juke
Posted November 23, 2009
According to Wiktionary, the word “Juke” originates from several sources. It could be from a rural US language called ‘Gullah’, where it means “wicked or disorderly” (I got a ticket for that once). Or it could be from the South in the US and refer to “a roadside cafe or bar, especially one with dancing and sometimes prostitution”. Here it became a verb meaning to play music for people to dance to, thus giving us the name for a “jukebox”. (Guess “Juke” could also refer to a DJ, then).