Late Middle English: from Old French jubile, from late Latin jubilaeus (annus) '(year) of jubilee', based on Hebrew yōḇēl, originally 'ram's-horn trumpet', with which the jubilee year was proclaimed.

• Jubilee comes from a shortening of Latin jubilaeus annus, meaning ‘year of jubilee’, an expression based on yōb̄ēl the Hebrew name for a special year, celebrated in Jewish history every 50 years, when slaves were freed and the fields were not cultivated. The original sense of the Hebrew word was ‘ram's-horn trumpet’, with which the jubilee year was proclaimed. So in its strictest sense a jubilee is a 50th anniversary, although we celebrate silver jubilees (25 years) or diamond jubilees (60 years), with the original jubilee described as a golden jubilee. The Latin form of the Hebrew word, with a ‘u’ rather than an ‘o’ as the second letter, shows that the word was associated in people's minds with the Latin jubilare ‘shout for joy’ which is the source of English words such as jubilant (mid 17th century), and jubilation (Late Middle English).