[Ads-l] Antedating of Jamboree

[Andy Bach]

>  It is noted earlier as a term in cribbage."

Jamboree signifies the combination of the five highest cards, as, for
example, the two Bowers [jacks], Ace, King, and Queen of trumps in one
hand, which entitles the holder to count sixteen points. The holder of such
a hand, simply announces the fact, as no play is necessary; but should he
play the hand as a Jambone, he can count only eight points, whereas he
could count sixteen if he played it, or announced it as a Jamboree. ["The
American Hoyle,” New York, 1864]

That's not cribbage, that's euchre
https://books.google.com/books?id=azmZ0tWYeicC&q=jambone#v=snippet&q=jambone&f=false


On Thu, Mar 14, 2019 at 4:55 AM Z Rice <zrice3714 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Etymonline now lists the following for "jamboree":  "1866, "carousal, noisy
> drinking bout; any merrymaking," represented in England as a typical
> American English word, perhaps from jam (n.) on pattern of shivaree
> [Barnhart]. For the second element, Weekley suggests French bourree, a kind
> of rustic dance. Century Dictionary calls the whole thing "probably
> arbitrary." Klein thinks the word of Hindu origin (but he credits its
> introduction into English, mistakenly, to Kipling). Boy Scouts use is from
> 1920. It is noted earlier as a term in cribbage."
>
> The above theories seem quite arbitrary and the "Hindu origin" theory does
> not explain why or how the term would come to be so strongly associated
> with the native Black American population of the US. I maintain in my
> research that the term jamboree [dʒæmbəɹiː / dʒɑmbəɹiː] "celebration, fête,
> inauguration" is of African origin, from the Mandinka jomboroo
> [dʒomboroː] "celebration, fête, inauguration."
>
> The Mandinka term is derived from the Mandinka jombo "to celebrate" + -roo
> "a Mandinka suffix (that transforms an active verb to a noun).
>
> The Mandinka/African origin would explain the strong association of the
> term jamboree with the native Black American population of the US, its
> status as an "Americanism," and its early, 1854 usage as "celebration,
> fête" in the 1854 article that Reitan referenced in the following
> passage(s):
>
> *"The word was in use in Cleveland in 1854 to refer to a party hosted by a
> firehose company.  It appears in a collection of Cleveland newspaper
> abstracts compiled in the 1930s.*
>
> *The Annals of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland W.P.A. Project;
> distributed by the Cleveland Public Library, 1936, page 119:*
>
> *"FCD [Forest City Democrat (original name of the Cleveland Leader)] Jan.
> 7, 1854: 3/1 – The boys of the Hope fire company No. 8 are going to have a
> big time at their jamboree on Jan. 12, and national hall will be crowded to
> overflowing.  They expect to realize enough from this festival to make a
> substantial payment toward the purchase of a new engine which will cost
> about $2,500.""*
>
> -- Zola Sohna
>
>
>
> __________________________________________
> "[Ads-l] Antedating of Jamboree
> Peter Reitan pjreitan at HOTMAIL.COM
> Wed Feb 14 15:26:15 EST 2018
>
>
>
> *Etymonline.com lists 1866, Merriam Webster online lists 1861,
> Oxforedictinoaries.com lists mid-19th Century.  All sources refer to it as
> an Americanism.  Etymonline suggests possible derivation from jam (crowd)
> influenced by shivaree, a variant of Charivari, a noisy post-wedding party
> frequently involving tin-horns and banging tin-plates, a precursor to the
> tin-cans on the back of the get-away car.*
>
> *1850: Pittsburgh Daily Post, July 3, 1850, page 2.  Song title in a
> listing of songs in an advertisement for White's New Ethiopian Song Book,
> "Whoop! Jam-bo-ree!".*
>
>
> *A copy of that songbook, apparently unchanged (with original pagination),
> is wholly found within a later published collection songbooks.  The
> collection is on HathiTrust, and entitled Christy's and White's Ethiopian
> Melodies, comprising the Melodeon Song Book, Plantation Melodies, Ethiopian
> Song Book, Serenader's Song Book and Christy and Wood's New Song Book,
> Philadelphia, T. B. Peterson & Brothers, 1854.*
>
>
> *The song title in the book suggests a western origin, and possible
> African-American origin:*
>
>
> *"Whoop, Jam-bo-ree. - Jig. As sung by the original Dan Emmett, (in
> imitation of the western boatmen,) at White's Melodoen."*
>
>
> *The lyrics do not give much insight into its intended meaning.  The first
> verse and chorus are, "I went down to New Orleans, I tink myself a man, De
> first place I fotched up was on board de Talleyrann. Chorus: Whoop,
> jam-bo-ree! Whoop, jam-bo-ree! Vinegar shoes and paper stockings, Git up!
> ole hoss!"*
>
>
> *The word was in use in Cleveland in 1854 to refer to a party hosted by a
> firehose company.  It appears in a collection of Cleveland newspaper
> abstracts compiled in the 1930s.*
>
>
> *The Annals of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland W.P.A. Project;
> distributed by the Cleveland Public Library, 1936, page 119:*
>
>
> *"FCD [Forest City Democrat (original name of the Cleveland Leader)] Jan.
> 7, 1854: 3/1 – The boys of the Hope fire company No. 8 are going to have a
> big time at their jamboree on Jan. 12, and national hall will be crowded to
> overflowing.  They expect to realize enough from this festival to make a
> substantial payment toward the purchase of a new engine which will cost
> about $2,500."*
>
> *[END]*
>
>
> *By 1861, the word could be used to refer to a fist-fight or scuffle.*
>
>
> *Vanity Fair, December 28, 1861:*
>
>
> *“'What ails my Love?’ asked Glorianna, regarding his face for the first
> time; 'whence come these bruised cheeks, those bloody nose, this puffy lip
> and ensanguined mug? Blow me if I don’t think you’ve been on a jamboree!'”*
> *[END]"*
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 

a

Andy Bach,
afbach at gmail.com
608 658-1890 cell
608 261-5738 wk

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org