different between jape vs japer

English

Etymology

From Middle English japen (“to deceive, play tricks on; act foolishly, joke; have sex with”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old French japer (“to bark, howl, scream; chatter, gossip”) (possibly conflated with Old French gaber (“to mock, deride”), see gab), related to Old Occitan japar, jaupar (“to bark, yelp, yap”), probably of Proto-Germanic origin, related to Old Saxon galp?n (“to cry loudly, make a noise, brag”) (Low German galpen (“to bark, howl, scream”)), Middle High German gelpfen (“to scream, bark, boast, proclaim”), Old Norse gjálpa (“to yelp”) (dialectal Swedish galpa (“to cry, screech”)). More at yelp, yawp, yap.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??e?p/
• Rhymes: -e?p

Noun

jape (plural japes)

1. A joke or quip.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:joke

   • 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.

2. A prank or trick.

Derived terms

• bejape
• japery

Translations

Verb

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

1. (intransitive) To jest; play tricks.

   Synonyms: joke; see also Thesaurus:jest
2. (transitive) To mock; deride.

   Synonyms: gibe, trick, befool, make fun of, razz; see also Thesaurus:mock

3. (obsolete) To have sexual intercourse with.

   Synonyms: coitize, go to bed with, sleep with; see also Thesaurus:copulate with

Anagrams

• Peja

English

Etymology

jape +? -er

Noun

japer (plural japers)

1. One who japes; a joker.