EnglishDefinition (Entry 1 of 2)
- : a joking or mocking remark //a clever jest
- : prank: a ludicrous circumstance or incident //A proper jest, and never heard before, that Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth for costs and charges … — William Shakespeare
- : a frivolous mood or manner —usually used with in //spoken in jest: gaiety and merriment //I knew him, Horatio: A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy … — William Shakespeare
Definition (Entry 2 of 2)
- intransitive verb
- formal, dated
- : to make jokes or jests : to say things intended to be humorous //"What's it like to design a building and have an apartment in it and have your name on it?" the architect asks, jesting, with his typically irrepressible energy. "It's like a hat trick." — Philip Nobel //You voted for him? Surely you jest. [=you must be joking]
- //It was a harmless jest.
- //you should know that our teasing was done entirely in jest
- //when I asked my sister for a loan, she laughingly replied, “Surely you jest!”
NOTE: The current senses of jest date from the 16th century. The Latin verb stem ges- is without evident Indo-European congeners. An old suggestion that it derives from *h2ǵ-es-, an extended form containing the zero grade of *h2eǵ- "drive" (see agent) has been revived (as, for example, by Michiel de Vaan in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages, Brill, 2008; the original suggestion was by Hermann Osthoff in Beiträge zur Kunde der indogermanischen Sprachen, Band 19 [1893], pp. 320-22.) Parallel formations adduced by Osthoff are, however, questionable, as *u̯es- (see wear entry 1) from *eu̯- "put on (footwear)," not possible if the root is actually *h2eu̯(H)- (see exuviae). Latin ger- is unlikely to have any relation to Old Norse kǫr "heap, pile," kǫstr "pile," kasta "to throw, fling" (see cast entry 1).
Synonyms & Antonyms (Entry 1 of 2)
- an attitude or manner not to be taken seriously //you should know that our teasing was done entirely in jestRelated WordsNear AntonymsAntonyms
- something said or done to cause laughter //laughed politely at his feeble jest about his pet mosquitoSynonymsRelated Words
- a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke //putting a mouse in her desk drawer was intended to be a harmless jestSynonymsRelated Words
Synonyms (Entry 2 of 2)
- to make jokes //when I asked my sister for a loan, she laughingly replied, “Surely you jest!”SynonymsRelated WordsSynonymous Phrases
Definition (Entry 1 of 2)
- : a joking or mocking remark //a clever jest
- : prank: a ludicrous circumstance or incident //A proper jest, and never heard before, that Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth for costs and charges … — William Shakespeare
- : a frivolous mood or manner —usually used with in //spoken in jest: gaiety and merriment //I knew him, Horatio: A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy … — William Shakespeare
Definition (Entry 2 of 2)
- intransitive verb
- formal, dated
- : to make jokes or jests : to say things intended to be humorous //"What's it like to design a building and have an apartment in it and have your name on it?" the architect asks, jesting, with his typically irrepressible energy. "It's like a hat trick." — Philip Nobel //You voted for him? Surely you jest. [=you must be joking]
- //It was a harmless jest.
- //you should know that our teasing was done entirely in jest
- //when I asked my sister for a loan, she laughingly replied, “Surely you jest!”
NOTE: The current senses of jest date from the 16th century. The Latin verb stem ges- is without evident Indo-European congeners. An old suggestion that it derives from *h2ǵ-es-, an extended form containing the zero grade of *h2eǵ- "drive" (see agent) has been revived (as, for example, by Michiel de Vaan in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages, Brill, 2008; the original suggestion was by Hermann Osthoff in Beiträge zur Kunde der indogermanischen Sprachen, Band 19 [1893], pp. 320-22.) Parallel formations adduced by Osthoff are, however, questionable, as *u̯es- (see wear entry 1) from *eu̯- "put on (footwear)," not possible if the root is actually *h2eu̯(H)- (see exuviae). Latin ger- is unlikely to have any relation to Old Norse kǫr "heap, pile," kǫstr "pile," kasta "to throw, fling" (see cast entry 1).
Synonyms & Antonyms (Entry 1 of 2)
- an attitude or manner not to be taken seriously //you should know that our teasing was done entirely in jestRelated WordsNear AntonymsAntonyms
- something said or done to cause laughter //laughed politely at his feeble jest about his pet mosquitoSynonymsRelated Words
- a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke //putting a mouse in her desk drawer was intended to be a harmless jestSynonymsRelated Words
Synonyms (Entry 2 of 2)
- to make jokes //when I asked my sister for a loan, she laughingly replied, “Surely you jest!”SynonymsRelated WordsSynonymous Phrases
Definition (Entry 1 of 2)
- : a joking or mocking remark //a clever jest
- : prank: a ludicrous circumstance or incident //A proper jest, and never heard before, that Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth for costs and charges … — William Shakespeare
- : a frivolous mood or manner —usually used with in //spoken in jest: gaiety and merriment //I knew him, Horatio: A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy … — William Shakespeare
Definition (Entry 2 of 2)
- intransitive verb
- formal, dated
- : to make jokes or jests : to say things intended to be humorous //"What's it like to design a building and have an apartment in it and have your name on it?" the architect asks, jesting, with his typically irrepressible energy. "It's like a hat trick." — Philip Nobel //You voted for him? Surely you jest. [=you must be joking]
- //It was a harmless jest.
- //you should know that our teasing was done entirely in jest
- //when I asked my sister for a loan, she laughingly replied, “Surely you jest!”
