- jerky (n.)
- 1850, American English, from American Spanish charqui "jerked meat," from Quechua (Inca) ch'arki "dried flesh."
- jerky (adj.)
- "characterized by jerks, spasmodic," 1819, originally in medical writing with reference to the pulse, from jerk (n.1) + -y (2). Related: Jerkily; jerkiness.
