jack of all trades

Meaning

Noun

• One competent in many endeavors, especially one who excels in none of them.

Related

Similar words

• factotum, handyman, polymath, sciolist, all-rounder

Origin

• 1610s, from sense Jack. Originally a term of praise (competent in many endeavors), today generally used disparagingly, with emphasis on (implied or stated) “master of none”, as in later longer form jack of all trades, master of none.
• First attested in Essayes and characters of a prison and prisoners, by Geffray Minshull, published 1618 (written 1612), , as Jack-of-all-trades.