Jack (playing card)

When brought over to Italy and Spain, the thānī nā'ib was made into the fante (an infantry soldier) and the sota (a page ranking below the knight card) respectively.

As early as the mid-16th century the card was known in England as the knave which originally meant 'boy or young man', as its German equivalent, Knabe, still does.

In the context of a royal household it meant a male servant without a specific role or skill; not a cook, gardener, coachman, etc.

The word 'Jack' was in common usage in the 16th and 17th centuries to mean any generic man or fellow, as in Jack-of-all-trades (one who is good at many things), Jack-in-the-box (a child's toy), or Jack-in-the-Pulpit (a plant).

The knave card had been called a jack as part of the terminology of the game All Fours since the 17th century, but this usage was considered common or low class.

[7] As this deck also includes queens, it is the only traditional set to survive into modern times with two ranks of female face cards.

The Four Knaves is a series of Satirical Tracts, with Introduction and Notes by E. F. Rimbault, upon the subject of playing cards.

In accordance with a promise at the end of this book, Rowlands went on with his series of Knaves, and in 1612 wrote "The Knave of Harts: Haile Fellowe, Well Meet", where his "Supplication to Card-Makers" appears,[9] thought to have been written to the English manufacturers who copied to the English decks the court figures created by the French.