Etymograph

English

jean

Jean comes from Middle English Gene ‘Genoa’, and goes back to Old French Jannes.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400Jannes1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Gene1‘Genoa’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1843jean1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English jean
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1843, Charles Dickens: “Lastly, he took out a common frock of coarse…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400JannesWiktionary, English jean
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500GeneWiktionary, English jean‘Genoa’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1843jeanWiktionary, English jean. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1843, Charles Dickens: “Lastly, he took out a common frock of coarse…”

The story

Bleu de Gênes (‘Genovese blue’) was a blue dye made in Genoa used to tint the denim cloth produced in Nîmes (de Nîmes).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with jean, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Old French Jannes

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Today it means

noun Denim.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “jean”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old French Jannes / jean