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jingo - 4 dictionary results
jin⋅go
[jing-goh] 
noun, plural -goes, adjective –noun
| 1. | a person who professes his or her patriotism loudly and excessively, favoring vigilant preparedness for war and an aggressive foreign policy; bellicose chauvinist. |
| 2. | English History. a Conservative supporter of Disraeli's policy in the Near East during the period 1877–78. |
–adjective
—Idiom| 3. | of jingoes. |
| 4. | characterized by jingoism. |
| 5. | by jingo! Informal. (an exclamation used to emphasize the truth or importance of a foregoing statement, or to express astonishment, approval, etc.): I know you can do it, by jingo! |
Origin:
1660–70; orig. conjurer's call hey jingo appear! come forth! (opposed to hey presto hasten away!), taken into general use in the phrase by Jingo, euphemism for by God; chauvinistic sense from by Jingo in political song supporting use of British forces against Russia in 1878
1660–70; orig. conjurer's call hey jingo appear! come forth! (opposed to hey presto hasten away!), taken into general use in the phrase by Jingo, euphemism for by God; chauvinistic sense from by Jingo in political song supporting use of British forces against Russia in 1878
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To jingo
| jin·go (jĭng'gō) n. pl. jin·goes One who vociferously supports one's country, especially one who supports a belligerent foreign policy; a chauvinistic patriot. adj.
[From the phrase by jingo, used in the refrain of a bellicose 19th-century English music-hall song, from alteration of Jesus1.] jin'go·ish adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Jingo
Jin"go\, n.; pl. Jingoes. [Said to be a corruption of St. Gingoulph.]1. A word used as a jocular oath. "By the living jingo." --Goldsmith. 2. A statesman who pursues, or who favors, aggressive, domineering policy in foreign affairs. [Cant, Eng.] Note: This sense arose from a doggerel song which was popular during the Turco-Russian war of 1877 and 1878. The first two lines were as follows: We don't want to fight, but by Jingo if we do, We 've got the ships, we 've got the men, we 've got the money too.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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jingo
"mindless, gung-ho patriot," 1878, picked up from the refrain of a music hall song written by G.W. Hunt supporting aggressive British policy toward Russia at a time of international tension. ("We don't want to fight, But by Jingo! if we do, We've got the ships, we've got the men, We've got the money too.") As an asseveration, it was in colloquial use since 1694, and is apparently yet another euphemism for Jesus, influenced by conjurer's gibberish presto-jingo (1670). The suggestion that it somehow derives from Basque Jinko "god" is "not impossible," but "as yet unsupported by evidence" [OED].
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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