Etymograph

English

jump

Jump comes from Middle English jumpen ‘to walk quickly, run, jump’.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500jumpen1‘to walk quickly’
  2. Englishearliest quotation a. 1597jump1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English jump, which cites OED
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1597, William Shakespeare, Henry IV: “It jumps with my humour.”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500jumpenWiktionary, English jump, which cites OED‘to walk quickly’
  2. Englishearliest quotation a. 1597jumpWiktionary, English jump, which cites OED. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1597, William Shakespeare, Henry IV: “It jumps with my humour.”

The story

The OED suggests an imitative origin. In the sense “to propel oneself” it displaced leap partially and spring largely.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Middle English jumpen

Today it means

verb To propel oneself rapidly upward, downward and/or in any horizontal direction such that momentum causes the body to become airborne.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “jump”. 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 / Middle English jumpen / jump

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