jape
[jeyp]
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.
Origin of jape
1300–50; Middle English japen, perhaps < Old French jap(p)er to bark, of imitative orig.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for jape
Contemporary Examples of jape
It was clearly meant to be a sycophantic gesture, but the jape backfired like a blocked Victorian shotgun.
Historical Examples of jape
And when I say this, I do jape with words, and may hap ye understond me not.
Letters to Dead AuthorsAndrew Lang
I'm goin' to jape a bit with our friend, a' la 'Molly' Fairburn.
Stalky & Co.Rudyard Kipling
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 EndsJohn Russell
Mr. Mackie, passing with his orange partner, had repeated his jape about the Ruthless Boaz.
The Story of LouieOliver Onions
Then for a moment we fell to jape and jesting; foolishly, for the Gods are always listening, and the Desert-Gods have long ears.
The Leicestershires beyond BaghdadEdward John Thompson
jape
noun
verb
Word Origin for jape
C14: perhaps from Old French japper to bark, yap, of imitative origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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