jazz

jazz

See also: Jazz

English

Alternative forms

• jaz, jas, jass, jasz (all dated, used from about 1912 to about 1918)

Etymology

Unknown. First attested around 1912 in a discussion of baseball; attested in reference to music around 1915. Numerous references suggest that the term may be connected to jasm and jism.[1]

Pronunciation

• enPR: jăz, IPA^(key): /d͡ʒæz/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æz

A jazz band, The King & Carter Jazzing Orchestra, in 1921.

Noun

jazz (uncountable)

1. (music) A musical art form rooted in West African cultural and musical expression and in the African American blues tradition, with diverse influences over time, commonly characterized by blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms and improvisation.
   • 1927, Samson Raphaelson; Alfred A. Cohn, The Jazz Singer, spoken by Jakie Rabinowitz (Al Jolson):

     You dare to bring your jazz songs into my house!

   • 1946, Mezz Mezzrow; Bernard Wolfe, Really the Blues, New York: Random House, page 30:

     You all look out now, here I come, everybody step aside, I’m gonna show you where from! I'm gonna blow in this horn and make you know that jazz is the king and let it be so!

   • 1995, Mike Reiss; Al Jean, “'Round Springfield”, in The Simpsons, season 6, episode 22, spoken by Bill Cosby:

     You see, the kids, they listen to the rap music which gives them the brain damage. With their hippin', and the hoppin', and the bippin', and the boppin', so they don't know what the jazz…is all about! You see, jazz is like the Jello Pudding Pop—no, actually, it's more like Kodak film—no, actually, jazz is like the New Coke: it'll be around forever, heh heh.

2. (figurative) Energy, excitement, excitability.
   • 1923, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, The Inimitable Jeeves‎, OCLC 3601985:

     “You want something zippy there. Something with a bit of jazz to it!”

   • 1983, Frank Lupo; Stephen J. Cannell, “Mexican Slayride”, in The A-Team, season 1, episode 1, spoken by B. A. Baracus (Mr. T):

     He loves the risk. The danger. He loves the jazz.

3. The substance or makeup of a thing; unspecified thing(s).

   Synonyms: stuff; see also Thesaurus:junk, Thesaurus:thingy

   and all that jazz

   What jazz were you referring to earlier?

   What is all this jazz lying around?

   I'm just going down to the shops and jazz.

   • 1975, Garry Marshall et al., “Richie's Flip Side”, in Happy Days, season 2, episode 21, spoken by Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard):

     Dad, I want to be a jock. All a jock needs is some hep patter and a real gone image. Now, they just don't teach that jazz in college.

4. (with positive terms) Something of excellent quality, the genuine article.

   That show was the jazz!

   This risotto is simply the jazz.

5. Nonsense.

   Synonyms: rubbish, wass; see also Thesaurus:nonsense

   Stop talking jazz.

6. (slang) Semen, jizz.
   • 1968, Len Harrington, In drag, page 7:

     Suddenly, Bobby oozed his jazz into Gene's throat.

   • 1974, Peter Pepper, Meatslinger, page 141:

     […] making Glenn feel as though he could never stop shooting his jazz wildly up inside the man's brawny body!

   • 2018, Bert Shrader, A Gay Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum:

     As he clung to the legs of his captor, he splayed his own out to the side, baring his groin and genitals to the eyes of all just as his jazz began to spurt out onto the stage.

Derived terms

• acid jazz
• cool jazz
• jazzbo
• jazzen
• jazzer
• jazz-funk
• jazz fusion
• jazz-like
• jazz-rock
• jazz up
• jazzy
• smooth jazz

 

Translations

musical art form

Arabic: جَاز‎ m (jāz) Armenian: ջազ (hy) (ǰaz) Belarusian: джаз m (džaz) Bulgarian: джаз m (džaz) Catalan: jazz (ca) m Chinese: Cantonese: 爵士 (yue) (zoek3 si6) Mandarin: 爵士樂／爵士乐 (zh) (juéshìyuè), 爵士 (zh) (juéshì) Czech: džez (cs) m, jazz (cs) m Danish: jazz (da) c Dutch: jazz (nl) m Esperanto: ĵazo (eo) Estonian: džäss Faroese: djassur m Finnish: jazz (fi), jatsi (fi) French: jazz (fr) m Georgian: ჯაზი (ǯazi) German: Jazz (de) m Greek: τζαζ (el) f (tzaz) Hebrew: ג׳אז‎ (jaz), ג׳ז‎ (jez) Hindi: जाज़ (jāz) Hungarian: dzsessz (hu) Icelandic: djass (is) m Ido: jazo (io) Irish: snagcheol m Italian: jazz (it) m Japanese: ジャズ (ja) (jazu) Khmer: ហ្សាស (zaah) Korean: 재즈 (ko) (jaejeu) Latvian: džezs m Lithuanian: džiazas m Macedonian: џез m (džez) Malay: jaz Maori: puoro takihuri, puoro tautito, puoro tene Marathi: जॅज n (jĕj) Norwegian: Bokmål: jazz (no) m Nynorsk: jazz m Persian: جاز‎ (fa) (jâz) Polish: dżez (pl) m, jazz (pl) m Portuguese: jazz (pt) m Romanian: jazz (ro) n Russian: джаз (ru) m (džaz) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: џез m Roman: džez (sh) m Slovak: džez m, jazz m Slovene: džez m, jazz m Spanish: jazz (es) m Swedish: jazz (sv) c Tagalog: diyas, dyas Thai: แจ๊ส (jɛ́ɛt), แจซซ์ (jɛ́ɛt) Turkish: caz (tr) Turkmen: jaz (tk) Ukrainian: джаз m (džaz) Uyghur: جاز‎ (jaz) Welsh: jazz m Yiddish: דזשאַז‎ m (dzhaz)

the (in)tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a thing; unspecified thing(s)

