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Jitney Bill

jonsmith60
jonsmith60 ✭
December 16, 2025 edited December 16, 2025 in General Questions

I found this name on a very old business card for a taxi driver in 1918 at Algiers, New Orleans. Whether any connection I don’t know but wonder if it’s a derivative of the French Jaunty and would have no connection.

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Comments

  • Alan E. Brown
    Alan E. Brown admin
    December 16, 2025

    According to the Merriam-Webster definition for JITNEY, the etymology has nothing to do with the French "jaunty", but rather was slang for a nickel (a 5-cent U.S. coin), which led to the term being applied to taxicabs or buses where the fare was 5 cents in the early 1900s.

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  • maryellenstevensbarnes1
    maryellenstevensbarnes1 ✭✭✭✭✭
    December 16, 2025

    Sounds like a scrap piece ticket stub type memorabilia found in an ancestors belongings — would have sentimental value, I guess

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