Job | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Job, n.

noun

n. [Prov. Eng., a small piece of wood, to stab, strike, a modification of chop, to cut off, to cut into small pieces.]

Sense 1. A piece of work; any thing undertaken, or assumed to be done, whether of more or less importance.

Sense 2. An undertaking with a view to profit; a public transaction done for private profit; something performed ostensibly as a part of official duty, but really for the gain it brings.

No cheek is known to blush, nor heart to throb, Save when they lose a question or a job. Pope.

Sense 3. A sudden stab with a pointed instrument.

By the job, at a stipulated sum for the piece, or for each

Jŏb, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. JOBBED; p. pr. & vb. n. JOBBING.]

To strike or stab with a sharp instrument. L'Estrange.
To drive in, as a sharp-pointed instrument. Morum.
To hire by the job, or period of use and service; as, to job a carriage. Thackeray.
To do by separate portions or lots; as, to job work.
(Com.) To buy and sell as a broker; to purchase of importers for the purpose of selling to retailers; as, to job goods.

Jŏb, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. [Cf. Chop, to barter, exchange.] 1. To perform pieces of work; to work by the job. 2. To seek private gain under the pretense of public service; to turn public matters to private advantage. The judge shall job, the bishop bite the town, And mighty dukes pack cards for half a crown. Pope. The spirit of jobbing and bribery is very widely diffused. S. Smith.