jape

[ jeyp ]

/ dʒeɪp /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR jape ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), japed, jap·ing.

to jest; joke; gibe.

verb (used with object), japed, jap·ing.

to mock or make fun of.

noun

a joke; jest; quip.

a trick or practical joke.

Nearby words

Origin of jape

1300–50; Middle English japen, perhaps < Old French jap(p)er to bark, of imitative orig.

Related formsjap·er, nounjap·er·y, nounjap·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for jape

It was clearly meant to be a sycophantic gesture, but the jape backfired like a blocked Victorian shotgun.
Royal Cover-Up as Prince of Wales Shoots Owl (In 1896)|Tom Sykes|February 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And when this jape is told another day I shall be halden a daffe or a Cokenay.
Notes and Queries, Vol. IV, Number 111, December 13, 1851|Various
I'm goin' to jape a bit with our friend, a' la 'Molly' Fairburn.
Stalky & Co.|Rudyard Kipling
Presently, when they heard him snoring, they began asking each other in whispers what jape they could play off on him.
The Well of Saint Clare|Anatole France

I am very sure he is your enemy,” Brilliana answered, sharply, “for he makes you his daily jape.
The Lady of Loyalty House|Justin Huntly McCarthy
It made a new game for him, you see, amusing and rather flattering as well, the kind of a jape he was all too apt at.
Where the Pavement Ends|John Russell

British Dictionary definitions for jape

jape

/ (dʒeɪp) /

noun

a jest or joke

verb

to joke or jest (about)

Derived Formsjaper, nounjapery, nounjapingly, adverb

Word Origin for jape

C14: perhaps from Old French japper to bark, yap, of imitative origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for jape

jape

late 14c., "to trick, beguile, jilt," perhaps from Old French japer "to howl, bawl, scream," of echoic origin, or from Old French gaber "to mock, deride." Phonetics suits the former, but sense the latter explanation. Took on a slang sense mid-15c. of "have sex with," and disappeared from polite usage. Revived in harmless Middle English sense of "say or do something in jest" by Scott, etc. Related: Japed; japing.

jape

early 14c., "trick, deceit," later "a joke, a jest" (late 14c.); see jape (v.). By mid-14c. it meant "frivolous pastime," by 1400, "bawdiness."

jape

verb (used without object), japed, jap·ing.

verb (used with object), japed, jap·ing.

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of jape

Examples from the Web for jape

jape

noun

verb

Word Origin for jape

jape

jape