Jack Ketch

[ kech ]

/ kɛtʃ /

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noun British Slang.

a public hangman.

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The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

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Origin of Jack Ketch

First recorded in 1665–75; named after John Ketch (1663?–86), English executioner noted for his brutality

Words nearby Jack Ketch

jacking engine, jack-in-office, jack-in-the-box, jack-in-the-green, jack-in-the-pulpit, Jack Ketch, jackknife, jackknife-fish, jack ladder, jackleg, jacklight

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for Jack Ketch

Starting in the 1970s, then MPAA president Jack Valenti began what was to become a decades-long fight against the quota system.
Propaganda, Protest, and Poisonous Vipers: The Cinema War in Korea|Rich Goldstein|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Heinold's First and Last Chance, Oakland (Jack London, Taft) You can thank Johnny Heinold for your favorite Jack London book.
The Bars That Made America Great|Nina Strochlic|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But not even the threat of death can suppress the urge to live vicariously through Jack Dawson and James Bond.
North Korea’s Secret Movie Bootleggers: How Western Films Make It Into the Hermit Kingdom|Lizzie Crocker|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As I size up the scene, Jack White now wears the crown … and he wears it well.
The Best Albums of 2014|Ted Gioia|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Nets guard Jarrett Jack claimed credit for the shirts LeBron James and several other players were seen in before the game.
‘I Can’t Breathe’ Makes It Onto the Court for Will and Kate to See|Jacob Siegel|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Strathland would bundle me out in ten minutes if anything happened to Jack.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
She is immensely rich, one of the ablest political women in London, and Jack is desperately in love with her.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
How on earth can Jack find time to think about women with the immense amount of work he gets through?
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
No, Jack is not much to look at, except when he wakes up—I have seen him quite transfigured on the platform.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
Little Jack Charmington, her husband, had a snug four hundred a year of his own, which quite sufficed for his modest needs.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills

British Dictionary definitions for Jack Ketch

Jack Ketch

/ (kɛtʃ) /

noun

British archaic a hangman

Word Origin for Jack Ketch

C18: after John Ketch (died 1686), public executioner in England

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Jack Ketch

noun British Slang.

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!

Origin of Jack Ketch

Words nearby Jack Ketch

Example sentences from the Web for Jack Ketch

British Dictionary definitions for Jack Ketch

noun

Word Origin for Jack Ketch