JESTINGS
Noun
jestings
plural of jesting
Source: Wiktionary
JESTING
Jest"ing, a.
Definition: Sportive; not serious; fit for jests.
He will find that these are no jesting matters. Macaulay
.
Jest"ing, n.
Definition: The act or practice of making jests; joking; pleasantry. Eph.
v. 4.
JEST
Jest, n. Etym: [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF.
geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of
gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perform; perh. orig., to make to
come, bring, and perh. akin to E. come. Cf. Gest a deed, Register,
n.]
1. A deed; an action; a gest. [Obs.]
The jests or actions of princes. Sir T. Elyot.
2. A mask; a pageant; an interlude. [Obs.] Nares.
He promised us, in honor of our guest, To grace our banquet with some
pompous jest. Kyd.
3. Something done or said in order to amuse; a joke; a witticism; a
jocose or sportive remark or phrase. See Synonyms under Jest, v. i.
I must be sad . . . smile at no man's jests. Shak.
The Right Honorable gentleman is indebted to his memory for his
jests, and to his imagination for his facts. Sheridan.
4. The object of laughter or sport; a laughingstock.
Then let me be your jest; I deserve it. Shak.
In jest, for mere sport or diversion; not in truth and reality; not
in earnest.
And given in earnest what I begged in jest. Shak.
– Jest book, a book containing a collection of jests, jokes, and
amusing anecdotes; a Joe Miller.
Jest, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Jested; p. pr. & vb. n. Jesting.]
1. To take part in a merrymaking; -- especially, to act in a mask or
interlude. [Obs.] Shak.
2. To make merriment by words or actions; to joke; to make light of
anything.
He jests at scars that never felt a wound. Shak.
Syn.
– To joke; sport; rally.
– To Jest, Joke. One jests in order to make others laugh; one jokes
to please himself. A jest is usually at the expense of another, and
is often ill-natured; a joke is a sportive sally designed to promote
good humor without wounding the feelings of its object. "Jests are,
therefore, seldom harmless; jokes frequently allowable. The most
serious subject may be degraded by being turned into a jest." Crabb.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition