Where does “whackjob” come from?
whackjob (English) comes from English jobbie, from English Job, from Latin Iob, from Latin iuppiter, from Proto-Italic djous patēr, from Proto-Italic *djous, from Proto-Indo-European dyḗws, from Proto-Indo-European dyéws — to be bright; sky, heaven.
whackjob (English): A crazy, possibly dangerous, person
Definitions
- A crazy, possibly dangerous, person
Ancestry of “whackjob”, step by step
whackjob traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English jobbie
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | jobbie | Faeces; a piece of excrement; Generic object,... |
| 2 | English | Job | A person who shows remarkable patience |
| 3 | Latin | Iob | Job |
| 4 | Latin | iuppiter | Jupiter god of the sky and ruler of the Roman pantheon |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | djous patēr | Jupiter |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | *djous | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | dyḗws | sky, heaven; sky god |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | dyéws | sky, heaven |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | dyew- | to be bright; sky, heaven |
via English whacky
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | whacky | Alternative spelling of wacky |