Meaning

noun a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter

noun activity characterized by good humor

noun a ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement

originFrom Latin iocus (“joke, jest, pastime”), from Proto-Italic *jokos (“word, (playful?) saying”), from Proto-Indo-European *yokos (“word, utterance”), from ultimate root Proto-Indo-European *yek- (“to speak, utter”) (of which distant cognates include Proto-Celtic *yextis (“language”) (Breton yezh (“language”) and Welsh iaith (“language”)) and German Beichte (“confession”)). Cognate with French jeu,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0