joss

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See also: Joss and jøss

English

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Etymology

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From Chinese Pidgin English joss, from Macau Pidgin Portuguese, from Portuguese deus (god), from Latin deus (god), from Proto-Indo-European *deywós (god/that which belongs to heaven).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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joss (countable and uncountable, plural josses)

  1. (countable) A Chinese household divinity; a Chinese idol.
  2. (countable) A heathen divinity.
    • 1939, Philip George Chadwick, The Death Guard, pages 111–112:
      Don't forget they're mostly just joss-worshipping heathen an' they don't get no kick out of the more classy breeds o' religion. Though I guess there ain't that much diff'rence. It ain't many's so Lord Almighty in theirselves that they don't need a joss of some sort, an' I guess it's what yu think about him matters not the sort o' joss.
  3. (uncountable, informal) Luck.
    • 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 178:
      She had twisted a piece of heather into her mail box for good joss, and this was the safety signal.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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See also

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Finnish

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Etymology

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Calque of English iff, jos with the final consonant doubled

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈjosː/, [ˈjo̞s̠ː]
  • Rhymes: -osː
  • Syllabification(key): joss

Conjunction

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joss

  1. (logic) iff

See also

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