from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Jacob \Ja"cob\, n. [Cf. F. Jacob. See 2d {Jack}.]
A Hebrew patriarch (son of Isaac, and ancestor of the Jews),
who in a vision saw a ladder reaching up to heaven (--Gen.
xxviii. 12); -- also called {Israel}.
[1913 Webster]
And Jacob said . . . with my staff I passed over this
Jordan, and now I am become two bands. --Gen. xxxii.
9, 10.
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Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel.
--Gen. xxxii.
28.
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{Jacob's ladder}.
(a) (Bot.) A perennial herb of the genus {Polemonium}
({Polemonium c[oe]ruleum), having corymbs of drooping
flowers, usually blue. Gray}.
(b) (Naut.) A rope ladder, with wooden steps, for going
aloft. --R. H. Dana, Jr.
(c) (Naut.) A succession of short cracks in a defective spar.
{Jacob's membrane}. See {Retina}.
{Jacob's staff}.
(a) A name given to many forms of staff or weapon, especially
in the Middle Ages; a pilgrim's staff. [Obs.] --Spenser.
(b) (Surveying) See under {Staff}.
[1913 Webster]