different between jape vs tease

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

Alternative forms

• teaze (dated)

Etymology

From Middle English tesen, from Old English t?san (“to tease”), from Proto-West Germanic *taisijan (“to separate, tug, shred”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: t?z, IPA^(key): /ti?z/
• Homophones: teas, tees
• Rhymes: -i?z

Verb

tease (third-person singular simple present teases, present participle teasing, simple past and past participle teased)

1. To separate the fibres of a fibrous material.
2. To comb (originally with teasels) so that the fibres all lie in one direction.
3. To back-comb.
4. (transitive) To poke fun at, either cruelly or affectionately.
   • 2008, Lich King, "Attack of the Wrath of the War of the Death of the Strike of the Sword of the Blood of the Beast ", Toxic Zombie Onslaught

5. (transitive) To provoke or disturb; to annoy.
   • 1684, Samuel Butler, Hudibras

     Not by the force of carnal reason, / But indefatigable teasing.

   • "My tastes," he said, still smiling, "incline me to the garishly sunlit side of this planet." And, to tease her and arouse her to combat: "I prefer a farandole to a nocturne; I'd rather have a painting than an etching; Mr. Whistler bores me with his monochromatic mud; I don't like dull colours, dull sounds, dull intellects; […]."

6. (transitive) To manipulate or influence the behavior of, especially by repeated acts of irritation.
7. (transitive) To entice, tempt.
8. (transitive, informal) To show as forthcoming, in the manner of a teaser.

Usage notes

• Tease, in the sense of "make fun of," can refer to cruel statements but also affectionate or harmless ones, which may be taken in good humour by the recipient. By contrast, taunt only refers to cruel statements, as does mock unless qualified (e.g. gently mock).

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

tease (plural teases)

1. One who teases.
2. A single act of teasing.
3. One who deliberately arouses others (usually men) sexually with no intention of satisfying that arousal.

   Synonyms: cock tease, cocktease, cockteaser, prickteaser

Translations

Anagrams

• Seeta, setae, setæ