jawn

{{short description|Philadelphia slang term}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}

File:Jawn.jpg

Jawn is a slang term local to Philadelphia and, by extension, the Delaware Valley that may refer to a thing, place, person, or event, substituting for a specific word/name. Jawn is a context-dependent substitute noun; a noun that substitutes for other nouns.{{cite book |date=2004 |title=Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-first Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=adYLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT354 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-45133-8}} Jawn can be singular or plural. Examples include: "These jawns are expensive!",{{cite news |date=2017-10-05 |title=Philly-Original 'Jawn' Being Considered As Official Dictionary Word: Merriam-Webster |url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Jawn-Could-Be-a-New-Word-in-the-Dictionary-Merriam-Webster-449576183.html |agency=NBC Philadelphia}} "Pass me that jawn.", "Slow it down, jawn.", "That new jawn.", "This jawn is packed.".{{cite news |date=2021-09-15 |title=JAWN: PHILADELPHIA'S MULTI-PURPOSE SLANG WORD, EXPLAINED|url=https://www.allegiantgoods.co/blogs/news/jawn-definition#:~:text=%E2%80%9CPass%20me%20that%20jawn.%E2%80%9D,have%20you%20scratching%20your%20head.|agency=Allegiant Goods Co.}}

Jawn is believed to be derived from the word "joint".{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/jawn-meaning-origin |title=Some Jawn About 'Jawn' |date=2017-10-04 |publisher=Merriam-Webster}}{{cite news |date=2017-10-05 |title=Merriam-Webster analyzes 'jawn,' the Wawa of words |url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/philadelphia/merriam-webster-analyzes-jawn-the-wawa-of-words-20171005.html |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer}} Historically, the city's black population migrated to the northern part of the city from Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas/Virginia, bringing with them a Southern dialect that carried words such as 'joint'.https://goinnorth.org {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}