What does "J" stand for in playing cards?

[Jenny Lau]

In playing cards, is "J" an abbreviation? Then what does it stand for? I think "K" stands for king, and "Q" stands for Queen, is that right?

 

[Lib]

Jack

 

[Jenny Lau]

Thank you, are there any other abbreviations in plaing cards?

 

[RonBee]

The ace usually has an A on it. You could call that an abbreviation.

 

[Jenny Lau]

I see

 

[Lib]

Does anyone call the J a Knave?
My mother used to, on occasions.

 

[RonBee]

Does anyone call the J a Knave?
My mother used to, on occasions.

Yes, the jack has been called a knave. In fact, it (knave) is in a nursery rhyme: "The knave of hearts stole some tarts."

 

[Tdol]

I would use it in Ron's example, but for the playing cards, I'd stick to Jack, although others would use Knave. ;-)

 

[The Curator]

In the late medieval period the jack was called the knave. A knave was then a male servant of royalty.The card came to be known as the jack during the middle of the 19th century, when card manufacturers began to label playing cards to indicate their value.The obvious confusion between "Kn" and "K" led to the renaming of the knave as the Jack. However, books of card games published in late victorian timesevidently still referred to the card as the "knave", and the term with this definition is still recognized in the UK.

The Curator
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