| Juneteenth |
the anniversary and celebration of the day, June 19, 1865, on which the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states was announced in Texas by Union Army forces. Before this date, slaves in Texas, part of the Confederacy, had no way of knowing that they had been freed on January 1, 1863 by the Emancipation Proclamation; thus, June 19th, now a Federal holiday, is celebrated each year in commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. Technically, all slaves became free in the United States upon the adoption of the 13th Amendment at the end of 1865. The amendment abolished slavery everywhere, including in those slave-owning states that had not joined the Confederacy. |
| jungle |
land covered with very dense natural vegetation, esp. a tropical rain forest. [4 definitions] |
| jungle fever |
any of several tropical diseases, esp. a severe variety of malarial fever. |
| jungle fowl |
any of several tropical birds with combs and wattles, related to the domestic chicken. |
| jungle gym |
an outdoor structure of pipes and bars for children to play on. |
| junior |
younger (used especially in abbreviated form after the name of a son having the same name as his father). [6 definitions] |
| junior college |
an educational institution that offers a two-year program equivalent to the first two years at a four-year college and that confers an associate degree or certificate. |
| junior featherweight |
a boxer weighing more than a bantamweight but less than a featherweight, with a maximum weight of 122 pounds. |
| junior flyweight |
a boxer in the class below flyweight, with a maximum weight of 108 pounds. |
| junior high school |
an intermediate school between elementary and high school, usu. including grades seven, eight, and nine; middle school. |
| Junior League |
in the United States, an association of women of high economic and social status who do volunteer work in the local community. |
| junior lightweight |
a boxer weighing more than a featherweight but less than a lightweight, with a maximum weight of 130 pounds. |
| junior middleweight |
a boxer weighing more than a welterweight and less than a middleweight, with a maximum weight of 154 pounds. |
| junior miss |
a young woman in her early or mid-teens. [2 definitions] |
| junior varsity |
an athletic team that represents a school, college, or the like at a level below varsity; jayvee. |
| junior welterweight |
a boxer weighing more than a lightweight but less than a welterweight, with a maximum weight of 140 pounds. |
| juniper |
any of a variety of evergreen shrubs or small trees bearing cones that produce a blue-gray berrylike fruit. |
| junk1 |
anything regarded as having little worth; trash. [5 definitions] |
| junk2 |
a high-sterned, flat-bottomed boat of Chinese origin, driven by square sails. |
| junk bond |
a low-rated, high-yield corporate bond, often issued to finance the takeover of a company. |
| Junker |
a member of the militaristic Prussian aristocracy. |