Tag: jack

Jack ( /ˈdʒæk/) is a male given name, although in very rare cases it can be used as a female given name, and sometimes as a surname. In English it is traditionally used as the diminutive form of the name John, though it is also often given as a proper name in its own right.
The name Jack is unique in the English language for the frequency of its use as a verb and a noun for many common objects and actions; and also its use in many compound words and phrases: jackknife, jackpot, jack tar, hijack, union jack, jack straw (scarecrow), apple jack, lumberjack, jackhammer, jackdaw, jack o’lantern, jack-in-the-box, jack of clubs (playing cards), etc. The Encyclopædia Britannica article on the history of the word “jack” linked it directly to the common name: “Jack, a word with a great variety of meanings and applications, all traceable to the common use of the word as a by-name of a man.”
The name Jack probably originated as a medieval diminutive of the name John, originally as “Jackin” …