Community Corner
'Jawn' Officially Added To Dictionary.Com
Philly's catch-all word "jawn" has been codified by Dictionary.com along with "nepo baby," "amalgagender," and "shower orange" among others.
PHILADELPHIA — It's official: "jawn" is in the dictionary.
At least on Dictionary.com.
The lexicographic website recently announced Philly's catch-all word jawn has been codified.
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Check out the definition from Dictionary.com below:
jawn
noun. Informal. Chiefly Philadelphia. something or someone for which the speaker does not know or does not need a specific name.
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Example: Can you hand me that jawn right there?
And here's a bit of the etymology of the regional specific term:
Philadelphians know that their favorite regional catchall term isn’t new—the first records of its use come from the early 2000s, when it started to be popularized in the Black community. Its addition reflects an increasing awareness of the term outside the region. Its ultimate origin is uncertain, but it may be a local Philadelphia variant of joint, which is used in a similar way in the New York City metropolitan area.
Jawn joins other neologisms in being codified.
Other words added to Dictionary.com include "nepo baby," "Blursday," "shower orange," "chatbot," "amalgagender," and more.
See the list of new words added to Dictionary.com online here.
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