English
job
Origin unknown. Job comes from the phrase jobbe of work ‘piece of work’, of uncertain origin. See Wiktionary.
The story
Perhaps from a variant of Middle English gobbe (‘mass, lump’); or perhaps related to Middle English jobben (‘to jab, thrust, peck’), or Middle English choppe (‘piece, bargain’).
Today it means
noun A task.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “job”. 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 / job