Jack - Jactancy

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11. The knave of a suit of playing cards.

12. (pl.) A game played with small (metallic, with tetrahedrally oriented spikes) objects (the jacks(1950+), formerly jackstones) that are tossed, caught, picked up, and arranged on a horizontal surface in various patterns; in the modern American game, the movements are accompanied by tossing or bouncing a rubber ball on the horizontal surface supporting the jacks. same as jackstones.
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13. Money. [slang]
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14. Apple jack.
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15. Brandy.
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☞ Jack is used adjectively in various senses. It sometimes designates something cut short or diminished in size; as, a jack timber; a jack rafter; a jack arch, etc.
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Coloq. Jack arch , an arch of the thickness of one brick. -- Coloq. Jack back (Brewing & Malt Vinegar Manuf.), a cistern which receives the wort. See under 1st . -- Coloq. Jack block (Naut.), a block fixed in the topgallant or royal rigging, used for raising and lowering light masts and spars. -- Coloq. Jack boots , boots reaching above the knee; -- worn in the 17 century by soldiers; afterwards by fishermen, etc. -- Coloq. Jack crosstree . (Naut.) See 10, b, above. -- Coloq. Jack curlew (Zoöl.), the whimbrel. -- Coloq. Jack frame . (Cotton Spinning) See 4 (g), above. -- Coloq. Jack Frost , frost or cold weather personified as a mischievous person. -- Coloq. Jack hare , a male hare. Cowper. -- Coloq. Jack lamp , a lamp for still hunting and camp use. See def. 4 (n.), above. -- Coloq. Jack plane , a joiner's plane used for coarse work. -- Coloq. Jack post , one of the posts which support the crank shaft of a deep-well-boring apparatus. -- Coloq. Jack pot (Poker Playing), the name given to the stakes, contributions to which are made by each player successively, till such a hand is turned as shall take the “pot,” which is the sum total of all the bets. See also . -- Coloq. Jack rabbit (Zoöl.), any one of several species of large American hares, having very large ears and long legs. The California species (Lepus Californicus), and that of Texas and New Mexico (Lepus callotis), have the tail black above, and the ears black at the tip. They do not become white in winter. The more northern prairie hare (Lepus campestris) has the upper side of the tail white, and in winter its fur becomes nearly white. -- Coloq. Jack rafter (Arch.), in England, one of the shorter rafters used in constructing a hip or valley roof; in the United States, any secondary roof timber, as the common rafters resting on purlins in a trussed roof; also, one of the pieces simulating extended rafters, used under the eaves in some styles of building. -- Coloq. Jack salmon (Zoöl.), the wall-eyed pike, or glasseye. -- Coloq. Jack sauce , an impudent fellow. [Colloq. & Obs.] -- Coloq. Jack shaft (Mach.), the first intermediate shaft, in a factory or mill, which receives power, through belts or gearing, from a prime mover, and transmits it, by the same means, to other intermediate shafts or to a line shaft. -- Coloq. Jack sinker (Knitting Mach.), a thin iron plate operated by the jack to depress the loop of thread between two needles. -- Coloq. Jack snipe . (Zoöl.) See in the Vocabulary. -- Coloq. Jack staff (Naut.), a staff fixed on the bowsprit cap, upon which the jack is hoisted. -- Coloq. Jack timber (Arch.), any timber, as a rafter, rib, or studding, which, being intercepted, is shorter than the others. -- Coloq. Jack towel , a towel hung on a roller for common use. -- Coloq. Jack truss (Arch.), in a hip roof, a minor truss used where the roof has not its full section. -- Coloq. Jack tree . (Bot.) See 1st , n. -- Coloq. Jack yard (Naut.), a short spar to extend a topsail beyond the gaff.
