jock

1 a person trained to compete in sports [syn: athlete]

2 a support for the genitals worn by men engaging in strenuous exercise [syn: athletic supporter, supporter, suspensor, jockstrap]

see Jock

English

Etymology 1

Unknown. Suggested to be a hypocoristic for John.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes with: -ɒk

Noun

1. In the context of "slang|archaic": A common man.
2. In the context of "UK|slang|pejorative": A Scotsman.

Etymology 2

The computer slang meanings are derived from the athletic slang meanings. The athletic slang meanings in turn date from the middle 20th century and are simple abbreviations of jockstrap, which is in turn derived from the older slang meaning of jock itself, which dates from the 17th century, and whose etymology is unknown.

Noun

1. In the context of "slang|rare": The penis.
2. An athletic supporter worn by men to support the genitals especially during sports, a jockstrap.
3. In the context of "US|slang}} An athlete.

See also, Jocks (film)

A jock, by most accepted standards of the stereotype (if one is American), is an individual - usually a tall, physically fit, male in his late teens or early twenties - who is well-known for his athletic abilities. Jocks are more widely recognized in certain team sports, such as basketball, football, American football, and other physically demanding sports.

The term "jock" can be used pejoratively, neutrally, or even complimentarily. The pejorative use refers to an individual whose awareness of his own athletic abilities (or possible lack thereof) gives him the appearance of conceit, real or not to the observer (and in this sense the words "musclehead" and "musclebrain" are sometimes used); and as a result, jocks are often regarded as bullies to their peers, especially those who are not athletically inclined or don't play sports in general. Most famously, the targets of bullying by "jocks" are "nerds" - as popularized by movies such as Revenge of the Nerds - given the idea that the athletically inclined and the intellectually inclined are polar opposites and that the traits each stereotyped group exhibit cannot coexist peacefully. Jock is also a term used, either derogatively or as a term of endearment, for people from Scotland.

Generic terms for people

• A pejorative term for a Scottish Soldier (like an English Tommy) and used as a nickname by such units as the British 9th (Scottish) Division, the "Jocks".
• Used generically for 'the common man' (as John, Dick).
• Jockey was originally a diminutive of Jock.
• Jock (subculture), an athlete.
• Shock jock, a disk jockey known for making off-colour comments on-air.

Individual people and characters commonly known by solely their given name Jock

• Jock Stein - Celtic FC manager (1965-78), a football club in Scotland
• Jock (comics), a British comic book artist
• Jock the New Engine, a locomotive on the fictional Arlesdale Railway in The Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry
• Jock, Vincent Reis, an all-star sprinter
• Jock, Paul Denton's friend and JC Denton's black helicopter pilot in Deus Ex.
• Jock, a character in the 1955 Disney animated film Lady and the Tramp
• Jock Ewing, a Dallas character,

JR's father.

• Jock the Pilot was Indy's pilot from Raiders of the Lost Ark

Animals

• Jock was the name of Winston Churchill's cat
• in fiction, Wee Jock was the dog owned by Hamish Macbeth.
• Jock of the Bushveld Book by South African author Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, telling of FitzPatrick's travels with his dog Jock during the 1880s

Things known as Jocks or Jock

• a shortening of jockstrap (type of male underwear often used by sportsmen)
• a general term for male underwear, generally called a pair of 'jocks'.
• Jock series albums by Tommy Boy records is a popular superseries of albums split into subseries like Jock Jams, Jock Rock. However, Slam Jams is part of the superseries abeit omission of "Jock" in the name.
• Jock itch is an alternative name name for a fungal infection of the groin region.

In Media

• Jock o' the Side, a border ballad
• John of Hazelgreen, ditto
• Jocks (film), a 1987 film starring Perry Lang

Slang Usage

• Jock is sometimes used in slang terms as saying that you are obsessed with someone. For instance, if you say: "Craig was on Sally's jock." it means that Craig is obsessed with Sally to the point where he is almost a stalker.

See also

• The Jocks and the Geordies, a Dandy comic strip
• Hearties - the British equivalent

External links

• The Essence of Jock

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