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jack

jack

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

jack1 / jak/ • n. 1. a device for lifting heavy objects, esp. one for raising the axle of a motor vehicle off the ground. 2. a playing card bearing a representation of a soldier, page, or knave, normally ranking next below a queen. 3. a socket with two or more pairs of terminals. 4. (also jackstone) a small round pebble or star-shaped piece of metal used in tossing and catching games. ∎  (jacks) a game played by tossing and catching such pebbles or pieces of metal. 5. in lawn bowling, the small ball at which the players aim. 6. (Jack) inf. used as a form of address to a man whose name is not known. ∎ inf. a lumberjack. 7. a small version of a national flag flown at the bow of a vessel in harbor to indicate its nationality. 8. a device for turning a spit. 9. a part of the mechanism in a spinet or harpsichord that connects a key to its corresponding string and causes the string to be plucked when the key is pressed down. 10. a marine fish that is typically laterally compressed with a row of large spiky scales along each side. The jack family (Carangidae) includes numerous genera and species and also includes the horse mackerel, pilotfish, and kingfishes. 11. the male of some animals, esp. a merlin or an ass. 12. short for jackrabbit. 13. inf. short for jack shit. PHRASES: jack of all trades (and master of none) a person who can do many different types of work but who is not necessarily very competent at any of them.PHRASAL VERBS: jack someone around inf. cause someone inconvenience or problems, esp. by acting unfairly or indecisively. jack in (or into) inf. log into or connect up (a computer or electronic device). jack off vulgar slang masturbate. jack up inf. inject oneself with a narcotic drug. jack something up raise something, esp. a vehicle, with a jack. ∎ inf. increase something by a considerable amount. jack2 • n. hist. 1. another term for blackjack (sense 4). 2. a sleeveless padded tunic worn by foot soldiers. jack 3 / jak/ • v. [tr.] inf. take (something) illicitly; steal: his MO in the studio remains the same—jack other people's tracks and present them in a new context. ∎  rob (someone): they jacked him for his car.

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"jack." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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jack

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

jack mechanical device used to multiply a relatively small applied force so that it can lift and support heavy loads, or sometimes, move massive objects into a desired position. The lever jack, often used in lifting automobiles, has a lever combined with a ratchet; the lever is used to lift the load a small distance and the ratchet prevents the load from falling back while the lever is reset so that the process can be repeated. In the screw jack the load is moved or lifted by the turning of a screw; the pitch of the screw threads is arranged so that friction is sufficient to hold the load in place when the torque applied to the screw is released. In yet another form of jack a hydraulic device is used. See hydraulic machine .

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Jack

A Dictionary of First Names | 2006 | | Copyright

Jack ♂ Originally a pet form of John, but now a well‐established given name in its own right. It is derived from Middle English Jankin, later altered to Jackin, from Jan (a contracted form of Jehan ‘John’) + the diminutive suffix -kin. This led to the back-formation Jack, as if the name had contained the Old French diminutive suffix -in. It is sometimes also used as an informal pet form of James, perhaps influenced by the French form Jacques. It has been the most popular boys' name in England and Wales since 1995. Well-known bearers include the actor Jack Nicholson (b. 1937) and the golfer Jack Nicklaus (b. 1940). See also Jock and Jake.

Variant: Jak, Jac.
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Jack." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Jack." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Jack.html

PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Jack." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Jack.html

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jack

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | Copyright

jack.
1. The national flag which is flown from a jackstaff on the stem of naval ships when at anchor.

2. Pilot jack, originally the name given to the flag, which was a Union flag surrounded by a white border, flown by ships in need of a pilot. Later, this requirement was met by ‘G’ flag in the International Code of Signals, which has yellow and blue vertical stripes.

3. Cargo jack, sometimes also known as a jack screw, an appliance used in the holds of merchant ships, before the introduction of container ships, for moving cargo and for compressing cargo such as cotton, hides, etc. into as small a space as possible to increase the carrying capacity.
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jack

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

jack1 in numerous transf. applications of the name JACK to implements and machines, or their parts, the male of animals (cf. JACKASS), fishes (esp. pike, orig. young or small pike), etc., from XVI.
Hence vb. (with up) hoist with a jack (lifting machine); (sl.) ruin; give up, abandon. XIX.
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T. F. HOAD. "jack." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "jack." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-jack.html

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Jack

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

Jack pet-form of the name John XIII; figure of a man on a clock XV; †fellow, chap XVI (cf. every man jack XIX); sailor XVII (cf. JackTAR XVIII); knave of a card suit XVII; (also j-) male worker XVII(jack-of-all-trades; cheap-jack, steeple-jack XIX). ME. Iacke, Iakke, used from the first as familiar by-form of John, perh. through dim. Jankin; the resemblance to F. Jacques James (:- Rom. *Jacobus, for L. Jacōbus) is a difficulty.
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jack

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture | 2000 | | Copyright

jack.
1. 1. Rafter set obliquely where two roofs meet (e.g. in dormers or valleys).

2. Short common rafter, such as those between the eaves and a hip.
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "jack." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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jack

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

jack2.
A. †jacket; (arch.) leather or iron-plated tunic XIV;

B. (leathern) vessel for liquor XVI. — (O)F. jaque, of unkn. orig.
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jack

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

jack3 ship's flag smaller than the ensign. XVII. prob. spec. application of JACK1 to an object of small size. XVII.
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jack

The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military | 2001 | Copyright

jack n. a small version of a national flag flown at the bow of a vessel in harbor to indicate its nationality.
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jack

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

jack see pompano ; tuna .

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jack

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music | 1996 | | Copyright

jack. See harpsichord.
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "jack." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "jack." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-jack.html

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jack

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Copyright

jack See CARANGIDAE.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "jack." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "jack." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-jack.html

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jack

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

jack •aback, alack, attack, back, black, brack, clack, claque, crack, Dirac, drack, flack, flak, hack, jack, Kazakh, knack, lack, lakh, mac, mach, Nagorno-Karabakh, pack, pitchblack, plaque, quack, rack, sac, sack, shack, shellac, slack, smack, snack, stack, tach, tack, thwack, track, vac, wack, whack, wrack, yak, Zack •cardiac • zodiac •haemophiliac (US hemophiliac), necrophiliac, sacroiliac •umiak •bibliomaniac, dipsomaniac, egomaniac, kleptomaniac, maniac, megalomaniac, monomaniac, nymphomaniac, pyromaniac •insomniac • celeriac • Syriac •hypochondriac • Mauriac • theriac •amnesiac •aphrodisiac, Dionysiac •Dayak, kayak •Kerouac • bivouac

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Jack, don't leave us! CORONATION STREET (Central, 7.30pm)
Newspaper article from: Birmingham Evening Mail (England); 8/9/1999
Eating Jack Hooker's cow. (impact of Asian immigrants on small U.S. communities)
Magazine article from: Esquire; 11/1/1997
YourLIFE: Jack would be so proud of us..(Features)
Newspaper article from: The Mirror (London, England); 10/23/2006

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