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Coloq. Blue jack , blue vitriol; sulphate of copper. -- Coloq. Hydraulic jack , a jack used for lifting, pulling, or forcing, consisting of a compact portable hydrostatic press, with its pump and a reservoir containing a supply of liquid, as oil. -- Coloq. Jack-at-a-pinch . (a) One called upon to take the place of another in an emergency. (b) An itinerant parson who conducts an occasional service for a fee. -- Coloq. Jack-at-all-trades , one who can turn his hand to any kind of work. -- Coloq. Jack-by-the-hedge (Bot.), a plant of the genus Erysimum (Erysimum alliaria, or Alliaria officinalis), which grows under hedges. It bears a white flower and has a taste not unlike garlic. Called also, in England, sauce-alone. Eng. Cyc. -- Coloq. Jack-in-office , an insolent fellow in authority. Wolcott. -- Coloq. Jack-in-the-bush (Bot.), a tropical shrub with red fruit (Cordia Cylindrostachya). -- Coloq. Jack-in-the-green , a chimney sweep inclosed in a framework of boughs, carried in Mayday processions. -- Coloq. Jack-of-the-buttery (Bot.), the stonecrop (Sedum acre). -- Coloq. Jack-of-the-clock , a figure, usually of a man, on old clocks, which struck the time on the bell. -- Coloq. Jack-on-both-sides , one who is or tries to be neutral. -- Coloq. Jack-out-of-office , one who has been in office and is turned out. Shak. -- Coloq. Jack the Giant Killer , the hero of a well-known nursery story. -- Coloq. Yellow Jack (Naut.), the yellow fever; also, the quarantine flag. See Yellow flag, under .
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Jack (?), n. [F. jaque, jacque, perh. from the proper name Jacques. Cf. .] A coarse and cheap mediæval coat of defense, esp. one made of leather.
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Their horsemen are with jacks for most part clad. Sir J. Harrington.
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Jack (?), n. [Named from its resemblance to a jack boot.] A pitcher or can of waxed leather; -- called also black jack. [Obs.] Dryden.
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Jack, v. i. To hunt game at night by means of a jack. See 2d , n., 4, n.
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Jack, v. t. To move or lift, as a house, by means of a jack or jacks. See 2d , n., 5.
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Jack-a-dandy (?), n. A little dandy; a little, foppish, impertinent fellow.
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Jackal (?), n. [Pers. shaghāl: cf. OF. jackal, F. chacal; cf. Skr. çṛgāla.]
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1. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of carnivorous animals inhabiting Africa and Asia, related to the dog and wolf. They are cowardly, nocturnal, and gregarious. They feed largely on carrion, and are noted for their piercing and dismal howling.
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☞ The common species of Southern Asia (Canis aureus) is yellowish gray, varied with brown on the shoulders, haunches, and legs. The common African species (Canis anthus) is darker in color.
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2. One who does mean work for another's advantage, as jackals were once thought to kill game which lions appropriated. [Colloq.] Ld. Lytton.
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Jack-a-lent (?), n. A small stuffed puppet to be pelted in Lent; hence, a simple fellow.
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Jackanapes (?), n. [For Jack o' (= of) apes; prop., a man who exhibits apes.] [Written also jackanape.]
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1. A monkey; an ape. Shak.
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2. A coxcomb; an impertinent or conceited fellow.
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A young upstart jackanapes. Arbuthnot.
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{ Jackaroo (?), n. Also Jackeroo}. [Jack + kangaroo.] A young man living as an apprentice on a sheep station, or otherwise engaged in acquainting himself with colonial life. [Colloq., Australia]
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Jackaroo, v. i. To be a jackaroo; to pass one's time as a jackaroo. [Colloq., Australia]
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Jackass (?), n. [2d jack + ass.]
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1. The male ass; a donkey.
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2. A conceited dolt; a perverse blockhead; -- disparaging and offensive.
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Coloq. Jackass bark (Naut.), a three-masted vessel, with only the foremast square-rigged; a barkentine. -- Coloq. Jackass deer (Zoöl.), the koba. -- Coloq. Jackass hare , Coloq. Jackass rabbit (Zoöl.). See Jack rabbit, under 2d , n. -- Coloq. Jackass penguin (Zoöl.), any species of penguin of the genus Spheniscus, of which several are known. One species (Spheniscus demersus) inhabits the islands near the Cape of Good Hope; another (Spheniscus Magellanicus) is found at the Falkland Islands. They make a noise like the braying of an ass; -- hence the name. -- Coloq. Laughing jackass . (Zoöl.) See under .
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jackboot n. 1. a man's high tasseled boot. [19th century]
Syn. -- Hessian boot, hessian, Wellington, Wellington boot.
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2. A strong leather boot reaching up to or over the knee; it is worn mostly by soldiers.
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jackbooted n. Wearing jackboots; -- used especially as a metaphor for harshly repressive and militaristic; as, jackbooted government agents.
