English
jocular
Jocular comes from Latin iocularis, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *yek- ‘to utter’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yek-‘to utter’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEioculus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEiocularis
- Englishearliest quotation 1865jocular
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yek-‘to utter’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEioculus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEiocularis
- Englishearliest quotation 1865jocular
Earliest quotation: 1865, Horatio Alger, chapter IV: “From the tone of the speaker, the last words…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *yek- ‘to utter’
Today it means
adj Humorous, amusing or joking.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *yek- / jocular