jest

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

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.].

•  A deed; an action; a gest.  [1913 Webster]

  "The jests or actions of princes."  [1913 Webster]
•  A mask; a pageant; an interlude.  Nares.  [1913 Webster]

  "He promised us, in honor of our guest,
  To grace our banquet with some pompous jest."  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "I must be sad . . . smile at no man's jests."  [1913 Webster]

  "The Right Honorable gentleman is indebted to his memory for his jests, and to his imagination for his facts."  [1913 Webster]
•  The object of laughter or sport; a laughingstock.  [1913 Webster]

  "Then let me be your jest; I deserve it."  [1913 Webster]

  "And given in earnest what I begged in jest."

jest, v. i. 

•  To take part in a merrymaking; -- especially, to act in a mask or interlude.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  To make merriment by words or actions; to joke; to make light of anything.  [1913 Webster]

  "He jests at scars that never felt a wound."

Syn. -- To joke; sport; rally.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

jest, n. & v.
--n.
1 a a joke. b fun.
2 a raillery, banter. b an object of derision (a standing jest).
--v.intr.
1 joke; make jests.
2 fool about; play or act triflingly.

Idiom

in jest in fun.

Derivative

jestful adj.

Etymology

orig. = exploit, f. OF geste f. L gesta neut. pl. past part. of gerere do

THESAURUS

jest

Parthian shot, a continental, a curse, a damn, a darn, a hoot, back answer, badinage, bagatelle, banter, bauble, be merry with, bean, belly laugh, bibelot, bit, blue story, brass farthing, butt, button, byword, byword of reproach, caustic remark, cent, chaff, comeback, crack, crack a joke, crack wise, curio, cut, cutting remark, derision, dig, dirty joke, dirty story, double entendre, drollery, dump, dupe, ethnic joke, exchange, fair game, farce, farthing, feather, fig, figure of fun, fleabite, fleer, fleer at, flout, folderol, fool, foolery, fooling, fooling around, fribble, frippery, fun, funny story, gag, game, gaud, gazingstock, gewgaw, gibe, gibe at, gibing retort, gimcrack, gird, give-and-take, goat, good one, good story, good-natured banter, hair, halfpenny, harmless teasing, haze, hill of beans, howler, jab, jape, jeer, jestbook, jestingstock, jive, joke, jolly, josh, kickshaw, kid, kid around, kidding, kidding around, knickknack, knickknackery, laugh, laughingstock, leg-pull, make a funny, make fun, make fun of, minikin, mock, mockery, molehill, monkey, needle, panic, parting shot, peppercorn, persiflage, picayune, pilgarlic, pin, pinch of snuff, pinprick, play, play on words, pleasantry, point, poke fun at, pun, put on, put-down, put-on, quip, rag, raillery, rally, rallying, rap, razz, red cent, rib, rib tickler, ride, ridicule, riot, roast, row of pins, rude reproach, rush, scintillate, scoff, scoff at, scream, scurrility, shit, short answer, sick joke, sidesplitter, sight gag, slam, slap, snap, sneeshing, sou, sparkle, sport, stock, story, straw, swipe, target, taunt, tease, toy, trifle, trinket, triviality, tuppence, twit, two cents, twopence, utter a mot, verbal thrust, victim, visual joke, waggery, wheeze, whim-wham, wisecrack, witticism, wow, yak, yarn

