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Added 8 October 2026

joke

/ˈd͡ʒəʊ̯k/ noun

In Latin: iocus, nūgae Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about joke at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter.
he told a very funny joke
Activity characterized by good humor.
A ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement.

verb

Tell a joke; speak humorously.
He often jokes even when he appears serious
Act in a funny or teasing way.

Origin

From 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, Italian gioco, Portuguese jogo, Spanish juego, Romanian joc, English Yule, Danish Jule, Norwegian Bokmål Jul, Swedish Jul, and Norwegian Nynorsk jol.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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