Jefferson

English

Etymology

From Jeffrey +‎ -son. The placenames in the United States are named for Thomas Jefferson.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛfɚsən/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Proper noun

Jefferson (countable and uncountable, plural Jeffersons)

1. (countable) An English surname originating as a patronymic; (US politics) used specifically of Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), the third president of the United States, principal author of the US Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential founders of the United States.
   • 2019 November 28, John S. Gardner, “American Dialogue review: elegant history meets the Trump era”, in The Guardian:

     Ellis starts with Jefferson and race, writing that the Virginian, who began his career with a failed attempt to make emancipation easier, was “thoroughly embedded in the twin American dilemmas of slavery and racism […]”.

   • 2011 October 28, Alonzo L. Hamby, “Would Jefferson Make the Cut?”, in The New York Times:

     Clearly quite a number of past chief executives would have been TV washouts. Jefferson, for example, is acknowledged to have been a terrible public speaker, Madison an unimpressive little man in voice and appearance.

2. (countable) A male given name transferred from the surname.
3. A place in the United States:
   1. An unincorporated community in Marengo County, Alabama.
   2. An unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Arkansas.
   3. An unincorporated community in Park County, Colorado.
   4. A city, the county seat of Jackson County, Georgia.
   5. An unincorporated community in Washington Township, Clinton County, Indiana.
   6. A city, the county seat of Greene County, Iowa.
   7. An unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Kansas.
   8. A census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.
   9. A town in Lincoln County, Maine.
   10. A census-designated place in Frederick County, Maryland.
   11. A village in Holden, Worcester County, Massachusetts.
   12. An unincorporated community in Jefferson Township, Houston County, Minnesota.
   13. A town in Coos County, New Hampshire.
   14. A town and census-designated place therein, in Schoharie County, New York.
   15. A town, the county seat of Ashe County, North Carolina.
   16. A village, the county seat of Ashtabula County, Ohio.
   17. A small town in Grant County, Oklahoma.
   18. A city in Marion County, Oregon.
   19. A borough in Greene County, Pennsylvania.
   20. A borough in York County, Pennsylvania.
   21. A town in Chesterfield County, South Carolina.
   22. A minor city in Union County, South Dakota.
   23. A city, the county seat of Marion County, Texas.
   24. A census-designated place in Kanawha County, West Virginia.
   25. A town in Green County, Wisconsin.
   26. A city, the county seat of Jefferson County, Wisconsin.
   27. A town in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, the city is partially within it.
   28. A town in Monroe County, Wisconsin.
   29. A town in Vernon County, Wisconsin.
   30. A number of townships in the United States, listed under Jefferson Township.
   31. Ellipsis of Jefferson Parish.
   32. Ellipsis of Jefferson County.
   33. Ellipsis of Jefferson City.
4. A community of Cardston County, Alberta, Canada.

Derived terms

• County of Jefferson
• Jefferson City
• Jefferson County
• Jefferson Davis
• Jefferson Davis County
• Jefferson Davis Parish
• Jeffersonian
• jeffersonite
• Jefferson-Jackson dinner
• Jefferson method
• Jefferson Parish
• Jeffersontown
• Jeffersonville
• Parish of Jefferson

Related terms

• Jeffers

Translations

surname

• Arabic: جَفَرْسُون m or f (jafarsūn)
• Bengali: জেফারসন (jepharsôn)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 傑斐遜 / 杰斐逊 (Jiéfěixùn)

• Georgian: ჯეფერსონი (ǯepersoni)
• Hebrew: ג׳פרסון m or f
• Hindi: जेफरसन m or f (jepharsan)
• Japanese: ジェファーソン (Jefāson)
• Korean: 제퍼슨 (Jepeoseun)
• Lithuanian: Džefersonas
• Macedonian: Џеферсон m or f (Džeferson)
• Marathi: जेफरसन (jepharsan)
• Russian: Дже́фферсон (ru) m or f (Džéfferson)
• Telugu: జెఫెర్సన్ (jephersan)
• Thai: เจฟเฟอร์สัน (jèef-fəə-sǎn)

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Jefferson is the 615^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 55,179 individuals. Jefferson is most common among Black (74.2%) individuals.

Noun

Jefferson (plural Jeffersons)

1. (slang, US) A two-dollar bill.
   • 1996, J. Madison Davis, And the Angels Sing, page 210:

     "Gambling's not my form of masochism," said Carl. "Huh?" "So how much?" "The wad's mostly ones. Some Jeffersons. Two or three Abes."

Further reading

• “Jefferson”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “Jefferson”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “Jefferson”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
• “Jefferson”, in Collins English Dictionary.

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English Jefferson.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈʝefeɾson/ [ˈɟ͡ʝe.feɾ.sõn]

• IPA^(key): (everywhere but Argentina and Uruguay) /ˈʝefeɾson/ [ˈɟ͡ʝe.feɾ.sõn]
• IPA^(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /ˈʃefeɾson/ [ˈʃe.feɾ.sõn]
• IPA^(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /ˈʒefeɾson/ [ˈʒe.feɾ.sõn]

• Rhymes: -efeɾson
• Syllabification: Jef‧fer‧son

Proper noun

Jefferson m

1. a male given name from English

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English Jefferson.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒefeɾson/ [ˌd͡ʒɛː.fɛɾˈson̪]
  • IPA^(key): (more native-sounding) /ˈd͡ʒepeɾson/ [ˌd͡ʒɛː.pɛɾˈson̪], (more native-sounding, no yod coalescence) /ˈdjepeɾson/ [ˌd̪jɛː.pɛɾˈson̪]
• Rhymes: -efeɾson, -epeɾson
• Syllabification: Je‧ffer‧son

Proper noun

Jéffersón (Baybayin spelling ᜇ᜔ᜌᜒᜉᜒᜇ᜔ᜐᜓᜈ᜔)

1. a male given name from English [in turn transferred from the surname]