jape
[jeyp]
- to jest; joke; gibe.
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- to mock or make fun of.
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- a joke; jest; quip.
- a trick or practical joke.
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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. 2018
Related Words
jokesterclownfoolmadcaptricksteranticharlequinwagactorjokerwitcomedianbuffooncomichumoristcardpranksterpantaloondrollquipsterExamples from the Web for japer
Historical Examples
Now let the japer, and the smiler with his knife, do me what harm they may.
French Mediaeval Romances from the Lays of Marie de FranceMarie de France
jape
- a jest or joke
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- to joke or jest (about)
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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
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Word Origin and History for japer
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.
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jape
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."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper