jane
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Jane¹
- /d͡ʒeɪn/
Sounds like Jain · Rhymes with -eɪn
Where it comes from
Variant of Jeanne, from French Jeanne, from Middle French Jehanne, from Medieval Latin Johanna, variant of Latin Ioanna under influence from Latin Iōhannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which produced John and its many doublets. As a placeholder name, cf. similar use of John and Jack and earlier use of Joan in the same role.
Doublet of Gianna, Ivana, Jana, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.
proper noun Janes · Jayne · Jaine
- A female given name from French, the standard feminine form of John since the 17th century. In latter years some of the better and nicer sort, misliking Joan, have mollified the name of Joan into Jane, as it may seem, for that Jane is never found in old Records; and as some will, never before the time of King Henry the eight.
- A surname originating as a patronymic derived from a Middle English variant of John.
noun Janes · jane · Jayne · Jaine
- used as a placeholder name for any woman, especially a young working-class woman
- A girlfriend. What happened to your regular Jane?
- Alternative letter-case form of jane (“female client of a prostitute”).
jane²
- /d͡ʒeɪn/
Sounds like Jain · Rhymes with -eɪn
Where it comes from
From Old French Jannes (“Genoa”).
noun janes
- A silver Genovese coin, first used in England in the 14th century. 14th c, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Rime of Sire Thopas, The Canterbury Tales, 1793, A Complete Edition of the Poets of Great Britain, Volume 1, page 124, His robe was of chekelatoun, / That coste many a jane.
jane³
- /d͡ʒeɪn/
Sounds like Jain · Rhymes with -eɪn
Where it comes from
Alternative forms.
noun janes
- Alternative letter-case form of Jane, a woman.
- Alternative spelling of jean Ye miscellaneous, ignoble manufacturing individuals, ye have produced too much! We accuse you of making above two-hundred thousand shirts for the bare backs of mankind. Your trousers too, which you have made, of fustian, of cassimere, of Scotch-plaid, of jane, nankeen and woollen broadcloth, are the
- A female client of a prostitute. The Swedish system, seemingly, does not target “janes” (female clients of sex workers).
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: janey, joan, janie, jeanne, louise, bette, rita, sylvie, juana, marie, emily, jen, juan, zhen, chien, sarah
Translations
Talk about this word "jane." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/jane. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. jane. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/jane "jane." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/jane.Cite this
@misc{jane_2026,
title = {jane},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/jane},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
