- masc. proper name, 1218, probably an anglicization of Old
French Jacques (which was a diminutive of Latin Jacobus; see
Jacob), but in English the name always has been associated with
Johan, Jan "John," and some have argued that it is a native
formation. Alliterative coupling of Jack and Jill is from 15c.
(Ienken and Iulyan). In England, applied familiarly or
contemptuously to anybody (especially one of the lower classes)
from late 14c. Later used especially of sailors (1650s; Jack-tar
is from 1781). In U.S., as a generic name addressed to an
unknown stranger, attested from 1889. - jack (n.) - late 14c.,
jakke "a mechanical device," from the masc. name Jack. The
proper name was used in Middle English for "any common fellow"
(mid-14c.), and thereafter extended to various appliances
replacing servants (1570s). Used generically of men (jack-of-
all-trades, 1610s), male animals (1620s, see jackass, jackdaw,
etc.), and male personifications (1520s, e.g. Jack Frost, 1826).
As the name of a device for pulling off bo