Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - jolt

 I. verb  Etymology: probably blend of obsolete joll to strike and jot to bump  Date: 1596  transitive verb  1. to cause to move with a sudden jerky motion  2. to give a knock or blow to; specifically to jar with a quick or hard blow  3.  a. to disturb the composure of ; shock crudely ~ed out of that mood — Virginia Woolf  b. to interfere with roughly, abruptly, and disconcertingly determination to pursue his own course was ~ed badly — F. L. Paxson  intransitive verb to move with a sudden jerky motion  • ~er noun  II. noun  Date: 1599  1. an abrupt sharp jerky blow or movement  2.  a.  (1) a sudden feeling of shock, surprise, or disappointment  (2) an event or development causing such a feeling the defeat was quite a ~  b. a serious check or reverse a severe financial ~  3. a small potent or bracing portion a ~ of horseradish  • ~y adjective