Meanings
adjective
- afraid
As soon as things had got thus far, I began to feel rather jerran, as the blacks say, (i.e. timorous).
1847, Alexander Harris, Settlers and Convicts; or, Recollections of Sixteen Years' Labour in the Australian Backwoods, London
Origin
Borrowed from an aboriginal Australian language, used briefly in Australian English. A mention is made in Robbery Under Arms, by Rolf Boldrewood; another is made in Alexander Harris's Settlers and Convicts (1847).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
jerran. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jerran
MLA
“jerran.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jerran. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jerran,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jerran.
Source: jerran on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.