▪ I. jerky, a. and n.1
(ˈdʒɜːkɪ)
[f. as jerksome a. + -y.]
A. adj. Characterized by jerks or sudden abrupt or twitching movements; often fig., spasmodic.
| 1858 O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. i. (1891) 6 They are the talkers that have what may be called jerky minds. 1875 W. Houghton Sk. Brit. Insects 101 They move rapidly through the water by jerky motions. 1887 Spectator 26 Mar. 422/1 A style which is so jerky that it may be described as dislocated. |
B. n. A springless wagon; a shaky jolting vehicle. U.S.
| 1884 W. Shepherd Prairie Exper. 108 The liveliest travelling was by jerky, the ordinary American farm-waggon without springs. 1894 Outing (U.S.) 398/1 Now a wabbling, jumping ‘jerky’ does the stage work for the line. |
▪ II. ˈjerky, n.2 U.S.
[ad. American Sp. charqui, charque (Pg. xarque), from native Peruvian ccharqui: see charqui and jerk v.2]
Jerked beef.
| 1890 in Cent. Dict. 1893 E. Coues Lewis & Clark I. 31 The word as a verb is now generally spelled jerk, and jerked meat is known as jerky. |