jest

noun

/d͡ʒɛst/

Etymology

From Middle English geste (“idle tale”), from Old French geste (“acts, exploits”), from Latin gesta (“acts, deeds”). Doublet of gest.

derived from gesta
derived from geste
inherited from geste

Definitions

1
An act performed for amusement
An act performed for amusement; a joke.
- I made that comment in jest; it wasn't serious.
- Alas poore Yorick, I knew him Horatio, a fellow of infinite Ieſt; […]
2
Someone or something that is ridiculed
Someone or something that is ridiculed; the target of a joke.
- Your majesty, stop him before he makes you the jest of the court.
- Why then make ſport at me, then let me be your ieſt, / I deſerue it[…]
3
A deed
A deed; an action; a gest.
- the jests or actions of princes
›+ 3 more definitionsshow fewer
1. 4
  A mask
  A mask; a pageant; an interlude.
  - He promised us, in honour of our guest, / To grace our banquet with some pompous jest.
2. 5
  To tell a joke
  To tell a joke; to talk in a playful manner; to make fun of something or someone.
  - Surely you jest!
3. 6
  Pronunciation spelling of just.
  - So I jest called out to know what was up, and found it was Miss Vanholte's cowboys, who had been forced into the store by them rascally ruffins.
  - "Jest like the Injian puzzle-boxes, ain't they?" said Dan, as the one boat dropped into the other.

The neighborhood

Derived

in jest, jestee, jesty, outjest

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at jest. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

A definitional loop anchored at jest. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at jest

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA