/ˈd͡ʒɛti/, /ˈd͡ʒɛti/, [-ɾi]
OriginThe noun is derived from Late Middle English gete, jette, jetti (“projecting upper storey of a building, overhang; breakwater, pier, jetty”), from Anglo-Norman geté, getee, getté, and Middle French geté, getee, jeté (“projecting upper storey of a building; breakwater, pier”) (modern French jetée), a noun use of the past participle of geter, jeter, from Old French geter, jeter (“to throw”) from Late Latin iectāre, the present active infinitive of iectō (“to throw”), probably from Latin iactō (“to cast, hurl, throw”), from iaciō (“to cast, hurl, throw”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- (“to throw”)) + -tō (frequentative suffix). Compare jet (“(obsolete) protruding part”), jutty.
The verb is derived from the noun.
- A part of a building that jets or projects beyond the rest; specifically, an upper storey which overhangs the part of the building below.
“Spérto, a porch, a portall, a baie vvindovv, or out butting, or iettie of a houſe that ietties out farther than anie other part of the houſe, a iettie or butte.”
“Moſt prepoſtrous therefore and improper is our frequent aſſigning ſuch vveak ſupporters to ſuch monſtrous jetties and exceſſive Superſtructures as vve many times find under Balconies, Bay-VVindovvs an”
- broadlyA structure of stone or wood which extends into a river or sea to protect a bank, beach, harbour, etc., from currents or tides; a breakwater.
“[I]t appeareth that all the auncient Townes and Citties which ſtand vppon the Riuers of Rhyne and Danowe, towardes Fraunce and Italy, did ſerue rather for a Banke or Iettie againſt the ouerflowing of ”
“Near the River VVelland, that runs thro the Tovvn of Spalding in Lincolnſhire, at the depth of above 8 or 10 foot, there vvere found Jettys, as they call them, to keep up the old Rivers Bank, and the ”
“[I]nſtead of demolition, they found conſtruction; for the French vvere then at vvork on the repair of the jettees. On the remonſtrances of General [Henry Seymour] Convvay, ſome parts of theſe jettees ”
- broadlyA dock or wharf extending into a river from a bank, or into a sea from a shore, for boats to land or moor at; a pier.
“There are excellent jetties for landing by boat at the Marine Hotel, and the Vine Inn; […]”
“The boathouse was a stone one, with a narrow quay along each wall inside, and a small jetty sticking out beyond it into the lake.”
- broadlyA natural piece of land projecting into a body of water; a peninsula, a promontory.
- broadlyIn full air jetty: synonym of jet bridge (“an elevated, usually enclosed, corridor connecting an airport to an aeroplane for embarking and disembarking crew and passengers”).
- broadly, obsoleteSynonym of bulwark (“a defensive rampart or wall”).
- transitiveSometimes followed by out: to construct (a part of a building) so that it jets or projects beyond the rest.
“Adentellare, […] It is properly to ietty out, or indent ſtones or timber of any vnfinished building, that another may the eaſier be ioyned vnto, or that finiſhed.”
- broadly, transitiveTo provide (a riverbank, seashore, etc.) with a jetty (“breakwater; dock or wharf”) (noun etymology 1 sense 2.1 or etymology 1 sense 2.2).
“The land is indeed materially injured in many parts, for want of drains; but I think the expence would exceed the profit: they would soon lodge up, and consequently want jettying on the sides.”
“The harbor of Greytown was formely open to vessels of considerable draught, but has almost been closed by sand bars; the surveys show, however, that the expense will be but moderate, by jettying with ”
- intransitiveSometimes followed by out or over: of (a part of) a building: to jet or project beyond the rest of the building or other structures.
“Spérto, a porch, a portall, a baie vvindovv, or out butting, or iettie of a houſe that ietties out farther than anie other part of the houſe, a iettie or butte.”
“[A]s he beheld from out of the houſe Gelotiana, the preparation and furniture of the Cirque, ſome fevv from the next open galleries jettying out, called unto him for the ſame.”
“Three ſides thereof [of Bebel Futuli, the Port of Triumph, a gate of the city of Cairo] are incloſed vvith goodly buildings, hauing galleries of pleaſure vvhich ietty over, ſuſtained vpon pillars.”
- broadly, intransitiveTo provide a riverbank, seashore, etc., with a jetty (noun etymology 1 sense 2.1 or etymology 1 sense 2.2).
- intransitive, obsolete, rareTo move with haste.
“Some knack not vnpretye, / of Huſwiferie nettie, / how Huſwiues ſhould iettie / from morning to night.”
- obsolete, rareHaving the characteristic of jetting or jutting out; protruding.
“Tvviſe tvventie Iettie ſailes vvith him, the ſvvelling ſtreame did take.”
“As near yon rock we bore, that o'er the waves / Just shews its jetty point, and will, ere long, / Beneath the tide be hid, we heard the sound / Of feeble lamentation.”
- archaicLike jet (“a hard, black form of coal”) in colour; jet-black, pitch-black.
“Blacke are his colloures, blacke Pauillion, / His ſpeare, his ſhield, his horſe, his armour, plumes, / And Ietty Feathers menace death and hell, / VVithout reſpect of ſex, degree or age.”
“[A]s amongſt the Moores, the Iettieſt blacke are deem'd / The beautifulſt of them; […]”
“You'll be no more your former You; / But for a blooming Nymph vvill paſs / Juſt Fifteen, coming Summer's Graſs: / Your jetty Locks vvith Garlands crovvn'd, […]”
- obsolete, rareHaving a composition like that of jet.
“In the Whitby Museum there is a large mass of bone, which has the exterior converted into jet for about a quarter of an inch in thickness. The jetty matter appears to have entered first into the pores”
Formsjetties(plural) · jettee(alternative) · jetties(present, singular, third-person) · jettying(participle, present) · jettied(participle, past) · jettied(past) · more jetty(comparative) · most jetty(superlative) · jettier(comparative) · jettiest(superlative)
Source: Wiktionary