would, to curbe such insolence, I know, 
Bid such young boyes to stay in Jericho 
I Utill their beards were growne, their wits more staid. 
Heywood, Hierarchic, iv. 208. 
[Humorous in all senses and applications.] 
jerid, . See jereed. 
jerk 1 (jerk), v. [Recorded (first in latter part 
of the 16th century) in 3 forms: (I) jerk (ierk, 
n., Levins, 1570), jerke; (2) gerke (Minsheu, 
1627), of. " girk, a rod, also to chastise or beat" 
(Halliwell) ; (3) yerk, E. dial, and Sc. yerk, yark: 
orig. strike or beat, esp. with a whip or rod. The 
typical form is yerk, the initial _;' and g being 
palatal, and not sibilant. Origin uncertain ; an 
equiv. term jert (Cotgrave) suggests that all 
these forms are dial, variations of the older 
gird, which has the same sense. See yerk.] I. 
trans. 1. To strike or beat, as with a whip or 
rod; strike smartly. [Now only Scotch.] 
With that which jerks the hams of every jade. 
Bp. Hall, Satires, III. v. 26. 
Fouetter [F.], to scourge, lash, yerke or jerk. Cotgrave. 
Now I am fitted ! 
I have made twigs to jerk myself. 
Shirley, Hyde Park, iii. 2. 
2. To pull or thrust with sudden energy; act 
upon with a twitching or snatching motion; 
move with quick, sharp force : often with a word 
or words of direction: as, to jerk open a door; 
the horse jerked out his heels. 
I snatched at the lappets of his coat, and jerked him into 
Mrs.Wellmore'8 parlor. 
F. W. Robinson, Lazarus in London, iv. 10. 
In attempting to dash through a thicket, his hat has 
been jerked from his head, his powder-horn and shot- 
pouch torn from around his neck. 
W. M. Baker, New Timothy, p. 202. 
We poor puppets, jerked by unseen wires. 
Lowell, Commemoration Ode. 
3. To throw with a quick, sharp motion; spe- 
cifically, to throw with the hand lower than the 
elbow, with an impulse given by sudden colli- 
sion of the forearm with the hip : as, to jerk a 
stone. 
II. intrans. 1. To make a sudden spasmodic 
motion; give a start; move twitchingly. 
Nor blush, should he some grave acquaintance meet, 
But, proud of being known, will jerk and greet. Dryden. 
He was seized with that curious nervous affection which 
originates in these religious excitements, and disappears 
with them. He jerked violently his jerking only adding 
to his excitement, which in turn increased the severity 
of his contortions. E. Eggleston, Circuit Rider, riv. 
2f. To sneer; carp; speak sarcastically. 
By the way liejerkes at some mens reforming to models 
of Religion. Milton, Eikonoklastes, viii. 
jerk 1 (jerk), n. [< jerfcl, . ] 1. A short, sharp 
pull, thrust, or twitch ; a sudden throw or toss ; 
a jolt; a twitching or spasmodic motion. 
His jade gave him a jerk. B. Jonson, Underwoods. 
The Ship tossed like an Egg-shell, so that I never felt 
such uncertain Jerks in a Ship. Dampier, Voyages, I. 82. 
2. A sudden spring or bound; a start; a leap; 
a sally. 
Ovidius Naso was the man ; and why, indeed, Naso, but 
for smelling out the odoriferous flowers of fancy, the jerks 
of invention? Shak., L. L. L., iv. 2, 129. 
3. An involuntary spasmodic contraction of 
a muscle, due to reflex action resulting from a 
blow or other external stimulus. Thus, a blow 
jerkingly 
upon the ligament of the patella, below the knee-cap, 
produces spasmodic contraction of the extensor muscles 
of the leg, which is straightened with a jerk. This is 
technically called knee-jerk, and the same action in other 
parts receives qualifying terms, as chin-jerk, etc. 
4. pi. The paroxysms or violent spasmodic 
movements sometimes resulting from excite- 
ment in connection with religious services. 
Specifically called the jerks. [Western and 
southern U. S.] 
These Methodis' sets people crazy with the jerks, I've 
hearn tell. E. Eyyleston, Circuit Rider, xiL 
5f. A sneer; sarcasm. 
