Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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noun
(A proper name for) an ape or monkey, especially a tame one kept for entertainment or as a pet.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
(A proper name for) a person thought to behave like an ape or monkey, for example, in being impudent, mischievous, vain, etc.; specifically (chiefly humorous), an impudent or mischievous child.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, dated, derogatory
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: brazenface, cheeky chappie, cheeky chops, cheeky monkey, jackanapes, malapert, minx, saucebox, agitator, bad boy, bad news, bear, beggar, bhoy, blackguard, booger, boot boy, bovver boy, brat, brawler, breedbate, buffoon, bugger, bully, charva, cutup, devil, elf, enfant terrible, firebrand, gadfly, hell-raiser, hood, hoodlum, hool, hoolie, hooligan, hothead, imp, inciter, initiator, instigator, joker, jokester, kindle-coal, kindle-fire, knave, lout, makebate, mischief, mischief-maker, miscreant, ne'er-do-well, pixie, pot stirrer, practical joker, prankster, puck, punk, rabble rouser, rakeshame, rantipole, rapscallion, rascal, rogue, roly-poly, rowdy, ruffian, scamp, scapegrace, scoundrel, shit disturber, shitmonger, shit-stirrer, tearaway, thug, titivil, tough, troublemaker, undesirable, vandal, wag, wagpastie, wrangler, yob, yobbo
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A crucifix.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, derogatory, obsolete, rare
Topics: Christianity
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A small pulley which keeps a rope in line when lifting ore, water, etc., from a mine.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, obsolete
Topics: business, mining
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
plural of jackanape
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: form-of, plural
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
someone who is unimportant but cheeky and presumptuous
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: whippersnapper, lightweight
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: cipher, cypher, nobody, nonentity
History
From Middle English iack napys, iac nape, iac napes (“derogatory nickname of the English military commander and statesman William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk (1396–1450)”), probably from Jacun or Jakin (“pet forms of the male name Jack”) + ape (“ape, monkey”) + -s (possibly modelled after surnames such as Hobbes and Jakkes), referring to Suffolk’s heraldic badge which was an ape’s chain and clog (“weight such as a block of wood or log attached to an animal to hinder motion”) (see the image, right). It is uncertain whether the word was first coined as a nickname for Suffolk (the earliest known uses), or to refer to an ape or an ape-like person. If the word was originally a nickname, some early uses of etymology 1 sense 2.1 (“person thought to behave like an ape or monkey”) may allude to Suffolk who was widely regarded as an upstart, having risen from the merchant class. In later uses, the middle element of the word was often treated as the indefinite article a or an, that is, as if the word meant “Jack, an ape”.
From jackanape + -s (suffix forming regular plurals of nouns).
Across languages
4 source translations are retained for this English entry.
