Why John can be called Jack?

Дата публикации: Feb 28, 2016 5:58:38 PM

Jack /ˈdʒæk/ is a male given name, although in some cases it can be used as a female given name (a shortened versioned of "Jacqueline" or "Jackie", for example), and sometimes as a surname.

In English it is traditionally used as the diminutive form of the given name John, though it is also often given as a proper name in its own right. It can also sometimes be a nickname for Jonathan, Jackson, James, Jason, or Jacob.

The name Jack is unique in the English language for its frequency of use as a verb and a noun for many common objects and actions, and its use in many compound words and phrases, e.g.: apple jack, hijack, jack of clubs (playing card), jack straw (scarecrow), jack tar (sailor), jack-in-the-box, jack-of-all-trades, jack o'lantern, jackdraw, jackhammer, jackknife, jackpot, lumberjack, union jack, etc. The Encyclopædia Britannica article on the history of the word "jack" linked it directly to the common name: "Jack, a word with a great variety of meanings and applications, all traceable to the common use of the word as a by-name of a man."

Jack is thought to harken back to Medieval times as a common derivative of the name John. The nickname has also been seen as Jackie among men (examples of note: Jackie Coogan, Jackie Cooper, and Jackie Gleason, all formally named John). This "Jackie" diminutive of the nickname Jack is thought by some to have hailed from the earlier "Jackin" (born of the appellation Jankin).

Alternatively, it may be derived from the name Jacques, the French form of the name Jacob. There is also a theory that it is Celtic in origin, meaning "Healthy, Strong, Full of Vital Energy" (compare the Welsh word iach, "health"), from a putative Ancient British Jakkios. Whatever its origin, both the name and the word "jack" were long used as a term to refer to any man, especially of the common classes.

also see Jack

diminutive adjective BrE /dɪˈmɪnjətɪv/ ; NAmE /dɪˈmɪnjətɪv/ - (formal) very small

harken BrE /ˈhɑːkən/ ; NAmE /ˈhɑːrkən/ = hearken

hearken verb (also harken) BrE /ˈhɑːkən/ ; NAmE /ˈhɑːrkən/ - [intransitive] hearken (to somebody/something) (old use) to listen to somebody/something

derivative noun BrE /dɪˈrɪvətɪv/ ; NAmE /dɪˈrɪvətɪv/ - a word or thing that has been developed or produced from another word or thing