jacktar

See also: jack-tar and Jack Tar

English

Alternative forms

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:
      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)‎, 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
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