Meaning

noun any triangular fore-and-aft sail (set forward of the foremast)

verb refuse to comply

verb shift from one side of the ship to the other

originAttested since the 1680s (also spelled jibe and gybe), perhaps from Dutch gijben (a variant of gijpen (“to turn sails suddenly”), whence certainly the form jibe) or else from Danish gibbe (“jib, jibe”), related to Swedish gippa (“jib, jibe, jerk, make jump”). Compare also Middle High German gempeln (“to spring”), Swedish guppa (“to move up and down”), Swedish gumpa (“to jump, spring”). See jump.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0