English
joint
Joint comes from Old French joint, from Latin iūnctus ‘joined’, past participle of iungō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *yewg- ‘to join’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yewg-1‘to join’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūnctus2‘joined’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400joint1‘joint of the body’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500joynt1
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599joint1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English joint
- 2 Wiktionary, Old French joint
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.: “A joint burden laid upon us all.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yewg-Wiktionary, English joint‘to join’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūnctusWiktionary, Old French joint‘joined’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400jointWiktionary, English joint‘joint of the body’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500joyntWiktionary, English joint
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599jointWiktionary, English joint. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.: “A joint burden laid upon us all.”
The story
The adjective (attested since the 15th century) is from Old French jointiz. Both Old French words are from Latin iūnctus, the past participle of iungō. The meaning of "building, establishment", especially in connection with shady activities, appeared in Anglo-Irish by 1821 and entered general American English slang by 1877, especially in the sense of "opium den". The sense "marijuana cigarette" is attested since 1935.
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with joint, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *yewg- ‘to join, to yoke, to tie together’
- yoga ← योग ← *yáwgas ← *yáwgas ← *yéwg-o-s
- junction ← iūnctiō ← iungō ← *jungō ← *yunégti ~ *yungénti
- adjunct ← adiunctus ← adiungō ← iungō ← *jungō
- yogi ← योगी ← योगिन् ← *yugóm
- yoke ← iuc ← ġeoc ← *juk ← *juką
- juncture ← iūnctūra ← iungō ← *jungō ← *yunégti
- conjugate ← conjugat(e) ← coniugātus ← coniugō ← iugō
- jugular ← jugulāris ← jugulum
- jodi ← जोड़ी ← 𑀚𑁄𑀟 ← 𑀚𑁄𑀟𑁂𑀇 ← 𑀚𑀼𑀢𑁆𑀢
- conjugation ← coniugātiō ← coniugō ← iugō ← iugum
- subjugate ← subiugat(e) ← subiugātus
- rejoin ← rejoynen
47 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
adj United, combined
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “joint”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old French joint. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *yewg- / joint