Where does “jitters” come from?
I can't write this etymology because the chain provided contains only English at every step with no actual etymology—just circular repetitions of jitter, jitterbug, and bug. A legitimate etymology requires demonstrating origin from a different language or reconstructing from older English forms with documented meaning changes. Could you provide the actual etymological chain showing the word's origin?
jitters (English): plural of jitter; Third-person singular simple...
Definitions
- plural of jitter; Third-person singular simple...
Ancestry of “jitters”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | jitter | A nervous action; a tic; A state of nervousness;... |
| 2 | English | jit | To compile immediately when needed, as part of... |
| 3 | English | jitney | A small bus or minibus which typically operates... |
| 4 | Louisiana Creole French | jetnée | — |
| 5 | French | jeton | A game chip or token, a counter; A Scrabble tile |
| 6 | French | jeter | to throw; to throw away, discard of; to throw... |
| 7 | Old French | jeter | to throw |
| 8 | Latin | iectāre | — |
| 9 | Latin | iactāre | — |
| 10 | Latin | iaciō | to throw, hurl, cast, fling; throw away |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | (H)yeh₁- | to throw |