verb (used without object)
1.
to jest; joke; gibe.
verb (used with object)
2.
to mock or make fun of.
noun
3.
a joke; jest; quip.
4.
a trick or practical joke.
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English japen, perhaps < Old French jap(p)er to bark, of imitative orig.
1300–50; Middle English japen, perhaps < Old French jap(p)er to bark, of imitative orig.
Related forms
jap·er, noun
jap·er·y, noun
jap·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To jape
Collins
World English Dictionary
jape (dʒeɪp) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a jest or joke |
| —vb | |
| 2. | to joke or jest (about) |
| [C14: perhaps from Old French japper to bark, yap, of imitative origin] | |
| 'japer | |
| —n | |
| 'japery | |
| —n | |
| 'japingly | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Jape
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
jape
c.1300, "to trick, beguile," perhaps from O.Fr. japer "to howl," of echoic origin, or from O.Fr. 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 M.E. sense
of "say or do something in jest" by Scott, etc.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
But amid so much amiable spoofing there also are some moments when this historical jape falls as flat as a tired old joke.
His manner was courtly, his green and amber eyes merry, his lips seemed always to be pursed for a joke or a jape.
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