English

Pronunciation

IPA: //

(US) SAMPA: /j{k/

Etymology 1

Pet form of the name John. From the French name Jaques , Latin Jacobus .

Noun

1. A device used to raise and (temporarily) support a heavy object.

   car jack, pneumatic jack

2. (playing_cards) The card ranking between the ten and queen of any suit, with a picture of a knave or prince on its face; often with value 11.
3. A male ass.
4. (telephone jack) Wall socket.
5. One of many X shaped metal structures called jacks.
6. A target ball in bowls etc.
7. (colloquial) nothing. (short for Jack Shit)
8. (capital J, colloquial) a sailor (short for Jack Tar)
9. (capital J,colloquial, archaic) a soldier (short for Jack Rum)
10. A small flag at the bow of a ship
11. A coarse and cheap medieval coat of defense, esp. one made of leather.

    Quotations

    • 1786: The aketon, gambeson, vambasium, and jack were military vestments , calculated for the defence of the body, differing little from each other, except in their names, their materials and construction were nearly the same, the authorities quoted in the notes, shew they were all composed of many folds of linen, stuffed with cotton, wool or hair, quilted , and commonly covered with leather, made of buck or doe skin. — Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 15.

Synonyms

• (2): knave
• (3): jackass

Translations

• Czech: kluk, spodek m (2)
• Danish: donkraft c (1); knægt c (2); æselhingst c (3)
• Dutch: boer m (2), zot m (2) (Flemish)
• French: cric m (1), valet m (2), âne m (3)
• Italian: cric m (1), fante m (2), asino m (3)
• Slovak: dolník m (2)

See also

• bootjack
• cheap-jack
• one-eyed jack
• union-jack

Proper Noun

Jack

• See etymology above

Translations

• Czech: Honza m, Honzík m
• German: Hans
• Slovak: Jano m, Janko m
• Slovene: Janko , Jani

Related terms

• Female versions: Jackie, Jacqui