Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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adj
Of an inhabited place, small, insignificant, and backward.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, colloquial, derogatory
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A train on a branch line.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A jerkwater town.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
small and remote and insignificant
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: one-horse, pokey, poky
Antonyms: none provided
History
From jerk (“to move with a sudden movement”) + water. Refers to the need to supply the boilers of steam trains with water. In rural areas and small towns with no water tower, where the train did not stop, this was done by scooping ("jerking") water from a track pan. First appears c. 1852, in the Miami County Sentinel (Peru, Indiana).
Across languages
4 source translations are retained for this English entry.