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jackboot tactics n. [from the jackboots worn as part of the uniform of police in certain totalitarian countries.] Harsh strongarm tactics; repressive, bullying and militaristic tactics like those used in authoritarian or totalitarian countries; -- used opprobriously, and often in hyperbolic exaggeration of police tactics in democratic countries.
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Jackdaw (?), n. [Prob. 2d jack + daw, n.] (Zoöl.) See , n.
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Jackeen (?), n. A drunken, dissolute fellow. [Ireland] S. C. Hall.
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Jacket (?), n. [F. jaquette, dim. of jaque. See 3d , n.]
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1. A short upper garment, extending downward to the hips; a short coat without skirts.
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2. An outer covering for anything, esp. a covering of some nonconducting material such as wood or felt, used to prevent radiation of heat, as from a steam boiler, cylinder, pipe, etc.
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3. (Mil.) In ordnance, a strengthening band surrounding and reënforcing the tube in which the charge is fired.
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4. A garment resembling a waistcoat lined with cork, to serve as a life preserver; -- called also cork jacket.
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Coloq. Blue jacket . (Naut.) See under . -- Coloq. Steam jacket , a space filled with steam between an inner and an outer cylinder, or between a casing and a receptacle, as a kettle. -- Coloq. To dust one's jacket , to give one a beating. [Colloq.]
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Jacket, v. t. 1. To put a jacket on; to furnish, as a boiler, with a jacket.
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2. To thrash; to beat. [Low]
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Jacketed, a. Wearing, or furnished with, a jacket.
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Jacketing, n. The material of a jacket; as, nonconducting jacketing.
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jackhammer n. a hammer having a strong steel cutting blade, driven by compressed air in multiple rapid strokes, and used for cutting through pavement, concrete, or other hard substances.
Syn. -- air hammer, pneumatic hammer.
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Jack-in-a-box. 1. (Bot.) A tropical tree (Hernandia sonora), which bears a drupe that rattles when dry in the inflated calyx.
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2. A child's toy, consisting of a box, out of which, when the lid is raised, a figure (usually a clown) springs; also called jack-in-the-box.
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3. (Mech.) An epicyclic train of bevel gears for transmitting rotary motion to two parts in such a manner that their relative rotation may be variable; applied to driving the wheels of tricycles, road locomotives, and to cotton machinery, etc.; an equation box; a jack frame; -- called also compensating gearing.
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4. A large wooden screw turning in a nut attached to the crosspiece of a rude press.
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jack-in-the-pulpit n. 1. A common American spring-flowering woodland herb (Arisæma triphyllum) having sheathing leaves and an upright club-shaped spadix with overarching green and purple spathe producing scarlet berries; also called Indian turnip.
Syn. -- Indian turnip, wake-robin, Arisaema triphyllum, Arisaema atrorubens.
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2. A common European arum (Arum maculatum) with lanceolate spathe and short purple spadix; it emerges in early spring and is a source of a sagolike starch called arum.
Syn. -- cuckoo-pint, cuckoopint, lords and ladies, lords-and-ladies, Arum maculatum.
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Jack Ketch (?). [Perh. fr. Jack, the proper name + Prov. E. ketch a hangman, fr. ketch, for catch to seize; but see the citations below.] A public executioner, or hangman. [Eng.]
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The manor of Tyburn was formerly held by Richard Jaquett, where felons for a long time were executed; from whence we have Jack Ketch. Lloyd's MS., British Museum.
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[Monmouth] then accosted John Ketch, the executioner, a wretch who had butchered many brave and noble victims, and whose name has, during a century and a half, been vulgarly given to all who have succeeded him in his odious office. Macaulay.
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Jackknife (?), n. A large, strong clasp knife for the pocket; a pocket knife.
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jacklight n. A portable source of light, as an oil lantern or electric light, used as a lure for hunting at night.
Syn. -- jack.
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jacklight v. t. to fish for or hunt with a jacklight.
Syn. -- jack.
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Jackman (?), n.; pl. Jackmen (�).
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1. One wearing a jack; a horse soldier; a retainer. See 3d , n.
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Christie . . . the laird's chief jackman. Sir W. Scott.
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2. A cream cheese. [Obs.] Sir T. Elyot.
