Jamaican, n. and a.
(dʒəˈmeɪkən)
[f. Jamaica + -an.]
A. n. A native or inhabitant of Jamaica; the form of English spoken there.
| 1693 Truest & Largest Acct. Earthquake in Jamaica 23 God curb'd their Malice, restrain'd their Power, and gave the Jamaicans a Signal Victory over them. 1770 W. Guthrie New Geogr. Gram. 613 The Jamaicans were undoubtedly very numerous, until reduced by earthquakes. 1902 J. D. Hooker in L. Huxley Life J. D. Hooker (1918) II. 408 The Jamaicans do not deserve the sacrifice England is making in respect of its fruit trade. 1960 R. B. Le Page Jamaican Creole x. 116 ‘English with a Jamaican accent’..one could well call Standard Jamaican. Ibid. 120 The grammar of Standard Jamaican is not very greatly different from that of Standard English. 1970 Sunday Times (Colour Suppl.) 6 Dec. 39/1 Everyone's English accent..had lapsed comfortably into Jamaican during the flight. 1971 I. F. Hancock in J. Spencer Eng. Lang. W. Afr. 114 Jamaican Creole: spoken in one form or another by about one million Jamaicans. |
b. A Jamaican cigar.
| 1964 I. Fleming You only live Twice ii. 27 The best of the Jamaicans are quite up to the Havanas these days. They've got the outer leaf right at last. 1971 ‘A. York’ Infiltrator x. 144 Lucinda carefully pierced his cigar... ‘I like these stogies... Better than your Jamaicans.’ |
B. adj. Of or pertaining to Jamaica or the Jamaicans.
| 1881 Handbk. Jamaica iv. 131 The Calipeva or ‘Jamaica Salmon’..ranks among three specially Jamaican dainties. 1907 W. Jekyll (title) Jamaican song and story. 1913 [see gros Michel s.v. gros a.]. 1955 Caribbean Q. IV. ii. 125, 4 Jamaican plums, hard round sugar sweets, a roast corn. 1971 [see the n., above]. 1972 ‘B. Graeme’ Tomorrow's Yesterday xiv. 145 He..pushed a box of cigars across the table. ‘Do you smoke these? They are not too bad. Jamaican.’ |
Hence Jaˈmaicanism, a Jamaican word or idiom.
| 1961 [see chinchy a.]. 1963 Amer. Speech XXXVIII. 136 The cultural and historical setting in which these Jamaicanisms have developed. 1967 F. G. Cassidy in Amer. Speech XLII. 190 (title) Some new light on old Jamaicanisms. |