Etymology

jeer

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Today it means: A mocking remark or reflection. Full definition →

Dutch gieren
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jeer · noun, verb1

  1. Dutch · borrowed fromgekscheren“to jeer”
  2. Dutch · borrowed fromgieren“to roar with laughter, laugh loudly”
  3. English todayjeer

From earlier gyr, probably from Dutch gieren (“to roar with laughter, laugh loudly”) (related to German gieren (“to gape, snap”)); or from Dutch gekscheren (“to jeer”, literally “to shear the fool”), from gek (“a fool”) (see geck) + scheren (“to shear”) (see shear (verb)). The OED states no verifiable connection to English cheer.

jeer · noun2

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Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.