jest

See also: Jëst and jesť

English

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• enPR: jĕst, IPA^(key): /dʒɛst/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛst

Noun

jest (plural jests)

1. (archaic) An act performed for amusement; a joke.
2. (archaic) Someone or something that is ridiculed; the target of a joke.

   Your majesty, stop him before he makes you the jest of the court.

   • c. 1593, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene ii]:

     Then let me be your jest; I deserve it.

3. (obsolete) A deed; an action; a gest.
   • 1540, Thomas Elyot, Image of Governance

     the jests or actions of princes

4. (obsolete) A mask; a pageant; an interlude.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Nares to this entry?)

   • 1592', Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy

     He promised us, in honour of our guest, / To grace our banquet with some pompous jest.

Synonyms

• (joke): prank, gag, laughingstock, banter, crack, wisecrack, witticism
• See also Thesaurus:joke

Translations

joke

• Bulgarian: шега (bg) f (šega), закачка (bg) f (zakačka)
• Esperanto: ŝerco, blago (eo)
• Finnish: pila (fi), vitsi (fi)
• Georgian: ხუმრობა (xumroba), ოხუნჯობა (oxunǯoba)
• Greek:

  Ancient: χλεύη f (khleúē), σκῶμμα n (skômma)

• Hungarian: tréfa (hu), tréfálkozás
• Italian: scherzo (it), barzelletta (it), battuta (it) f, celia (it) f, arguzia (it) f, facezia (it) f
• Latin: iocus m

• Maori: takao
• Pashto: ټوکه‎ (ps) f (ṭoka)
• Persian: شوخی‎ (fa) (šuxi), مزاح‎ (fa) (mezâh) (formal, dated)
• Plautdietsch: Spos n
• Portuguese: gracejo (pt) m, piada (pt) f
• Russian: насме́шка (ru) f (nasméška), остро́та (ru) f (ostróta) (not to confuse with острота́ - bitterness, sharpness, etc.)
• Scottish Gaelic: fealla-dhà m
• Spanish: broma (es) f, chiste (es) m
• Yiddish: שפּאַס‎ m (shpas)

target of a joke

• Bulgarian: посмешище (bg) (posmešište)
• Finnish: naurunaihe, vitsi (fi)
• French: risée (fr) f
• Georgian: დაცინვის საგანი (dacinvis sagani), დასაცინი (dasacini), სასაცილო (sasacilo)
• Hungarian: nevetség tárgya

• Italian: oggetto di scherno, zimbello (it) m
• Maori: omeke
• Russian: посме́шище (ru) n (posméšišče)

Verb

jest (third-person singular simple present jests, present participle jesting, simple past and past participle jested)

1. To tell a joke; to talk in a playful manner; to make fun of something or someone.

   Surely you jest!

Synonyms

• (to joke): banter, kid, mock, tease

Derived terms

• jester
• jestingly

Translations

to tell a joke

• Bulgarian: шегувам се (šeguvam se)
• Esperanto: ŝerci
• Finnish: vitsailla (fi)
• French: plaisanter (fr)
• Greek: πειράζω (el) (peirázo)

  Ancient Greek: σκώπτω (skṓptō)

• Hungarian: tréfálkozik (hu)
• Italian: scherzare (it), affabulare
• Latin: iocor

• Maori: nene, whakanene, kārikarika
• Persian: لاغیدن‎ (fa) (lâğidan) (obsolete), شوخی کردن‎ (fa) (šuxi kardan)
• Portuguese: gracejar (pt)
• Russian: шути́ть (ru) (šutítʹ)
• Spanish: bromear (es)
• Swedish: skämta (sv), skoja (sv), driva (sv), gyckla (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} blaguer (fr)

• German: ^{(please verify)} Spaß machen

See also

• jest on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 2

Eye dialect spelling of just..

Adverb

jest (not comparable)

1. (African-American Vernacular, Southern US) Alternative spelling of just

Anagrams

• ESTJ, Jets, jets

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Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jest/
• Homophone: gjest

Alternative forms

• jester

Etymology

From Old Norse jǫstr, from Proto-Germanic *jestuz, whence English yeast.

Noun

jest m (definite singular jesten, indefinite plural jester, definite plural jestene)

1. yeast

   Synonym: gjær

Related terms

• ese

References

• “jest” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “jest” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jest/
• Homophone: gjest

Etymology

From Old Norse jǫstr, from Proto-Germanic *jestuz, whence also English yeast. Doublet of jester.

Noun

jest m (definite singular jesten, indefinite plural jestar, definite plural jestane)

1. yeast

   Synonym: gjær

Related terms

• asa, ase
• esa, ese

References

• “jest” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɛst/

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

jest

1. third-person singular present indicative of być; is

   Ona jest ładna. ― She's pretty.

   Agnieszka jest studentką. ― Agnieszka is a student.

2. (mathematics) is, equals (see also wynosi)

   dwa plus dwa jest cztery. ― Two plus two is four.

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Serbo-Croatian

Verb

jest (Cyrillic spelling јест)

1. third-person singular present of bȉti