Etymograph

English

jug

Jug comes from Middle English jugge.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500jugge
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1916jug

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history not traced here.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500jugge
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1916jug

Earliest quotation: 1916, R. Austin Freeman: “Down in the orchard a nightingale jug-jugged, as if…”

The story

Possibly a variant of Middle English jubbe, jobbe, iubbe, geobbe, itself of unknown origin; or perhaps continuing (in altered form) Old English ċēac (‘pitcher; jug’).uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. Prison sense attested from at least 1825 in Britain.

Every English word from Middle English jugge

Another origin of jug

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEjugum‘yoke, tether’uncertain
  2. Englishtodayjug

A folk etymology claims that it is an acronym for "justice under God" or "judgment under God". https://www.ignatius.edu/news/september-2017/jug-em-with-a-jugumhttps://catholicphilly.com/2021/10/news/local-news/local-priest-moves-closer-to-sainthood/folk etymology The source marks this as unproven or a folk etymology. Quoted, not asserted.

Today it means

noun A serving vessel or container, typically circular in cross-section and typically higher than it is wide, with a relatively small mouth or spout, an ear handle and often a stopper or top.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Middle English jugge / jug

Shirt and support for this word