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facetiousness

 - 3 dictionary results

fa⋅ce⋅tious

  [fuh-see-shuhs]
Use facetiousness in a Sentence
–adjective
1. not meant to be taken seriously or literally: a facetious remark.
2. amusing; humorous.
3. lacking serious intent; concerned with something nonessential, amusing, or frivolous: a facetious person.
Origin:
1585–95; facete + -ious; see facetiae

Related forms:
fa⋅ce⋅tious⋅ly, adverb
fa⋅ce⋅tious⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
2. See humorous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To facetiousness
fa·ce·tious   (fə-sē'shəs)   
adj.  Playfully jocular; humorous: facetious remarks.

[French facétieux, from facétie, jest, from Latin facētia, from facētus, witty.]
fa·ce'tious·ly adv., fa·ce'tious·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

facetious 
1592, from Fr. facétieux, from facétie "a joke," from L. facetia, from facetus "witty, elegant," of unknown origin, perhaps related to facis "torch." It implies a desire to be amusing, often intrusive or ill-timed. "Facetiæ in booksellers' catalogues, is, like curious, a euphemism for erotica." [Fowler]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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