Where does “jackpot” come from?
Jackpot is a compound of jack and pot in English, though the specific origin and original meaning of this combination remain uncertain.
jackpot (English): A money prize pool which accumulates until the...
Definitions
- A money prize pool which accumulates until the...
Ancestry of “jackpot”, step by step
jackpot traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Jack
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Jack | A placeholder or conventional name for any man,... |
| 2 | Middle English | jakke | A padded coat, especially as light armour |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | jacke | — |
| 4 | Middle French | jaque | — |
| 5 | Middle French | jacques | — |
| 6 | French | jacques | plural of jacque; a stupid person; a jemmy or... |
| 7 | Latin | Iacobus | Jacob; James; Saint James |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | Ἰάκωβος | — |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | Ἰακώβ | Jacob |
| 10 | Hebrew | יַעֲקֹב | Jacob |
| 11 | Hebrew | עָקֵב | heel of the foot; heel |
via English pot
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pot | A flat-bottomed vessel used for cooking food;... |
| 2 | Middle English | pot | A pot; a circular receptacle or vessel; The top... |
| 3 | Old French | pot | pot; third-person singular present indicative of... |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | pottum | — |
| 5 | Frankish | *pott | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | puttaz | pot, jar, tub |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | budn- | a kind of vessel; type of vessel; a type of... |