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jest - 5 dictionary results

jest

  [jest]
Use jest in a Sentence
–noun
1. a joke or witty remark; witticism.
2. a bantering remark; a piece of good-natured ridicule; taunt.
3. sport or fun: to speak half in jest, half in earnest.
4. the object of laughter, sport, or mockery; laughing-stock.
5. Obsolete. an exploit. Compare gest.
–verb (used without object)
6. to speak in a playful, humorous, or facetious way; joke.
7. to speak or act in mere sport, rather than in earnest; trifle (often fol. by with): Please don't jest with me.
8. to utter derisive speeches; gibe or scoff.
–verb (used with object)
9. to deride or joke at; banter.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME; var. sp. of gest

Related forms:
jestful, adjective
jest⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. quip. See joke. 2. jape, gibe. 4. butt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To jest
jest   (jěst)   
n.  
  1. A playful or amusing act; a prank. See Synonyms at joke.
  2. A frolicsome or frivolous mood: spoken in jest.
  3. An object of ridicule; a laughingstock.
  4. A witty remark.
v.   jest·ed, jest·ing, jests

v.   intr.
  1. To act or speak playfully.
  2. To make witty remarks.
  3. To utter scoffs; gibe.
v.   tr.
To make fun of; ridicule.

[Middle English geste, tale, from Old French, from Latin gesta, deeds, from neuter pl. past participle of gerere, to perform.]
jest'ing·ly adv.
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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Jest

Jest\, n. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perform; perh. orig., to make to come, bring, and perh. akin to E. come. Cf. Gest a deed, Register, n.]

1. A deed; an action; a gest. [Obs.]

The jests or actions of princes. --Sir T. Elyot.

2. A mask; a pageant; an interlude. [Obs.] --Nares.

He promised us, in honor of our guest, To grace our banquet with some pompous jest. --Kyd.

3. Something done or said in order to amuse; a joke; a witticism; a jocose or sportive remark or phrase. See Synonyms under Jest, v. i.

I must be sad . . . smile at no man's jests. --Shak.

The Right Honorable gentleman is indebted to his memory for his jests, and to his imagination for his facts. --Sheridan.

4. The object of laughter or sport; a laughingstock.

Then let me be your jest; I deserve it. --Shak.

In jest, for mere sport or diversion; not in truth and reality; not in earnest.

And given in earnest what I begged in jest. --Shak.

Jest book, a book containing a collection of jests, jokes, and amusing anecdotes; a Joe Miller.

Jest

Jest\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Jested; p. pr. & vb. n. Jesting.]

1. To take part in a merrymaking; -- especially, to act in a mask or interlude. [Obs.] --Shak.

2. To make merriment by words or actions; to joke; to make light of anything.

He jests at scars that never felt a wound. --Shak.

Syn: To joke; sport; rally.

Usage: To Jest, Joke. One jests in order to make others laugh; one jokes to please himself. A jest is usually at the expense of another, and is often ill-natured; a joke is a sportive sally designed to promote good humor without wounding the feelings of its object. "Jests are, therefore, seldom harmless; jokes frequently allowable. The most serious subject may be degraded by being turned into a jest." --Crabb.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : jest
Spanish: broma,
German: der Scherz,
Japanese: 冗談
More Translations »

jest 
c.1300, "narrative of exploits" (originally in verse), from O.Fr. geste "action, exploit," from L. gesta "deeds," neut. pl. of gestus, pp. of gerere "to carry, behave, act, perform." Sense descended through "idle tale" (c.1470) to "mocking speech, raillery" (c.1548) to "joke" (1551). The verb in the sense of "to speak in a trifling manner" is from 1530. Jester developed from M.E. gestour "a minstrel, professional reciter of romances" (c.1380), from gesten "recite a tale," which was a jester's original function; sense of "buffoon in a prince's court" is from 1510.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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