jacob

n. a common name for a boy or man.

n. a male given name of Hebrew origin, meaning 'supplanter'.

“Jacob is one of the most popular names for baby boys this year.”

“The biblical figure Jacob is a central patriarch in the Abrahamic traditions, known for his twelve sons who became the tribes of Israel.”

n. a type of sheep that often has four horns and a spotted coat.

n. a breed of multihorned (polycerate) sheep, typically characterized by a piebald or spotted fleece.

“The farmer kept a small flock of Jacob sheep because of their striking horns.”

“The Jacob is a primitive breed whose unique genetic markers distinguish it from other modern British commercial sheep populations.”

Technical

n. an old word for a ladder.

n. a slang term for a ladder, derived from the biblical 'Jacob's Ladder'.

“The old thief told his partner to bring the jacob to the wall.”

“In nineteenth-century criminal cant, a 'jacob' was the standard term for a ladder used during a housebreaking.”

British English · Archaic · Slang