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Jack-o'-lantern, Jack-with-a-lantern (?), n. 1. (Biol.) A large orange-colored luminescent mushroom, Clitocybe illudens, also classified as Omphalotus olearius. It is poisonous and is sometimes found on hardwood tree stumps. [wns=1]
Syn. -- jack-a-lantern, Clitocybe illudens.
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2. a pale light sometimes seen at night over marshy ground; an ; a will-o'-the-wisp. [wns=2]“[Newspaper speculations] supplying so many more jack-o'-lanterns to the future historian.” Lowell.
Syn. -- friar's lantern, ignis fatuus, will-o'-the-wisp.
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3. A lantern carved from a hollowed-out pumpkin, with holes cut in the rind and so shaped that when it is illuminated by a candle inside, the features of a human face, cat's face, etc. appear in a glowing yellow color. It is used mostly as a decoration at Halloween.
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Jackpot (?), n. 1. Same as jack pot. See under .
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2. Any larger-than-usual gambling prize formed by the accumulation of unwon bets.
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3. The highest gambling prize awarded in a gambling game in which smaller prizes are also awarded, especially such a prize on a slot machine.
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4. An unusually large success in an enterprise, either unexpected or unpredictable, esp. one providing a great financial benefit.
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Coloq. hit the jackpot to receive an unexpectedly large (or the largest possible) benefit from an enterprise; as, after prospecting for years, he finally hit the jackpot when he discovered a silver lode.
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Jackpudding (?), n. A merry-andrew; a buffoon. Milton.
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Jacksaw (?), n. (Zoöl.) The merganser.
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Jackscrew (?), n. A jack in which a screw is used for lifting, or exerting pressure. See Illust. of 2d , n., 5.
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Jackslave (?), n. A low servant; a mean fellow. Shak.
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Jacksmith (?), n. A smith who makes jacks. See 2d , 4, c. Dryden.
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Jacksnipe (?), n. (Zoöl.) (a) A small European snipe (Limnocryptes gallinula); -- called also judcock, jedcock, juddock, jed, and half snipe. (b) A small American sandpiper (Tringa maculata); -- called also pectoral sandpiper, and grass snipe.
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Jackstay (?), n. (Naut.) A rail of wood or iron stretching along a yard of a vessel, to which the sails are fastened.
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Jackstone (?), n. 1. One of the pebbles or pieces used in the game of jackstones.
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2. (pl.) A game played with five small stones or pieces of metal. See 6th . Also called jacks. See {12}, n.
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Jackstraw (?), n. 1. An effigy stuffed with straw; a scarecrow; hence, a man without property or influence. Milton.
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2. One of a set of straws of strips of ivory, bone, wood, etc., for playing a child's game, the jackstraws being thrown confusedly together on a table, to be gathered up singly by a hooked instrument, without touching or disturbing the rest of the pile. See . A modern variation, called pick-up-sticks (U.S. 1940+), is played with thin wooden sticks of different colors, each color having different values for scoring; the sticks are dislodged from the pile with the hand or with one of the sticks.
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jackstraws (?), n. The game played with jackstraws{2}, which resembles pick-up-sticks.
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Jackwood (?), n. Wood of the jack (Artocarpus integrifolia), used in cabinetwork.
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Jacky (?), n.; pl. Jackies (#). Dim. or pet from . Hence: (a) A landsman's nickname for a seaman, resented by the latter. (b) English gin. [Dial. Eng.]
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Jacob (?), n. [Cf. F. Jacob. See 2d .] A Hebrew patriarch (son of Isaac, and ancestor of the Jews), who in a vision saw a ladder reaching up to heaven (Gen. xxviii. 12); -- also called Israel.
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And Jacob said . . . with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands. Gen. xxxii. 9, 10.
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Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel. Gen. xxxii. 28.
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Coloq. Jacob's ladder . (a) (Bot.) A perennial herb of the genus Polemonium (Polemonium cœruleum), having corymbs of drooping flowers, usually blue. Gray. (b) (Naut.) A rope ladder, with wooden steps, for going aloft. R. H. Dana, Jr. (c) (Naut.) A succession of short cracks in a defective spar. -- Coloq. Jacob's membrane . See . -- Coloq. Jacob's staff . (a) A name given to many forms of staff or weapon, especially in the Middle Ages; a pilgrim's staff. [Obs.] Spenser. (b) (Surveying) See under .
