Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Jerk

Jerk (jẽrk) , transitive verb

[Corrupted from Peruv. charqui dried beef.]

To cut into long slices or strips and dry in the sun; as, to jerk beef. See Charqui.

Jerk (jẽrkt) , transitive verb

[Akin to yerk, and perh. also to yard a measure.]

1.
To beat; to strike. [Obsolete] — Florio
2.
To give a quick and suddenly arrested thrust, push, pull, or twist, to; to yerk; as, to jerk one with the elbow; to jerk a coat off.
3.
To throw with a quick and suddenly arrested motion of the hand; as, to jerk a stone.

Jerk , intransitive verb

1.
To make a sudden motion; to move with a start, or by starts. — Milton
2.
To flout with contempt.

Jerk , noun

1.
A short, sudden pull, thrust, push, twitch, jolt, shake, or similar motion.
His jade gave him a jerk. — B. Jonson
2.
A sudden start or spring.
Lobsters... swim backwards by jerks or springs. — Grew
3.
A foolish, stupid, or otherwise contemptible person. [Slang]
4.
(Sport) The lifting of a weight, in a single rapid motion, from shoulder height until the arms are outstretched above the head; distinguished from press in that the motion in a jerk is more rapid, and the body may be moved under the weight to assist completion of the movement; as, a clean and jerk of two hundred pounds.
2.
Calisthenic exercises, such as push-ups or deep knee bends; also called physical jerks. [British]