In a deck of playing cards, the term face card (US) or court card (British and US),[1] and sometimes royalty, is generally used to describe a card that depicts a person as opposed to the pip cards. In a standard 52-card pack of the English pattern, these cards are the King, Queen and Jack. The term picture card is also common, but that term sometimes includes the Aces. After the American innovation of corner-indices, the idea of "pictured" cards from tarot trumps was used to replace all 52 cards from the standard deck with pictures, art, or photography in some souvenir packs featuring a wide variety of subjects (animals, scenery, cartoons, pin-ups, vehicles, etc.) that may garner interest with collectors.[2]
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In the standard packs of non-English speaking regions, the face or court cards may be different. For example, in Italian- and Spanish-suited packs there is a Knight or Cavalier instead of a Queen. In French-suited Tarot card packs, the Cavalier is a fourth court card. By contrast, German-suited packs typically depict an officer or overlord, known as the Ober, and a sergeant or peasant known as the Unter.
Until the early 20th century, the term coat card was also common.
- ^ Wedgwood, Hensleigh (1855). "On False Etymologies". Transactions of the Philological Society (6): 71.
- ^ "History of Playing-Cards". i-p-c-s.org. The International Playing-Card Society. Retrieved September 7, 2024.