jaffa
UK /ˈd͡ʒæfə/ · US /ˈd͡ʒɑfə/ noun, proper noun
- noun A type of sweet orange, normally seedless.
- noun (slang) An impotent or infertile male.
- noun (cricket) A ball that is very difficult for the batsman to hit because it moves erratically either through the air or off the pitch
- proper noun A port in western Israel.
- noun (informal) A Jaffa orange.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Jaffa, an ancient port city in Israel from which the oranges were exported. The sense "impotent male" is a reference to being "seedless"; see seed.
The cricketing sense, of a 'sweet ball' (from the bowler's perspective), is a metaphor further reinforced in Australian English where Jaffa is also a trademark for a popular lolly that is red and round.
Borrowed from Arabic يَافَا (yāfā), borrowed from Biblical Hebrew יָפוֹ (yāfō).
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “jaffa”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details