jeer
/d͡ʒɪə/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.14 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A mocking remark or reflection.
verb
To utter sarcastic or mocking comments; to speak with mockery or derision; to use taunting language.
Intransitive verb
noun
An assemblage or combination of tackles, for hoisting or lowering the yards of a ship.
Example Sentences
- "1711, Jonathan Swift, The Fable of Midas, in The Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Vol XII, Sir Walter Scott, ed., Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Co., 1824, pages 302-5, Midas, exposed to all their jeers, Had lost his art, and kept his ears."
- "But when he saw her toy, and gibe, and geare, / And passe the bonds of modest merimake, / Her dalliance he despisd, and follies did forsake."
- "At the end of a frantic first 45 minutes, there was still time for Charlie Adam to strike the bar from 20 yards before referee Atkinson departed to a deafening chorus of jeering from Everton's fans."
- "And if we cannot jeer them, we jeer ourselves."
- "In the nineteenth century, 1811 to be exact, the jeers were unrove after the yard was slung, the weight of the yard being borne by chain slings. The jeers used then were a treble block lashed to the mast head through a hole in the center of the top"
Etymology
From earlier gyr, probably from Dutch gieren (“to roar with laughter, laugh loudly”) (related to German gieren (“to gape, snap”)); or from Dutch gekscheren (“to jeer”, literally “to shear the fool”), from gek (“a fool”) (see geck) + scheren (“to shear”) (see shear (verb)). The OED states no verifiable connection to English cheer.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: gieren, gekscheren
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /d͡ʒɪə/
- British English: /d͡ʒɪə/