jade
- 1A semiprecious stone (either nephrite or jadeite) usually green or white, often carved into figurines.
Artisans prize jade for its toughness, shaping it slowly with abrasives.
The pendant was carved from a single block of pale green jade.
UsageOften carved in jade or made of jade; one stone is a piece of jade.
- 2Of a grayish green color, resembling the shade of polished jade stones.
The vase had a lovely jade tint under the gallery lights.
Over the years the copper roof had weathered to a soft jade green.
UsageOften used in jade green.
Similarceladon
- 3A bright, slightly bluish or grayish green, like the color of polished jade stones.
The designer matched the curtains to a deep jade found in the rug.
Sunlight made the lake shimmer in shades of jade.
- 4To make someone or something tired, worn out, or weary.
Constant travel can jade even seasoned performers.
Years of overwork had jaded the once-eager young doctor.
UsageMost often seen as jaded, before a noun or with by: jaded by years of travel.
Similartire, exhaust, weary, fatigue, wear
Oppositerefresh, invigorate, revive, energize
Note
To jade something is to work it the way an old nag was worked, until nothing is left. John Locke turns the image on the mind, "once jaded by an attempt above its Power", and his wording shows the construction the verb favors. The past participle jaded, used passively or before a noun, carries the sense of being worn down by too much of something.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- The image underlying jade and jaded is a worn-out horse. en.wiktionary.org
- John Locke applies jaded to the mind, using the exact quoted wording. en.wiktionary.org
- 5A succulent houseplant, Crassula ovata, with thick oval leaves and a treelike form.
A well-tended jade can live for decades, slowly thickening into a small tree.
He propagated his jade from a single fallen leaf.
UsageAlso called a jade plant.
Less common meanings
- 6To treat someone or something with scorn, as one would a broken-down horse; to spurn.
The nere-yet beaten Horſe of Parthia, / We haue iaded out o'th' Field.
c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”Note
To spurn something as you would a broken-down horse. Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra pairs it with out: the never-yet-beaten horse of Parthia "we have jaded out o' the field." Some read this as driven off in contempt, while some editors gloss it as driven to exhaustion. The sense is long obsolete, so the line needs a gloss when quoted.
- 7To make a person or thing seem laughable and contemptible.
I do not now foole my ſelfe, to let imagination iade mee; for euery reaſon excites to this, that my Lady loues me.
c. 1601, William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”Note
Making someone ridiculous is the point here, not tiring them out. In Twelfth Night, "I do not now fool myself, to let imagination jade me" means "I am not letting fancy make a fool of me". The line is easy to misread as the "weary" meaning. Because the sense is obsolete, modern prose should not use it, and quoting it calls for a gloss.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Here jade means to make someone ridiculous or contemptible; the proposed paraphrase conveys that sense. en.wiktionary.org
- The quotation occurs in Twelfth Night, spoken by Malvolio in Act 2, scene 5. folger.edu
- This sense is obsolete. en.wiktionary.org
- 8A contemptuous term for a bad-tempered or disreputable woman.
You alwayes end with a iades tricke, I knowe you of olde.
1598, William Shakespeare, Much Adoe about Nothing. - 9A worn-out, overworked, or inferior horse; a sorry, broken-down nag.
My horse would have trotted to Clifton within the hour, if left to himself, and I have almost broke my arm with pulling him in to that cursed broken-winded jade’s pace.
1803, [Jane Austen], Northanger Abbey
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of jade apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origins
People once thought jade could heal pain in the side, so in Spanish it was called piedra de ijada ("flank stone"). Ijada goes back through Vulgar Latin to Latin ilia ("flank"). French made this l'éjade, later rebracketed as le jade, and English borrowed the French word.
From Middle English 'jade' or 'chade', either a variant of 'yaud' or influenced by it. 'Yaud' derives from Old Norse 'jalda' ('mare'), which itself came from a Uralic language.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- The horse word jade comes from Middle English jade or chade. en.wiktionary.org
- Jade is either a variant of yaud or was influenced by it. en.wiktionary.org
- Yaud derives from Old Norse jalda, meaning 'mare'. en.wiktionary.org
- Old Norse jalda was borrowed from a Uralic language. en.wiktionary.org