Jellyby
Jellyby noun: a philanthropist who cares only for people in distant regions, or people away from their own household.
Noun
Jellyby (plural Jellybys or Jellybies)
- A philanthropist who cares only for people in distant regions, or people away from their own household.
- My mother, devoted to music, was a Jellyby. Strictly brought up, straight backed, never careless of her person, but still as to her children, a Jellyby.1992, Bernard Shaw, Rebecca Swift, Letters from Margaret: correspondence between Bernard Shaw and Margaret Wheeler 1944-1950
- Chuck Collins, a great-grandson of Oscar Mayer, is a rare non-fictional example of someone who gave away all his assets during his lifetime—a half-million-dollar inheritance, which he donated to charity nearly twenty years ago. […] He now has a daughter, who does not live like a Jellyby.2005, American Society of Magazine Editors, The Best American Magazine Writing 2005, page 360
Forms of Jellyby
| plural | Jellybys |
|---|---|
| plural | Jellybies |
| alternative form | Mrs. Jellyby |
Origin of Jellyby
After the character of Mrs Jellyby in Charles Dickens' novel Bleak House (1852), who busies herself with charity work for Africa while her own household goes to ruin.
Questions about Jellyby
- What does Jellyby mean?
- Jellyby means a philanthropist who cares only for people in distant regions, or people away from their own household.
- What part of speech is Jellyby?
- Jellyby is a noun.
- What is the plural of Jellyby?
- The plural of Jellyby is Jellybys.
Words near Jellyby in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Jellyby (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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