Jokingly

How to spell jokingly

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce jokingly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does jokingly mean?

1. adverbIn a way that is meant as a joke rather than seriously.

Jokingly in a sentence

• He jokingly blamed the dog for eating his homework.

• She jokingly suggested they sell the car to pay the heating bill.

Where does jokingly come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This adverb is built on the noun and verb 'joke', which English adopted in the late 1600s from the Latin iocus, meaning 'a jest', 'a game', or 'a word-play'. The Latin term originally pointed to verbal wit rather than physical antics, which is why a joke is still primarily something said. From 'joke' came the present participle 'joking', and the adverb-forming suffix '-ly' (from Old English 'lice', meaning 'in the manner of') was added to describe an action done in a joking way. The same iocus root also gives us 'jocular' and 'jocose', so the family is easy to recognise. The spelling is regular once you see the three stacked pieces, joke, -ing, -ly, though writers sometimes hesitate over whether the silent 'e' of 'joke' survives; it is dropped before '-ing', leaving 'jokingly'.

How the word is built

• joke (jest)
• -ing (present participle)
• -ly (adverb suffix)