John doe

name, noun

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A fictitious name used chiefly in legal documents for an unknown or anonymous, usually male, person. US

    "i.e. "to Tom, Dick or Harry:" the names like John Doe and Richard Roe are used indefinitely in Arab."

Noun
  1. 1
    Any unknown or anonymous, usually male, person. US
  2. 2
    an unknown or fictitious man who is a party to legal proceedings wordnet
  3. 3
    a hypothetical average man wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

Books that documented and taught the legal profession in England were using the names John Smith, John Doe, Richard Roe, and others as generic placeholder names (for roles, such as plaintiff, defendant, partitioner, etc) by the mid-seventeenth century (perhaps earlier). Compare also Tommy Atkins.

Etymology 2

Books that documented and taught the legal profession in England were using the names John Smith, John Doe, Richard Roe, and others as generic placeholder names (for roles, such as plaintiff, defendant, partitioner, etc) by the mid-seventeenth century (perhaps earlier). Compare also Tommy Atkins.

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