jaywalk

English

WOTD – 27 May 2007

Alternative forms

• J walk, J-walk (nonstandard)

Etymology

Back-formation from jaywalker. Analyzable as jay (“a stupid person”) +‎ walk.

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: jāʹwôk, IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒeɪ.wɔːk/
• (US):
  • enPR: jāʹwôk, IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒeɪ.wɔːk/ or
  • enPR: jāʹwäk, IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒeɪ.wɑːk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

jaywalk (third-person singular simple present jaywalks, present participle jaywalking, simple past and past participle jaywalked)

1. (chiefly US, law, automotive, transitive, intransitive) To behave as a jaywalker; to violate pedestrian traffic regulations by crossing a street away from a designated crossing or to walk in the part of the street intended for vehicles rather than on the sidewalk.

Derived terms

• jaywalker
• jaywalking

Translations

violate pedestrian traffic regulations

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• French: traverser en dehors des clous
• Georgian: ქვეითად გაუფრთხილებლად სიარული (kveitad gauprtxileblad siaruli)
• German: eine Straße an verbotener Stelle überqueren
• Hungarian: szabálytalanul kel át
• Japanese: 信号無視する (しんごうむしする, shingōmushi suru)
• Portuguese: atravessar no meio da rua (literally: to cross in the middle of the street)
• Russian: неосторо́жно переходи́ть у́лицу impf (neostoróžno perexodítʹ úlicu), зева́ть по сторона́м impf (zevátʹ po storonám), переходи́ть доро́гу в неполо́женном ме́сте impf (perexodítʹ dorógu v nepolóžennom méste)
• Spanish: cruzar la calle sin prudencia
• Swedish: no equivalent term in Swedish, but see oförsiktig fotgängare and vårdslös fotgängare.

See also

• jayrun
• jayrunner
• jayrunning