Jove

[johv]

noun

Idioms

by Jove! (an exclamation used to emphasize an accompanying remark or to express surprise, approval, etc.): It was a good fight, by Jove!

Origin of Jove

1325–75; Middle English < Latin Jov- (oblique stem of compound nominative Juppiter father Jove), akin. to deus god; cognate with Greek Zeús (genitive Diós) Zeus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for jove

Contemporary Examples of jove

At this point, a normal, fair-minded human being would think, "Well, by jove, we've got to get out there and equal them."
Florida Is Going Democratic
Michael Tomasky
August 30, 2012

Historical Examples of jove

You don't know her, you know, nor the old beggar either, by Jove!
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Jove, I believe it's more funk than anything else, that's laid him low.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
In Italy it was the tree of Jove, great father of immortals and of mankind.
Bride of the Mistletoe
James Lane Allen
By Jove, he did fit into a home, here certainly was a different Joe.
The Harbor
Ernest Poole
Themis has left her throne on the right hand of Jove, and descended to the globe of earth.
Imogen
William Godwin

British Dictionary definitions for jove

Jove

noun

another name for Jupiter 1
by Jove an exclamation of surprise or excitement

Word Origin for Jove

C14: from Old Latin Jovis Jupiter

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for jove

Jove

Roman god of the bright sky, late 14c., from Latin Iovis, from PIE *dyeu- "to shine," with derivatives referring to the sky, heavens, a god (see diurnal, and cf. Zeus). In classical Latin, the compound Iuppiter replaced Old Latin Iovis as the god's name.