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jib

 [jib]   Origin

jib

1   [jib]
noun Nautical.
1.
any of various triangular sails set forward of a forestaysail or fore-topmast staysail. Compare flying jib, inner jib.
2.
the inner one of two such sails, set inward from a flying jib.
adjective
3.
of or pertaining to a jib: jib clew.

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Jib is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
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Idiom
4.
cut of one's jib, one's general appearance, mien, or manner: I could tell by the cut of his jib that he wasn't the kind of person I'd want to deal with.
Origin:
1655–65; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged

jib

2   [jib] verb (used without object), verb (used with object), jibbed, jib·bing, noun Nautical
jibe1.
Also, jibb.

jib

3   [jib] verb, jibbed, jib·bing, noun Chiefly British
verb (used without object)
1.
to move restively sidewise or backward instead of forward, as an animal in harness; balk.
2.
to balk at doing something; defer action; procrastinate.
noun
3.
a horse or other animal that jibs.
Origin:
1805–15; perhaps special use of jib2

Related forms
jib·ber, noun

jib

4   [jib]
noun
1.
the projecting arm of a crane.
2.
the boom of a derrick.
Origin:
1755–65; apparently short for gibbet
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To jib
Collins
World English Dictionary
jib1 (dʒɪb)
 
—n
1.  nautical any triangular sail set forward of the foremast of a vessel
2.  cut of someone's jib someone's manner, behaviour, style, etc
3.  obsolete
 a.  the lower lip, usually when it protrudes forwards in a grimace
 b.  the face or nose
 
[C17: of unknown origin]

jib2 (dʒɪb)
 
—vb , jibs, jibbing, jibbed
1.  (often foll by at) to be reluctant (to); hold back (from); balk (at)
2.  (of an animal) to stop short and refuse to go forwards: the horse jibbed at the jump
3.  nautical variant of gybe
 
[C19: of unknown origin]
 
'jibber2
 
—n

jib3 (dʒɪb)
 
—n
the projecting arm of a crane or the boom of a derrick, esp one that is pivoted to enable it to be raised or lowered
 
[C18: probably based on gibbet]

jib4 (dʒɪb)
 
—n
dialect (South Wales) (often plural) a contortion of the face; a face: stop making jibs
 
[special use of jib1 (in the sense: lower lip, face)]

jibe, jib or jibb1 (dʒaɪb, dʒɪb)
 
—vb, —n
nautical variants of gybe
 
jib, jib or jibb1
 
—vb, —n
 
jibb, jib or jibb1
 
—vb, —n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

jib
"foresail of a ship," 1661, gibb, of uncertain origin, perhaps related to gibbet, from notion of a sail "hanging" from a masthead. Or perhaps from jib (v.) "shift a sail or boom" (1693), from Du. gijben, apparently related to gijk "boom or spar of a sailing ship." Said to indicate a ship's character
EXPAND
to an observant sailor as a strange vessel approaches at sea; also nautical slang for "face," hence cut of his jib.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

jib

see cut of one's jib

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

jib

in sailing ships, triangular sail rigged to a stay extending from the foremast, or foretopmast, to the bowsprit or to a spar, the jibboom, that is an extension of the bowsprit. The jib is first known to have been used on one-masted vessels. Its use began to spread about 1600 and extended to larger war vessels about 1700. Jibs proved handy in helping to steer and were much valued-e.g., on the square-rigger, as a means of better close-hauled sailing and of setting extra sail with comparatively little labour demand. In some ships the number of jibs reached five or more, and often the jibboom itself required an extension, the flying jibboom, to carry them.

Learn more about jib with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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