Jean Meaning
/d͡ʒiːn/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounDenim.
nameA female given name from French.
Sentence Examples
When Peter got up, Jean had already left home.
What did Jean make?
Jean ate the osechi cooking his wife cooked for herself.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
She bought a new blue ____ jacket from the older thrift store.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She wore a stylish ____ skirt with a white blouse and a pair of comfortable leather sandals.
Word Origin & History
From the Middle English Gene (“Genoa”), from the Old French Jannes. Bleu de Gênes (“Genovese blue”) was a blue dye made in Genoa used to tint the denim cloth produced in Nîmes (de Nîmes). Doublet of Genoa and Geneva and distantly related to knee.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Lastly, he took out a common frock of coarse dark jean, which he drew over his own under-clothing; and a felt hat—he had purposely left his own upstairs."
— 1843, Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit:
"There's not a bonnie flower that springs
By fountain, shaw, or green,
There's not a bonnie bird that sings
But minds me o' my Jean."
— 1788, Robert Burns, Of A' the Airts the Wind Can Blaw:
"Isn't Jean a pretty name?"
"Not bad; but why don't you call her Miss Muir?"
"She begged me not. She hates it, and loves to be called Jean, alone.""
— 1866, Louisa May Alcott, chapter II, in Behind a Mask, or a Woman's Power:
"He was trying to think of her name; she had come to cook him dinner twice last spring. Jean, maybe. Or Betty. One of these plain names."
— 1972, Anne Tyler, The Clock Winder, Knopf, page 67:
"In his cast of characters, you really see a disproportionate focus, I think, on Black women - on Kamala Harris, who he's insinuated only has her job today because of who she dated; to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who he's demanded the LSAT scores of - I don't recall him demanding the LSAT scores for Brett Kavanaugh - Karine Jean-Pierre."
— 2022 May 12, Dave Davies, “Has Tucker Carlson created the most racist show in the history of cable news?”, in NPR, spoken by Nicholas Confessore, archived from the original on 28 Jun 2023:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She bought a new blue ____ jacket from the older thrift store.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She wore a stylish ____ skirt with a white blouse and a pair of comfortable leather sandals.