jape

[jeyp]

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.

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for jape

Contemporary Examples

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

Historical Examples

And when I say this, I do jape with words, and may hap ye understond me not.
Letters to Dead Authors
Andrew 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 Ends
John Russell
Mr. Mackie, passing with his orange partner, had repeated his jape about the Ruthless Boaz.
The Story of Louie
Oliver 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 Baghdad
Edward John Thompson

British Dictionary definitions for jape

jape

noun

a jest or joke

verb

to joke or jest (about)

Derived Formsjaper, nounjapery, nounjapingly, adverb

Word Origin

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

v.

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.

n.

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

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Examples from the Web for jape

Contemporary Examples

It was clearly meant to be a sycophantic gesture, but the jape backfired like a blocked Victorian shotgun.

Historical Examples

And when I say this, I do jape with words, and may hap ye understond me not.

I'm goin' to jape a bit with our friend, a' la 'Molly' Fairburn.

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.

Mr. Mackie, passing with his orange partner, had repeated his jape about the Ruthless Boaz.

Then for a moment we fell to jape and jesting; foolishly, for the Gods are always listening, and the Desert-Gods have long ears.

jape

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for jape

v.

n.

Origin of jape