Czech: a tak Polish: cała reszta, różne takie Portuguese: porcariada f, coisarada (pt) f

of excellent quality, the genuine article

Czech: super (cs) Polish: świetny (pl) m Portuguese: suprassumo (pt) m

nonsense

Czech: kraviny f pl Georgian: უაზრობა (uazroba), აბსურდი (absurdi) Polish: bzdura (pl) f Portuguese: besteira (pt) f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Basque: (please verify) jazz Bulgarian: (please verify) джаз (džaz) Galician: (please verify) jazz (gl) Hindi: (please verify) जैज़ (jaiz) Indonesian: (please verify) jazz Kannada: (please verify) ಜಾಝ್ ಸಂಗೀತ (jājh saṅgīta) Latin: (please verify) iazium Persian: (please verify) جاز‎ (fa) Swedish: (please verify) jazz (sv) Ukrainian: (please verify) джаз (džaz) Urdu: (please verify) جاز‎ Vietnamese: (please verify) nhạc jazz Welsh: (please verify) jazz

Verb

jazz (third-person singular simple present jazzes, present participle jazzing, simple past and past participle jazzed)

1. To destroy.

   You’ve gone and jazzed it now!

2. To play (jazz music).
3. To dance to the tunes of jazz music.
4. To enliven, brighten up, make more colourful or exciting; excite
5. To complicate.

   Don’t jazz it too much!

6. (intransitive, US slang, dated) To have sex for money, to prostitute oneself.
   • 1931, Faulkner, William, Sanctuary, Vintage, published 1993, page 59:

     ‘Jazzing?’ Temple whispered [...]. ‘Yes, putty-face!’ the woman said. ‘How do you suppose I paid that lawyer?’

7. (intransitive) To move (around/about) in a lively or frivolous manner; to fool around. [from 20th c.]
   • 1958, Lessing, Doris, A Ripple From the Storm, HarperPerennial, published 1995, page 119:

     ‘Well, if you're going to jazz about the way you do, I suppose you'll need rouge at your age.’

8. To distract or pester.

   Stop jazzing me!

9. To ejaculate.
   • 1982, Arthur Winfield Knight, Kit Knight, Beat angels, page 7:

     Twenty-four black men jazzed madly as trumpets exploded her eardrums in tom-tom time. Ebony orgasm flooded her with creme.

   • 1986, Winston Leyland, Hard, page 84:

     The thrill of the rimming soon made this guy beg for me to stop before he jazzed his nuts.

   • 1988, First Hand - Volume 8, Issue 2, page 47:

     I reached around and began jacking off Marshall's prick as I was jazzing his ass.

Synonyms

• (to destroy): annihilate, ravage; see also Thesaurus:destroy
• (to play jazz music): cook, jam; see also Thesaurus:play music
• (to enliven): invigorate, vitalise; see also Thesaurus:enliven
• (to complicate): complexify, confuscate; see also Thesaurus:complicate
• (to prostitute oneself): sell one's body, turn tricks; see also Thesaurus:prostitute oneself
• (to pester): bother, bug; see also Thesaurus:annoy

Translations

to play jazz music

Danish: spille (da) jazz Finnish: soittaa jazzia, jatsata (fi) Polish: dżezować (pl), jazzować (pl)

to dance to jazz music

Danish: jazze Finnish: jatsata (fi)

References

1. The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2014, →ISBN says that most authorities derive it from jasm, a variant of jism. Partridge also says it was first recorded in reference to music in a 1917 Chicago Tribune advertisement for "Bert Kelly's Jaz ^[sic] Band", having previously been used in baseball.

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Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from English jazz.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ˈʒas/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒas/

Noun

jazz m (plural jazz)

1. jazz

Derived terms

• jazzístic

Further reading

• “jazz” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “jazz”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
• “jazz” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

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Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from English jazz.

Noun

jazz m

1. jazz

Declension

Declension of jazz

	singular	plural
nominative	jazz	jazzy
genitive	jazzu	jazzů
dative	jazzu	jazzům
accusative	jazz	jazzy
vocative	jazze	jazzy
locative	jazzu	jazzech
instrumental	jazzem	jazzy

Further reading

• jazz in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• jazz in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

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Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from English jazz.

