jingo

/ˈd͡ʒɪŋ.ɡəʊ/

//ˈd͡ʒɪŋ.ɡəʊ// noun

"jingo" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“jingo” is uncommon English (frequency #97,174 among 4,872 “J” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#97,174
frequency rank, English
4,872
“J” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One who supports policy favouring war.

Corpus desk

Index EN-jingo · jingo · English

jingo · rank #97,174 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #97,174
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,872
  • PHOTO-FINISH jettisoning

Nearest frequency peer: jettisoning (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “jingo”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “jingo” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for jingo
PropertyValue
Headwordjingo
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈd͡ʒɪŋ.ɡəʊ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#97,174
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “jingo” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). jingo lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

jingo is uncommon English at frequency #97,174 among 4,872 “J” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈd͡ʒɪŋ.ɡəʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "One who supports policy favouring war.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for jingo in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From the minced oath by jingo, which was used in a music hall song, written ca. 1878 by G. W. Hunt, that supported Britain's then belligerent attitude towards Russia. In this context, a euphemism for Jesus, influenced by the meaningless presto-jingo used by… The correct English form is jingo, spelled J-I-N-G-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who supports policy favouring war.

Etymology

From the minced oath by jingo, which was used in a music hall song, written ca. 1878 by G. W. Hunt, that supported Britain's then belligerent attitude towards Russia. In this context, a euphemism for Jesus, influenced by the meaningless presto-jingo used by conjurors. A connection with the Basque jainko (“god”) has been suggested, but evidence is lacking.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "jingo"?
"jingo" is spelled J-I-N-G-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈd͡ʒɪŋ.ɡəʊ/.
What does "jingo" mean?
As a noun, "jingo" means: One who supports policy favouring war.
How do you pronounce "jingo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "jingo" is /ˈd͡ʒɪŋ.ɡəʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "jingo"?
From the minced oath by jingo, which was used in a music hall song, written ca. 1878 by G. W. Hunt, that supported Britain's then belligerent attitude towards Russia. In this context, a euphemism for Jesus, influenced by the meaningless presto-jin... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "jingo", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list