*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of jog

Of uncertain origin. Originally with the meaning of "to shake up and down." Possibly from Middle English joggen, a variant of jaggen (“to pierce, prod, stir up, arouse”); see jag (“sharp projection”). Or, perhaps an earl

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

An energetic trot, slower than a run, often used as a form of exercise. · A sudden push or nudge. · A flat placed perpendicularly to break up a flat surface. · In card tricks, one or more cards that are secretly made to protrude slightly from the deck as an aid to the performer.

verb

To push slightly; to move or shake with a push or jerk, as to gain the attention of; to jolt. · To shake, stir or rouse. · To walk or ride forward with a jolting pace; to move at a heavy pace, trudge; to move on or along. · To move at a pace between walking and running, to run at a leisurely pace.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Of uncertain origin. Originally with the meaning of "to shake up and down." Possibly from Middle English joggen, a variant of jaggen (“to pierce, prod, stir up, arouse”); see jag (“sharp projection”). Or, perhaps an early alteration of English shog (“to jolt, shake; depart, go”), from Middle English shoggen, schoggen (“to shake up and down, jog”), from Middle Dutch schocken (“to jolt, bounce”) or Middle Low German schoggen, schocken (“to shog”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *skukkōn (“to move, shake, tremble”), possibly related to *skakan (“to shake, stir”). More at shock.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionjoggenenm
  • Cognate mentionshogen · to jolt, shake; depart, go
  • Inherited-form mentionshoggenenm
  • Derivation mentionschockendum · to jolt, bounce
  • Derivation mentionschoggengml
  • Derivation mention*skukkōngmw-pro · to move, shake, tremble

This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "expansion": "uncertain"
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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
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        "3": "joggen"
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      "expansion": "Middle English joggen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "shog",
        "t": "to jolt, shake; depart, go"
      },
      "expansion": "English shog (“to jolt, shake; depart, go”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "shoggen"
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      "expansion": "Middle English shoggen"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dum",
        "3": "schocken",
        "t": "to jolt, bounce"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch schocken (“to jolt, bounce”)"
    },
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      "name": "der",
      "args": {
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        "2": "gml",
        "3": "schoggen"
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      "expansion": "Middle Low German schoggen"
    },
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      "name": "der",
      "args": {
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    }
  ],
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    [
      "joggen",
      "joggen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
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      "jag",
      "jag#English"
    ],
    [
      "shog",
      "shog#English"
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      "shoggen#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "schoggen",
      "schoggen#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "schocken",
      "schocken#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "schoggen",
      "schoggen#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
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      "schocken",
      "schocken#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "*skukkōn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/skukkōn"
    ],
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      "*skakan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/skakan"
    ],
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      "shock",
      "shock#English"
    ]
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        "An energetic trot, slower than a run, often used as a form of exercise.",
        "A sudden push or nudge.",
        "A flat placed perpendicularly to break up a flat surface.",
        "In card tricks, one or more cards that are secretly made to protrude slightly from the deck as an aid to the performer."
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      "pos": "verb",
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        "To push slightly; to move or shake with a push or jerk, as to gain the attention of; to jolt.",
        "To shake, stir or rouse.",
        "To walk or ride forward with a jolting pace; to move at a heavy pace, trudge; to move on or along.",
        "To move at a pace between walking and running, to run at a leisurely pace."
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for jog →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-am9n