Jenny
English
Etymology
From Jen + -y, historically as a hypochoristic form of Janet, Jane, etc. or (rarely) Eugenia, Virginia, etc. but now more often used as a diminutive of Jennifer.
Doublet of Ivanka, Jan, Janelle, Janet, Janey, Janine, Jeanette, Jeanie, Jeannette, Jeannine, Jen, Jenna, Jenny, Jessie, Jo, Jody, Juanita, Shanae, Sinead, and Vanna in derivations from Jane etc.
In senses related to inanimate objects, partially derived from the generic senses of Jane and partially an informal pronunciation of engine. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Source required for the claim of "engine" here.”)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛni/
Audio (AU) (file) Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛni
- Hyphenation: Jen‧ny
- Homophone: Genny
Proper noun
Jenny (plural Jennies)
- A female given name.
- 1837, Leigh Hunt, Jenny Kissed Me:
- Jenny kissed me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in;
Time, you thief, who love to get
Sweets into your list, put that in!
Say I'm weary, say I'm sad,
Say that health and wealth have missed me,
Say I'm growing old, but add,
Jenny kissed me.
- 1840, Frederick Marryat, chapter IV, in Poor Jack:
- All this I recollect, but little more, except my mother gave me several beatings for calling my sister "Jenny", which I had learnt to do from others who knew her; but when my mother heard them, she was always very angry, and told them that her child had not such a vulgar name; at which many would laugh, and make a point of calling out "Jenny" to Virginia whenever they passed and saw her at the door.
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
Translations
Noun
Jenny (plural Jennies)
Derived terms
- inverted Jenny
- Jenny invert
- upside-down Jenny
Swedish
Alternative forms
Etymology
From English Jenny, diminutive of Jane. First recorded in Sweden in 1767. Later also used as a Swedish diminutive of Eugenia.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /¹jɛnʏ/
Audio (file)
References
- Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, →ISBN
- Statistiska centralbyrån and Sture Allén, Staffan Wåhlin, Förnamnsboken, Norstedts 1995, →ISBN: 47 317 females with the given name Jenny living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with the frequency peak in the 1970s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.