joke
pronunciation
How to pronounce joke in British English:
UK [dʒəʊk]
How to pronounce joke in American English:
US [dʒoʊk]
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- Noun:
- a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
- activity characterized by good humor
- a ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement
- a triviality not to be taken seriously
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- Verb:
- tell a joke; speak humorously
- act in a funny or teasing way
Word Origin
- 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.=> jeopardy, jewel, jocular, juggler
- joke (n.)
- 1660s, joque, "a jest, something done to excite laughter," from Latin iocus "joke, sport, pastime," from PIE root *yek- (1) "to speak" (cognates: Breton iez "language," Old High German jehan "to say," German Beichte "confession"). Originally a colloquial or slang word. Meaning "something or someone not to be taken seriously" is from 1791. Practical joke "trick played on someone for the sake of a laugh at his expense" is from 1804 (earlier handicraft joke, 1741). Black joke is old slang for "smutty song" (1730s), from use of that phrase in the refrain of a then-popular song as a euphemism for "the monosyllable."
- joke (v.)
- 1660s, "to make a joke," from Latin iocari "to jest, joke," from iocus (see joke (n.)). Related: Joked; joking.
Example
- 1. They feel it 's nothing but a joke .
- 2. Marjorie baer used to joke about her retirement plans .
- 3. It was not clear if his joke was intentional .
- 4. The joke always gets a laugh .
- 5. They even called the advertisements a joke !