Jeers

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Mocking or contemptuous remarks or shouts aimed at someone to express scorn or disrespect
2. Sounds or words made to ridicule or insult a person, often in a loud and derisive way
3. Expressions of derision or disrespect conveyed through jeering comments or vocal taunts

Etymology: "Jeers" is simply the plural form of "jeer," the noun, and the verb's third-person singular. The noun "jeer" traces back to an earlier spelling, "gyr," which is probably borrowed from Dutch "gieren," meaning to roar with laughter or laugh loudly. The same Dutch verb is related to German "gieren," which means to gape or snap, so the original sense may have carried a sense of open-mouthed noise. A second possible source is Dutch "gekscheren," meaning to jeer and literally "to shear the fool." It combines "gek," a fool, with "scheren," to shear, so the image is of mocking someone by cutting a fool down to size. Scholars cannot settle between the two candidates, and the Oxford English Dictionary notes that "jeer" has no verifiable link to the English word "cheer," despite the tempting resemblance. The word is also comparable to "gear" in its history.

Synonyms: taunts, mockery, scoffs

Antonyms: praise, compliments