US /dʒeɪp/ UK /dʒeɪp/
noun verb

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    a practical joke or jest

    The squire's harmless jape sent the whole hall into fits of laughter.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a practical joke or jest jestjokeprankquipgibetrickgag
Word family
Derived forms japeryjaper

Etymology

Middle English 'japen' ('to trick, mock, jest'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old French 'japer' ('to yelp, chatter') blended with 'gaber' ('to mock').

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