Jenkins

//ˈd͡ʒɛŋkɪnz// name, noun, slang

name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A flatterer or sycophant. colloquial, dated, derogatory

    "the Jenkins employed by a newspaper"

  2. 2
    plural of jenkin form-of, plural
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname originating as a patronymic of Cornish and in English ("mainly of Devon") origin.
  2. 2
    A city in Kentucky.
  3. 3
    A city in Minnesota.

Example

More examples

"I'm thinking of taking you to see Mr Jenkins."

Etymology

A patronymic surname that is derived from the male given name John + -kin (which forms diminutive )+ -s (denoting "son of") hence meaning "son of little John". It was originally an offshoot of the male medieval name Jenkin/Jankin. The name was brought from the crusaders; it originated in Cornwall but became popular in England and Wales.

Related phrases

Jenkins Countyup Jenkins

More for "jenkins"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.