What’s the definition of ‘jawn’? Now you can look it up in the dictionary

Jawn, Philadelphia’s renowned noun with a Swiss Army knife’s versatility, is now in the dictionary.

The big event was announced Wednesday by dictionary.com, which calls itself the leading online and mobile English-language educational resource.

The word, anyone on SEPTA can tell you, means a thing, place, person, or event that one need not, or cannot give a specific name to.

And now, it has “finally reached the point where including it in the dictionary was unavoidable,” Grant Barrett, dictionary.com’s head of lexicography, said in an interview Wednesday. “It was sitting two years in our database, waiting, having been heard on TV, and in movies, books, songs, and blog posts. It became overwhelming, and we finally had to include it.”

Philly’s once-humble offering has made it to the big time. A local entity that’s rocketed, cheesesteak-like, into national stardom, right up there with Kevin Hart, Toukie Smith, Kevin Bacon, and Grace Kelly.

Jawn will become part of the wider American lexicon, thanks to this citation:

noun Informal, Chiefly Philadelphia.

Barrett was enthusiastic: “Jawn is such a fascinating word, and we’ve been seeing a steady hum of people looking it up.”

He added that jawn is proof that American English isn’t monolithic, and that it has room for a regional word with Philadelphia flavor.

“It’s a real win for Philadelphia,” said Ricki Weisberg, 43, of Ardmore, who runs a nonprofit public-relations agency. “And in Philadelphia, we take our wins where we can get them.”

Weisberg wears clothing that displays the word jawn whenever she travels. She even has a hat that says jawn in the form of a Wawa logo, radiating a multi-layered expression of parochial pride that’s dizzying.

Seemingly everywhere, jawn has been referenced on television programs such as Abbott Elementary (set in Philadelphia), as well as on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert; featured on the album Prime, by the New Jawn ensemble, led by West Philadelphia jazz great Christian McBride; and seen on billboards hawking attorney Jawn (John) Morgan.

Like Bryce Harper, jawn is not of Philadelphian origin, but has nevertheless been claimed by the populace with zealous fervor.

Various sources say jawn derives from the New York word joint (slang for a place or establishment) in African American vernacular English, according to the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Some linguists believe it’s related to the French word jointe, seen in texts from the 10th through 13th centuries, according to the encyclopedia. It had three meanings: the elbow joint, the act of joining, or a situation or part of something.

Jawn started flowing into popular culture via the early 1980s hip-hop group, Funky 4 + 1, in the song, “That’s the Joint.” Then, in 2013, Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill added to jawn fervor with his recording, “Throwback Jawn,” according to the encyclopedia

As exciting as jawn’s time in the spotlight is, the word might already be played around here, according to Thomas Keller, 27, an architect from Northern Liberties.

“I used it a lot in high school in Levittown around 2011,” he said. “But it’s become one of those things that Philadelphians push a little too hard. These days, I say it only ironically.”

In 2017, Merriam-Webster published a short entry online that defined the word without placing it in the dictionary. The piece included a reference to jawn being a big part of Philadelphia, just like Fishtown’s indie-rock venue, Johnny Brenda’s.

Surprised by that, William Reed, co-owner of the club, was asked what he thinks about jawn blowing up.

“After seeing that Jawn Morgan billboard,” Reed said, “I think the word may be in its death spiral around here, jumping the shark. Philadelphia has so many other, better words to be proud of — like the ones in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, both written here.”

After its citation of jawn six years ago, Merriam-Webster may well include the word in its prestigious dictionary, said Peter Sokolowski, editor-at-large.

“Jawn is in the pipeline to be in the dictionary,” he said. “It’s on my radar as a word that’s spreading, especially on social media. We’re waiting for it to gain a little more traction.”

For Sokolowski, Philadelphia’s jawn is akin to the word jimmies, a New England regionalism for sprinkles that made it into his dictionary (just as it also made its way down 95 and became part of Philly’s lexicon).

“Words like jawn inspire pride in Philadelphians, because the word comes from their city,” Sokolowski said. “And even if it gets into the dictionary, gaining a broader perspective, one thing will be true:

“It will always be associated with Philadelphia.”