English

Proper noun

Jazz

1. A diminutive of the male given name James.
   • 2001 Ian Rankin, Resurrection Men, Orion, page 4:

     His real name was James, but those who knew him seemed never to call him that. He was Jamesy, or more often Jazz.

2. A diminutive of the female given name Jasmine.
   • 2012? Madeleine Oh, At Long Last, in The Mammoth Book of Erotica: Volume 4, Constable and Robinson Ltd (2012), ISBN 1472102053:

     "He calls you Jazzikins." He would. He had. Couldn't call me Jazz or Jasmine the way everyone else did.

German

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ats

Noun

Jazz m

1. jazz (musical art form)

English

Alternative forms

• jaz, jas, jass, jasz (all dated, used from about 1912 to about 1918)

Noun

jazz ‎(uncountable)

1. (music) A musical art form rooted in West African cultural and musical expression and in the African American blues tradition, with diverse influences over time, commonly characterized by blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms and improvisation.
2. Energy, excitement, excitability.
3. The substance or makeup of a thing.

   What jazz were you referring to earlier?

   What is all this jazz lying around?

4. Unspecified thing(s).

   I'm just going down to the shops and jazz = I am off to purchase items and so on.

5. (with positive terms) Something of excellent quality, the genuine article.

   That show was the jazz! = That musical concert/television program was most enjoyable.

   This risotto is simply the jazz. = This risotto was cooked in the classic manner.

6. Nonsense.

   Stop talking jazz.

Translations

Verb

jazz ‎(third-person singular simple present jazzes, present participle jazzing, simple past and past participle jazzed)

1. To play jazz music.
2. To dance to the tunes of jazz music.
3. To enliven, brighten up, make more colourful or exciting; excite
4. To complicate.

   Don’t jazz it too much! = Be careful, it was good to start with!

5. (intransitive, US slang, dated) To have sex for money, to prostitute oneself.
   • 1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage 1993, page 59:

     ‘Jazzing?’ Temple whispered [...]. ‘Yes, putty-face!’ the woman said. ‘How do you suppose I paid that lawyer?’

6. To destroy.

   You’ve gone and jazzed it now! = It is ruined.

7. To distract/pester.

   Stop jazzing me! = Leave me alone.

Derived terms

Translations

References

1. ↑ The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2014, ISBN 1317625110) says that most authorities derive it from jasm, a variant of ****. Partridge also says it was first recorded in reference to music in a 1917 Chicago Tribune advertisement for "Bert Kelly's Jaz ^[sic] Band", having previously been used in baseball.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowing from English jazz.

Noun

jazz m ‎(plural jazz)

1. jazz

Czech

Etymology

Borrowing from English jazz.

Noun

jazz m

1. jazz

Declension

Dutch

Pronunciation

Etymology

Borrowing from English jazz.

Noun

jazz m ‎(uncountable)

1. jazz

Derived terms

• jazzzanger
• jazzzangeres

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowing from English jazz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjɑts/

Noun

jazz

1. jazz (style of music)

Declension

Synonyms

• jatsi

French

Etymology

Borrowing from English jazz. The compound jazband is attested in a 1918 copy of Le Matin.

Noun

jazz m ‎(uncountable)

1. (music) jazz (music style)

Derived terms

• jazz
• jazzifier
• jazzman

Italian

Etymology

Borrowing from English jazz.

Noun

jazz m ‎(invariable)

1. (music) jazz

Derived terms

• jazzista
• jazzistico

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• jass

Etymology

Borrowing from English jazz.

Noun

jazz m ‎(definite singular jazzen)

1. (uncountable) jazz (form of music)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• jass

Etymology

Borrowing from English jazz.

Noun

jazz m ‎(definite singular jazzen)

1. (uncountable) jazz (form of music)

Polish

Etymology

Borrowing from English jazz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʐɛs/
• Homophones: dżez

Noun

jazz m inan

1. jazz (music)

Declension

Synonyms

• dżez

Derived terms

• jazzowy
• jazzband
• jazzman

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowing from English jazz.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛs/

Noun

jazz m (uncountable)

1. (music) jazz (music genre)

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:jazz.

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowing from English jazz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʝas/

Noun

jazz m ‎(uncountable)

1. jazz

Derived terms

• jazzista m, f