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Origin and history of jug

jug(n.)

"deep vessel for carrying liquids, usually with a handle or ear," late 15c., jugge, variant of jubbe (late 14c.), a word of unknown origin. Perhaps it is from jug "a low woman, a maidservant" (mid-16c.), a familiar alteration of Jug, a common personal name such as Joan or Judith.

Use as a musical instrument is attested from 1886 in jug-band (American English) "musical ensemble in which the bass line is carried or augmented by a player blowing on the open lip of a jug. "As a quantity of ale or beer, a jug is usually a pint" [Century Dictionary, 1902].

jug(interj.)

representing the sound of the nightingale, 1530s.

also from 1530s

Entries linking to jug

jughandle(n.)

also jug-handle, "handle of a jug," 1816, from jug (n.) + handle (n.). As a figure of this shape, from 1846. Sense of "tight curved road used for turns" is from 1957.

jughead(n.)

"klutz, stupid person," 1926, from jug (n.) + head (n.).

jugs(n.)

"a woman's breasts," 1920, in Australian slang, short for milk jugs, from jug (n.).

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    "move slowly, fail to keep pace," 1520s, earlier as a noun meaning "last person" (1510s), later also as an adjective, "slow, tardy, coming behind" (1550s, as in lag-mon "last man"). All are of uncertain relationship and origin, possibly from a Scandinavian source (compare Norwegi
    jail
    c. 1300 (c. 1200 in surnames) "a jail, prison; a birdcage." The form in j- is from Middle English jaile, from Old French jaiole "a cage; a prison," from Medieval Latin gabiola "a cage," from Late Latin caveola, diminutive of Latin cavea "a cage, enclosure, stall, coop; a hollow p
    gaol
    see jail (n.), you tea-sodden football hooligan. Formerly in official use in Britain, and thus sometimes regarded in U.S. as a characteristic British spelling (though George Washington used it); by the time of OED 2nd edition (1980s) both spellings were considered correct there;
    mug
    "small, cylindrical drinking vessel, often with a handle," 1560s, "bowl, pot, jug," a word of unknown origin, perhaps from...Scandinavian (compare Swedish mugg "earthen cup, jug," Norwegian mugge "pitcher, open can for warm drinks"), or Low German...
    tete
    tête "head," Old French teste, from Latin testa, literally "piece of earthenware, tile, potsherd; earthen pot, pitcher, jug...The "head" sense arose in Vulgar Latin, perhaps as a humorous use of the "jug, pot" meaning, or via Late Latin use of testa...
    beaker
    German behhari, German Becher) from Medieval Latin bicarium, which is probably a diminutive of Greek bikos "earthenware jug...It is sometimes said to be a Semitic word, perhaps a borrowing from Syrian buqa "a two-handed vase or jug," or from Egyptian...
    urn
    of the dead" (also used as a ballot box and for drawing lots), probably from earlier *urc-na, akin to urceus "pitcher, jug...
    west
    Old English west (adv.) "in or toward the west, in a westerly direction," from Proto-Germanic *west- (source also of Old Norse vestr, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, Dutch west, Old High German -west, only in compounds, German west), which is of uncertain origin. Perhaps from PIE *wes
    stew
    late 14c., steuen, transitive "to bathe (a person or a body part) in a steam bath" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French estuver "have a hot bath, plunge into a bath; stew" (Modern French étuver), a word of uncertain origin. It is common Romanic (cognates: Spanish estufar, Ital
    remand
    mid-15c., remaunden, "to send (something) back," from Anglo-French remaunder, Old French remander "send for again" (12c.) or directly from Late Latin remandare "to send back word, repeat a command," from Latin re- "back" (see re-) + mandare "to consign, order, commit to one's cha

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