"joss" meaning in English

See joss in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /dʒɒs/ [Received-Pronunciation], /dʒɔs/ [General-American], /dʒɑs/ [cot-caught-merger] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-joss.wav Forms: josses [plural]
Rhymes: -ɒs Etymology: From Chinese Pidgin English joss, from Macau Pidgin Portuguese, from Portuguese deus (“god”), from Latin deus (“god”), from Proto-Indo-European *deywós (“god/that which belongs to heaven”). Etymology templates: {{root|en|ine-pro|*dyew-}}, {{bor|en|cpi|joss}} Chinese Pidgin English joss, {{der|en|crp-mpp|-}} Macau Pidgin Portuguese, {{der|en|pt|deus||god}} Portuguese deus (“god”), {{der|en|la|deus||god}} Latin deus (“god”), {{der|en|ine-pro|*deywós||god/that which belongs to heaven}} Proto-Indo-European *deywós (“god/that which belongs to heaven”) Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} joss (countable and uncountable, plural josses)
  1. (countable) A Chinese household divinity; a Chinese idol. Tags: countable
    Sense id: en-joss-en-noun-ldvD0Q2X
  2. (countable) A heathen divinity. Tags: countable
    Sense id: en-joss-en-noun-4tFa9Hfh
  3. (uncountable, informal) Luck. Tags: informal, uncountable Synonyms (luck): chance
    Sense id: en-joss-en-noun-LsQgsCJo Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 2 entries, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 7 8 86 Disambiguation of Pages with 2 entries: 4 4 93 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 3 3 95 Disambiguation of 'luck': 0 0 99
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: fortune, luck Derived forms: joss stick, joss paper, joss house Related terms: joss-block

Inflected forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "joss stick"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "joss paper"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "joss house"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*dyew-"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cpi",
        "3": "joss"
      },
      "expansion": "Chinese Pidgin English joss",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "crp-mpp",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Macau Pidgin Portuguese",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pt",
        "3": "deus",
        "4": "",
        "5": "god"
      },
      "expansion": "Portuguese deus (“god”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "deus",
        "4": "",
        "5": "god"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin deus (“god”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*deywós",
        "4": "",
        "5": "god/that which belongs to heaven"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *deywós (“god/that which belongs to heaven”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Chinese Pidgin English joss, from Macau Pidgin Portuguese, from Portuguese deus (“god”), from Latin deus (“god”), from Proto-Indo-European *deywós (“god/that which belongs to heaven”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "josses",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "joss (countable and uncountable, plural josses)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "joss-block"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "A Chinese household divinity; a Chinese idol."
      ],
      "id": "en-joss-en-noun-ldvD0Q2X",
      "links": [
        [
          "Chinese",
          "Chinese"
        ],
        [
          "divinity",
          "divinity"
        ],
        [
          "idol",
          "idol"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) A Chinese household divinity; a Chinese idol."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              33,
              37
            ],
            [
              248,
              252
            ],
            [
              332,
              336
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1939, Philip George Chadwick, The Death Guard, pages 111–112:",
          "text": "Don't forget they're mostly just joss-worshipping heathen an' they don't get no kick out of the more classy breeds o' religion. Though I guess there ain't that much diff'rence. It ain't many's so Lord Almighty in theirselves that they don't need a joss of some sort, an' I guess it's what yu think about him matters not the sort o' joss.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A heathen divinity."
      ],
      "id": "en-joss-en-noun-4tFa9Hfh",
      "links": [
        [
          "heathen",
          "heathen"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) A heathen divinity."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "7 8 86",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "4 4 93",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 2 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "3 3 95",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              62,
              66
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 178:",
          "text": "She had twisted a piece of heather into her mail box for good joss, and this was the safety signal.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Luck."
      ],
      "id": "en-joss-en-noun-LsQgsCJo",
      "links": [
        [
          "Luck",
          "luck"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(uncountable, informal) Luck."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "0 0 99",
          "sense": "luck",
          "word": "chance"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/dʒɒs/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-joss.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b7/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-joss.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-joss.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b7/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-joss.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-joss.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/dʒɔs/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/dʒɑs/",
      "tags": [
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɒs"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "fortune"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "luck"
    }
  ],
  "word": "joss"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms borrowed from Chinese Pidgin English",
    "English terms derived from Chinese Pidgin English",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms derived from Macau Pidgin Portuguese",
    "English terms derived from Portuguese",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *dyew-",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Pages with 2 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɒs",
    "Rhymes:English/ɒs/1 syllable"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "joss stick"
    },
    {
      "word": "joss paper"
    },
    {
      "word": "joss house"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*dyew-"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cpi",
        "3": "joss"
      },
      "expansion": "Chinese Pidgin English joss",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "crp-mpp",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Macau Pidgin Portuguese",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pt",
        "3": "deus",
        "4": "",
        "5": "god"
      },
      "expansion": "Portuguese deus (“god”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "deus",
        "4": "",
        "5": "god"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin deus (“god”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*deywós",
        "4": "",
        "5": "god/that which belongs to heaven"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *deywós (“god/that which belongs to heaven”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Chinese Pidgin English joss, from Macau Pidgin Portuguese, from Portuguese deus (“god”), from Latin deus (“god”), from Proto-Indo-European *deywós (“god/that which belongs to heaven”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "josses",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "joss (countable and uncountable, plural josses)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "joss-block"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A Chinese household divinity; a Chinese idol."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Chinese",
          "Chinese"
        ],
        [
          "divinity",
          "divinity"
        ],
        [
          "idol",
          "idol"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) A Chinese household divinity; a Chinese idol."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              33,
              37
            ],
            [
              248,
              252
            ],
            [
              332,
              336
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1939, Philip George Chadwick, The Death Guard, pages 111–112:",
          "text": "Don't forget they're mostly just joss-worshipping heathen an' they don't get no kick out of the more classy breeds o' religion. Though I guess there ain't that much diff'rence. It ain't many's so Lord Almighty in theirselves that they don't need a joss of some sort, an' I guess it's what yu think about him matters not the sort o' joss.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A heathen divinity."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "heathen",
          "heathen"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) A heathen divinity."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English informal terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English uncountable nouns"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              62,
              66
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 178:",
          "text": "She had twisted a piece of heather into her mail box for good joss, and this was the safety signal.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Luck."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Luck",
          "luck"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(uncountable, informal) Luck."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/dʒɒs/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-joss.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b7/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-joss.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-joss.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b7/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-joss.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-joss.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/dʒɔs/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/dʒɑs/",
      "tags": [
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɒs"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "luck",
      "word": "chance"
    },
    {
      "word": "fortune"
    },
    {
      "word": "luck"
    }
  ],
  "word": "joss"
}

