Etymograph

English

joss

Joss comes from Chinese Pidgin English joss, from Portuguese deus ‘god’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dyew- ‘sky, heaven’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dyew-1‘sky, heaven’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deywós2‘god/that which belongs to heaven’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deiwos3reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEdeivos3
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdeus2‘god’
  6. Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500deus4‘God’
  7. Portuguesec. 1500–presentdeus2‘god’
  8. Chinese Pidgin Englishmodernjoss2
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1939joss2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *deywós
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English joss
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin deus
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Portuguese deus
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1939, Philip George Chadwick, The Death Guard: “Don't forget they're mostly just joss-worshipping heathen an' they…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dyew-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *deywós‘sky, heaven’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deywósWiktionary, English joss‘god/that which belongs to heaven’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deiwosWiktionary, Latin deusreconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEdeivosWiktionary, Latin deus
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdeusWiktionary, English joss‘god’
  6. Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500deusWiktionary, Portuguese deus‘God’
  7. Portuguesec. 1500–presentdeusWiktionary, English joss‘god’
  8. Chinese Pidgin EnglishmodernjossWiktionary, English joss
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1939jossWiktionary, English joss. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1939, Philip George Chadwick, The Death Guard: “Don't forget they're mostly just joss-worshipping heathen an' they…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dyew- ‘sky, heaven’

die, journal, journey, diary, dial, dev, meridian, diurnal, sojourn, jovial, deism, 28 more

through Proto-Indo-European *deywós ‘god/that which belongs to heaven’

div, deva, 15 more

through Proto-Italic *deiwos

divinity, diva, divination, diviner, 11 more

through Old Latin deivos

divine, 9 more

through Latin deus ‘god’

deity, deuce, deist, 9 more

Today it means

noun A Chinese household divinity; a Chinese idol.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “joss”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *deywós, Latin deus, Portuguese deus. 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 *dyew- / joss

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