<P> As early as the mid-16th century the card was known in England as the knave ( meaning a male servant of royalty ) . Although jack was in common usage to designate the knave , the term became more entrenched when , in 1864 , American cardmaker Samuel Hart published a deck using `` J '' instead of `` Kn '' to designate the lowest - ranking court card . The knave card had been called a jack as part of the terminology of the game All Fours since the 17th century , but this usage was considered common or low class . However , because the card abbreviation for knave was so close to that of the king ( `` Kn '' versus `` K '' ) , the two were easily confused . This confusion was even more pronounced after the markings indicating suits and rankings were moved to the corners of the card , a move which enabled players to `` fan '' a hand of cards without obscuring the individual suits and ranks . The earliest deck known of this type is from 1693 , but such positioning did not become widespread until reintroduced by Hart in 1864 , together with the knave - to - jack change . Books of card games published in the third quarter of the 19th century still referred to the `` knave '' however , a term that is still recognized in the United Kingdom . ( Note the exclamation by Estella in Charles Dickens 's novel Great Expectations : `` He calls the knaves , jacks , this boy ! '' ) </P>
<P> As early as the mid-16th century the card was known in England as the knave ( meaning a male servant of royalty ) . Although jack was in common usage to designate the knave , the term became more entrenched when , in 1864 , American cardmaker Samuel Hart published a deck using `` J '' instead of `` Kn '' to designate the lowest - ranking court card . The knave card had been called a jack as part of the terminology of the game All Fours since the 17th century , but this usage was considered common or low class . However , because the card abbreviation for knave was so close to that of the king ( `` Kn '' versus `` K '' ) , the two were easily confused . This confusion was even more pronounced after the markings indicating suits and rankings were moved to the corners of the card , a move which enabled players to `` fan '' a hand of cards without obscuring the individual suits and ranks . The earliest deck known of this type is from 1693 , but such positioning did not become widespread until reintroduced by Hart in 1864 , together with the knave - to - jack change . Books of card games published in the third quarter of the 19th century still referred to the `` knave '' however , a term that is still recognized in the United Kingdom . ( Note the exclamation by Estella in Charles Dickens 's novel Great Expectations : `` He calls the knaves , jacks , this boy ! '' ) </P>
who does the jack represent in a deck of cards
who does the jack represent in a deck of cards
a male servant of royalty
a male servant of royalty