Disc jockey

This American expression for announcers/broadcasters of radio music is thought to have first appeared in print in Variety magazine in 1941. Other sources maintain it was coined by Walter Winchell as early as 1935. Both its origin and coinage are still a matter of controversy. Certainly, by the 1950s it was in common usage on both sides of the Atlantic and commonly abbreviated to DJ. The jockey part of the expression is a lot older and is simply a diminutive of Jock an ordinary man or underling and dates from the late 1500s. By the mid-1600s, it meant someone who rode or raced horses for rich folks; hence the underling connotation was still very much in evidence and is present in early 20th century expressions like pump jockey a filling station attendant and desk jockey someone who does a menial desk job. The figurative phrase jockeying for position dates from the late 18th/early 19th century and derives of course from the behaviour of jockeys seeking favourable positions in horse races. See also Jock/Jockey.