ROGET THESAURUS

jest

Unimportance

N unimportance, insignificance, nothingness, immateriality, triviality, levity, frivolity, paltriness, poverty, smallness, vanity, matter of indifference, no object, nothing, nothing to signify, nothing worth speaking of, nothing particular, nothing to boast of, nothing to speak of, small matter, no great matter, trifling matter, mere joke, mere nothing, hardly anything, scarcely anything, nonentity, small beer, cipher, no great shakes, peu de chose, child's play, kinderspiel, toy, plaything, popgun, paper pellet, gimcrack, gewgaw, bauble, trinket, bagatelle, Rickshaw, knickknack, whim-wham, trifle, trifles light as air, yankee notions, trumpery, trash, rubbish, stuff, fatras, frippery, leather or prunello, chaff, drug, froth bubble smoke, cobweb, weed, refuse, scum, joke, jest, snap of the fingers, fudge, fiddlestick, fiddlestick end, pack of nonsense, mere farce, straw, pin, fig, button, rush, bulrush, feather, halfpenny, farthing, brass farthing, doit, peppercorn, jot, rap, pinch of snuff, old son, cent, mill, picayune, pistareen, red cent, minutiae, details, minor details, small fry, dust in the balance, feather in the scale, drop in the ocean, flea-bite, molehill, nine days' wonder, ridiculus mus, flash in the pan, much ado about nothing, unimportant, of little account, of small account, of no account, of little importance, of no importance, immaterial, unessential, nonessential, indifferent, subordinate, mediocre, passable, fair, respectable, tolerable, commonplace, uneventful, mere, common, ordinary, inconsiderable, so-so, insignificant, inappreciable, trifling, trivial, slight, slender, light, flimsy, frothy, idle, puerile, airy, shallow, weak, powerless, frivolous, petty, niggling, piddling, peddling, fribble, inane, ridiculous, farcical, finical, finikin, fiddle-faddle, fingle-fangle, namby-pamby, wishy-washy, milk and water, poor, paltry, pitiful, contemptible, sorry, mean, meager, shabby, miserable, wretched, vile, scrubby, scrannel, weedy, niggardly, scurvy, putid, beggarly, worthless, twopennyhalfpenny, cheap, trashy, catchpenny, gimcrack, trumpery, one- horse, not worth the pains, not worth while, not worth mentioning, not worth speaking of, not worth a thought, not worth a curse, not worth a straw, beneath notice, unworthy of notice, beneath regard, unworthy of regard, beneath consideration, unworthy of consideration, de lana caprina, vain, slightly, rather, somewhat, pretty well, tolerably, for aught one cares, Int, no matter!, pish!, tush!, tut!, pshaw!, pugh!, pooh, pooh-pooh!, fudge!, bosh!, humbug!, fiddlestick, fiddlestick end!, fiddlededee!, never mind!, n'importe!, what signifies it, what boots it, what of it, what of that, what matter, what's the odds, a fig for', stuff!, nonsense!, stuff and nonsense, magno conatu magnas nugas, le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle, it matters not, it does not signify, it is of no consequence, it is of no importance, elephantus non capit murem, tempete dans un verre d'eau.

Wit

N wit, humor, wittiness, sense of humor, attic wit, attic salt, atticism, salt, esprit, point, fancy, whim, drollery, pleasantry, farce, buffoonery, fooling, tomfoolery, shenanigan, harlequinade, broad farce, broad humor, fun, espieglerie, vis comica, jocularity, jocosity, jocoseness, facetiousness, waggery, waggishness, whimsicality, comicality, banter, badinage, retort, repartee, smartness, ready wit, quid- pro-quo, ridicule, jest, joke, jape, jibe, facetiae, levity, quips and cranks, capital joke, canorae nugae, standing jest, standing joke, private joke, conceit, quip, quirk, crank, quiddity, concetto, plaisanterie, brilliant idea, merry thought, bright thought, happy thought, sally, flash of wit, flash of merriment, scintillation, mot, mot pour rire, witticism, smart saying, bon-mot, jeu d'esprit, epigram, jest book, dry joke, quodlibet, cream of the jest, word-play, jeu de mots, play of words, play upon words, pun, punning, double entente, double entendre, quibble, verbal quibble, conundrum, anagram, acrostic, double acrostic, trifling, idle conceit, turlupinade, old joke, tired joke, flat joke, Joe Miller, witty, attic, quick-witted, nimble-witted, smart, jocular, jocose, humorous, facetious, waggish, whimsical, kidding, joking, puckish, playful, merry and wise, pleasant, sprightly, light, spirituel, sparkling, epigrammatic, full of point, ben trovato, comic, zany, madcap, funny, amusing, jokingly, in joke, in jest, in sport, in play, adhibenda est in jocando moderatio, gentle dullness ever loves a joke, leave this keen encounter of our wits, just joking, just kidding, surely you jest!.

VB joke, jest, crack a joke, make a joke, jape, cut jokes, perpetrate a joke, pun, perpetrate a pun, make fun of, make merry with, kid, kid around, fool around, set the table in a roar, retort, banter, ridentem dicere verum, joke at one's expense, take in jest, bomb, fall flat, go over like a lead balloon.

Laughingstock

N laughingstock, jestingstock, gazingstock, butt, game, fair game, April fool, original, oddity, queer fish, odd fish, quiz, square toes, old monkey, old fogey, fogey monkey, fogy monkey, buffoon, pantomimist, schlemiel, jest, dum vitant stulti vitia in contraria currunt.