Jaffa

A variety of orange, originally produced near the city of Jaffa, Israel, that are notable for being particularly sweet and having virtually no pips.

Also British slang for a man with a low sperm count, the inference being that Jaffas are seedless.

Also a slang term for someone with red hair, along with duracel, carrot and ginger - (the last pronounced to rhyme with "ringer").

Also a Finnish soda, made from, surprise, surpise, oranges. The Finnish version of Fanta, only it tastes better. Has been made since 1949, so it has a long tradition behind it.

Jaffa is also what the bad guys were called in the Stargate movie and tv-series. Only in the tv-series one of them joined the good guys.

The town of Jaffa, municipally a part of the modern city of Tel-Aviv, is one of the most ancient settlements in Palestine.

If memory serves, it was originally a Philistine port town. Whatever its origins, however, it was always one of the three most important points of contact of Palestine and Judeah with the Meditteranean, and, for long periods of time, the most important.

Napoleon took Jaffa as part of his campagn in the middle east, but, rebuffed by the vast citadel and massive artillery batteries of Akre, never actually took Palestine.

Jaffa is also believed to be the site of Andromeda's rock - the place where the princess was chained to a rock to be devoured by a sea serpent and eventually saved by Perseus.

Modern day Jaffa is a jumble of cutesy, restored and renovated Arabic alleyways - full of galleries, restaurant and other tourist fodder - and fairly depressing and impoverished council blocks. It is one of the few bi-national (Arab and Jewish) cities in Israel, and has seen considerable violence during the turbulent autumn of 2000.

Pronounced Jah-FA.

From the sci-fi movie Stargate and the spin-off television series Stargate SG-1, the Jaffa are humanoid incubators for infant Goa'ulds. They also serve as infantry and bodyguards for the Goa'uld System Lords.

Jaffa are created when Goa'uld technology is used to transform an otherwise normal human, placing an incubation chamber behind an X-shaped incision in the belly of the host. The new Jaffa is then robbed of his/her own immune system and requires the healing powers of a Goa'uld symbiote in order to live.

Once a Goa'uld symbiote is placed in the Jaffa's belly, and until the point at which the symbiote matures and must be removed, the Jaffa benefits from an extended life (100+ years) and semi-perfect health. Thus the Goa'uld created the perfect slave/soldier: each Jaffa needs its Goa'uld symbiote to survive, so they fight together with the System Lords because the eradication of the Goa'uld would mean the eradication of the Jaffa, as well.

The System Lord Apophis created most of his Jaffa army from the people of the planet Chulak, but any human can be a suitable host to an infant Goa'uld after the appropriate transformation has taken place. Colonel Jack O'Neill, of the SG-1 team, was temporarily turned into a Jaffa in episode #113, Hathor.

The Jaffa most SG-1 viewers know best is Teal'c. Originally Apophis's First Prime, Teal'c rebelled against the System Lord in episode #101, Children of the Gods, and joined the SG-1 team to fight against the Goa'uld.

Another well-known Jaffa is Bra'tac, Teal'c's former mentor and a recurring character in the series. Also a traitor to the Goa'uld, Bra'tac first appears in episode 111, Bloodlines, where he attempts to prevent Teal'c's son from being implanted with a larval Goa'uld.

Besides Teal'c and Bra'tac, other Jaffa have joined in the fight against the Goa'uld. These rebel Jaffa have struck a tenuous alliance with the Tauri and the Tok'ra in their battle with the System Lords.

The Jaffa weapon of choice is the Staff Weapon, though they are frequently seen carrying zatnicketels, as well.

A confectionary common in Australia and New Zealand. Orange flavoured (hence the name), they consist of a small chocolate sphere covered with a red-orange candy shell.

Traditionally sold in movie theatre concession stands, they fill a similar sweet ecological niche to Junior Mints or Milk Duds. They're known nostalgically to old folks for making a enormous noise when spilled down the wooden stairs of cinemas.

'Jaffa' has also come to describe the flavour combination of orange and chocolate - Jaffa cake is a good example.