Medieval · insult · noun
Jackanapes
JACK-uh-nayps /ˈd͡ʒækəneɪps/pronunciation given by a dictionary
First recorded1450
Its earliest recorded use (1450) is a mocking nickname for the Duke of Suffolk (whose badge was an ape's clog and chain); it was probably already a pet name for a tame ape, which is recorded from 1522. By the mid-1500s it meant a pert, conceited, ape-like upstart, and later, playfully, a cheeky child.
Where it was first recorded
Political verses on the arrest and death of William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk (1450), where 'Jack Napys' is his nickname.
Also spelled: Jack Napes, jack-a-napes, jack-an-apes, jackanape
In its own time
I had a hundred pound on't: and then a whoreson jackanapes must take me up for swearing; as if I borrowed mine oaths of him and might not spend them at my pleasure.
Today
Modern exampleSome jackanapes in a hired sports car has parked across both of our spaces.
Fine to use as a mild, old-fashioned put-down for a show-off or a cheeky child.
Questions
What does jackanapes mean?
Its earliest recorded use (1450) is a mocking nickname for the Duke of Suffolk (whose badge was an ape's clog and chain); it was probably already a pet name for a tame ape, which is recorded from 1522. By the mid-1500s it meant a pert, conceited, ape-like upstart, and later, playfully, a cheeky child.
When was jackanapes first used?
It is first recorded 1450 — Political verses on the arrest and death of William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk (1450), where 'Jack Napys' is his nickname.
Can you still use jackanapes today?
Fine to use as a mild, old-fashioned put-down for a show-off or a cheeky child.
Sources
- Jackanapes — Murray's New English Dictionary (OED1), via World English Historical Dictionary
- jackanapes — Online Etymology Dictionary
- jackanapes — Merriam-Webster
- jackanapes — Wiktionary
- Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 ed.) — Francis Grose (Project Gutenberg #5402)
- Cymbeline — The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (MIT)
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above