jaw
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
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3 characters
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English
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Detailed reference entry for the English word "jaw", 3-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "jaw" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "jaw" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
jaw is aEnglishnoun. It means: One of the bones, usually bearing teeth, which form the framework of the mouth. Pronounced /d͡ʒɔː/. It ranks #7,354 in English word frequency. Often confused with Jr and jo.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | jaw |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /d͡ʒɔː/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #7,354 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for jaw is 3 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /d͡ʒɔː/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,354 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No frequent misspelling variants are recorded for jaw in our index, suggesting the orthography either follows predictable English patterns or the word is uncommon enough that typo corpora lack signal.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Jr", "jo", "JI", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English jawe/jowe (“jaw; sides of the lower face”, 14th century), the further origin of which is disputed. Either: * From Anglo-Norman jowe, from Old French joe (“cheek; jaw”), from Vulgar Latin *ga(v)ota (“cheek”), of uncertain further origin. … Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is jaw, spelled J-A-W, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1One of the bones, usually bearing teeth, which form the framework of the mouth.
- 2The part of the face below the mouth.
- 3Anything resembling the jaw (sense 1) of an animal in form or action; the mouth or way of entrance.
- 4A notch or opening.
- 5A notched or forked part, adapted for holding an object in place.
- 6One of a pair of opposing parts which are movable towards or from each other, for grasping or crushing anything between them.
- 7The inner end of a boom or gaff, hollowed in a half circle so as to move freely on a mast.
- 8Impudent, abusive, or worthless talk.
- 9An axle guard.
- 10The curved part of the cushion marking the entry to the pocket.
Etymology
From Middle English jawe/jowe (“jaw; sides of the lower face”, 14th century), the further origin of which is disputed. Either: * From Anglo-Norman jowe, from Old French joe (“cheek; jaw”), from Vulgar Latin *ga(v)ota (“cheek”), of uncertain further origin. ** It has been objected that the rhyming of jowe (“jaw”) with clowe (“claw”) in Middle English demonstrates that it did not have the vowel /uː/. This would be a concern if /uː/ were the vowel to expect from a borrowing of the Old French word, which it is not. Compare English paw < Middle English pawe/powe < Anglo-Norman powe < Old French poe. * From Middle English *chowe, from Old English *ċēowe. The main difficulties with this theory are the notable lack of evidence and the late attestation of chaw (early 16th century). If it is correct, then the further origin would be Proto-West Germanic *keuwā (“jaw”), whence Saterland Frisian Kiuwe, Dutch kieuw, German Keu, Käu. For the initial consonant, compare jowl as a variant of chavel/chawl. It is also conceivable that the word is a merger of two coincidentally similar sources. Gradually displaced Middle English chavel (from Old English ċeafl).
This word in other languages
Frequency rank: #7,354 in English
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Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter J in our English index: