Etymology

Jolly Roger

Jol·ly Rog·er

Today it means: The traditional flag used on European and American pirate ships, and, more recently, by submarine crews, often pictured as a white skull and crossbones on a black field; the blackjack. Full definition →

First used early 18th c.
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The story

Possibly from jolly + Roger (“dialectal nickname for the Devil”).

First known use, by meaning

  • from early 18th c. The traditional flag used on European and American pirate ships, and, more recently, by submarine crews, often pictured as a white skull and crossbones on a black field; the blackjack.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.