BANTER

banter, raillery, give-and-take, backchat

(noun) light teasing repartee

kid, chaff, jolly, josh, banter

(verb) be silly or tease one another; “After we relaxed, we just kidded around”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

banter (uncountable)

Sharp, good-humoured, playful, typically spontaneous conversation.

Synonyms: pleasantry, raillery

Verb

banter (third-person singular simple present banters, present participle bantering, simple past and past participle bantered)

(intransitive) To engage in banter or playful conversation.

(intransitive) To play or do something amusing.

(transitive) To tease (someone) mildly.

(transitive) To joke about; to ridicule (a trait, habit, etc.).

(transitive) To delude or trick; to play a prank upon.

(transitive, US, Southern and Western, colloquial) To challenge to a match.

Synonyms

• (tease): kid, wind up

Anagrams

• Barnet, barnet

Source: Wiktionary

Ban"ter, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bantered(p. pr. & vb. n. Bantering.] Etym: [Prob. corrupted fr. F. badiner to joke, or perh. fr. E. bandy to beat to and fro. See Badinage, and cf. Barter fr. OF. barater.]

1. To address playful good-natured ridicule to, -- the person addressed, or something pertaining to him, being the subject of the jesting; to rally; as, he bantered me about my credulity. Hag-ridden by my own fancy all night, and then bantered on my haggard looks the next day. W. Irving.

2. To jest about; to ridicule in speaking of, as some trait, habit, characteristic, and the like. [Archaic] If they banter your regularity, order, and love of study, banter in return their neglect of them. Chatham.

3. To delude or trick, -- esp. by way of jest. [Obs.] We diverted ourselves with bantering several poor scholars with hopes of being at least his lordship's chaplain. De Foe.

4. To challenge or defy to a match. [Colloq. Southern and Western U.S.]

Ban"ter, n.

Definition: The act of bantering; joking or jesting; humorous or good- humored raillery; pleasantry. Part banter, part affection. Tennyson.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition