Jazz

​The word jazz, meaning a style of music, has its origins in words related to energy and vitality, baseball, and sex.
 
The word jazz, meaning lively or energetic, arrived in English in 1912 as part of California baseball writing. By 1915, the word jazz was being used to describe a new style of music being heard in Chicago.
 
But where does the word jazz come from? The origins are uncertain. The most common theory (Porter, 2018) suggests that the word comes from 19th century slang terms gism (1842), and later jasm (1860), both meaning energy, strength, vitality, spirit, especially in a woman. However, by the end of the 19th century gism not only meant vitality but also virility and was being used as a slang term for semen (1899).
 
In 1918, the word jazz was first seen as a slang term for the act of sex. However, Porter (2018) wants us to be clear that this sexual connotation is recent and not related to the first uses of the word which, as noted, are related to energy and vitality, strength and spirit. Even so, such words do have a lot to do with sexuality. 
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
Lewis Porter, "Where Did 'Jazz,' the Word, Come From?" http://wbgo.org (Feb. 26, 2018).