Jack

Jack has been from the beginning generally used in England as the equivalent of John, the most common of Christian names, but it is not a little curious that it is really the French Jacques (till the 17th century pronounced as a dissyllable), and so through the Latin Jacobus and Greek Jakōbos from the Hebrew Yā'aqōb, Jacob. Others, however, explain it as a shortened form of Janikin, an old diminutive of Johan, Jehan, or John; from the northern forms of which again, Johnkin or Jonkin, we have Jockey and Jock. The contempt that follows on excessive familiarity attaches itself in most European languages to the name John and its equivalents; thus we find the Italian Giovanni, whence Zanni, our Zany; the Spanish Juan, as bobo Juan, 'a foolish John'; the French Jean, with its signification in compound terms of fool, cuckold, and the like; and our own vulgarisms, 'every man Jack' for all men without distinction, a 'Jack-of-all-trades,' and 'a Johnny' for a man of no particular account. Again, such compounds as 'Jack-fool,' 'jack-ass,' a 'jack-pudding,' 'jack-an-apes' (with intrusion of n for Jack-o'-apes) point in the same direction. From the sense of familiarity it came to be used of various implements which served instead of a boy or personal attendant, as in 'boot-jack' and the kitchen 'jack' which turns the spit. Somewhat similar are such usages as drinking jack, the 'jack' for the small bowl aimed at in a game of bowls, and for the knaves in a pack of cards, as well as for a small pike as opposed to the full-grown fish. Again, in complete harmony with the sense are such compounds as 'Jack-a-lantern' and 'Jack-a-lent' (Shakespeare, Merry Wives, III. iii. 27). Jack the Giant-killer and Jack and the Bean-stalk again show the same sense of familiarity without the accompanying contempt.