jess
/d͡ʒɛs/noun, verb, adverb
jess is spelled J-E-S-S: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Jess, the name). As a noun, jess means “A short strap fastened around the leg of a bird used in falconry, to which a leash may be fastened” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of jess is jesses.
How many letters and syllables are in jess?
| Letters | 4: J-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.6 times per million words; the 11,870th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is jess?
Jess appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Jess, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce jess?
- /d͡ʒɛs/
Jess has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-jess.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with jess
Also written: jet.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of jess
- jesses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- jessing participle, present
- jessed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does jess mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A short strap fastened around the leg of a bird used in falconry, to which a leash may be fastened.
- 2
Alternative form of jet (“the mineral”).
- 3
Alternative form of jet (“the color”).
verb
- 1
To fasten a strap around the leg of a hawk.
adverb
- 1
Pronunciation spelling of just.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does jess come from?
From Middle English ges, from Middle French gies, from the plural of jet (“throw”), from Vulgar Latin *iectus, jectus < iactus (“a throwing”), or from jeter (“to throw”), itself from Latin iactare.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).