jibe

English
WOTD – 11 March 2019

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Origin uncertain; possibly from Old French giber (“to engage in horseplay; to play roughly in sport”). Compare English jib (“usually of a horse: to stop and refuse to go forward”),[1] Old Norse geipa (“to talk nonsense”).

The noun is derived from the verb.[2]

Noun

jibe (plural jibes)

  1. A facetious or insulting remark; a jeer, a taunt.
    He flung subtle jibes at her until she couldn’t bear to work with him any longer.
Translations

Verb

jibe (third-person singular simple present jibes, present participle jibing, simple past and past participle jibed)

  1. (transitive) To reproach with contemptuous words; to deride, to mock, to taunt.
    Synonym: flout
    • c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene ii], page 346, column 1:
      [Y]ou / Did pocket vp my Letters: and with taunts / Did gibe my Miſive out of audience.
    • 1714, John Arbuthnot, A Farther Continuation of the History of the Crown-Inn: Part III. Containing the Present State of the Inn, and Other Particulars‎, 2nd edition, London: Printed for J. Moor, […], OCLC 1051632876, archived from the original on 10 March 2019, page 15:
      We could hardly speak before for fear of our Taskmasters; but we dare now Nose those Villains that used to gibe us.
    • a. 1746, [Jonathan] Swift, “A Character, Panegyrick, and Description of the Legion Club”, in Miscellanies, volume X, 5th edition, London: Printed for T. Woodward, C. Davis, C. Bathurst, and W[illiam] Bowyer, published 1751, OCLC 669329865, pages 227–228:
      How I want thee, hum'rous Hogarth! / Thou, I hear, a pleaſant Rogue art; / […] / Draw the Beaſts as I deſcribe them, / From their Features, while I gibe them.
  2. (transitive) To say in a mocking or taunting manner.
  3. (intransitive) To make a mocking remark or remarks; to jeer.
Derived terms
Translations

Alternative forms

Etymology 2

Origin unknown; perhaps related to chime (“to cause to sound in harmony”).[3]

Verb

jibe (third-person singular simple present jibes, present participle jibing, simple past and past participle jibed)

  1. (intransitive, Canada, US, informal) To accord or agree.
    That explanation doesn’t jibe with the facts.
    • 1926 May 13, Henry H. Glassie, witness, “Statement of Henry H. Glassie, Member of United States Tariff Commission”, in Investigation of the Tariff Commission: Hearings before the Select Committee on Investigation of the Tariff Commission, United States Senate, Sixty-ninth Congress, First Session […] Part 1 […], Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, OCLC 6263224, page 529:
      [T]here is something wrong with your figures. They do not jibe with experience. They do not jibe with prices. They do not jibe with what we know.
Usage notes

Jibe and jive have been used interchangeably in the US to indicate the concept “to accord or agree”. While one recent dictionary accepts this usage of jive, most sources consider it to be in error.

Alternative forms
Translations

Etymology 3

See gybe.

Noun

jibe (plural jibes)

  1. (nautical, now chiefly US) Alternative spelling of gybe

Verb

jibe (third-person singular simple present jibes, present participle jibing, simple past and past participle jibed)

  1. (nautical, now chiefly US) Alternative spelling of gybe

References
  1. “gibe, jibe, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1899; “jibe” (US) / “jibe” (UK) in Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press.
  2. “gibe, jibe, n.1”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1899.
  3. “jibe, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1901.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.