disc jockey
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disc jockey
- /ˌdɪsk ˈdʒɒki/ UK
- /ˌdɪsk ˈdʒɑki/ US
Where it comes from
Disc refers to the flat, circular shape of the traditional medium for recorded music. Jockey refers to a diminutive of jock, the Northern English or Scots colloquial equivalent of the first name John, which is also used generically for “boy, or fellow” (compare Jack, Dick), at least since 1529. So, disc jockey / DJ etymologically refers to a young person playing (discs holding) music. Coined by journalist Walter Winchell in 1935 to describe Martin Block. Appeared in print in Variety in 1941. Previously also called record man.
noun disc jockeys · discjockey · disk jockey · diskjockey · DJ
- A person who plays, and sometimes mixes, recorded music at nightclubs, dances, parties, or some other social event; or as a backup musician for spoken word, or hip hop performers. The disc jockey played brilliant music at the party.
- A person who conducts a radio program of recorded music combined with talk, news, commercials, weather, etc. The show he produced first aired on WJMR, a white-owned New Orleans radio station. The show's disc jockey used the name “Poppa Stoppa” and played what would then be called “race music,” the term given to any music produced by African American artists.
Translations
Every language
noun person who plays recorded music in nightclubs etc.
| Español | pinchadiscos, disyóquey |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 디스크 자키 diseukeu jaki, 디제이 dijei |
| 日本語 | ディスクジョッキー disukujokkī, DJ (dījei), ディージェイ dījei |
| 中文 | 唱片騎師 /唱片骑师 chàngpiàn qíshī, DJ |
| Kiswahili | mcheza santuri |
| Português | disc jockey, disco-jóquei |
| Français | disc jockey, disc-jockey, DJ, DJette, platiniste |
| Deutsch | Discjockey, Diskjockey, Disc-Jockey |
| Italiano | disc jockey, discoliere, graffiadischi, pungidischi |
| Ελληνικά | ντισκ τζόκεϊ ntisk tzókeï, ντιτζέι ntitzéi |
| Русский | диск-жоке́й disk-žokéj, дидже́й didžéj |
| العربية | فارس الإسطوانات, دسْك جوكي, دِي جِي dī jey, دي جيه dī jih |
| עברית | תַּקְלִיטָן taqlitán, דִּי גֵ׳יי di jey |
Talk about this word "disc jockey." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/disc%20jockey. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. disc jockey. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/disc%20jockey "disc jockey." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/disc%20jockey.Cite this
@misc{disc_jockey_2026,
title = {disc jockey},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/disc%20jockey},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
