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Origin and history of jocose

jocose(adj.)

"given to jokes and jesting," 1670s, from Latin iocosus "full of jesting, fond of jokes, funny," from iocus "pastime, sport; a jest, joke" (see joke (n.)). Often it implies ponderous humor (compare jocund). Related: Jocosely; jocoseness.

also from 1670s

Entries linking to jocose

jocund(adj.)

late 14c., "pleasing, gracious; joyful," from Old French jocond or directly from Late Latin iocundus (source of Spanish jocunde, Italian giocondo), variant (influenced by iocus "joke") of Latin iucundus "pleasant, agreeable," originally "helpful," contraction of *iuvicundus, from iuvare "to please, benefit, help, give strength, support," which is from a PIE source perhaps related to the root of iuvenis "young person" (see young (adj.)).

In jocose cheerfulness or light-heartedness is an accidental thing; in jocund it is the essential idea. [Century Dictionary]
joke(n.)

1660s, joque, "a jest, something done to excite laughter," from Latin iocus "joke, jest, sport, pastime" (source also of French jeu, Spanish juego, Portuguese jogo, Italian gioco), from Proto-Italic *joko-, from PIE *iok-o- "word, utterance," from root *yek- (1) "to speak" (cognates: Welsh iaith, Breton iez "language," Middle Irish icht "people;" Old High German jehan, Old Saxon gehan "to say, express, utter;" Old High German jiht, German Beichte "confession").

Originally a colloquial or slang word. Meaning "something not real or to no purpose, someone not to be taken seriously" is from 1791. Black joke is old slang for "smutty song" (1733), from use of that phrase in the refrain of a then-popular song as a euphemism for "the monosyllable." Lithuanian juokas "laugh, laughter," in plural "joke(s)" probably is borrowed from German.

jocosity(n.)

"merriment, waggery, mirthfulness," 1640s; see jocose + -ity.

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    Trends of jocose

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    prevaricator
    "At Cambridge Univ: An orator who made a jocose or satirical speech at Commencement" [OED] (1610s)....
    echo
    mid-14c., "sound repeated by reflection," from Latin echo, from Greek ēkhō, personified in classical mythology as a mountain nymph who pined away for love of Narcissus until nothing was left of her but her voice, from or related to ēkhē "sound," ēkhein "to resound," from PIE *wag
    decision
    mid-15c., "act of deciding," from Old French décision (14c.), from Latin decisionem (nominative decisio) "a decision, settlement, agreement," noun of action from past-participle stem of decidere "to decide, determine," literally "to cut off," from de "off" (see de-) + caedere "to
    condescend
    mid-14c., of God, a king., etc., "make gracious allowance" for human frailty, etc.; late 14c., "yield deferentially," from Old French condescendere (14c.) "to agree, consent, give in, yield, come down from one's rights or claims," and directly from Late Latin condescendere "to le
    blunt
    c. 1200, blunt, blont, "dull, obtuse" (of persons), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from or related to Old Norse blundra "to shut one's eyes" (see blunder (v.)). Or from Old English blinnan (past participle blon) "to stop, cease, come to an end." Of tools or weapons, "not sharp, wit
    bead
    mid-14c., bede, "prayer bead," from Old English gebed "prayer," with intensive or collective prefix *ge- + Proto-Germanic *bidam "entreaty." This reconstructed word is also the source of Middle Dutch bede, Old High German beta, German bitte, Gothic bida "prayer, request," which a
    disposition
    late 14c., disposicioun, "ordering, management, a setting in order, arrangement," also "tendency of mind, aptitude, inclination," from Old French disposicion (12c.) "arrangement, order; mood, state of mind" and directly from Latin dispositionem (nominative dispositio) "arrangemen
    revival
    1650s, "act of reviving after decline or discontinuance;" specifically from 1660s as, "the bringing back to the stage of a play which has not been presented for a considerable time;" from revive + -al (2). The sense of "a general and extraordinary religious awakening in a communi
    sister
    mid-13c., suster, "female sibling, a female person in her relation to other children of the same parents," from Old English sweostor, swuster, Northumbrian soester "sister," or a Scandinavian cognate (Old Norse systir, Swedish syster, Danish søster), in any case from Proto-German
    method
    early 15c., "regular, systematic treatment of disease," from Latin methodus "way of teaching or going," from Greek methodos "scientific inquiry, method of inquiry, investigation," originally "pursuit, a following after," from meta "in pursuit or quest of" (see meta-) + hodos "a m

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