Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A male given name, also used as a pet form of John.
  • proper noun informal A sailor.
  • proper noun informal, archaic a soldier
  • noun slang Jack Daniel's, a brand of American whiskey.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Popular pet form of John through a Middle English form Jankin; rarely also an anglicized form of French Jacques (equivalent of Jacob and James). Though the name was originally a pet form, it has become more of an independent name.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Short for Jack Tar.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Short for Jack Rum.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Jack.

Examples

  • But there is a bit of a hitch as Salma admits to Liz that she can’t marry jack because of some deep dark secret and she wants Liz to be the one to tell Jack what it’s all about.

    TV Review: ‘30 Rock’ Episode: ‘The Ones’ | We Are Movie Geeks 2009

  • Just giveSenator Crazyandhis old lady more jack, Jack.

    Advice from . . . whom? 2009

  • Kate 'finds' jack, rouses him, Juliet gets Sayid & they head back to the Losties, with Jack definitely on Juliet's side.

    LOSTCasts 51: Left Behind 2007

  • Some also claim that ˜Jill wanted Jack to fall™, ˜Jack and Jill are seeking water™, and ˜Jack fears Jill™, for example, are to be analyzed as propositional attitude ascribing sentences, the first saying, perhaps, something to the effect that Jills wants that Jack falls, the second that Jack and Jill strive that they find water, and the third that Jack fears that Jill will hurt him.

    Propositional Attitude Reports McKay, Thomas 2005

  • JACK WELCH, CORPORATE CONSULTANT: Jack, it's great to be here.

    CNN Transcript Feb 7, 2004 2004

  • JACK WELCH, CORPORATE CONSULTANT: Jack, it's great to be here.

    CNN Transcript Feb 8, 2004 2004

  • TY HENSLEY, JACK HENSLEY'S BROTHER: Well, Heidi, to back up, I had heard there had been some -- potentially an attempt to find Jack.

    CNN Transcript Oct 13, 2004 2004

  • And I wore a "jack head" thing that my dad made for halloween cuz we wanted to be the dude from Jack in the Box.

    maybmemorys Diary Entry maybmemorys 2004

  • JACK KEMP, CO-DIRECTOR, EMPOWER AMERICA: I want to make sure that everybody knows that when he mentioned Jack distributed the drug, that it was Jack Dreyfus, not Jack Kemp.

    CNN Transcript - Larry King Live: Al Gore Versus George Bush: Which Candidate Has the Best Plan America? - August 28, 2000 2000

  • No, this tete-a-tete jack was having with Anne in the ill-lit library this evening did not worry or annoy Ralph, but Jack himself did, as he always did on the occasions they met.

    The Frozen Heart Cassidy, Laura 1995

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • A leather coat worn in midevil times as armour.

    December 14, 2010

  • "When he went home on leave he rioted on a large scale -- pompously. Jack ashore -- with a difference -- in externals only." (Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad)

    March 6, 2011