jacktar
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Jack, a common name for a sailor plus tar, used to waterproof sails as well as the seams between planks on wooden ships (1781). Sailors also used tar for clothing, grooming: their coats and hats, were made of the waterproof fabric called tarpaulin; seamen commonly pleated their long hair into a pigtail and smeared it with high grade tar to prevent it getting caught in the ship's equipment, a practice that continued until the early 20th century. Often a sailor's hands would be stained with tar.
Noun[edit]
jacktar (plural jacktars)
- (UK) Nickname for a sailor in the Royal Navy.
