I have heard that the popular use of the term "groove" referring to pop music has its origins in sexual acts. Does anybody have verifiable evidence of that?

Hi kenalan -- and welcome.

Shorter Oxford's 2nd definition of "groovy" is --

Of a person: having a tendency to adhere to a narrow limited unchanging course, in a rut [colloq. now rare].

Now, there's a fascinating euphemism!

paulb--
"groove"(first post)~"rut"(deer season): good-o!

Welcome #2, kenalan! (My guess: Alan is your middle name.)
"Groovin'...on a Sunday afternoon", a pop song in the late
60's, probably meant that. But I have the feeling the term had already been in use for quite some time before this.

I'm not sure about Groovin', but I've heard that Rock n' Roll came from an African American term for "having sex".

Can anyone back me up on this?

Rock n' Roll is a term that was coined by a Midwest DJ on a radio station (memory fails me as to his name).

I thought legend had it that the word "Jazz" originally alluded to sexual intercourse. However, M-W gives the etymology as "origin unknown".

No slight intended to your handle, Mr. J. Octopus!

Welcome kenalan. You're obviously not a stranger. Your profile doesn't say where you're from or anything, but did you know your name is the Indonesian for "acquaintance"?

Bingley

>I'm not sure about Groovin', but I've heard that Rock n' Roll came from an African American term for "having sex".

And to add another question:
I have heard that the musical term “funky” has a sexual origin, something related to sexual scents.
Any “etymusicologist” there?.


Juan Maria.

Jazz,
Thanks. Yes, I have often heard the origin of Rock and Roll thus attributed to sex and I suppose that is the genesis of my question.

Thank you Bing... for the Indonesian root (not rut) of my name. How is it pronounced?

kenalan -- the first vowel is a schwa sound, as in the second syllable of garden, the second and third vowels are like the a in cat. There is a slight stress on the penultimate syllable.


Bingley

I don't have my American History book on hand, but I seem to remember it saying that the word "Jazz" came from an African term for "voodoo." I know it has something to do with what white antebellum Americans thought of as witchcraft because they had never before heard such "rubbish" as Jazz. African music was just as sophisticated as the European counterpart, but while Europeans focused on harmony, the continent to the south went the opposite way and focused on rhythm.

A few notes...this is my first post to the list, and this discussion is what drew me forth.

The midwest DJ's name you're looking for is Alan Freed. Freed was a DJ in Cleveland who gathered a great following by promoting rock 'n' roll music, and then went to New York to be ruined by the payola scandal. I think that it's a good guess that the expression has sexual connotations, no?

As for "jazz," from what I've read, its origins are a bit murkier. I've heard that the word was originally spelled "jass," or "jas." I've heard that the word has roots in African language, and that it originally was uttered in reference to sex. I don't think etymologists have a true conclusion on this one.