Dictionary

demijohn en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈdɛmɪdʒɒn/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Partial calque of French dame-jeanne (literally “Lady Jane”), of uncertain origin. Note that the French Jeanne (“Jane, feminine of John”) has changed to the masculine form John, rather than the cognate English Jane.

Meanings

1. A large bottle with a short neck, sometimes with two small handles at the neck, sometimes encased in wickerwork.
   • Toby, placing his gold-rimmed spectacles on his nose, set our dinner to simmer and uncorked a demijohn of the old Verfeuille red which glowed in our glasses with the embers of old recollections of half-forgotten journeys and excursions of our youth by the light of the moon. 1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 234:
   • “Reckon it's first-drink time,” the old prospector cried cheerily, and unearthed Monica's two-gallon demijohn. 1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter VIII, in The Understanding Heart:

Forms

Synonyms

carboy

Translations (35)

pt garrafão (bottle) · de Glasballon (bottle) · da vinballong (bottle) · nl damejeanne (bottle) · bg дамаджана (bottle) · sh демѝжа̄на (bottle) · es damajuana (bottle) · gl garrafón (bottle) · ota داماجانه (bottle) · vo bäsetaflad (bottle) · ro damigeană (bottle) · tl damahuwana (bottle) · rup damageanã (bottle) · pl baniak (bottle) · cs demižon (bottle) · sv damejeanne (bottle) · fi damešaani (bottle) · tr damacana (bottle) · fr dame-jeanne (bottle) · pl gąsior (bottle) · ca damajoana (bottle) · de Korbflasche (bottle) · ar دَمَجَانَة (bottle) · ru буты́ль (bottle) · hu demizson (bottle) · el νταμιτζάνα (bottle) · eo flasko (bottle) · de Demijohn (bottle) · nl grote mandfles (bottle) · mk бинлак (bottle) · fr tourie (bottle) · ru бакла́жка (bottle) · it damigiana (bottle) · sh demìžāna (bottle) · et korvpudel (bottle)