jacktar

See also: jack-tar and Jack Tar

English

Alternative forms

• jack-tar, Jack Tar, Jack tar, Jacktar

Etymology

From jack (“common man or sailor”) +‎ tar (“tarpaulin”), used for a common sailor dating back to the 1600s.

Noun

jacktar (plural jacktars)

1. (British) A sailor in the Royal Navy.
   • 1857, “The Masker's Song”, in Robert Bell, editor, Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England‎^[1]:

     O! the next that steps up is a jolly Jack tar, / He sailed with Lord [Nelson]^[sic], during last war: / He’s right on the sea, Old England to view: / He’s come a pace-egging with so jolly a crew.

   • 1887, “Ruddigore”, W. S. Gilbert (lyrics), Arthur Sullivan (music)‎^[2], Act II:

     I am a jolly Jack Tar, / My star, / And you are the fairest, / The richest and rarest / Of innocent lasses you are, / By far