jaque

• IPA^(key): /ʒak/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Borrowed from Portuguese jaca (“jackfruit”), from Malayalam ചക്ക (cakka) / Tamil சக்கை (cakkai).

jaque m or f (plural jaques)

1. jackfruit

• jacque

• jaquier (“jackfruit tree”)

Inherited from Old French jaque; see there for more.

jaque m (plural jaques)

1. (historical) gambison

• “jaque”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

• jacque

Usually linked to the given name Jacques; an alternative origin connects it with jaque (“coat of arms”), which is from Arabic شـَكّ (šakk, “breastplate”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒakə/

jaque oblique singular, m (oblique plural jaques, nominative singular jaques, nominative plural jaque)

1. a gambison; a type of tight-fitting shirt

• jaquet, jacquet

From diminutive jaquet:

• jeque (Brazil)

Borrowed from English jack.^[1][2]

• Hyphenation: ja‧que

jaque m (plural jaques) (European Portuguese spelling)

1. (nautical) jack (naval ensign)

• IPA^(key): /ˈxake/ [ˈxa.ke]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ake
• Syllabification: ja‧que

Inherited from Old Spanish xaque, from Arabic شاه (šāh, “shah; king chess piece”), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /⁠šāh⁠/, “king”). Doublet of cheque and escaque (“chess tile”), the latter formerly meaning "(any) chess piece" as well.

To explain the unusual rendering of Arabic -h as /k/ (-que), Coromines and Pascual suggest influence from escaque instead. They also mention an alternative idea they find less likely where the sound [h] was exaggerated as [k], cf. Medieval Latin nichil [ˈnikil]. Yet another explanation (not in Coromines and Pascual) for the /k/ is that it is from Arabic شاهك šāh-ak ("your king"), especially as it is used to announce an upcoming attack onto the enemy's king. First attested in 1283 as dar xaque ("to threaten the enemy's king").

jaque m (plural jaques)

1. (chess) check

   No oí bien cuando me dijo « ¡Jaque! »

   I didn't hear well when she said "Check!"

2. jeopardy, danger, threat

   Synonyms: peligro, amenaza

   • 2026 February 1, Daniela Guazo, “Un contagio por hora: la epidemia de sarampión que México no pudo frenar [One infection per hour: the measles epidemic that Mexico couldn't stop]”, in El Universal (Mexico)‎^[1], archived from the original on 2 February 2026:

     Esta nueva epidemia está poniendo en jaque a aquellos que probablemente fueron vacunados en los 90.

     This new epidemic is putting those who were probably vaccinated in the 90s at risk.

   Vamos, no me pongas en jaque con esa pregunta repentina.

   C'mon, don't put me in jeopardy with that sudden question.

• jácaro (“dandy”)
• jaquear (“to check, to bother”)
• jaque mate (“checkmate”)
• tener en jaque (“to bully”)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

jaque

1. inflection of jaquir:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• Coromines, Joan; Pascual, José Antonio (1984), “jaque”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic etymological dictionary]‎^[2] (in Spanish), volume III (G–Ma), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 490

• “jaque”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025