noun
knave
A jack in a deck of playing cards.
He laid the knave of hearts beside the queen.
Etymology
The older word names a boy or servant. In cards, the knave represents an attendant below the king and queen, later commonly called the jack.
More examples
- The old instructions used knave where modern players would say jack.
- Four knaves appeared in the illustrated deck.
- She drew a knave and completed the sequence.
Forms
knave · knaves
Similar words
- jack
- Jack is the usual modern name for the card also called a knave.
- court card
- Court card includes kings, queens, and jacks; a knave is specifically the jack.