Joint

How to spell joint

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce joint

What does joint mean?

1. nounA point or structure at which two parts are connected, whether in a body, a machine, or a building.
2. adjectiveShared by, belonging to, or done by two or more people or parties together.
3. nounAn informal term for a bar, restaurant, club, or similar establishment.

Joint in a sentence

• noun

  The plumber sealed every joint in the copper pipework.

• adjective

  The couple opened a joint bank account after the wedding.

• noun

  They grabbed burgers at a cheap joint near the station.

• noun

  Years of running left a dull ache in his knee joint.

• adjective

  The two firms issued a joint statement to the press.

• noun

  The jazz joint on the corner stays open until dawn.

Where does joint come from?

Language of origin: French

This word travelled into English from Old French during the 1200s, where 'joint' was the past participle of 'joindre', meaning 'to join'. That verb descends from the Latin 'iungere', which literally meant 'to yoke together' or 'to bind', the same root that gives us 'junction', 'conjugal', and even 'yoke' itself. The earliest English sense was concrete and bodily: the place where two bones meet, the point at which limbs bend. From there the meaning spread outward to any place where two parts are fastened, and then figuratively to the adjective sense of something 'joined' and therefore shared between people. The spelling keeps the French 'oi' and the silent ease of pronunciation, but the trap for writers is mostly the 'oi' versus 'oy' choice, since the sound is identical to words spelled with 'oy'.

How the word is built

• joint (from Old French joindre/joint, past participle of joindre: to join, from Latin iungere: to join)