entry
jellyfish
/ˈdʒɛliˌfɪʃ/A gelatinous marine animal with trailing tentacles
From O.French, ultimately Latin jelly (A semisolid or gelatinous substance) + O.English, from Proto-Germanic fish (An aquatic animal).
Word Ancestry
Picture an English cook in the late Middle Ages serving meat or fish suspended in a glossy, trembling mass: that was Middle English gele, from Old French gelée, a word tied to Latin gelare, “to freeze.” The same ancient freezing idea is hiding in gel and gelatin, so a jellyfish is, etymologically, a “frozen-like fish”—a wonderfully chilly description for something that drifts through warm seawater. The fish half comes from Old English fisċ and Proto-Germanic *fiskaz, but English speakers have long used fish loosely for water-dwellers, which explains names such as starfish and shellfish. By 1796, jellyfish had become the popular name for these creatures, gradually pushing aside older labels such as sea jelly, sea blubber, and the scientific medusa. Then the creature’s wobbling helplessness supplied a figurative meaning: by 1883, a jellyfish could also be a person judged weak in character. Remember the recipe: freeze plus fish, and you get a transparent animal that is neither quite jelly nor fish.
The Story
Picture an English cook in the late Middle Ages serving meat or fish suspended in a glossy, trembling mass: that was Middle English gele, from Old French gelée, a word tied to Latin gelare, “to freeze.” The same ancient freezing idea is hiding in gel and gelatin, so a jellyfish is, etymologically, a “frozen-like fish”—a wonderfully chilly description for something that drifts through warm seawater. The fish half comes from Old English fisċ and Proto-Germanic *fiskaz, but English speakers have long used fish loosely for water-dwellers, which explains names such as starfish and shellfish. By 1796, jellyfish had become the popular name for these creatures, gradually pushing aside older labels such as sea jelly, sea blubber, and the scientific medusa. Then the creature’s wobbling helplessness supplied a figurative meaning: by 1883, a jellyfish could also be a person judged weak in character. Remember the recipe: freeze plus fish, and you get a transparent animal that is neither quite jelly nor fish.
Modern Usage
A state of euphoric, mentally dulled intoxication or emotional helplessness
Kin & Kindred
From 'jelly'·A semisolid or gelatinous substance
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'fish'·An aquatic animal, especially one with gills and fins
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia