joke

joke
\ \ [17] Latin jocus meant ‘jest, joke’ (a possible link with Old High German gehan ‘say’ and Sanskrit yācati ‘he implores’ suggests that its underlying meaning was ‘word-play’). It passed into Old French as jeu, which lies behind English jeopardy and probably also jewel. But English also went direct to Latin for a set of words connected with ‘fun’ and ‘humour’, among them jocose [17] and jocular [17], both from Latin derivatives of jocus (the superficially similar jocund, incidentally, is etymologically unrelated), and joke itself, which was originally introduced in the form joque or joc (‘coming off with so many dry joques and biting repartees’, Bishop Kennett’s translation of Erasmus’s Encomium Moriae 1683). Juggler belongs to the same word family.
\ \ Cf.⇒ JEOPARDY, JEWEL, JOCULAR, JUGGLER

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Joke — est un groupe de musique français créé en 1995 en banlieue parisienne. Ses membres fusionnent différents styles musicaux allant du punk rock, au hip hop en passant par le raggamuffin. Activites scéniques aux textes socialement impliqués, les… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • joke — joke, jest, jape, quip, witticism, wisecrack, crack, gag are comparable when they mean a remark, story, or action intended to evoke laughter. Joke, when applied to a story or remark, suggests something designed to promote good humor and… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Joke — Joke, n. [L. jocus. Cf {Jeopardy}, {Jocular}, {Juggler}.] [1913 Webster] 1. Something said for the sake of exciting a laugh; something witty or sportive (commonly indicating more of hilarity or humor than jest); a jest; a witticism; as, to crack… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • joke — [jōk] n. [L jocus, a joke, game < IE base * jek , to speak > OHG jehan] 1. anything said or done to arouse laughter; specif., a) a funny anecdote with a punch line b) an amusing trick played on someone 2. the humorous element in a situation …   English World dictionary

  • Joke — 〈[ dʒoʊk] m. 6; umg.〉 Witz, witzige Geschichte ● er machte einen Joke nach dem anderen [engl.] * * * Joke [ʤoʊk], der; s, s [engl. joke < lat. iocus = Scherz] (ugs.): Witz: er macht gern mal einen J …   Universal-Lexikon

  • joke — joke·less; joke·let; joke·ster; joke; …   English syllables

  • Joke — Joke, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Joked}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Joking}.] To make merry with; to make jokes upon; to rally; to banter; as, to joke a comrade. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Joke — Joke, v. i. [L. jocari.] To do something for sport, or as a joke; to be merry in words or actions; to jest. [1913 Webster] He laughed, shouted, joked, and swore. Macaulay. Syn: To jest; sport; rally; banter. See {Jest}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • joke — [n1] fun, quip antic, bon mot, buffoonery, burlesque, caper, caprice, chestnut*, clowning, drollery, epigram, escapade, farce, frolic, gag, gambol, game, ha ha*, hoodwinking*, horseplay*, humor, jape, jest, lark, laugh, mischief, monkeyshine*,… …   New thesaurus

  • Joke — 〈 [dʒoʊk] m.; Gen.: s, Pl.: s; umg.〉 Witz, witzige Geschichte; er machte einen Joke nach dem anderen [Etym.: engl.] …   Lexikalische Deutsches Wörterbuch

  • Joke — [dʒouk] der; s, s <aus gleichbed. engl. joke, dies aus lat. iocus> (ugs.) Witz, spaßige Geschichte …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

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