| n. | 1. | (Bot.) A large tree, the Artocarpus integrifolia, common in the East Indies, closely allied to the breadfruit, 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 of a yellow color, fine grain, and rather heavy, and is much used in cabinetwork. It is also used for dyeing a brilliant yellow. |
| 1. | |
| 1. | A familiar nickname of, or substitute for, John. |
| 2. | An impertinent or silly fellow; a simpleton; a boor; a clown; also, a servant; a rustic. |
| 3. | A popular colloquial name for a sailor; - called also Jack tar, and Jack afloat. |
| 4. | (Mining) A mechanical contrivance, an auxiliary machine, or a subordinate part of a machine, rendering convenient service, and often supplying the place of a boy or attendant who was commonly called Jack |
| 5. | A portable machine variously constructed, for exerting great pressure, or lifting or moving a heavy body such as an automobile through a small distance. It consists of a lever, screw, rack and pinion, hydraulic press, or any simple combination of mechanical powers, working in a compact pedestal or support and operated by a lever, crank, capstan bar, etc. The name is often given to a jackscrew, which is a kind of jack. |
| 6. | The small bowl used as a mark in the game of bowls. |
| 7. | The male of certain animals, as of the ass. |
| 8. | (Zool.) A young pike; a pickerel. |
| 9. | A drinking measure holding half a pint; also, one holding a quarter of a pint. |
| 10. | (Naut.) A flag, containing only the union, without the fly, usually hoisted on a jack staff at the bowsprit cap; - called also union jack. The American jack is a small blue flag, with a star for each State. |
| 11. | The knave of a suit of playing cards. |
| 12. | A game played with small (metallic, with tetrahedrally oriented spikes) objects (the jacks(1950+), formerly jackstones) that are tossed, caught, picked up, and arranged on a horizontal surface in various patterns; in the modern American game, the movements are accompanied by tossing or bouncing a rubber ball on the horizontal surface supporting the jacks. same as jackstones. |
| 13. | Money. |
| 14. | Apple jack. |
| 15. | Brandy. |
| 1. | A coarse and cheap mediæval coat of defense, esp. one made of leather. |
| 1. | A pitcher or can of waxed leather; - called also black jack. |
| v. i. | 1. | To hunt game at night by means of a jack. See 2d Jack, n., 4, n. |
| v. t. | 1. | To move or lift, as a house, by means of a jack or jacks. See 2d Jack, n., 5. |