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Jacobæan lily (?). [See .] (Bot.) A bulbous plant (Amaryllis formosissima syn. Sprekelia formosissima) from Mexico. It bears a single, large, deep, red, lilylike flower. [Written also Jacobean.]

{ Jacobean (?; 277), Jacobian (?), } a. [From L. Jacobus James. See 2d .] Of or pertaining to James the First, of England, or of his reign or times; especially, pertaining to a style of architecture and decoration popular in the time of James I.; as, Jacobean writers. “A Jacobean table.” C. L. Eastlake.
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Jacobean n. any distinguished personage during the reign of James I of England.
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Jacobin (jăk�bĭn), n. [F. See 2d , .]
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1. (Eccl. Hist.) A Dominican friar; -- so named because, before the French Revolution, that order had a convent in the Rue St. Jacques, Paris.
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2. One of a society of violent agitators in France, during the revolution of 1789, who held secret meetings in the Jacobin convent in the Rue St. Jacques, Paris, and concerted measures to control the proceedings of the National Assembly. Hence: A plotter against an existing government; a turbulent demagogue.
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3. (Zoöl.) A fancy pigeon, in which the feathers of the neck form a hood, -- whence the name. The wings and tail are long, and the beak moderately short.
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Jacobin, a. Same as .
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Jacobine (jăk�bĭn), n. A Jacobin.

{ Jacobinic (jăk�bĭnĭk), Jacobinical (jăk�bĭnĭk�l), } a. Of or pertaining to the Jacobins of France; revolutionary; of the nature of, or characterized by, Jacobinism. Burke. -- Jacobinically, adv.
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Jacobinism (?), n. [Cf. F. Jacobinisme.] The principles of the Jacobins; violent and factious opposition to legitimate government.
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Under this new stimulus, Burn's previous Jacobitism passed towards the opposite, but not very distant, extreme of Jacobinism. J. C. Shairp.
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Jacobinize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Jacobinized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Jacobinizing (?).] [Cf. F. Jacobiniser.] To taint with, or convert to, Jacobinism.
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France was not then jacobinized. Burke.
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Jacobite (?), prop. n. [L. Jacobus James: cf. F. Jacobite. See 2d .]
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1. (Eng. Hist.) A partisan or adherent of James the Second, after his abdication, or of his descendants, an opposer of the revolution in 1688 in favor of William and Mary. Macaulay.
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2. (Eccl.) One of the sect of Syrian Monophysites. The sect is named after Jacob Baradæus, its leader in the sixth century.
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Jacobite, prop. a. Of or pertaining to the Jacobites.

{ Jacobitic (?), Jacobitical (?), } a. Of or pertaining to the Jacobites; characterized by Jacobitism. -- Jacobitically, adv.
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Jacobitism (?), n. The principles of the Jacobites. Mason.
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Jacobus (?), n.; pl. Jacobuses (#). [See .] An English gold coin, of the value of twenty-five shillings sterling, struck in the reign of James I.
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Jaconet (?), n. [F. jaconas.] A thin cotton fabric, between cambric and muslin, used for dresses, neckcloths, etc. [Written also jacconet.]
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Jacquard (?), a. Pertaining to, or invented by, Jacquard, a French mechanician, who died in 1834.
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Coloq. Jacquard apparatus or Coloq. Jacquard arrangement , a device applied to looms for weaving figured goods, consisting of mechanism controlled by a chain of variously perforated cards, which cause the warp threads to be lifted in the proper succession for producing the required figure. -- Coloq. Jacquard card , one of the perforated cards of a Jacquard apparatus. -- Coloq. Jacquard loom , a loom with Jacquard apparatus.
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Jacqueminot (?), n. A half-hardy, deep crimson rose of the remontant class; -- so named after General Jacqueminot, of France.
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Jacquerie (?), n. [F.] The name given to a revolt of French peasants against the nobles in 1358, the leader assuming the contemptuous title, Jacques Bonhomme, given by the nobles to the peasantry. Hence, any revolt of peasants.
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Jactancy (jăkt�ns�), n. [L. jactantia, fr. jactans, p. pr. of jactare to throw, boast, freq. fr. jacere to throw; cf. F. jactance.] A boasting; a bragging. [Obs.]
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