Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

john henry

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.65 in modern English

Syllables
john hen-ry
IPA
25
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

One's signature.

noun

A character from American folklore.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Believed to be a Western United States cowboy variation (dating from the late 1700s or early 1800s) of John Hancock, the first person to sign the United States Declaration of Independence and whose name later became a synonym for a signature. This usage predates the American folklore hero John Henry from the 1870s.

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in People.

Inflected Forms

John Henrys (plural)

Phrases

John Henryism John Hancock

Frequently Paired Words

John Hancock

Questions

What does john henry mean?
One's signature.
Where does john henry come from?
Believed to be a Western United States cowboy variation (dating from the late 1700s or early 1800s) of John Hancock, the first person to sign the United States Declaration of Independence and whose name later became a synonym for a signature. This usage predates the American folklore hero John Henry from the 1870s.

How to pronounce john henry

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “john henry”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “john henry”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “john henry” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.