Jockey

How to spell jockey

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce jockey

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does jockey mean?

1. nounA person who rides horses professionally in races.
2. verbTo manoeuvre or compete cleverly in order to gain an advantageous position.

Jockey in a sentence

• noun

  The winning jockey weighed in moments after crossing the line.

• verb

  The two managers continued to jockey for control of the project.

• noun

  Every jockey in the race wore the silks of a different stable.

• verb

  Drivers began to jockey for a better spot near the exit ramp.

Where does jockey come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Jockey began life in Scotland and northern England as Jockey or Jocky, an affectionate pet form of Jock, which was itself the everyday Scots version of the name John. By the 1500s it had drifted from a name into a common noun meaning 'a lad' or 'a fellow', much as we still use 'Jack' for any ordinary man. Because horse handling and riding for hire were jobs done by such young men, the word narrowed by the late 1600s to mean specifically a hired rider, and then the professional rider of racehorses we know today. The verb sense, meaning to manoeuvre cleverly for position or advantage, grew out of the idea of a rider jostling and steering for the best place in a race. The unusual ending traces straight back to that diminutive '-ey', which is why the word keeps its plain 'jock' stem before the tacked-on suffix.

How the word is built

• jock (Jock, a Scots pet form of the name John, meaning 'lad' or 'fellow')
• -ey (diminutive suffix)