Jack vs. Knave — What's the Difference?

A male donkey.

A medieval servant of a king.

A playing card ranking above the ten and below the queen.

Used in literature to depict a crafty or cunning young man.

A device for lifting heavy objects.

A chess term, rarely used, referring to the knight.

A term used to refer to a man, often generically.

A playing card, historically termed as a jack in modern usage.

An electrical connector.

A dishonest or unscrupulous man.

Often Jack(Informal) A man; a fellow.

(in cards) a jack.

One who does odd or heavy jobs; a laborer.

An unprincipled, crafty fellow.

One who works in a specified manual trade. Often used in combination

A male servant.

Jack A sailor; a tar.

A man of humble birth.

Abbr. J(Games) A playing card showing the figure of a servant or soldier and ranking below a queen. Also called knave.

(Games) See jack.

Jacks (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A game played with a set of small, six-pointed, traditionally metal pieces and a small ball, the object being to pick up the pieces in various combinations.

(archaic) A boy; especially, a boy servant.

One of the six-pointed pieces so used.

(archaic) Any male servant; a menial.

(Sports) A pin used in some games of bowling.

A tricky, deceitful fellow; a dishonest person.

A usually portable device for raising heavy objects by means of force applied with a lever, screw, or hydraulic press.

(cards) A playing card marked with the figure of a servant or soldier; a jack.

A wooden wedge for cleaving rock.

A boy; especially, a boy servant.

A device used for turning a spit.

Any male servant; a menial.

A support or brace, especially the iron crosstree on a topgallant masthead.

A tricky, deceitful fellow; a dishonest person; a rogue; a villain.

A small flag flown at the bow of a ship, usually to indicate nationality.

A playing card marked with the figure of a servant or soldier; a jack; as, the knave of hearts.

The male of certain animals, especially the ass.

A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel

Any of various food and game fishes of the family Carangidae, found in tropical and temperate seas.

One of four face cards in a deck bearing a picture of a young prince

A jackrabbit.

A socket that accepts a plug at one end and attaches to electric circuitry at the other.

(Slang) Money.

Applejack.

(Slang) A small or worthless amount

To hunt or fish for with a jacklight

To move or hoist by using a jack. Often used with up

To raise (something) to a higher level, as in cost. Often used with up

(Baseball) To hit (a pitched ball) hard, especially for a home run.

To steal

To rob or cheat

To hunt or fish by using a jacklight.

To plug into an electronic device by means of a jack.

A coarse mediaeval coat of defence, especially one made of leather.

A man.

A name applied to a hypothetical or typical man.

A man, a fellow; a typical man; men in general.

(colloquial) A sailor.

(slang) A policeman or detective; Australia a military policeman.

A manual laborer.

A lumberjack.

A sepoy.

A device or utensil.

A device for turning a spit; a smokejack or roasting jack.

Each of a series of blocks in a harpsichord or the earlier virginal, communicating the action of the key to the quill; sometime also, a hopper in a modern piano.

(obsolete) A support for wood being sawn; a sawhorse or sawbuck.

A device used to hold a boot by the heel, to assist in removing the boot.

A mechanical device used to raise and (temporarily) support a heavy object, now especially to lift one side of a motor vehicle when (e.g.) changing a tyre.

Any of various levers for raising or lowering the sinkers which push the loops down on the needles in a knitting machine or stocking frame.

A wedge for separating rocks rent by blasting.

(obsolete) A grating device used to separate and guide the threads in a warping machine; a heck box.

(obsolete) A machine for twisting the sliver as it leaves a carding machine, in the preparation of yarn.

(electronics) A switch for a jack plug, a jackknife switch; more generally a socket used to connect a device to a circuit, network etc.

A non-tool object or thing.

A pitcher or other vessel for holding liquid, especially alcoholic drink; a black-jack.

The lowest court card in a deck of standard playing cards, ranking between the 10 and queen, with an image of a knave or pageboy on it.

(bowls) A small, typically white, ball used as the target ball in bowls; a jack-ball.

(nautical) A small ship's flag used as a signal or identifying device; a small flag flown at the bow of the vessel.

A measure of liquid corresponding to a quarter of a pint.

