JEST, noun [Latin gestio.] 1. A joke; something ludicrous uttered and meant only to excite laughter. Religion should never be the subject of jest 2. The object of laughter or sport; a laughing stock. Then let me be your jest I deserve it. In jest for mere sport or diversion; not in truth and reality; not in earnest. --And given in earnest what I begged in jest 3. A mask. 4. A deed; an action. JEST', verb intransitive To divert or make merry by words or actions; to joke. JEST not with a rude man, lest thy ancestors be disgraced. 1. To utter in sport; to say what is not true, merely for diversion. 2. To play a part in a mask.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI