jade

jade
\ \ English has two words jade, of which by far the commoner nowadays is the name of the green stone [18]. Despite the mineral’s close association with China and Japan, the term has no Oriental connections. It is of Latin origin, and started life in fact as a description of the stone’s medical applications. Latin īlia denoted the ‘sides of the lower torso’, the ‘flanks’, the part of the body where the kidneys are situated (English gets iliac [16] from it). In Vulgar Latin this became *iliata, which passed into Spanish as ijada. Now it was thought in former times that jade could cure pain in the renal area, so the Spanish called it piedra de ijada, literally ‘stone of the flanks’. In due course this was reduced to simply ijada, which passed into English via French. (Jade’s alternative name, nephrite [18], is based on the same idea; it comes from Greek nephróskidney’.) English’s other word jade [14] now survives really only in its derivative adjective jadedtired, sated’ [16]. It originally meant ‘worn-out horse’, and was later transferred metaphorically to ‘disreputable woman’. Its origins are not known.
\ \ Cf.ILIAC; JADED

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • jade — jade …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • jade — [ ʒad ] n. m. • 1612; var. a. ejade; esp. (piedra de la) ijada « (pierre des) flancs », cette pierre passant pour préserver des coliques néphrétiques 1 ♦ Minér. Roche métamorphique très dure, dont la couleur varie du blanc olivâtre au vert sombre …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Jade — Jade, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Jaded}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Jading}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To treat like a jade; to spurn. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. To make ridiculous and contemptible. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] I do now fool myself, to let imagination… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • JADE — Существует также персонаж Jade из вселенной Mortal Kombat JADE (англ. Java Agent Development Framework)  программная среда разработки мультиагентных систем и приложений, поддерживающая FIPA стандарты для интеллектуальных агентов. Включает в… …   Википедия

  • Jade — (j[=a]d), n. [F., fr. Sp. jade, fr. piedra de ijada stone of the side, fr. ijada flank, side, pain in the side, the stone being so named because it was supposed to cure this pain. Sp. ijada is derived fr. L. ilia flanks. Cf. {Iliac}.] 1. (Min.) A …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Jade — Jade, n. [OE. jade; cf. Prov. E. yaud, Scot. yade, yad, yaud, Icel. jalda a mare.] [1913 Webster] 1. A mean or tired horse; a worthless nag. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] Tired as a jade in overloaden cart. Sir P. Sidney. [1913 Webster] 2. A… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • jade — [dʒeıd] n [U] [Date: 1500 1600; : French; Origin: from early Spanish (piedra de la) ijada (stone of the) lower back ; because it was believed that jade cures pain in the kidneys] 1.) a hard, usually green stone often used to make jewellery ▪ a… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • jade — [ dʒeıd ] noun uncount 1. ) a hard green substance used for making jewelry and art objects: a jade necklace 2. ) jade or jade green a dark blue green color ╾ jade adjective …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • JADE — was the codename given by US codebreakers to a Japanese World War II cipher machine. The Imperial Japanese Navy used the machine for communications from late 1942 until 1944. JADE was similar to another cipher machine, CORAL, with the main… …   Wikipedia

  • Jade — Jade, v. i. To become weary; to lose spirit. [1913 Webster] They . . . fail, and jade, and tire in the prosecution. South. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • jade — (Del fr. jade, tomado del esp. [piedra de la] ijada, porque el jade se aplicó por los conquistadores de América como remedio a aquella parte del cuerpo). m. Piedra muy dura, tenaz, de aspecto jabonoso, blanquecina o verdosa con manchas rojizas o… …   Diccionario de la lengua española

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