jackpot English · revision 1885

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈd͡ʒækpɒt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound of [[jack]] in its card-playing sense and [[pot]],^(Etymonline) referring to a poker pot that could be opened only by a player holding a pair of jacks or better.^(Etymonline)^(AHD) Random House calls it of uncertain origin.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In poker, the stakes accumulated in a game that requires a pair of jacks or better to open (1881).^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Jackpots were introduced into poker around 1870, according to an encyclopedia quoted by Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The word passed to the top prize on a slot machine (1932)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) and then to any big prize (1944).^(Etymonline) ''To hit the jackpot'', to be very successful, dates from 1938.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) Earlier, in criminal slang, it meant “trouble”, especially an arrest (1902);^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster records a regional sense of “a tight spot”.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1880–85 – Random House's dating.^(RHWU)

+ * 1881 – the poker pot.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1902 – criminal slang, trouble, an arrest.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1932 – the slot-machine prize.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1938 – ''hit the jackpot''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1944 – any big prize.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The top prize in a game or contest, especially a large fund formed by unwon prizes, as in a [[lottery]] or on a [[slot machine]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(poker)'' The accumulated stakes in a game that requires a pair of jacks or better to open.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # An impressive, often unexpected success or reward.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(chiefly Western US)'' A tight spot; a [[jam]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[jack]]

+ * [[pot]]

+ * [[jackknife]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}