jejum

Meaning

fasting (period of time when one abstains from food)

Hyphenated as

je‧jum

Gender

♂️ Masculine

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ʒeˈʒũ/

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese jajũu, from Latin iēiūnium (“fast”), from iēiūnus (“hungry, abstinent”), from Proto-Italic *jagjūnos, itself from Proto-Indo-European *Hyeh₂ǵ-yu-, adjectival form of *Hyeh₂ǵ-ye/o- (“to sacrifice”). Compare Galician xaxún, xexún, French jeûne and Spanish ayuno. Doublet of the borrowed jejuno.