jerkwater
Of an inhabited place, small, insignificant, and backwardOf an inhabited place, small, insignificant, and backward.
Meaning
1 senses(US, colloquial, derogatory)Of an inhabited place, small, insignificant, and backward.
ма́ленькийmálenʹkij, незначи́тельныйneznačítelʹnyj
small and remote and insignificant
Translations
2 languagesOrigin
From jerk (“to move with a sudden movement”) + water. Refers to the need to supply the boiFrom jerk (“to move with a sudden movement”) + water. Refers to the need to supply the boilers of steam trains with water. In rural areas and small towns with no water tower, where the train did not stop, this was done by scooping ("jerking") water from a track pan. First appears c. 1852, in the Miami County Sentinel (Peru, Indiana).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
more jerkwater, most jerkwater| Comparative | more jerkwater Lesson |
|---|---|
| Superlative | most jerkwater Lesson |
regular
Synonyms
3 synonymsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.