Ja·cob's ladder /ˈʤekəbz-/



 Ja·cob n.  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.
    And Jacob said . . . with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands.   --Gen. xxxii. 9, 10.
    Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel.   --Gen. xxxii. 28.
 Jacob's ladder. (a) Bot. A perennial herb of the genus Polemonium (Polemonium cœruleum), 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.

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 Jacob's ladder
      n 1: pinnate-leaved European perennial having bright blue or
           white flowers [syn: Greek valerian, charity, {Polemonium
           caeruleum, Polemonium van-bruntiae, {Polymonium
           caeruleum van-bruntiae]
      2: (nautical) a hanging ladder of ropes or chains supporting
         wooden or metal rungs or steps [syn: jack ladder, {pilot
         ladder]