JACK

I. noun Etymology: Middle English Jacke, familiar term of address to a social inferior, nickname for Johan John Date: 1548 1. man , sailor , c. servant , laborer , lumber~ , any of various usually mechanical devices: as, a device for turning a spit, a usually portable mechanism or device for exerting pressure or lifting a heavy body a short distance, something that supports or holds in position: as, an iron bar at a topgallant masthead to support a royal mast and spread the royal shrouds, a wooden brace fastened behind a scenic unit in a stage set to prop it up, 4. any of several fishes, a male donkey, ~rabbit , any of several birds (as a ~daw), 5. a small white target ball in lawn bowling, a small national flag flown by a ship, c. a game played with a set of small objects that are tossed, caught, and moved in various figures, a small 6-pointed metal object used in the game of ~s, 6. a playing card carrying the figure of a soldier or servant and ranking usually below the queen, ~pot 1a(2), money , a female fitting in an electric circuit used with a plug to make a connection with another circuit, 9. apple~ , brandy , ~knife 2, Monterey Jack , II. verb Date: circa 1841 intransitive verb to hunt or fish at night with a ~light, transitive verb to hunt or fish for at night with a ~light, 2. to move or lift by or as if by a ~, to raise the level of, to take to task, ~er noun