jeer

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɪə(ɹ)/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɪɹ/
• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From earlier gyr, probably from Dutch gieren (“to roar with laughter, laugh loudly”) (related to German gieren (“to gape, snap”)); or from Dutch gekscheren (“to jeer”, literally “to shear the fool”), from gek (“a fool”) (see geck) + scheren (“to shear”) (see shear (verb)). The OED states no verifiable connection to English cheer.

Noun

jeer (plural jeers)

1. A mocking remark or reflection.

   Synonyms: scoff, taunt, flout, jibe, mockery

   • 1711, Jonathan Swift, The Fable of Midas, in The Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Vol XII, Sir Walter Scott, ed., Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Co., 1824, pages 302-5,

     Midas, exposed to all their jeers, Had lost his art, and kept his ears.

Translations

mocking remark

• Belarusian: здзек (zdzjek)
• Bulgarian: подигравка (bg) f (podigravka)
• Catalan: burleria f
• Czech: posměšek m
• Finnish: pilkka (fi)
• French: moquerie (fr) f, raillerie (fr) f
• Georgian: დაცინვა (dacinva), მასხრად აგდება (masxrad agdeba), გამასხარავება (gamasxaraveba)
• German: Spott (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: τωθασμός m (tōthasmós)

• Ingrian: pilkka
• Interlingua: burla, crito de derision
• Italian: scherno (it) m, scorno (it) m, burla (it) f, beffa (it) f
• Ottoman Turkish: لطیفه (latife)
• Portuguese: zombaria (pt) f, escárnio (pt) m
• Russian: глумле́ние (ru) n (glumlénije), насме́шка (ru) f (nasméška)
• Scots: afftak
• Serbo-Croatian: poruga (sh) f
• Spanish: burlería
• Swedish: glåpord (sv) n, okvädingsord (sv) n
• Tagalog: atsoy
• Volapük: kof (vo)
• Walloon: glawe (wa) f, lawe (wa) f

Verb

jeer (third-person singular simple present jeers, present participle jeering, simple past and past participle jeered)

1. (intransitive, with at) To utter sarcastic or mocking comments; to speak with mockery or derision; to use taunting language.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 21:

     But when he saw her toy, and gibe, and geare, / And passe the bonds of modest merimake, / Her dalliance he despisd, and follies did forsake.

   • 2011 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Everton 0 - 2 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     At the end of a frantic first 45 minutes, there was still time for Charlie Adam to strike the bar from 20 yards before referee Atkinson departed to a deafening chorus of jeering from Everton's fans.

2. (transitive, archaic) To mock; treat with mockery; to taunt.
   • 1625 (first performance), Ben[jamin] Jonson, The Staple of Newes. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Robert Allot […], published 1631, →OCLC, (please specify the page), (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     And if we cannot jeer them, we jeer ourselves.

Synonyms

• (to utter sarcastic remarks): scoff, sneer
• (to treat with scoffs): deride, flout, gibe, mock, ridicule
• See Thesaurus:mock
• See Thesaurus:deride

Derived terms

• jeeringly

Translations

to scoff or mock

• Bulgarian: подигравам се (podigravam se), надсмивам се (nadsmivam se)
• Catalan: mofar-se (ca), fer befa, riure's (d'algú), fotre's (d'algú), escarnir (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嘲笑 (zh) (cháoxiào), 嘲弄 (zh) (cháonòng)

• Czech: posmívat se
• Dutch: spotten (nl)
• Esperanto: moki, ŝerci
• Finnish: pilkata (fi), ilkkua (fi)
• French: moquer (fr), railler (fr)
• Georgian: დაცინვა (dacinva), გამასხარავება (gamasxaraveba), სასაცილოდ აგდება (sasacilod agdeba)
• German: spotten (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: σκώπτω (skṓptō), χλευάζω (khleuázō)

• Interlingua: derider
• Italian: deridere (it), schernire (it), motteggiare (it), sbeffeggiare (it)
• Japanese: 冷やかす (ja) (ひやかす, hiyakasu), 野次る (ja) (やじる, yajiru), 嘲る (ja) (あざける, azakeru)
• Latin: cavillor
• Latvian: ņirgāties (lv)
• Maori: pepehatū, pehapehatū, whakatea, taunu
• Polish: wyśmiewać (pl), kpić (pl)
• Portuguese: zombar (pt), escarnecer (pt), ridicularizar (pt)
• Russian: насмеха́ться (ru) (nasmexátʹsja) (над (nad) + instrumental case) impf, pf, глуми́ться (ru) (glumítʹsja) (над (nad) + instrumental case) impf, высме́ивать (ru) impf (vysméivatʹ), вы́смеять (ru) (výsmejatʹ) (transitive) impf
• Scottish Gaelic: mag
• Serbo-Croatian: rugati se (sh)
• Spanish: burlarse (es), abuchear (es)
• Swedish: häckla (sv), pika (sv), smäda (sv)
• Vietnamese: chế giễu (vi)
• Volapük: kofön (vo)

Etymology 2

Compare gear.

Noun

jeer (plural jeers)

1. (nautical) A gear; a tackle.
2. (nautical, in the plural) An assemblage or combination of tackles, for hoisting or lowering the yards of a ship.
   • 1984, James Lees, The masting and rigging of English ships of war, 1625-1860, page 65:

     In the nineteenth century, 1811 to be exact, the jeers were unrove after the yard was slung, the weight of the yard being borne by chain slings. The jeers used then were a treble block lashed to the mast head through a hole in the center of the top

Derived terms

• jeer capstan

Translations

gear; tackle

• German: Fall (de) n
• Italian: paranco (it) m, cavo (it) m, drizza (it) f

nautical: assemblage for hoisting yards

• Finnish: taljasto

Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish dír (“due, fit, proper”).

Adverb

jeer

1. indeed, verily, truly, actually

   Jeer cha nel!

   Indeed it is not!

Related terms

• jeeragh
• jeerid
• jeerys

Mutation

Manx mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
jeer	yeer	n'yeer
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Semai

Alternative forms

• jer

Etymology

From Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɟur ~ *ɟuur ~ *ɟuər ~ *ɟir ~ *ɟiər (“to descend”). Cognate with Central Mnong jư̆r, Khmu cùːr, Pear cer, Proto-Palaungic *ɟuːr.

Verb

jeer

1. to fall

Synonyms

• tegòh
• yòòk

Derived terms

• kijeer
• perjeer

 

Somali

Etymology

Cognate with Jiiddu jiiri.

Noun

jeer ?

1. hippopotamus

   Jeertu way jeclayd dhexqaadka dhoobaada.

   The hippopotamus loved wallowing.