English
jitney
Jitney may come from Louisiana Creole jetnée.
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English jitney
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1957, Jack Kerouac, New York: “[…] I said good-by and took the bags downstairs…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Louisiana CreolemodernjetnéeWiktionary, English jitneyuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1957jitneyWiktionary, English jitney. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1957, Jack Kerouac, New York: “[…] I said good-by and took the bags downstairs…”
The story
1886, originally for a five-cent US coin (a nickel); use for taxis and buses due to these services originally charging five cents as fare, popularized circa 1915. The etymology is uncertain; it is believed to originate from Louisiana Creole jetnée, from French jeton (‘token, coin-sized metal disc’), though this is disputed.disputed Scholars disagree here; the competing view is quoted as the source gives it. Evidence for the Louisiana Creole French origin includes the geographic distribution (Southeastern US, especially Black/African-American), and early spelling as gitney, which is common French spelling for the /ʒi/ pronunciation.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- ‘to throw’
year, hour, trajectory, catheter, abject, enema, jut, iambic, jetsam, 35 more
through Proto-Indo-European *(H)yéh₁kt ~ *(H)ih₁ként
objective, projection, objection, projectile, objector, dejection, 21 more
through Latin iaciō ‘to throw’
project, disease, object, ease, jet, adjacent, injection, inject, conjecture, adjective, gist, ejection, eject, ejaculation, ejaculate, subjection, interject, joist, 29 more
through Latin iactō
through Late Latin iectāre
Today it means
noun Synonym of nickel, a 5-cent coin or amount.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “jitney”. 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 / Louisiana Creole jetnée / jitney