Where does the word “jism” come from?
Another word of mysterious origins of jism, in the sense of spunk. The OED mentions it is sometimes spelled jizz, and may even be the precursor word to jazz.
But neither the OED nor Etymonline gives any etymology for this word. The oldest citation is from 1847, and there are many citations from the 20th century.
So where do we get the word jism from?
(Not within earshot of OED: If the truth were known about the origin of the word 'Jazz' it would never be mentioned in polite society. ["Étude," Sept. 1924] )
Entirely possible that it is drawn from the Hindi जिस्म (jism):
- देह। बदन। शरीर। 2. २. स्त्री या पुरुष का गुप्त अंग। भग या लिंग
- Body. 2. Female or male genitals. Vulva or penis
?Whence,
"seminal fluid, cum," 1899; earlier "energy, strength" (1842) (etymonline)
also jissom /ˈdʒɪsəm/ vulgar slang semen. (ODO)
commentary: The Hindi word is pronounced /ˈdʒɪsm/ in formal speech and /ˈdʒɪsəm/ in regular/ vulgar use, as is the English word per ODO.
In Ryan and Jetha's Sex at Dawn (2010, Ch. 5), they suggest that both 'jism' and 'jazz' come from the Ki-Kongo word dinza, meaning "to ejaculate", citing Robert Farris Thompson's Flash of the Spirit (1984) and Ventura's essay "Hear that Long Snake Moan" (1986).
Culturally, rooting this word in an African language seems more likely to me than in an Indian one (as is suggested in a few posts above).
If it’s really jism then it is primarily an Urdu word that means “human body”, in common use on the Indian Subcontinent and also in some Arabic-speaking countries.
It isn’t slang or offensive there. Yes, it sounds a little bit funny, but it isn’t really.