joke

From Latin iocus (“joke, jest, pastime”), from Proto-Italic *jokos (“word, (playful?) saying”), from Proto-Indo-European *yokos (“word, utterance”), from ultimate root Proto-Indo-European *yek- (“to speak, utter”) (of which distant cognates include Proto-Celtic *yextis (“language”) (Breton yezh (“language”) and Welsh iaith (“language”)) and German Beichte (“confession”)). Cognate with French jeu, Italian gioco, Portuguese jogo, Spanish juego, Romanian joc, English Yule, Danish Jule, Norwegian Bokmål Jul, Swedish Jul, and Norwegian Nynorsk jol.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒəʊk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒoʊk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊk

joke (plural jokes)

1. An amusing story.
   • 1708, John Gay, Wine:

     Or witty joke our airy senses moves / To pleasant laughter.

2. Something said or done for amusement, not in seriousness.

   It was a joke!

   • 1733–1737, Alexander Pope, [Imitations of Horace], London: […] R[obert] Dodsley [et al.]:
3. (figuratively) The root cause or main issue, especially an unexpected one
4. (figuratively) A laughably worthless thing or person; a sham.

   Your effort at cleaning your room is a joke.

   The president was a joke.

   • 1943 September and October, T. Lovatt Williams, “Some Reminiscences of the Footplate—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 272:

     The other wheel on the tender of the L.N.W.R. engines operated the tender brake, and this was always rather a joke. Sometimes it operated with good results and on other occasions it did not.

5. (figuratively) Something that is far easier or far less challenging than expected.

   The final exam was a joke.

• See also Thesaurus:joke

• jocular

• → Danish: joke
• → French: joke
• → Persian: جوک
• → Japanese: ジョーク, → Japanese: 冗句
• → Welsh: jôc

joke (third-person singular simple present jokes, present participle joking, simple past and past participle joked)

1. (intransitive) To do or say something for amusement rather than seriously.

   I didn’t mean what I said — I was only joking.

2. (intransitive, followed by with) To dupe in a friendly manner for amusement; to mess with, play with.

   Relax, man, I'm just joking with you.

3. (transitive, dated) To make merry with; to make jokes upon; to rally.

   to joke a comrade

   • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 21, in The History of Pendennis. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

     He made more than one visit to Oxbridge, where the young fellows were amused by entertaining the old gentleman, and gave parties and breakfasts and fêtes, partly to joke him and partly to do him honour.

• joker

• jeer
• mock

• ojek

Borrowed from English joke.

• IPA^(key): [ˈd̥jɔwɡ̊]

joke c (singular definite joken, plural indefinite jokes)

1. joke

• spøg
• vits
• vittighed

Borrowed from English joke.

• IPA^(key): [ˈd̥jɔwɡ̊ə], (imperative) IPA^(key): [ˈd̥jɔwˀɡ̊]

joke (past tense jokede, past participle joket)

1. joke

• spøge

From English joke.

• IPA^(key): /dʒok/
• (Quebec) IPA^(key): /dʒoʊk/

• Audio (CAN)

  (file)

joke f (plural jokes)

1. (Louisiana, Missouri, New England, Quebec) joke
   • 2009, Robert Maltais, Le Curé du Mile End, page 195:

     Non, non, c’est juste une joke. Garde-lé, ton vingt piastres.

     No, no, that was a joke. Keep it, your twenty bucks.

• faire une joke