A fake coin designed to look like a sovereign.

A jack crosstree.

(games) A small, six-pointed playing piece used in the game of jacks.

(US) A torch or other light used in hunting to attract or dazzle game at night.

Money.

Nothing, jack shit.

The eleventh batsman to come to the crease in an innings.

A smooth often ovoid large gravel or small cobble in a natural water course.

A plant or animal.

A pike, especially when young.

A male ass, especially when kept for breeding.

Any of the marine fish in the family Carangidae.

(US) A jackrabbit.

A large California rockfish, the bocaccio, Sebastes paucispinis.

Mangifera caesia, related to the mango tree.

(colloquial) Plant in the genus Arisaema, also known as Jack-in-the-pulpit, and capitalized Jack.

(colloquial) Spadix of a plant (also capitalized Jack).

(apparently does not occur standalone for the genus per se) Plant of the genus Emex, also considered synonymous to Rumex, if not then containing two species lesser jack and little jack for Emex spinosa syn. Rumex spinosus, Australian English three-corner jack and prickly jack for Emex australis syn. Rumex hypogaeus.

The edible fruit of the Asian tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus); also the tree itself.

The related tree Mangifera caesia.

A home run.

(transitive) To physically raise using a jack.

(transitive) To raise or increase.

To increase the potency of an alcoholic beverage similarly to distillation by chilling it to below the freezing point of water, removing the water ice crystals that form, and leaving the still-liquid alcoholic portion.

To steal (something), typically an automobile; to rob (someone).

(intransitive) To dance by moving the torso forward and backward in a rippling motion.

To jack off, to masturbate.

To hit (the ball) hard; especially, to hit (the ball) out of the field, producing a home run.

(AU) Tired, disillusioned; fed up (with).

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.

A familiar nickname of, or substitute for, John.

An impertinent or silly fellow; a simpleton; a boor; a clown; also, a servant; a rustic.

A popular colloquial name for a sailor; - called also Jack tar, and Jack afloat.

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

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.

The small bowl used as a mark in the game of bowls.

The male of certain animals, as of the ass.

A young pike; a pickerel.

A drinking measure holding half a pint; also, one holding a quarter of a pint.

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.

The knave of a suit of playing cards.

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.

Money.

Apple jack.

Brandy.

A coarse and cheap mediæval coat of defense, esp. one made of leather.

A pitcher or can of waxed leather; - called also black jack.

A small worthless amount;

A man who serves as a sailor

Someone who works with their hands; someone engaged in manual labor

Immense East Indian fruit resembling breadfruit of; its seeds are commonly roasted

An electrical device consisting of a connector socket designed for the insertion of a plug

Game equipment consisting of one of several small objects picked up while bouncing a ball in the game of jacks

Small flag indicating a ship's nationality

One of four face cards in a deck bearing a picture of a young prince

Tool for exerting pressure or lifting

Any of several fast-swimming predacious fishes of tropical to warm-temperate seas

Male donkey

Lift with a special device;

Hunt with a jacklight

A knave commonly refers to someone who is deceitful or dishonest.

The term was replaced to avoid confusion on the card face, as "Kn" was too similar to "K" for king.

Yes, it can also refer to a lifting device, a male donkey, an electrical connector, or colloquially to any man.

Historically, a knave referred to a male servant or a dishonest person, whereas in card games, it is simply another term for the jack.

No, the depiction can vary by cultural context and card design, but it typically features a young man in regal attire.

In literature, knaves are typically used to add tension or conflict due to their deceitful nature.

A jack is a card that typically ranks higher than a 10 and lower than a queen in most card games.

Yes, the "Knave of Hearts" from the nursery rhyme who stole the tarts is a well-known example.

Jacks are often portrayed as heroic or adventurous, while knaves are depicted as sly or deceitful.

In mechanical contexts, a jack is a tool used for lifting heavy objects, such as cars.

Modern card games primarily use the term jack, with knave being largely obsolete.

Historically, both terms refer to male figures, either as cards or character types.

Knaves were often low-ranking servants in royal or noble households.

A jack can refer to a flag flown to indicate nationality, particularly on naval vessels.

Understanding these terms can enhance one's knowledge of historical language, literature, and cultural games.