jean

See also: Jean

English

Etymology

From the Middle English Gene (“Genoa”), from the Old French Jannes. Bleu de Gênes (“Genovese blue”) was a blue dye made in Genoa used to tint the denim cloth produced in Nîmes (de Nîmes). Doublet of Genoa and Geneva and distantly related to knee.

Pronunciation

• enPR: jēn, IPA^(key): /d͡ʒiːn/
• (obsolete) enPR: jān, IPA^(key): /d͡ʒeɪn/^[1]

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːn
• Homophones: gene, Gene

Noun

jean (countable and uncountable, plural jeans)

1. (chiefly attributive) Denim.

   She wore a tattered jean jacket.

   • 1843, Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit:

     Lastly, he took out a common frock of coarse dark jean, which he drew over his own under-clothing; and a felt hat—he had purposely left his own upstairs.

Derived terms

• bejeaned
• jeaned
• jeans
• satin jean

References

1. Meredith, L. P. (1872) “Jean”, in Every-Day Errors of Speech‎, Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., page 26.

Anagrams

• Jaen, Jane, Jaén, Jena, jane

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English jean.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dʒin/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland):

  (file)

• Homophones: djinn, gin

Noun

jean m (plural jeans)

1. a pair of jeans

Further reading

• “jean”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish ·dénai, prototonic form of do·gní.

The past form ren is from Old Irish do·rigni, deuterotonic form of the perfect tense of do·gní.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɪn/, /d͡ʒen/

Verb

jean (past ren, future independent nee, verbal noun jannoo, past participle jeant)

1. (auxiliary) A syntactic marker that carries the tense of the verb, replacing its synthetic form; the true verb follows as a verbal noun.

   Ren (replaces hie) eh goll thie. ― He went home.

   Yinnagh (replaces ragh) eh goll thie. ― He would go home.

   Nee (replaces hed) eh goll thie. ― He will go home.

   Jean (replaces gow) goll thie. ― Go home.

2. do, make

Conjugation

Conjugation of jean

		first		analytical
		singular	plural
future	independent	neeym, nee'm	neemayd	nee
	dependent	jeanym	jeanmayd	jean
	relative	(no future relative form)
conditional	independent	yinnin	yinnagh
	dependent	jinnin	jinnagh
past		ren
verbal noun		jannoo
past participle		jeant

Spanish

Noun

jean m (plural jeans)

1. jeans

Further reading

• “jean”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10