English

Noun

jape ‎(plural japes)

1. A joke or quip.
   • c. 1390, Geoffrey Chaucer, "The Pardoner's Tale" in The Canterbury Tales:

     "Thou bel ami, thou Pardoner," he said,

     "Tell us some mirth of japes right anon."

   • 1920, Jeffery Farnol, The Geste of Duke Jocelyn, Fytte 9:

     [H]e clapped hand to thigh, and laughed and laughed until the air rang again.

     "Oho, a jape—a jape indeed!" he roared.

Synonyms

• See Wikisaurus:joke

Derived terms

• bejape

Translations

Verb

jape ‎(third-person singular simple present japes, present participle japing, simple past and past participle japed)

1. (intransitive) To jest; play tricks; joke.
   • 1886, Andrew Lang, "To Sir John Manndeville" in Letters to Dead Authors:

     Now the Lond of Egypt longeth to the Soudan, yet the Soudan longeth not to the Lond of Egypt. And when I say this, I do jape with words, and may hap ye understond me not.

2. (transitive) To mock; deride; gibe; trick; befool.