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[jon] /dʒɒn/
noun
the apostle john, believed to be the author of the fourth gospel, three epistles, and the book of revelation.
john the baptist.
(john lackland) 1167?–1216, king of england 1199–1216; signer of the magna carta 1215 (son of henry ii of england).
augustus edwin, 1878–1961, british painter and etcher.
elton (reginald kenneth dwight) born 1947, english rock singer, pianist, and songwriter.
the fourth gospel.
any of the three epistles of john: i, ii, or iii john.
a male given name.
john
/dʒɒn/
noun
(mainly us & canadian) a slang word for lavatory (sense 1)
(slang, mainly us) a prost-tute’s client
(austral, slang) short for john hop
word origin
c20: special use of the proper name
john
/dʒɒn/
noun
(new testament)

the apostle john, the son of zebedee, identified with the author of the fourth gospel, three epistles, and the book of revelation. feast day: dec 27 or sept 26
the fourth gospel
any of three epistles (in full the first, second, and third epistles of john)

see john the baptist
known as john lackland. 1167–1216, king of england (1199–1216); son of henry ii. he succeeded to the throne on the death of his brother richard i, having previously tried to usurp the throne. war with france led to the loss of most of his french possessions. after his refusal to recognize stephen langton as archbishop of canterbury an interdict was imposed on england (1208–14). in 1215 he was compelled by the barons to grant the magna carta
called the fearless. 1371–1419, duke of burgundy (1404–19). his attempt to control the mad king charles vi and his murder of the king’s brother led to civil war: -ss-ssinated
augustus (edwin). 1878–1961, british painter, esp of portraits
barry born 1945, welsh rugby union footballer: halfback for wales (1966–72) and the british lions (1968–71)
sir elton (hercules). original name reginald dwight. born 1947, british rock pianist, composer, and singer; his h-ts include “goodbye yellow brick road” (1973) and “candle in the wind 1997” (1997), a tribute to diana, princess of wales
gwen, sister of augustus john. 1876–1939, british painter, working in france: noted esp for her portraits of women
john

masc. proper name, mid-12c., from medieval latin johannes, from late latin joannes, from greek ioannes, from hebrew yohanan (longer form y’hohanan) literally “jehovah has favored,” from hanan “he was gracious.”

as the name of john the baptist and john the evangelist, it was one of the most common christian given names, and in england by early 14c. it rivaled william in popularity. the old french form was jean, but in england its variants johan, jehan yielded jan, jen (cf. surname jensen). welsh form was ieuan (see evan), but ioan was adopted for the welsh authorized version of the bible, hence frequency of jones as a welsh surname.
john
n.

“toilet,” 1932, probably from jakes, used for “toilet” since 15c. meaning “prost-tute’s customer” is from 1911, probably from the common, and thus anonymous, name by which they identified themselves. meaning “policeman” is 1858, from shortening of johndarm, jocular anglicization of gendarme.
noun

a toilet; can: i made a brief visit to the john

[1930s+; probably an amusing euphemism for jack or jakes, 16th-century terms for toilet; some say fr sir john harington (1561–1612), who originated a form of water closet, but evidence for the attribution is lacking; cuzjohn, ”cousin john,” in the same sense is found in 1735]

noun

an army lieutenant (wwii army)
related terms

first john

noun

any man; an average man; joe: we don’t want no poor johns on here (1920s+ black)
a man regarded as an easy victim, a potential easy sale, etc: he’s pretty smart at figurin’ out what a john’ll pay (1946+)
an army recruit (1940s+ army)
a man who keeps a girl; daddy, sugar daddy (1950s+)
(also johnson) a prost-tute’s customer: even for girls turning their first tricks, pulling their first real john/ shot an 18-year-old hooker then plugged a john who was present (1911+ prost-tutes)
an older h-m-s-xual male who keeps a younger one (1950s+ h-m-s-xuals)
john law

related terms

big john, dear john, square john

(1.) one who, with annas and caiaphas, sat in judgment on the apostles peter and john (acts 4:6). he was of the kindred of the high priest; otherwise unknown. (2.) the hebrew name of mark (q.v.). he is designated by this name in the acts of the apostles (12:12, 25; 13:5, 13; 15:37). (3.) the apostle, brother of james the “greater” (matt. 4:21; 10:2; mark 1:19; 3:17; 10:35). he was one, probably the younger, of the sons of zebedee (matt. 4:21) and salome (matt. 27:56; comp. mark 15:40), and was born at bethsaida. his father was apparently a man of some wealth (comp. mark 1:20; luke 5:3; john 19:27). he was doubtless trained in all that const-tuted the ordinary education of jewish youth. when he grew up he followed the occupation of a fisherman on the lake of galilee. when john the baptist began his ministry in the wilderness of judea, john, with many others, gathered round him, and was deeply influenced by his teaching. there he heard the announcement, “behold the lamb of g-d,” and forthwith, on the invitation of jesus, became a disciple and ranked among his followers (john 1:36, 37) for a time. he and his brother then returned to their former avocation, for how long is uncertain. jesus again called them (matt. 4: 21; luke 5:1-11), and now they left all and permanently attached themselves to the company of his disciples. he became one of the innermost circle (mark 5:37; matt. 17:1; 26:37; mark 13:3). he was the disciple whom jesus loved. in zeal and intensity of character he was a “boanerges” (mark 3:17). this spirit once and again broke out (matt. 20:20-24; mark 10:35-41; luke 9:49, 54). at the betrayal he and peter follow christ afar off, while the others betake themselves to hasty flight (john 18:15). at the trial he follows christ into the council chamber, and thence to the praetorium (18:16, 19, 28) and to the place of crucifixion (19:26, 27). to him and peter, mary first conveys tidings of the resurrection (20:2), and they are the first to go and see what her strange words mean. after the resurrection he and peter again return to the sea of galilee, where the lord reveals himself to them (21:1, 7). we find peter and john frequently after this together (acts 3:1; 4:13). john remained apparently in jerusalem as the leader of the church there (acts 15:6; gal. 2:9). his subsequent history is unrecorded. he was not there, however, at the time of paul’s last visit (acts 21:15-40). he appears to have retired to ephesus, but at what time is unknown. the seven churches of asia were the objects of his special care (rev. 1:11). he suffered under persecution, and was banished to patmos (1:9); whence he again returned to ephesus, where he died, probably about a.d. 98, having outlived all or nearly all the friends and companions even of his maturer years. there are many interesting traditions regarding john during his residence at ephesus, but these cannot claim the character of historical truth.