Jerry

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈdʒɛɹi/

Definitions

1. A quick, temporary fix or repair often improvised with available materials ; a British term used during the Second World War to refer to a German soldier ; a common male first name
2. An informal, improvised way to mend something usually as a short-term solution ; a slang word from World War II Britain meaning a member of the German armed forces ; a masculine personal name typically used in English-speaking countries
3. A makeshift solution intended to hold when a proper repair is not possible ; a nickname used by British troops to describe German soldiers during wartime ; a male name often given to individuals, sometimes short for Jeremiah or Gerald

Etymology: Jerry, in the sense of a makeshift, short-term repair, probably began life as a shortening of "jerry-built," a term for something put together cheaply and flimsily. The "jerry" in that phrase is itself a clipped form, and the "built" part is the giveaway: a jerry-built house or machine was one thrown up to look finished rather than to last. The repair sense grew naturally from there, since a jerry repair is a stopgap meant to hold only until something better can be done. A second, less certain possibility links the word to "jeroboam," a large wine bottle, which may have been shortened to "jerry" in the same way. Dictionaries treat this as the likelier origin of the shortened form, though the connection to the building sense remains the one most commonly cited.