jitney

[jit-nee]

noun

plural

jitneys 

1. a small bus or car following a regular route along which it picks up and discharges passengers, originally charging each passenger five cents.

2. Older Slang.,  a nickel; five-cent piece.

verb (used with or without object)

jitneyed, jitneying 

1. to carry or ride in a jitney.

jitney

/ ˈdʒɪtnɪ /

noun

1. a small bus that carries passengers for a low price, originally five cents

2. slang,  a nickel; five cents

Word History and Origins

Origin of jitney¹

1900–05, of obscure origin; French jeton jetton is a phonetically implausible source

Word History and Origins

Origin of jitney¹

C20: of unknown origin

Example Sentences

But the second the jitney turns into the South Fork, and I start to see trees, my shoulders drop.”

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“When I was younger and couldn’t afford an actual vacation, I would bring my toddler on an adventure I called ‘the bus to the boat to the jitney to the beach,’ ” Coven said.

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He had just come from helping at his church’s soup kitchen and now was at Tops, volunteering in the community jitney service that shuttles people without a ride to and from the store.

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Because cabdrivers refused to go there, residents relied for decades on private jitneys to get around — cars that followed set routes through the community.

Read more on Washington Post

I couldn’t agree more with Brian Broome’s Nov. 9 Tuesday Opinion column, “So long, jitneys — and farewell to our connective tissue.”

Read more on Washington Post

Related Words

• carriage 
• taxi 
• taxicab