Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of a jerking character; acting by jerks; spasmodic; capricious; impatient.
  • noun See the extract.
  • noun See jerk.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Meat, especially beef, that has been cut in strips and dried; meat that has been jerked; see first jerk, v.
  • adjective Moving by jerks and starts; characterized by abrupt transitions
  • adjective slang Foolish; ridiculous; stupid.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Characterized by physical jerking.
  • noun Lean meat cured and preserved by cutting into thin strips and air-drying in the sun.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective lacking a steady rhythm
  • noun meat (especially beef) cut in strips and dried in the sun
  • adjective marked by abrupt transitions
  • adjective having or revealing stupidity

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Quechuan charqui ("sun-dried or air-dried strips of meat")

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