jizz

Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈdʒɪz/
  • Audio (UK)
    		(file)
    Rhymes: -ɪz

Etymology 1[edit]

The term was first used in print in 1922, in Thomas Coward's "Country Diary" column for the Manchester Guardian of 6 December 1921 - the piece was subsequently included in his 1922 book "Bird Haunts and Nature Memories".[1] He attributed it to "a west-coast Irishman",[1] and explained:[2]

If we are walking on the road and see, far ahead, someone whom we recognise although we can neither distinguish features nor particular clothes, we may be certain that we are not mistaken; there is something in the carriage, the walk, the general appearance which is familiar; it is, in fact, the individual's jizz.

There are several other theories as to the etymology of “jizz”:

  • From the military term GIS (“general impression and shape”).
  • Possible contraction of just is (in the sense that a particular bird species “just is” that species).

These theories were debunked by Greenwood and Greenwood in 2018.[1]

Noun[edit]

jizz (uncountable)

  1. (ornithology, birdwatching) The unique characteristics of a bird species that enable it to be immediately identified by an experienced birdwatcher who has seen that bird before and is familiar with its appearance and behaviour.
    • 1922, TA Coward, Bird Haunts and Nature Memories, London: Warne:
      A West Coast Irishman was familiar with the wild creatures which dwelt on or visited his rocks and shores; at a glance he could name them, usually correctly, but if asked how he knew them would reply ‘By their "jizz".’
    • 2009, Jeremy Mynott, chapter 3, in Birdscapes, Princeton and Oxford: Princeton, page 74:
      Political cartoonists rely a lot on jizz. When a new president or prime minister comes into office it usually takes the cartoonists a little while to decide which features to select as field marks but they then stylise these in ways that make them instantly recognisable to the rest of us, even though they may be grossly exaggerated.
    • 2015, Nick Davies, chapter 3, in Cuckoo - Cheating by Nature (paperback), London: Bloomsbury, page 53:
      His birds are not carefully posed to illustrate every plumage detail; they are impressions rather than portraits. With a few deft strokes of his pencil, he captures their 'jizz'.

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Greenwood, Jeremy J.D.; Greenwood, Julian G. (May 2018). "The Origin of the Birdwatching Term "Jizz"". British Birds. 111 (5): 292-294.
  2. ^ Coward, Thomas (6 December 1921). "Jizz". Manchester Guardian. p. 14.

Further reading[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Variation or shortening of jism.

Alternative forms[edit]

Noun[edit]

jizz (uncountable)

  1. (vulgar slang) Male ejaculate; sperm, semen.
Derived terms[edit]
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Verb[edit]

jizz (third-person singular simple present jizzes, present participle jizzing, simple past and past participle jizzed)

  1. (intransitive, slang) To ejaculate; to eject semen.
  2. (transitive, slang) To ejaculate on, over, or into; to cover in semen.
Synonyms[edit]
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