The question ere while mov'd who he is ... may re- 
turne with a more just demand, who he is not of place and 
knowledge never so mean, under whose contempt and jerk 
these men are not deservedly falneV 
Milton, Apology for Smectymnuus. 
jerk' 2 , jerque (jerk), i: t. [Sometimes spelled 
jergue (cf.deriv. jerker 2 , less commonly jerquer, 
jerguer); prob. an accom. form, < It. cercare 
(pron. cher-ka're), search (cf. cercatore, cer- 
cante, a searcher) : see search.] In the English 
custom-house, to search, as a vessel, for un- 
entered goods. 
jerk 3 , jerky 2 (jerk, jer'ki), n. [< Chilian char- 
qui, dried beef.] Meat cut into strips and cured 
by drying it in the open air. 
As soon as daylight appears, the captain started to where 
they left some/erjfc hanging on the evening before. 
w. De Bass, Hist. Early Settlements, p. 389. 
jerk 3 (jerk), v. t. [Chiefly as pp. adj., in the 
phrase jerked beef; < jerk&, n.] To cure, as 
meat, especially beef, by cutting into long thin ' 
pieces and drying in the sun. 
When he [the Rocky Mountain hunter] can get no fresh 
meat, he falls back on his stock of jerked venison, dried in 
long strips over the fire or in the sun. 
The Century, XXXVI. 832. 
jerker 1 (jer'ker), . [<jerfcl + -!.] 1. One 
who jerks ; one who moves something in a quick, 
spasmodic way ; in the quotation, one who whips 
or lashes. 
Let 'em alone, Frank ; 111 make 'em their own justice, 
and & jerker. Fletcher, Wit without Money, iv. 3. 
2. One who makes quick, spasmodic motions; 
especially, one who sunders from involuntary 
spasmodic movements of the limbs or features. 
In Roman Catholic countries these manifestations, as we 
have seen, have generally appeared in convents. ... In 
Protestant countries they appear in times of great religious 
excitement, and especially when large bodies of young wo- 
men are submitted to the influence of noisy and frothy 
preachers. Well-known examples of this in America are 
seen in the "Jumpers," Jerkers, and various revival ex- 
travagances. Pop. Sci. Mo., XXXV. 148. 
3. AcyprinoiA&ahjHybopsiskentuckiensiii: same 
as liornyhead. 
jerker 2 , jerquer (jer'ker), n. [Also written jer- 
guer: seejerfc 2 .] In the English custom-house, 
an officer who searches vessels for unentered 
goods. [Colloq.] 
I have heard tell that she's three parts slaver and one 
part pirate ; and I wonder the custom-house jerkers don't 
seize her. Sola. 
jerkin 1 (jer'kin), K. [Also (Sc.) jirkin; prob. 
of D. origin (see 1st quot.), < OD. "jurkken or 
"jurken, < jurk, a frock, + dim. -ken, E. -kin.] 
A short close-fitting coat or jacket, worn in the 
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The term 
is used loosely to include on the one hand the doublet, and 
on the other the buff-coat, at least in some of its forms ; it 
was even used for a surcoat, or coat worn over armor. 
With dutchkin dublets, and with lerkins iaggde. 
Gascoigne, Steele Glas (ed. Arber), p. 83. 
Andall kinde of leather ware, as gloues, poyntes, gyrdles, 
skins for ierkins. 
Sta/ord, A Briefe Couceipt (1581), ed. Furnivall, p. 88. 
Is not a buff jerkin a most sweet robe of durance? 
Shak., 1 Hen. IV., i. 2, 49. 
His attire was a riding-cloak, which, when open, dis- 
played a handsome jerkin, overlaid with lace. 
Scott, Kenilworth, i. 
jerkin 2 (jer'kin), n. A young salmon : same as 
ginkin. . 
jerkin 3 t (jer'kin), M. [Contr. of jerfalcon.'] The 
male of the gerfalcon. 
jerkiness (jer'ki-nes), . The state or quality 
of being jerky or spasmodic. 
In our common conversation we can give pleasure and 
escape sharp tones by avoiding jfrkiness in speech. 
J. F. Clarke, Self-Culture, p. 128. 
jerkinet (jer'ki-net), n. [Sc.jirkinet, also writ- 
ten, improp., girkienet; < jerkin 1 + -et. Cf.jor- 
net.] An outer jacket worn by women ; a sort 
of bodice without whalebone. 
My lady's gown, there's gairs upon 't ; . . . 
But Jenny's jimps an' jirkinet, 
My lord thinks meiklu mail- upon 't. 
Burns, My Lady's Gown. 
jerkingly (jer'king-li), adv. In a jerking man- 
ner ; with or by jerks. 
