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JuMBO

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jumbo¹

  • /ˈd͡ʒʌmbəʊ/ UK
  • /ˈd͡ʒʌmboʊ/ US

Rhymes with -ʌmbəʊ

Where it comes from

From Jumbo (1860–1885), the name given to a large African elephant from East Africa that was purchased in 1882 by American showman P. T. Barnum (1810–1891) for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Compare Swahili jambo (“matter, thing”) and jumbe (“chief, headman”).

adjective

  1. not comparable Especially large or powerful. a jumbo helping

noun jumbos

  1. countable, uncountable An especially large or powerful person, animal, or thing. I purchased a vine, and was rather impressed with the appearance of the grape; so I took the time to go down to see the vine, the Jumbo [a cultivar of muscadine, Vitis rotundifolia], and I saw a very large vine, trained on an arbor, perhaps covering a space of fifteen to twenty feet square, with the
  2. India, Kenya, countable, uncountable An elephant.
  3. countable, uncountable A platform-mounted machine for drilling rock. In all three tunnels the full face was drilled at once. […] [T]he mucking machine was immediately converted into a drilling jumbo upon completion of the mucking operation. Both jumbos carried all the posts and bars necessary for the mounting in any desired position of four automatic DA-30 drifters.
  4. British, English, countable, uncountable A large airplane, such as those used for intercontinental travel. Take a jumbo ’cross the water (Like to see America)
  5. Pennsylvania, Western, countable, uncountable Synonym of bologna (“type of meat”).
  6. countable, uncountable A wide roll of machine-trimmed paper, ready to be cut into smaller widths. In the unwind area, one system loads and unloads the unwind stand almost simultaneously. The jumbo is stored ahead of the unwind on level rails.

jumbo²

  • /ˈd͡ʒʌmbəʊ/ UK
  • /ˈd͡ʒʌmboʊ/ US

Rhymes with -ʌmbəʊ

Where it comes from

From (mumbo) jumbo.

noun jumbos

  1. abbreviation, ellipsis, historical Ellipsis of mumbo jumbo (“a deity or other supernatural being worshipped by certain West African peoples; an idol representing such a being”).mumbo jumbo Returning to the villa, we were greeted by a party which frightened the boys. It was the Moco Jumbo and his suite. The Jumbo was on stilts, with a head, mounted on the actor's head, which was concealed: the music was from two baskets, like strawberry baskets, with little bells within, shook in time.

JuMBO³

noun JuMBOs

  1. abbreviation, acronym Acronym of Jupiter-mass binary object

Jumbo⁴

Where it comes from

From jumbo, from the 19th-century elephant, Jumbo, from Swahili jumbe (“chief”) jambo (“thing”)

proper noun

  1. A nickname for one or that of a large size
  2. A nickname for one or that of a small size
  3. A traditional animal name for an elephant

JUMBO⁵

noun JUMBOs

  1. alternative Alternative form of JuMBO

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