Jawn

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /d͡ʒɔːn/

Definitions

1. A thing whose name one cannot recall or does not wish to specify, often used as a general substitute for any object or noun
2. A word employed to denote an unspecified item or entity, often standing in for anything one is unable or unwilling to name
3. A general term used to refer to any item when its specific name is unknown or not mentioned

Etymology: "Jawn" is a Philadelphia word, and its story is mostly one of uncertainty. It first appears in print in the 1990s, and the most likely source is "joint," the everyday word for a place, which is how the term's general sense of "thing" or "place" seems to have arisen. Speakers of Philadelphia English use it as a stand-in for almost any noun, so a person can talk about a "jawn" that is a shop, a sandwich, a party, or a car without naming it. A related form, "junt," points the same way, suggesting that "joint" was reshaped in local speech into a one-syllable word that could be applied to nearly anything.