NOTE: The current senses of jest date from the 16th century. The Latin verb stem ges- is without evident Indo-European congeners. An old suggestion that it derives from *h2ǵ-es-, an extended form containing the zero grade of *h2eǵ- "drive" (see agent) has been revived (as, for example, by Michiel de Vaan in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages, Brill, 2008; the original suggestion was by Hermann Osthoff in Beiträge zur Kunde der indogermanischen Sprachen, Band 19 [1893], pp. 320-22.) Parallel formations adduced by Osthoff are, however, questionable, as *u̯es- (see wear entry 1) from *eu̯- "put on (footwear)," not possible if the root is actually *h2eu̯(H)- (see exuviae). Latin ger- is unlikely to have any relation to Old Norse kǫr "heap, pile," kǫstr "pile," kasta "to throw, fling" (see cast entry 1).
Synonyms & Antonyms (Entry 1 of 2)
- an attitude or manner not to be taken seriously //you should know that our teasing was done entirely in jestRelated WordsNear AntonymsAntonyms
- something said or done to cause laughter //laughed politely at his feeble jest about his pet mosquitoSynonymsRelated Words
- a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke //putting a mouse in her desk drawer was intended to be a harmless jestSynonymsRelated Words
Synonyms (Entry 2 of 2)
- to make jokes //when I asked my sister for a loan, she laughingly replied, “Surely you jest!”SynonymsRelated WordsSynonymous Phrases
Definition (Entry 1 of 2)
- : a joking or mocking remark //a clever jest
- : prank: a ludicrous circumstance or incident //A proper jest, and never heard before, that Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth for costs and charges … — William Shakespeare
- : a frivolous mood or manner —usually used with in //spoken in jest: gaiety and merriment //I knew him, Horatio: A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy … — William Shakespeare
Definition (Entry 2 of 2)
- intransitive verb
- formal, dated
- : to make jokes or jests : to say things intended to be humorous //"What's it like to design a building and have an apartment in it and have your name on it?" the architect asks, jesting, with his typically irrepressible energy. "It's like a hat trick." — Philip Nobel //You voted for him? Surely you jest. [=you must be joking]
- //It was a harmless jest.
- //you should know that our teasing was done entirely in jest
- //when I asked my sister for a loan, she laughingly replied, “Surely you jest!”
NOTE: The current senses of jest date from the 16th century. The Latin verb stem ges- is without evident Indo-European congeners. An old suggestion that it derives from *h2ǵ-es-, an extended form containing the zero grade of *h2eǵ- "drive" (see agent) has been revived (as, for example, by Michiel de Vaan in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages, Brill, 2008; the original suggestion was by Hermann Osthoff in Beiträge zur Kunde der indogermanischen Sprachen, Band 19 [1893], pp. 320-22.) Parallel formations adduced by Osthoff are, however, questionable, as *u̯es- (see wear entry 1) from *eu̯- "put on (footwear)," not possible if the root is actually *h2eu̯(H)- (see exuviae). Latin ger- is unlikely to have any relation to Old Norse kǫr "heap, pile," kǫstr "pile," kasta "to throw, fling" (see cast entry 1).
Synonyms & Antonyms (Entry 1 of 2)
- an attitude or manner not to be taken seriously //you should know that our teasing was done entirely in jestRelated WordsNear AntonymsAntonyms
- something said or done to cause laughter //laughed politely at his feeble jest about his pet mosquitoSynonymsRelated Words
- a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke //putting a mouse in her desk drawer was intended to be a harmless jestSynonymsRelated Words
Synonyms (Entry 2 of 2)
- to make jokes //when I asked my sister for a loan, she laughingly replied, “Surely you jest!”SynonymsRelated WordsSynonymous Phrases
Definition (Entry 1 of 2)
- : a joking or mocking remark //a clever jest
- : prank: a ludicrous circumstance or incident //A proper jest, and never heard before, that Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth for costs and charges … — William Shakespeare
- : a frivolous mood or manner —usually used with in //spoken in jest: gaiety and merriment //I knew him, Horatio: A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy … — William Shakespeare
Definition (Entry 2 of 2)
- intransitive verb
- formal, dated
- : to make jokes or jests : to say things intended to be humorous //"What's it like to design a building and have an apartment in it and have your name on it?" the architect asks, jesting, with his typically irrepressible energy. "It's like a hat trick." — Philip Nobel //You voted for him? Surely you jest. [=you must be joking]
- //It was a harmless jest.
- //you should know that our teasing was done entirely in jest
- //when I asked my sister for a loan, she laughingly replied, “Surely you jest!”
NOTE: The current senses of jest date from the 16th century. The Latin verb stem ges- is without evident Indo-European congeners. An old suggestion that it derives from *h2ǵ-es-, an extended form containing the zero grade of *h2eǵ- "drive" (see agent) has been revived (as, for example, by Michiel de Vaan in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages, Brill, 2008; the original suggestion was by Hermann Osthoff in Beiträge zur Kunde der indogermanischen Sprachen, Band 19 [1893], pp. 320-22.) Parallel formations adduced by Osthoff are, however, questionable, as *u̯es- (see wear entry 1) from *eu̯- "put on (footwear)," not possible if the root is actually *h2eu̯(H)- (see exuviae). Latin ger- is unlikely to have any relation to Old Norse kǫr "heap, pile," kǫstr "pile," kasta "to throw, fling" (see cast entry 1).
Synonyms & Antonyms (Entry 1 of 2)
- an attitude or manner not to be taken seriously //you should know that our teasing was done entirely in jestRelated WordsNear AntonymsAntonyms
- something said or done to cause laughter //laughed politely at his feeble jest about his pet mosquitoSynonymsRelated Words
- a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke //putting a mouse in her desk drawer was intended to be a harmless jestSynonymsRelated Words
Synonyms (Entry 2 of 2)
- to make jokes //when I asked my sister for a loan, she laughingly replied, “Surely you jest!”SynonymsRelated WordsSynonymous Phrases