Joking

How to spell joking

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce joking

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does joking mean?

1. verbMaking jokes or saying things in fun rather than in earnest.

Joking in a sentence

• He kept joking throughout the long meeting to lighten the mood.

• She said she was only joking and had not meant the remark seriously.

Where does joking come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is the present participle of the verb 'joke', which English took from the Latin noun iocus, meaning 'a jest' or 'a piece of fun', and the related verb iocari, 'to jest'. The word arrived in English in the early 1600s, at first often spelled 'joque', before settling into its modern shape. The same Latin iocus lies behind the word 'jocular', which still means full of fun, so the two share a clear family resemblance. The spelling trap in 'joking' is small but real: the base verb ends in a silent e, and that e is dropped before the -ing ending, so writers must resist the urge to keep it and produce 'jokeing'. The single k also tempts a needless doubling into 'jokking', which the long o sound does not require.

How the word is built

• jok(e) (from joke: a jest)
• -ing (present participle suffix; the silent e is dropped before -ing)