English

Alternative forms

• Jayne, Jaine

Proper noun

Jane ‎(plural Janes)

1. A female given name; the standard feminine form of John since the 17th century.
   • 1605 William Camden: Remains Concerning Britain. John Russell Smith, 1870. p.103-104:

     In latter years some of the better and nicer sort, misliking Joan, have mollified the name of Joan into Jane, as it may seem, for that Jane is never found in old Records; and as some will, never before the time of King Henry the eight.

   • 1830 Mary Russell Mitford, Our Village: Fourth Series: Cottage Names:

     People will please their fancies, and every lady has favourite names. I myself have several, and they are mostly short and simple. Jane, that queenly name! Jane Seymour, Jane Grey, 'the noble Jane de Montford;' - - -

   • 1912 Saki (H.H.Munro), The Secret Sin of Septimus Brope:

     "What I mean is," said Mrs. Riversedge, "that when I get maids with unsuitable names I call them Jane; they soon get used to it."

     "An excellent plan," said the aunt of Clovis coldly; "unfortunately I have got used to being called Jane myself. It happens to be my name."

2. A patronymic surname​ derived from a Middle English variant of John.

Derived terms

• Jane Crow
• Jane Doe
• Jane Roe
• Jane Sixpack
• Mary Jane
• plain Jane
• salvation Jane

Related terms

Translations

Noun

Jane ‎(plural Janes)

1. (informal) A woman, often specifically a girlfriend.

   What happened to your regular Jane?

Alternative forms

• jane

Anagrams

• jean, Jean
• Jena

Danish

Proper noun

Jane

1. A female given name, a Danish diminutive of Christiane, Juliane and Mariane, today also associated with the English Jane.

Estonian

Proper noun

Jane

1. A female given name, variant of Janne, from Johanna.

Norwegian

Proper noun

Jane

1. A female given name derived from Johanne, or borrowed from English.

Swedish

Proper noun

Jane

1. A female given name borrowed from English, less often from Danish or Norwegian.

English

Noun

jane ‎(plural janes)

1. (obsolete) A silver Genovese coin, first used in England in the 14th century.
   • 14th c, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Rime of Sire Thopas, The Canterbury Tales, 1793, A Complete Edition of the Poets of Great Britain, Volume 1, page 124,

     His robe was of chekelatoun, / That coste many a jane.

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.vii:

     Certes was but a common Courtisane, / Yet flat refusd to haue a do with mee, / Because I could not giue her many a Iane.

Etymology 2

Alternative forms.

Noun

jane ‎(plural janes)

1. Alternative letter-case form of Jane, a woman.
2. Alternative spelling of jean
   • 1843, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, book 3, ch. VII, Over-Production

     Ye miscellaneous, ignoble manufacturing individuals, ye have produced too much! We accuse you of making above two-hundred thousand shirts for the bare backs of mankind. Your trousers too, which you have made, of fustian, of cassimere, of Scotch-plaid, of jane, nankeen and woollen broadcloth, are they not manifold?

Anagrams

• jean, Jean
• Jena