Download raw JSONL data for joss meaning in English (4.1kB)

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  "trace": "<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html lang=\"en\">\n<meta charset=\"utf-8\">\n<title>Wikimedia Error</title>\n<style>\n* { margin: 0; padding: 0; }\nbody { background: #fff; font: 15px/1.6 sans-serif; color: #333; }\n.content { margin: 7% auto 0; padding: 2em 1em 1em; max-width: 640px; display: flex; flex-direction: row; flex-wrap: wrap; }\n.footer { clear: both; margin-top: 14%; border-top: 1px solid #e5e5e5; background: #f9f9f9; padding: 2em 0; font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center; }\nimg { margin: 0 2em 2em 0; }\na img { border: 0; }\nh1 { margin-top: 1em; font-size: 1.2em; }\n.content-text { flex: 1; }\np { margin: 0.7em 0 1em 0; }\na { color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; }\na:hover { text-decoration: underline; }\ncode { font-family: sans-serif; }\nsummary { font-weight: bold; cursor: pointer; }\ndetails[open] { background: #970302; color: #dfdedd; }\n.text-muted { color: #777; }\n@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {\n  a { color: #9e9eff; }\n  body { background: transparent; color: #ddd; }\n  .footer { border-top: 1px solid #444; background: #060606; }\n  #logo { filter: invert(1) hue-rotate(180deg); }\n  .text-muted { color: #888; }\n}\n</style>\n<meta name=\"color-scheme\" content=\"light dark\">\n<div class=\"content\" role=\"main\">\n<a href=\"https://www.wikimedia.org\"><img id=\"logo\" src=\"https://www.wikimedia.org/static/images/wmf-logo.png\" srcset=\"https://www.wikimedia.org/static/images/wmf-logo-2x.png 2x\" alt=\"Wikimedia\" width=\"135\" height=\"101\">\n</a>\n<div class=\"content-text\">\n<h1>Error</h1>\n\n<p>Your bot is making too many requests. Please reduce your request rate or contact bot-traffic@wikimedia.org (f263c81)</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"footer\"><p>If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below.</p><p class=\"text-muted\"><code>Request served via cp3073 cp3073, Varnish XID 121527258<br>Upstream caches: cp3073 int<br>Error: 429, Your bot is making too many requests. Please reduce your request rate or contact bot-traffic@wikimedia.org (f263c81) at Thu, 12 Feb 2026 15:07:18 GMT<br><details><summary>Sensitive client information</summary>IP address: 91.207.79.37</details></code></p>\n</div>\n</html>\n"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-02-14 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-02-01 using wiktextract (f492ef9 and 59dc20b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.