jazz

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk
  2. noun a genre of popular music that originated in New Orleans around 1900 and developed through increasingly complex styles
  3. noun a style of dance music popular in the 1920s; similar to New Orleans jazz but played by large bands

Etymology

Unknown. First attested around 1912 in a discussion of baseball; attested in reference to music around 1915. Numerous references suggest that the term may be connected to jasm and jism.

In classic literature

Synonyms

wind, malarkey, malarky, idle words, nothingness

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