Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

jill of all trades en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Etymology

By analogy with jack of all trades.

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic) A woman competent in many endeavors rather than only one.
    • Sister Josephine was a jill of all trades. She served as bursar, school secretary, meals supervisor, welfare officer and troubleshooter. 2012, Ruth Hamilton, The Bells of Scotland Road, Macmillan, published 2012, →ISBN:
    • Sitting in a dive in Central Square, the one where she works as a dishwasher, barmaid, jill of all trades (illegal, no papers, below-the-minimum cash payments, afternoon and early evening shifts), she stared into a mug of beer and told herself: There comes a point. 1988, Janette Turner Hospital, Charades, University of Queensland Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 268:
    • If you intend to work primarily in one field, that approach would be reasonable. But if you aspire to be a jack or jill of all trades, you may want to begin by looking at some general guides for nonspecialized writers. 2000, Amy Einsohn, The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications, University of California Press, published 2000, →ISBN, page 64:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
Jill of all trades alternative lexicographic
jill-of-all-trades alternative lexicographic
jills of all trades Number=Plur lexicographic
Jill-of-all-trades alternative lexicographic

Coordinates

jack of all trades