jakes

¹ American  

[jeyks] / dʒeɪks /

noun

(usually used with a plural verb)

1. an outdoor privy; outhouse.

2. a toilet or bedpan.

---

Jakes ² American  

[jeyks] / dʒeɪks /

noun

1. John, 1932–2023, U.S. novelist noted for historical fiction: pen names include Jay Scotland.

---

jakes British  

/ dʒeɪks /

noun

1. an archaic slang word for lavatory

2. dialect human excrement

---

Etymology

Origin of jakes

1525–35; < French Jacques, proper name; john

Example Sentences

In fact, many of his fellow jakes didn’t know until recently that he had MS.

From Washington Times • Apr. 3, 2017

“Teenage males, or jakes, that are habituated to people get a bit aggressive.”

From New York Times • Feb. 18, 2016

It seems innocuous, but in original pronunciation, it may have sounded like, he is a jakes, which is a toilet.

From Time • Sep. 20, 2013

"We're seeing about 50 times more jakes than long beards," said Ray Henard of SaltFork Hunts in Wellington, Texas.

From Scientific American • May 20, 2013

"We don't do this every day. Some days we clean out the jakes and pile it on the dung heap."

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood