joss

J8O1S1S1
UK/dʒɒs/US/dʒɔs/cot caught merger/dʒɑs/

noun

A Chinese household divinity; a Chinese idol.

Less commonScrabble 11

Meanings

joss1

nounjoss (countable and uncountable, plural josses)

plural josses · alternative obsolete ghos

  1. countableA Chinese household divinity; a Chinese idol.
  2. countableA heathen divinity.
    1 more example

    Don't forget they're mostly just joss-worshipping heathen an' they don't get no kick out of the more classy breeds o' religion. Though I guess there ain't that much diff'rence. It ain't many's so Lord Almighty in theirselves that they don't need a joss of some sort, an' I guess it's what yu think about him matters not the sort o' joss.

    1939, Philip George Chadwick, The Death Guard, pages 111–112
  3. informaluncountableLuck.

    She had twisted a piece of heather into her mail box for good joss, and this was the safety signal.

    1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 178

    Synonyms: chance

Joss2

proper nounJoss (plural Josses)

plural Josses

  1. A unisex given name
    1. A diminutive of the female given name Jocelyn.
    2. A diminutive of the male given name Joseph.
verbJoss (third-person singular simple present Josses, present participle Jossing, simple past and past participle Jossed)

present singular third person Josses · participle present Jossing · participle past Jossed · past Jossed

  1. slangtransitivelifestyleTo invalidate a fan theory or original element of a fanwork through the introduction of new canon or retconning.

    Author's note part 2: I'm leaving it to the imagination of the reader what Cordelia saw of her future. Writing that out would be asking to be Jossed.

    2000 December 25, Shanna, “Holiday at the Hyperion (2/2)”, in alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer.creative (Usenet)
    2 more examples

    I have this pet theory which will no doubt be Jossed (Greenwalted?) sooner or later. That Wes's dad is not a Watcher, but someone wealthy and financially connected with the Council (if they have all that influence, at least some of the people involved must know who they are)--in short, some kind of profiteer in the war against the forces of evil.

    2001 October 20, Sarah Trombley, “Re: Cut Scenes from Carpe Noctem Script”, in alt.tv.angel (Usenet)

    Even if your pet subject was "Jossed" by HBP (in other words, your theorizing was annihalated^([sic]) or impacted by a canon development) we'd love to have your archival works on HPInkPot - just select "pre-HBP" in the "when was this work written?" section.

    2005 December 5, heidi8 [username], “New Essay Archive at HPInkPot.com”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet)

Synonyms & antonyms

nounLuck.

Similar
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Origin

joss · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*deywós“god/that which belongs to heaven”
  2. Latindeus“god”
  3. Portuguesedeus“god”
  4. Chinese Pidgin Englishjoss
  5. Englishjoss

From Chinese Pidgin English joss, from Macau Pidgin Portuguese, from Portuguese deus (“god”), from Latin deus (“god”), from Proto-Indo-European *deywós (“god/that which belongs to heaven”). Doublet of Tiw and Tyr.

Full word history & related roots →

Joss · proper noun, verb

Verb usage evolved from the name of Joss Whedon, creator of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with joss

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

joss. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/joss

MLA

“joss.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/joss. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “joss,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/joss.

Source: joss on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.