ENGLISH
REFERENCE

jessica

n. countable
A1 Beginner US //ˈdʒɛsɪkə// jes·si·ca

n. a common female name in English-speaking countries. It is used to identify a specific person.

n. a female given name of Hebrew origin, popularized by William Shakespeare in 'The Merchant of Venice'.


SIMPLE

Jessica is my best friend from school.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager asked Jessica to lead the presentation because she has the most experience with the client.

COMPLEX

While the name Jessica was relatively rare for centuries, it saw a massive surge in popularity during the late twentieth century, becoming one of the most common names for girls in the West.

Origin

First used by William Shakespeare in Merchant of Venice in the early 17th century, probably from Hebrew יִסְכָּה (yiská, “Iscah in Genesis 11:29, Jescha in the Wycliffe version”), a proper name meaning "he will see/behold/look for", the 3ms imperfect form of a verb ultimately from the root ס־כ־ה (s-k-h), itself an alternative form of the root שׂ־כ־ה (ś-k-h), both of which mean "to see, behold, look for". * By folk etymology seen as an elaborate form of Jessie, from Jane.

Usage

As a proper noun, it is always capitalized and typically used without an article unless referring to a specific person among others of the same name.

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