Where does “Jakes” come from?
Jakes comes from English Jack, which derives from English John, which comes from Latin Iohannes, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "God is gracious."
Jakes (English): A place to urinate and defecate: an outhouse or lavatory
Definitions
- A place to urinate and defecate: an outhouse or lavatory
Ancestry of “Jakes”, step by step
Jakes traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Jake
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Jake | A juvenile male turkey |
| 2 | English | Jack | A placeholder or conventional name for any man,... |
| 3 | Middle English | jakke | A padded coat, especially as light armour |
| 4 | Anglo-Norman | jacke | — |
| 5 | Middle French | jaque | — |
| 6 | Middle French | jacques | — |
| 7 | French | jacques | plural of jacque; a stupid person; a jemmy or... |
| 8 | Latin | Iacobus | Jacob; James; Saint James |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | Ἰάκωβος | — |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | Ἰακώβ | Jacob |
| 11 | Hebrew | יַעֲקֹב | Jacob |
| 12 | Hebrew | עָקֵב | heel of the foot; heel |
via Middle English Jake
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | Jake | — |