Noun

jazz m (definite singular jazzen)

1. (uncountable) jazz (form of music)

Derived terms

• jazzfestival
• jazzklub
• jazzkoncert
• jazzkvartet
• jazzmiljø
• jazznummer
• jazzpianist
• jazztrompetist

 

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English jazz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dʒɛz/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: jazz

Noun

jazz m (uncountable)

1. jazz

Derived terms

• cooljazz
• dixielandjazz
• freejazz
• gipsyjazz
• jazzconcert
• jazzfestival
• jazzgitarist
• jazzmuziek
• jazzpianist
• jazzplaat
• jazzrock
• jazztrompettist
• jazzvogel
• jazzy
• jazzzanger
• jazzzangeres
• negerjazz
• souljazz
• swingjazz
• zigeunerjazz

 

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Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from English jazz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjɑts/, [ˈjɑts̠]
• Rhymes: -ɑts
• Syllabification^(key): jazz

Noun

jazz

1. jazz (style of music)

Declension

Inflection of jazz (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		jazz	jazzit
genitive		jazzin	jazzien
partitive		jazzia	jazzeja
illative		jazziin	jazzeihin
		singular	plural
nominative		jazz	jazzit
accusative	nom.	jazz	jazzit
	gen.	jazzin
genitive		jazzin	jazzien
partitive		jazzia	jazzeja
inessive		jazzissa	jazzeissa
elative		jazzista	jazzeista
illative		jazziin	jazzeihin
adessive		jazzilla	jazzeilla
ablative		jazzilta	jazzeilta
allative		jazzille	jazzeille
essive		jazzina	jazzeina
translative		jazziksi	jazzeiksi
instructive		—	jazzein
abessive		jazzitta	jazzeitta
comitative		—	jazzeineen

Possessive forms of jazz (type risti)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	jazzini	jazzimme
2nd person	jazzisi	jazzinne
3rd person	jazzinsa

Synonyms

• jatsi

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from English jazz. The compound jazband is attested in a 1918 copy of Le Matin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dʒaz/, /dʒɑz/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

jazz m (uncountable)

1. (music) jazz (music style)

Derived terms

• jazz
• jazzifier
• jazzman

Further reading

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

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Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English jazz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛt͡s/^*, /ˈd͡ʒaz/, /ˈd͡ʒɛz/[1]
• Rhymes: -ɛts, -az, -ɛz

Noun

jazz m (uncountable)

1. (music) jazz

Adjective

jazz (invariable)

1. (relational) jazz

   Synonym: jazzistico

Derived terms

• jazzista
• jazzistico

References

1. jazz in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Further reading

• jazz in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

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Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• jass

Etymology

Borrowed from English jazz.

Noun

jazz m (definite singular jazzen)

1. (uncountable) jazz (form of music)

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• jass

Etymology

Borrowed from English jazz.

Noun

jazz m (definite singular jazzen)

1. (uncountable) jazz (form of music)

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Polish

Alternative forms

• dżez

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English jazz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʐɛs/

• Audio 1

  (file)

• Audio 2

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛs
• Syllabification: jazz
• Homophone: dżez

Noun

jazz m inan

1. jazz
2. (slang) marijuana
   • 2011, Firma; (lyrics and music), “JaraMy”, in Nasza broń to nasza pasja, performed by Firma, track 20:

     Śmiech, relaks i spokój w każdym machu / rozpoznam kozaka po wyglądzie i zapachu / śpię po tym jak dziecko i śmieje się do łez / mniej szkodliwe to niż wóda, zalegalizujcie jazz!

     Laughter, relaxation, and peace with every toke / I can tell a badass by the way he looks / it makes me sleep like a baby and I laugh til I cry / it's less harmful than vodka, legalize hash!

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:marihuana

Declension

Declension of jazz

	singular
nominative	jazz
genitive	jazzu
dative	jazzowi
accusative	jazz
instrumental	jazzem
locative	jazzie
vocative	jazzie

Derived terms

adjective

• jazzowy

 

nouns

• jazzband
• jazzman

 

Further reading

• jazz in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• jazz in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English jazz.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛs/

Noun

jazz m (uncountable)

1. (music) jazz (music genre)

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:jazz.

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Romanian

Etymology

From English jazz or French jazz.

Noun

jazz n (uncountable)

1. (music) jazz (music style)

Declension

declension of jazz (singular only)

	singular
n gender	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) jazz	jazzul
genitive/dative	(unui) jazz	jazzului
vocative	jazzule

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Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English jazz.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈʝas/ [ˈɟ͡ʝas]

• IPA^(key): (everywhere but Argentina and Uruguay) /ˈʝas/ [ˈɟ͡ʝas]
• IPA^(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /ˈʃas/ [ˈʃas]
• IPA^(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /ˈʒas/ [ˈʒas]

• Audio (Spain)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -as

Noun

jazz m (uncountable)

1. jazz

Derived terms

• jazzista m or f

Further reading

• “jazz”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

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Swedish

Noun

jazz c

1. (music) jazz

Declension

Declension of jazz
	Uncountable
	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	jazz	jazzen	—	—
Genitive	jazzs	jazzens	—	—

Derived terms

• jazztobak (“cannabis”)

References

• jazz in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• jazz in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• jazz in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)