jape Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
    gag; joke; jest; laugh.
    • he told a very funny joke
    • he knows a million gags
    • thanks for the laugh
    • he laughed unpleasantly at his own jest
    • even a schoolboy's jape is supposed to have some ascertainable point

WordNet

Jape intransitive verb
Etymology
Prob. from the same source as gab,influenced by F. japper to yelp. See Gab to deceive.
Definitions
  1. To jest; to play tricks; to jeer. Obs. Chaucer.
Jape transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To mock; to trick. Chaucer.
    I have not been putting a jape upon you. Sir W. Scott.
    The coy giggle of the young lady to whom he has imparted his latest merry jape. W. Besant.

Webster 1913