jury-rig

See also: jury rig

English

WOTD – 19 October 2009

English Wikipedia has an article on:

jury rigging

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

jury rig

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒʊə.ɹi ɹɪɡ/
(US) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒʊɹ.i ɹɪɡ/, /ˈdʒɛɹ.i ɹɪɡ/
Audio (US): (file)
Audio (General Australian): (file)

Etymology 1

From jury (“for temporary use”, adjective) + rig.

The phrase 'jury-rigged' has been in use since at least 1788.^[1] The adjectival use of 'jury', in the sense of makeshift or temporary, has been said to date from at least 1616, when according to the 1933 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford Dictionary of the English Language, it appeared in John Smith's A Description of New England.^[1] It appeared in Smith's more extensive The General History of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles published in 1624.^[2]

Two theories about the origin of this usage of 'jury-rig' are:

A corruption of jury mast; i.e., a mast for the day, a temporary mast, being a spare used when the mast has been carried away. Borrowed from French jour: 'a day'.^[3]
Borrowed from Latin adjutare: 'to aid'; via Old French ajurie: 'help' or 'relief'.^[4]

Verb

jury-rig (third-person singular simple present jury-rigs, present participle jury-rigging, simple past and past participle jury-rigged)

(nautical, transitive) To build an improvised rigging or assembly from whichever materials are available.
(transitive) To create a makeshift, ad hoc solution from resources at hand.

Synonyms

Derived terms

jury-rigged

Translations

to make an improvised rigging

Finnish: tehdä hätätakila

to create a makeshift solution

Finnish: tehdä viritys, virittää (fi)
French: avec sa bite et son couteau
German: zusammenstoppeln (de), zusammenflicken (de), improvisieren (de), zusammenbasteln (de)
Hungarian: összetákol (hu)
Russian: сде́лать (ru) (sdélatʹ) на скорую ру́ку (ru) (na skoruju rúku)

Noun

jury-rig (plural jury-rigs)

(nautical) An improvised rigging.

Translations

improvised rigging

Finnish: hätätakila, hätäriki
French: gréement de fortune
German: Notlösung (de) f, Flickwerk (de) n, Bastelwerk n

Etymology 2

See jury, rig.

Verb

jury-rig (third-person singular simple present jury-rigs, present participle jury-rigging, simple past and past participle jury-rigged)

(slang, transitive) To rig a jury; to engage in jury tampering, to improperly influence jurors, or the selection of jurors, such that they deliver a certain verdict.

Derived terms

jury rigging

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 The Oxford English Dictionary, Volume V, H-K, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1933, page 637, corrected reprinting 1966
^ Smith, Captaine Iohn (1624) The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles, London: Michael Sparkes, (2006, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) digital republication), p.223. (Online edition) Note that in the orthography of Early Modern English, 'J' was often written as 'I', thus the actual quote from Smith (1624) reads, "...we had re-accommodated a Iury-mast to returne for Plimoth...", corrected for modern parlance, "...we had re-accommodated a Jury-mast to return for Plymouth..."
^ E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
^ Barnhart, Robert K., editor (1988), Barnhart dictionary of etymology, New York: H. W. Wilson Company, page 560

[OEDjurymast-1] 1.0 ^1.1 The Oxford English Dictionary, Volume V, H-K, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1933, page 637, corrected reprinting 1966

[GenerallHistorie-2] Smith, Captaine Iohn (1624) The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles, London: Michael Sparkes, (2006, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) digital republication), p.223. (Online edition) Note that in the orthography of Early Modern English, 'J' was often written as 'I', thus the actual quote from Smith (1624) reads, "...we had re-accommodated a Iury-mast to returne for Plimoth...", corrected for modern parlance, "...we had re-accommodated a Jury-mast to return for Plymouth..."

[3] E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.

[4] Barnhart, Robert K., editor (1988), Barnhart dictionary of etymology, New York: H. W. Wilson Company, page 560

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