joss

Where does the word "joss" come from? It comes from Latin deus, passing through Portuguese and Chinese Pidgin English before entering English (1700s).

Joss’s story begins in Latin: deus meant “god.” Cicero's dialogue De Natura Deorum (45 BC) debates what the gods (dei) are and whether they care about humans. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in Portuguese as deos. Older spelling of deus; Portuguese traders settled Macau from 1557, the first European foothold on the China coast. From there it passed into Chinese Pidgin English as joss by 1700s. The trade pidgin of Canton, where the Qing confined Western trade under the Canton System from 1757, reshaped deos into joss, applied to Chinese deities and their images. It reached English by 1700s as joss. China traders brought home 'joss stick' and 'joss house'; the Bendigo Joss House in Australia, built by gold-rush Chinese miners in the 1860s, still stands. Today, joss means a Chinese religious image; luck (as in 'joss stick', 'joss house').

1. Stage 1 · Latin · classical deus "god", Cicero's dialogue De Natura Deorum (45 BC) debates what the gods (dei) are and whether they care about humans.
2. Stage 2 · Portuguese · 1500s deos "god", older spelling of deus; Portuguese traders settled Macau from 1557, the first European foothold on the China coast.
3. Stage 3 · Chinese Pidgin English · 1700s joss "idol, Chinese god", the trade pidgin of Canton, where the Qing confined Western trade under the Canton System from 1757, reshaped deos into joss, applied to Chinese deities and their images.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1700s joss "Chinese idol; luck", China traders brought home 'joss stick' and 'joss house'; the Bendigo Joss House in Australia, built by gold-rush Chinese miners in the 1860s, still stands.