court card

A court card, also known as a face card, is a king, queen, or jack in a deck of playing cards. Playing cards are used for games, education, divination, and conjuring. Traditionally made of paper or cardboard, they are uniform in size and marked on one side (the face) for identification, with a common pattern on the back.12

The international deck, widely used today, consists of 52 cards divided into four suits: spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds. Each suit has 13 ranks, including numbered cards and three court cards: jack, queen, and king. These court cards are historically male figures, though queens were introduced in some decks.23

Playing cards first appeared in Europe in the 1370s and spread through trade routes. The invention of printing significantly reduced their cost, making them more accessible. Beyond games, playing cards are also used for fortune-telling, where each card is assigned a meaning that can be interpreted based on its position in a spread.234