What is jazz really?

So I was wondering about the origin of the word jazz and thank god we have Internet, because that made my search pretty easy. Anyway, jazz has many different meanings and the origin is also not certain. There are many versions related to the etymology of this word and I thought it would be nice to share it with you. These definitions are taken from the Online Etymology Dictionary.

JAZZ

1909, Amer.Eng., first recorded in lyrics of song "Uncle Josh in Society" ("One lady asked me if I danced the jazz ..."), where it apparently refers to a style of ragtime dancing; as a type of music (originally to accompany the dance), attested from 1913. Probably ult. from Creole patois jass "strenuous activity," especially "sexual intercourse" but also used of Congo dances, from jasm (1860) "energy, drive," of African origin (cf. Mandingo jasi, Temne yas), also the source of slang jism.

"If the truth were known about the origin of the word 'Jazz' it would never be mentioned in polite society." ["Étude," Sept. 1924]

The verb meaning "to speed or liven up" is from 1917; all that jazz "et cetera" first recorded 1939; Jazzercise is 1977, originally a proprietary name. Jazz Age first attested 1922 in writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald, usually regarded as the years between the end of World War I (1918) and the Stock Market crash of 1929.

As far as the meaning is concerned we also have several options. You would be surprised!

The definitions below are taken from OneLook Dictionary Search. So these meanings are taken from different dictionaries, as many of them say the same thing.

Quick definitions (jazz)

noun: a style of dance music popular in the 1920s; similar to New Orleans jazz but played by large bands noun: a genre of popular music that originated in New Orleans around 1900 and developed through increasingly complex styles noun: empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk (Example: "Don't give me any of that jazz") verb: play something in the style of jazz verb: have sexual intercourse with

So there you have it! Funny, no? I was pretty shocked with that intercourse thing, to be honest. Now jazz and swing really do go together, don't you think? ;) Keep on jazzin'...