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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame ==Origin== Latin ''jocus'', jest; perhaps akin to Old High German ''gehan'' to say, Sanskrit ''yācati'' he as...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:God_joke.jpg|right|frame]]
==Origin==
[[Latin]] ''jocus'', jest; perhaps akin to Old High German ''gehan'' to say, [[Sanskrit]] ''yācati'' he asks. [[Compare]] Italian ''gioco'', [[game]], [[play]], sport, ''jeast''
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_century 1670]
==Definitions==
*1a : something said or done to provoke [[laughter]]; especially : a brief [[oral]] [[narrative]] with a climactic humorous twist
:b (1) : the [[humorous]] or ridiculous element in something (2) : an instance of jesting : kidding <can't take a joke>
:c : [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practical_joke practical joke]
:d : laughingstock
*2: something not to be taken seriously : a trifling matter <consider his skiing a joke — Harold Callender> —often used in [[negative]] constructions <it is no joke to be lost in the [[desert]]>
==Description==
A '''joke''' (or gag) is a phrase or a paragraph with a [[humorous]] twist. It can be in many [[different]] forms, such as a [[question]] or short [[story]]. To [[achieve]] this end, jokes may employ [[irony]], [[sarcasm]], [[word]] [[play]] and other devices. Jokes may have a punchline that will end the sentence to make it [[humorous]].
A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practical_joke practical joke] or prank differs from a spoken one in that the major component of the [[humour]] is [[physical]] rather than verbal (for example placing salt in the sugar bowl).
Jokes are typically for the [[entertainment]] of [[friends]] and onlookers. The [[desired]] [[response]] is generally [[laughter]]; when this does not happen the joke is said to have "fallen flat" or "bombed". However, jokes have other [[purposes]] and [[functions]], common to comedy/humour/satire in general.
Jokes have been a part of [[human]] [[culture]] since at least 1900 BC. According to [[research]] conducted by Dr Paul McDonald of the University of Wolverhampton, a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatulence_humour fart joke] from ancient [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumer Sumer] is currently believed to be the world's oldest known joke. Britain's oldest joke, meanwhile, is a 1,000-year-old double-entendre that can be found in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter_Book Codex Exoniensis].
A recent [[discovery]] of a [[document]] called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philogelos Philogelos] (The Laughter Lover) gives us an [[insight]] into [[ancient]] [[humor]]. Written in [[Greek]] by Hierocles and Philagrius, it dates to the third or fourth century AD, and contains some 260 jokes. Considering [[humor]] from our own [[culture]] as recent as the 19th century is at times baffling to us today, the [[humor]] is surprisingly familiar. They had different [[stereotypes]], the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absent-minded_professor absent-minded professor], the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eunuch eunuch], and people with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernia hernias] or bad breath were favourites.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joke]
[[Category: Languages and Literature]]
==Origin==
[[Latin]] ''jocus'', jest; perhaps akin to Old High German ''gehan'' to say, [[Sanskrit]] ''yācati'' he asks. [[Compare]] Italian ''gioco'', [[game]], [[play]], sport, ''jeast''
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_century 1670]
==Definitions==
*1a : something said or done to provoke [[laughter]]; especially : a brief [[oral]] [[narrative]] with a climactic humorous twist
:b (1) : the [[humorous]] or ridiculous element in something (2) : an instance of jesting : kidding <can't take a joke>
:c : [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practical_joke practical joke]
:d : laughingstock
*2: something not to be taken seriously : a trifling matter <consider his skiing a joke — Harold Callender> —often used in [[negative]] constructions <it is no joke to be lost in the [[desert]]>
==Description==
A '''joke''' (or gag) is a phrase or a paragraph with a [[humorous]] twist. It can be in many [[different]] forms, such as a [[question]] or short [[story]]. To [[achieve]] this end, jokes may employ [[irony]], [[sarcasm]], [[word]] [[play]] and other devices. Jokes may have a punchline that will end the sentence to make it [[humorous]].
A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practical_joke practical joke] or prank differs from a spoken one in that the major component of the [[humour]] is [[physical]] rather than verbal (for example placing salt in the sugar bowl).
Jokes are typically for the [[entertainment]] of [[friends]] and onlookers. The [[desired]] [[response]] is generally [[laughter]]; when this does not happen the joke is said to have "fallen flat" or "bombed". However, jokes have other [[purposes]] and [[functions]], common to comedy/humour/satire in general.
Jokes have been a part of [[human]] [[culture]] since at least 1900 BC. According to [[research]] conducted by Dr Paul McDonald of the University of Wolverhampton, a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatulence_humour fart joke] from ancient [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumer Sumer] is currently believed to be the world's oldest known joke. Britain's oldest joke, meanwhile, is a 1,000-year-old double-entendre that can be found in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter_Book Codex Exoniensis].
A recent [[discovery]] of a [[document]] called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philogelos Philogelos] (The Laughter Lover) gives us an [[insight]] into [[ancient]] [[humor]]. Written in [[Greek]] by Hierocles and Philagrius, it dates to the third or fourth century AD, and contains some 260 jokes. Considering [[humor]] from our own [[culture]] as recent as the 19th century is at times baffling to us today, the [[humor]] is surprisingly familiar. They had different [[stereotypes]], the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absent-minded_professor absent-minded professor], the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eunuch eunuch], and people with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernia hernias] or bad breath were favourites.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joke]
[[Category: Languages and Literature]]