jot

views updated May 21 2018

jot / jät/ • v. (jot·ted , jot·ting ) [tr.] write (something) quickly: when you've found the answers, jot them down.• n. a very small amount: you didn't care a jot I have yet to see one jot of evidence.ORIGIN: late 15th cent. (as a noun): via Latin from Greek iōta, the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet (see iota).

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

jot

views updated Jun 11 2018

jot a very small amount; via Latin, from Greek iōta, the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet.
not one jot or tittle not the smallest amount; after Matthew 5:18; tittle here comes from the medieval Latin for ‘small stroke, accent’ (see tittle).

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES

jot

views updated May 17 2018

jot least part or point. XVI. Formerly also io(a)te — L. iōta — Gr. iôta IOTA.
Hence (presumably) jot vb. set down in the briefest form. XVIII.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

Jot

views updated May 21 2018

Jot

the least amount, as in jot or tittle, 1526.

Examples: jot of blood, 1596.

Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms

JOT

views updated May 23 2018

JOT joint observer team

The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH