disc jockey

English

A disc jockey.

Alternative forms

• discjockey
• disk jockey
• diskjockey

Etymology

Disc refers to the shape of the carrier holding the music. Jockey refers to a diminutive of jock, the Northern English or Scots colloquial equivalent of the first name John, which is also used generically for “boy, or fellow” (compare Jack, Dick), at least since 1529. So, disc jockey / DJ, refers to a young person playing (with discs holding) music.

Coined by journalist Walter Winchell in 1935 to describe Martin Block. Appeared in print in Variety in 1941.

Previously also called record man.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌdɪsk ˈdʒɒki/

Noun

disc jockey (plural disc jockeys)

1. (dated, radio) A person who conducts a radio program of recorded music combined with talk, news, commercials, weather, etc.
   • 2014, Dominic Massa, New Orleans Radio, Arcadia Publishing, →ISBN, page 107:

     The show he produced first aired on WJMR, a white-owned New Orleans radio station. The show's disc jockey used the name “Poppa Stoppa” and played what would then be called “race music,” the term given to any music produced by African American artists.

2. A person who plays, and sometimes mixes, recorded music at nightclubs, dances, parties, or some other social event; and/or as a backup musician for spoken word, or hip hop performers.

   Synonyms: deejay, DJ, (dated) discaire, selector

Translations

disc jockey

• Afrikaans: platejoggie (af), diskjockey
• Arabic: دِي جِي‎ m (dī jey), دِي جَاي‎ m (dī jay)
• Armenian: դիջեյ (hy) (diǰey)
• Catalan: discjòquei (ca) m or f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 唱片騎師／唱片骑师 (chàngpiàn qíshī), DJ (zh)

• Czech: diskžokej (cs) m
• Dutch: livedj, dj (nl), DJ, diskjockey (nl), discjockey
• Esperanto: diskludisto, diskĵokeo, DĴ
• Estonian: DJ, diskor
• Finnish: tiskijukka (fi), deejii
• French: disc jockey (fr) m, DJ (fr) m, DJette (fr) f
• Georgian: დისკ-ჟოკეი (disḳ-žoḳei), დიჯეი (diǯei)
• German: Discjockey (de) m, Diskjockey (de) m
• Greek: ντιτζέι (el) m or f (ntitzéi)
• Hungarian: lemezlovas (hu)
• Ido: disk-jokeo
• Japanese: ディスクジョッキー (disukujokkī), DJ (dījei), ディージェイ (dījei), DJ
• Korean: 디스크 자키 (diseukeu jaki), 디제이 (ko) (dijei)
• Latin: discimpositor m, discimpositrix f
• Maori: kaituku waiata
• Occitan: discjòquei m or f
• Polish: DJ (pl) m, didżej (pl) m, didżejka f
• Portuguese: disc jockey (pt) m or f, disco-jóquei (pt) m or f
• Russian: диск-жоке́й (ru) m (disk-žokéj), дидже́й (ru) m (didžéj)
• Spanish: pinchadiscos m or f
• Swedish: diskjockey (sv) c, DJ (sv) c
• Thai: นักจัดรายการ (nák-jàt-raai-gaan), ดีเจ (th) (dii-jee)
• Ukrainian: диск-жоке́й m (dysk-žokéj), дидже́й m (dydžéj)
• West Frisian: diskjockey, DJ

Further reading

• disc jockey on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English disc jockey.

Noun

disc jockey m or f by sense (plural disc jockeys)

1. disc jockey

   Synonym: disco-jóquei