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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

2 entries under this word

Jack

Jăck, n.

noun

n. [Cf. Fr. Jacques, James.]

  1. A nickname or diminutive of John: as, (a.) A saucy or paltry fellow;—said in contempt or ridicule. (b.) A seafaring man.
  2. An instrument that supplies the place of a boy; as, (a.) An instrument to pull off boots; a boot-jack. (b.) A portable machine, variously constructed, for raising great weights through a small space, as by means of a pedestal or support, in which works a screw, lever, rack, and pinion, or some combination of simple mechanical powers. See also HYDROSTATIC JACK. (c.) An engine to turn a spit; as, a kitchen jack; a smoke jack. (d.) In general any appendage to a machine, rendering convenient service, as the vibrating levers of a stocking-frame.
  3. A young pike.

Mortimer. 4. [Fr. jaque, jacque, Sp. jaco, It. giaco.] A coat of defensive armor, quilted and covered with leather, worn particularly by horsemen; a buff jerkin; rarely, a coat of mail. Their horsemen are with jacks for the most part clad. Harrington. 5. A pitcher of waxed leather;—called also a black-jack. Dryden. 6. The mark at which the bowler aims his ball in wicket, &c. Shak. Like an uninstructed bowler who thinks to attain the jack by delivering his bowl straight forward upon it. W. Scott.

  1. The male of certain animals, as of the ass.
  2. A horse or wooden frame on which wood or timber is sawed.
  3. (a.) Half a pint. (b.) Quarter of a pint. [Prov. Eng.]

Grose. Pegge.

  1. A wooden wedge used by miners to separate rocks after blasting.
  2. (Mus.) The quill or the hammer which strikes the strings in a harpsichord, piano, &c.

Moore. 12. (Naut.) (a.) A small flag, containing only the union, without the fly, usually hoisted at the bowsprit cap;—called also union-jack. (b.) The jack-cross-tree. R. H. Dana. Lifting Jack. Jack-screw. American Jack. English Jack. Jack is sometimes used adjectively to designate something cut short or diminished in size; as, a jack timber, a jack rafter, and the like. Jack-at-all-trades, a person who can turn his hand to any kind of business.—Jack-at-a-pinch. (a.) A person who receives unexpected calls to do any thing. (b.) A poor, hackney parson. Halliwell.—Jack-by-the-hedge, a plant of the genus Erysimum (E. alliaria, or Alliaria officinalis), which grows under hedges, bearing a white flower, and having a taste not unlike garlic;—called also in England sauce alone. Eng. Cyc.—Jack-in-a-box. (a.) (Bot.) A plant of the genus Hernandia, which bears a large nut that rattles in its pericarp when shaken. Loudon. (b.) A large wooden male screw turning in a female one. (c.) A child's toy, consisting of a box, out of which, when the lid is raised, a figure springs.—Jack-in-office, an insolent fellow in authority.—Jack-of-the-clock-house, a little man that strikes the quarters in a clock.—Jack-on-both-sides, one who is or tries to be neutral.—Jack-out-of-doors, a houseless person.—Jack-out-of-office, one who has been in office and is turned out.—Jack-with-a-lantern, an ignis fatuus, a meteor that appears in low, moist lands.

A waving American flag with stars and stripes attached to a pole.
American Jack.
A waving flag bearing the Union Jack design, mounted on a pole.
English Jack.

Jăck, n.

noun

n. (Bot.) A large tree, the Artocarpus integrifolia, common in the East Indies, closely allied to the bread-fruit, from which it differs in having its leaves entire. The fruit is of great size, weighing from thirty to forty pounds, and through its soft fibrous matter are scattered the seeds, which are roasted and eaten. The wood is largely used in cabinet work, is of a yellow color, fine grain, and rather heavy. [Written also jak.]