Etymograph

English

joke theft

From joke + theft.

A compound of joke + theft

Proto-Indo-European *yek- ‘to speak’

Proto-Indo-European *yokos ‘word’

Proto-Italic *jokos ‘word’

Latin iocus ‘joke’

English joke

Proto-Germanic *þiubīþō

Proto-West Germanic *þiubīþu

Middle English theft

English theft

Today it means

noun The appropriation of a comedian's material passed off as one's own.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / joke theft