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John
Definitions
- 1 A male given name originating from the Bible [in turn from Hebrew]; very popular since the Middle Ages.
"John is a most excellent name, and Smith is a surname which is worthy of respect and honor, but wo to the man on whom they are conjoined! For John Smith to aspire to senatorial dignities or to the laurel of a poet is simply ridiculous. Who is John Smith? He is lost in the multitude of John Smiths, and individual fame is impossible."
- 2 A male given name originating from the Bible [in turn from Hebrew]; very popular since the Middle Ages.; Used generically for a man whose actual name may not be known. informal
"a John Doe murder case; the dreaded Dear John letter; if we were to ask John Q. Public his opinion"
- 3 A male given name originating from the Bible [in turn from Hebrew]; very popular since the Middle Ages.; Used frequently to form an idea personified, as in John Bull, John Barleycorn (see derivations below). informal
- 4 Persons of the Christian Bible: John the Baptist; and names possibly referring to one, two or three persons, frequently called "Saint": John the Apostle, John the Evangelist and John of Patmos (also called John the Divine or John the Theologian).
"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John."
- 5 The Gospel of St John, a book of the New Testament of the Bible. Traditionally the fourth of the four gospels.
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- 6 One of the books in the New Testament of the Bible, the epistles of John (1 John, 2 John and 3 John).
- 7 A surname originating as a patronymic.
- 1 A prostitute's client. US, slang
"The girls sat there while the johns (customers) moped around giving them the once-over."
- 2 A new recruit at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. UK, slang
"I and the other "Johns," as I soon discovered all new-comers at Sandhurst were, and are still, styled, although at the time I was unconscious of it, managed to troop in after the A company, but although not two minutes after them, found all the different messes already seated and hard at work."
- 3 a room or building equipped with one or more toilets wordnet
- 4 A device or place to urinate and defecate: now usually a toilet or lavatory, but also (dated) a chamber pot or outhouse. US, slang
- 5 Alternative letter-case form of john (“a toilet, lavatory, outhouse, chamber pot”). US, alt-of, archaic, slang
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- 6 a prostitute's customer wordnet
- 7 A Western man traveling in East Asia. slang
- 8 An excuse, chiefly made by a losing player for their poor performance.
"Remember, no Johns."
- 9 A male mule.
Etymology
From the male given name John (q.v.), whose ubiquity led to extensive use of the name in generic contexts. Its use for toilets derives from John and Cousin John, which both probably relate to jacques and jakes, used in equivalent senses by the British and Irish.
From Middle English John, Johan, Johannes, from Anglo-Norman Jehan, Johan, and also Old English Iohannes, both from Late Latin Iōhannēs, variant of Latin Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Biblical Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yôḥānān), perhaps contracted from a former יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān, “God is gracious”). Doublet of Jack, Jon, Johan, Johann, Johannes, Jean, Sean, Shane, Shaun, Ian, Ivan, Evan, Juan, Giovanni, and Yahya.
From Middle English John, Johan, Johannes, from Anglo-Norman Jehan, Johan, and also Old English Iohannes, both from Late Latin Iōhannēs, variant of Latin Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Biblical Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yôḥānān), perhaps contracted from a former יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān, “God is gracious”). Doublet of Jack, Jon, Johan, Johann, Johannes, Jean, Sean, Shane, Shaun, Ian, Ivan, Evan, Juan, Giovanni, and Yahya.
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